Chapter 69: Lucky Luke
Chapter 69: Lucky Luke
"Nia is still too young," Herb comforted her gently. "Before your twelfth birthday, you'll receive an acceptance letter from Hogwarts via owl. Then you can attend the wizarding school."
Pouting, Nia asked, "Do I look like a fool to you? I know I don't have the talent for magic, and Albert already knew that."
"How could that be?" Herb asked softly.
"Of course, I do," Nia replied, and proceeded to tell them about her summer vacation.
The Ministry of Magic had sent a letter to Truman, explaining the reason for her expulsion: use of the Levitation Charm in front of a Muggle in the Muggle community.
"There were only three of us in the park—Truman, a wizard, Albert, a wizard, and me, the Muggle mentioned in the letter," Nia said, and as soon as she finished, she started crying.
Daisy sighed softly. She had known about this possibility, as Albert had mentioned it to her before he left for Hogwarts.
However, she hadn't expected Nia to find out on her own.
Daisy hugged her daughter, stroking her back gently and consoling her, "It's alright, Nia. Go ahead and cry if you need to."
"Nia, you should know that wizards have their fun, but Muggles have their own joys too," Luke said calmly. "The wizarding world doesn't have things like television, the anime and movies you enjoy, and you hardly have any friends before starting school."
"But..." Nia's voice was choked with emotion. "I want to go to Hogwarts."
Tom seemed to sense Nia's sadness and jumped into her lap, rubbing his head against her clothes.
"While it's a bit disappointing not to be able to go to Hogwarts, I don't regret being a Muggle," Luke said, stroking Nia's hair. "The Muggle world is fascinating in its own right. Now, stop crying and have some chocolate. You're turning into a blotchy mess."
"Nia, don't you want to see what Albert got you?" Herb picked up the Animal Voice Candy and shook the box next to his ear.
"Can't Nia still experience the wonders of the wizarding world?" Daisy consoled her. "Why don't you give it a try? Albert mentioned in his letter that eating this candy will let you make the sounds of other animals."
"If Nia doesn't want it, I'll have it," Herb said. He opened the box, popped a candy into his mouth, chewed, and then opened his mouth to let out a lion's roar.
"Meow!"
Startled, Tom jumped off Nia's lap and dove under the sofa, refusing to come out.
After a moment of stunned silence, everyone in the living room turned to stare at Herb, who had just roared like a lion.
Embarrassed, Herb quickly covered his mouth and pointed awkwardly at the box of Animal Voice Candy.
The girl's attention immediately shifted to the candy, and she reached out to Herb. "I want some too."
"Nia, Albert said that these things must be kept secret," Daisy warned. "The wizarding world seems to require strict secrecy, so ordinary people mustn't know about its existence."
"Okay!" Nia wiped her tear-stained cheeks with a handkerchief, popped a piece of Animal Voice Candy into her mouth, and her face immediately turned red, with steam coming out of her ears.
"But we already know," Herb said, confused.
"Muggle-born wizards' families are allowed to know about the wizarding world," Daisy explained, "but they must keep it a secret."
"How did you know? Did Albert write about it in his letter?" Herb asked.
"No, not that one. This one." Daisy handed her husband another folded letter, which was addressed to them and Nia.
Herb looked up at Luke and said, "Dad, you should look too. Albert probably wrote to you as well."
"It's right here." Sasha pulled out a piece of parchment from the bottom of the box, glanced at it, and then handed it to Luke.
"What did Albert write in his letter?" Nia asked.
"He asked you to take good care of Tom, feed him the right amount of food every day, and not let him get too fat," Herb read from the letter. "He also said to make more friends at school and not let anyone bully you." Herb looked up from the letter and asked quietly, "Dad, is something wrong?"
"It's nothing!" Luke sighed softly.
Sasha had read the letter as well, and at the end, it mentioned a man named Filch, who worked as a caretaker at Hogwarts and was a Squib.
From the letter, Luke could tell that Mr. Filch's life at Hogwarts was not a happy one.
How could someone who constantly picked fights with students, caused them trouble, and was often angered by mischievous students ever be happy? Mr. Filch only had his cat for company, had to clean up messes with a mop, and lived among a bunch of mischievous young wizards, watching them use magic while he couldn't.
Luke couldn't imagine any reason for Filch to be happy.
For a magical school like Hogwarts, Filch was dispensable. Any wizard would undoubtedly do a better job than him.
Luke didn't feel sorry for Filch because it was his choice, and Filch was undoubtedly lucky. The headmaster of Hogwarts had taken him in; otherwise, a Squib ignored by the wizarding world would have hardly found any work.
No wizard would hire a useless person.
To this day, Luke still believed that since Filch was a Squib, he should have lived quietly in the Muggle world, learned some Muggle skills, and become a qualified Muggle. There was nothing wrong with that.
Why stay in the wizarding world and be despised by everyone? Although Luke knew that their actions might be justified, he had never forgiven them and had completely cut ties with them.
Compared to Filch, Luke considered himself luckier. He had his own family, a daughter-in-law, and two lovely grandchildren.
He had a happy and fulfilling life.
Looking at the photo of the six of them plus a cat, a faint smile appeared on Luke's face.
"Grandpa Luke, why are you smiling?" Nia asked curiously.
"Grandpa feels lucky," Luke folded the letter and said with a smile. "Come, I'll blow some bubbles for you."
Albert had also included a box of Super Bubblo Bubble Gum in the package for the elderly.
"Albert didn't get me anything," Luke said.
"This is actually for Nia," Luke replied with a smile, understanding why Albert had sent the Super Bubblo Bubble Gum to him.
Luke handed the Super Bubblo Bubble Gum to Nia and took one for himself. He slowly chewed the gum and then blew a string of bluebell-colored bubbles from his mouth, like a bubble pipe. The bubbles floated in the hall, and even when they touched objects, they didn't pop.
Nia also tried blowing bubbles, a smile spreading across her face. She seemed to have forgotten her earlier sadness about not being able to go to Hogwarts.
(End of Chapter)
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