Chapter 9: Unforeseen Calamity
Chapter 9: Unforeseen Calamity
Who knew what Luke said to calm down Niya and cheer up his grumpy granddaughter?
In the following days, Herb and Daisy returned to work, leaving Albert and Niya to continue their summer vacation on Charles Street.
Albert shared the history of magic and other books with the two elders, performing the spells he had learned for them. He also spent some Galleons to order a set of Wizard's Chess from Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment and spent time playing and studying the game with Luke.
At first, Niya was startled by the Wizard's Chess, but she soon grew fond of the game.
Of course, this meant that no one wanted to play with Albert anymore, as his chess skills had clearly surpassed everyone else's.
Wizard's Chess was similar to Muggle chess, but the pieces were alive. One usually needed to give verbal commands to direct the pieces, much like commanding an army in battle. If one tried to move the pieces by hand, they would be pricked by the weapons the pieces held.
Muggles could also play, but they couldn't control the pieces well. The pieces seemed to have a sense of self-awareness and would constantly chatter, complaining about the player's chess skills and giving suggestions like, "Do you even know how to play? Don't send me there, send the pawn instead. It doesn't matter if it's sacrificed."
Albert's progress in learning magic was swift. During this time, he also completed the "Luke's Regret" task and earned 1500 experience points.
His experience pool had once again accumulated to thirty thousand points, but in reality, it wasn't as useful as it seemed.
The higher the skill level, the more difficult it became to improve, and in the later stages, one could only rely on consuming experience points or skill points to upgrade.
"Albert, are you sure this leaf will float?" Niya stared at the leaf, but it showed no signs of movement.
"I think I made a mistake with the hand movement," Albert said, a little frustrated. The motion of the wrist was just as important as the incantation when casting a spell. Sometimes, a slight error in movement or an improperly pronounced incantation could lead to spell failure, a common mistake for beginners.
Without anyone to teach him, he had to figure things out on his own or use the experience points to upgrade the skill to level one and directly master it.
Albert preferred to figure things out on his own and only considered using experience points as a last resort. He didn't mind too much about a simple Levitation Charm; it wasn't that hard to learn.
"So, magic isn't that easy to learn after all," Niya said, admiring Albert's patience. She certainly didn't have that much patience for it.
"Of course, it's like learning math; you have to take it step by step," Albert said, pushing his sister on the swing and offering casual comfort. "Don't give up until the end."
"Ugh, that's such a cliche comforting line. I'm sick of hearing it," Niya pouted, but she was still happy.
In truth, Niya suspected that she might not have the talent to become a witch. After talking to her grandfather, she had become less concerned about it.
When the park was nearly empty, Albert tried the Levitation Charm again. This time, he was successful. After reciting the incantation, "Wingardium Leviosa," the leaf floated into the air.
At that moment, Albert sensed someone watching him. He put away his wand and followed his instincts to stare at a boy who was a little older than him.
"What's up?" Albert raised an eyebrow and asked the boy who was walking towards him.
To be honest, Albert wasn't afraid of him picking a fight. His karate skill had reached level two, and even without a wand, he could easily take down a Muggle.
Albert had learned karate when he was eight years old to deal with troublesome bullies. Especially after the last time he made three kids cry at school, everyone knew that Albert Anderson knew karate and was very good at it.
Because of this, Daisy was called to the school and scolded by the teachers. But she firmly stood by Albert's side and even called her husband to the school.
The couple, both lawyers, used their skills to leave everyone else speechless.
There was nothing they could do. The three kids were older than Albert, and if he lost to them and went crying to the teacher, it would be embarrassing.
In the end, the incident was dropped.
It was also around that time that Albert truly accepted this family.
"You're... a new student at Hogwarts? Don't try magic in places like this; you'll be discovered. Muggles fear the power of magic," the boy said, eyeing the floating leaf in surprise. He never expected to encounter a new student preparing for enrollment, and the boy had actually managed to make the leaf float.
"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind," Albert said, feeling no ill intent from the boy. He thanked him and prepared to leave with his sister.
"I'm Gabriel, Gabriel Truman, a student from Hufflepuff House. I live nearby," Gabriel Truman said, offering a friendly handshake to Albert. "You're a first-year student, right? I hope you'll join Hufflepuff House."
"Hufflepuff?" Albert asked, feigning confusion.
"Oh, right, you probably don't know about the four houses and the sorting ceremony yet," Truman was about to explain when an owl flew towards them and dropped a letter at his feet.
"Why is there an owl at this time?" Truman picked up the letter, confused. He opened it in front of Albert, and his expression froze as his face turned ugly.
Niya also sensed the change in atmosphere and quickly hid behind Albert.
"What's wrong?" Albert asked, feeling that something was amiss.
"Trial... expulsion... how could this be... why?" Truman's face was filled with confusion and bewilderment. He couldn't understand why the Ministry of Magic had sent him a letter stating that he had used the Levitation Charm in front of Muggles, violating the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery. He was now required to undergo a trial at the Ministry and faced the risk of being expelled from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
"It's you... it must be you!" Truman exclaimed as he saw Albert, suddenly realizing what had happened. He lunged at the younger boy in front of him like a madman, but he suddenly felt dizzy and found himself being taken down by someone smaller than him.
The next moment, Truman felt a sharp pain in his wrist, and he couldn't help but scream.
"Calm down, it's not as bad as you think," Albert said, having guessed the reason from Truman's words. This unlucky guy might be facing the risk of expulsion.
"I didn't use the Levitation Charm!" Truman roared in anger. "I didn't even have my wand with me!"
"I know, I'm the one who cast the spell," Albert calmly reminded him. "Maybe we should write to the school and explain the situation. If necessary, I can testify for you. Don't worry, they won't expel you easily. Let's write the letters now, one each, explaining the situation to the headmaster. Do you have an owl?"
"No," Truman said, a little frustrated. He realized that Albert was calmer than he was.
"It's Sheila," Niya said, pointing at the owl flying towards them.
"Looks like Sheila knew we needed her. Owls truly are amazing creatures," Albert couldn't help but marvel.
(End of Chapter)
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