1 small pole at the end of the chapter, please do vote with your preferred chapter.
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Luke eventually managed to comfort Nia and bring her volatile emotions back under control.
In the following days, Herb and Daisy returned to work, leaving Albert and Nia to continue their summer stay at Charles Street with their grandparents.
Albert spent his time reading History of Magic and other books to the elderly couple, occasionally demonstrating the spells he had learned. He even spent a Galleon to order a wizard chess set from Wiseacre's, and he began studying the game with Luke.
At first, Nia was frightened by the moving chess pieces, but she quickly grew to love it.
The downside was that no one wanted to play with Albert anymore—his chess skills had already surpassed everyone's.
Wizard chess was similar to regular chess, except the pieces were alive. You had to command them aloud, like a general giving orders on a battlefield.
And if you tried to move the pieces by hand, they would jab you with their tiny weapons.
Muggles could play too, but the pieces rarely obeyed them. They would mutter and complain non-stop—"Do you even know how to play?" or "Send the pawn instead. It's fine, it's made to be sacrificed."
Meanwhile, Albert's magic studies progressed rapidly. At some point, he completed a task called "Luke's Regret" and earned 1500 experience points.
His experience pool climbed back up to 30,000. It sounded like a lot, but it really wasn't.
The higher the skill level, the harder it was to improve. Eventually, the only way to advance was by spending experience points or skill points.
"Albert, are you sure this leaf is going to float?" Nia asked, staring intently. The leaf sat stubbornly on the ground.
"I think the wand movement is wrong," Albert muttered, slightly frustrated. Wrist motion was crucial when casting spells. A wrong flick or a mispronounced word could ruin the whole spell—typical beginner problems.
With no teacher to guide him, Albert could only figure things out slowly on his own. The alternative was using his experience pool to instantly upgrade the spell to Level 1.
He preferred doing it the hard way. Only if he truly couldn't get it right would he spend the experience. After all, the Levitation Charm wasn't that difficult.
"So magic really isn't that easy to learn," Nia sighed. She grudgingly admired Albert's patience—she knew she didn't have that much of it.
"Of course. It's like learning math," Albert said, gently pushing Nia on the swing. "You take it step by step. You don't give up before you even start."
"You're giving the same speech again. I've heard it a hundred times," Nia grumbled, but she was smiling.
Deep down, she had already accepted she might not have a wizard's talent. After talking with Grandpa a few days ago, she no longer cared as much.
Later, when the park was nearly empty, Albert tried again.
"Wingardium Leviosa."
This time, the leaf rose lightly into the air.
At that moment, Albert sensed someone watching. He quickly lowered the wand and looked in the direction of the gaze.
A boy, slightly older than him, stood staring at the floating leaf.
"Can I help you?" Albert asked calmly as the boy walked towards them.
Albert didn't feel threatened in the slightest. His karate was Level 2. Even without magic, he could easily handle an ordinary boy.
He had started learning karate at eight—mostly to deal with school bullies. After he made three older kids cry in one incident, everyone at school knew that Albert Anderson was not to be messed with.
The school called his mother, Daisy, but she fully supported him and even brought Herb along. The two used their legal knowledge to shut everyone down quickly.
After that, the matter was dropped.
It was also around that time Albert began to fully accept his place in this family.
"You're a Hogwarts first-year, aren't you? Don't use magic in a place like this—you'll be noticed. Muggles fear magic," the boy said, frowning slightly. He hadn't expected to run into a first-year who could already cast Levitation.
"Thanks for the warning. I'll be careful," Albert said politely and turned to leave with his sister.
"I'm Gabriel. Gabriel Truman. Hufflepuff. I live nearby," the boy said, offering a handshake. "You're a first-year, right? I hope you get into Hufflepuff."
"Hufflepuff?" Albert echoed, pretending to be confused.
"Oh—right, you don't know about the four Houses and the Sorting Ceremony yet."
Just as Truman was about to explain, an owl swooped down from the sky and dropped a letter at his feet.
"Why would an owl be delivering mail now?" Truman muttered, picking it up. He tore it open, and his expression instantly darkened.
Nia sensed the shift and quietly stepped behind Albert.
"Is something wrong?" Albert asked.
"Trial… expulsion… this can't be happening…" Truman stammered. The letter from the Ministry of Magic accused him of using magic—specifically the Levitation Charm—in front of a Muggle, violating the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery. He was to appear at the Ministry for a hearing. Expulsion from Hogwarts was possible.
"It's you—it has to be you!" Truman shouted, lunging at Albert.
He didn't make it two steps before Albert grabbed his arm and flipped him easily. Truman hit the ground hard, pain shooting up his wrist.
"Calm down," Albert said steadily. "It's not as bad as it seems."
"I didn't even use magic!" Truman yelled. "I don't even have my wand!"
"I know. I cast the spell," Albert replied calmly. "We should write to Hogwarts. Explain everything. If necessary, I'll testify for you. They won't expel you without hearing the full story. We'll both write to the Headmaster. Do you have an owl?"
"…No." Truman muttered, still shaken. He was nowhere near as composed as Albert.
"Brother—look! It's Shera," Nia said, pointing at an approaching owl.
Albert let out a small laugh. "Looks like Shera knew we needed her. Owls really are remarkable creatures."
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For the pole, i need your help, do you prefer as reader that I release the day's chapters at once, or as I am doing now, 1 chapter per hour:
All at once, comment here.
Chapter per hour, comment here.
I will tally the votes by tomorrow's first chapter and then do as the majority votes.
Peace Out!