To tell the truth or not to tell the truth—that was the question.
Kate herself never thought there would come a day when she’d consider such a philosophical choice.
Usually, she could come up with endless sarcastic complaints in her head.
But now, facing Hermione, she really hadn’t reached the level of lying through her teeth.
After hesitating again and again, she decided to first reveal a bit of her plan to find a home tutor.
“Hermione, actually…”
“I’m not necessarily making Sister Kate choose!” Hermione suddenly interrupted her urgently, as if she were afraid of hearing some bad news from her.
Kate was stunned, then heard her speak like a rapid-fire cannon: “I know you’re not in good health and have always had home tutors come to help with your lessons.”
“Now that you can go far away for school, that must mean your health has improved a lot!”
“Actually, I’m really happy. You’re so good; more people should see you!”
“Maybe you won’t come back after you go to school, maybe you’ll meet many like-minded peers at school…”
As Hermione spoke, her eyes turned red.
She raised her hand, pretending not to care as she wiped away the tears that were about to fall, her small face showing a smile that didn’t look very happy.
“I only hope that Sister Kate won’t forget me.”
After saying that, the corners of Hermione’s lips, which she had managed to lift with difficulty, quickly slumped down.
Seeing that she was about to cry, she quickly turned and ran away.
“Wait…” Kate instinctively wanted to chase after her, but the weakness in her body caused her to stumble again.
By the time she looked up again, Hermione had already run far away.
How can this little girl run so fast…
As someone who knew the future, Kate didn’t actually feel much about Hermione’s sudden parting words.
They would see each other again next year anyway.
And given a Child’s temperament, it was possible that Hermione might even feel like a stranger when she saw her again next year.
She had the most experience with this kind of thing; in her previous life, she had transferred schools because of her parents’ job relocation.
Although she cried miserably at the time, she blended right in as soon as she reached the new environment, completely losing the sadness of the previous parting.
Besides, the golden trio’s relationship would be so good in the future that Hermione probably wouldn’t even want to be close to a withdrawn and boring person like herself by then.
With a sigh in her heart, Kate closed the door.
Kate put her hands behind her back, acting sophisticated beyond her years.
“A farewell must be crisp and neat; dragging it out only adds to the sorrow.”
“Does that mean Miss has changed her mind and wants to go to Hogwarts?” Rand probed.
How could she complete the system’s mission if she went to Hogwarts?
She didn’t want to gamble on that one percent chance of becoming an idiot.
Kate tilted her head, her petite and delicate face full of curiosity as she looked at Rand.
“Grandpa Butler, do you really want me to go?”
Rand was momentarily speechless.
Since it concerned his young mistress’s life, he did indeed want Kate to learn magic.
As for the opportunity to interact with peers that Dumbledore mentioned, he was also quite moved by the idea.
But being moved was one thing; he was the butler of the Shafiq Family and followed the orders of the Shafiq bloodline.
If Kate truly did not want to enter the wizarding world, then even if he had to risk his life, he would protect her for the rest of her days.
“Miss,” he slowly crouched down, a gentle and kind smile appearing on his aged face, “you only need to follow the voice of your heart and make your choice.”
Hearing this, Kate flashed a faint smile.
“Grandpa, give me that bottle of Potion from just now.”
Upon hearing this, Rand immediately took out the Potion and asked somewhat tremulously, “Does this mean Miss has decided…”
“If I don’t go to school, Grandpa will be very troubled, right?” Kate’s eyes curved as she looked at the Potion bottle in front of her.
This Energy Potion seemed a bit different from the ones she had seen in books before…
She looked thoughtfully at the bottle before her, then decisively tilted her head back and drank it all.
As the foul-smelling liquid flowed through her throat and into her body, Kate frowned in discomfort, her small hand trembling as she handed the bottle back.
But before Rand could take the bottle, Kate couldn’t hold on any longer, and her fingers loosened slightly.
The bottle dropped and shattered into pieces on the floor.
Falling down along with it was Kate herself.
“Miss!”
Rand’s expression changed abruptly, and he immediately reached out, catching her in his arms before she hit the ground.
“Miss! Miss Kate!”
He called out anxiously several times, and seeing that Kate remained unresponsive, his gaze finally fell upon the shattered Potion bottle on the floor.
By the time Dumbledore arrived via Apparition, Kate had been carried back to bed, her small face incredibly pale.
Rand, his back usually held straight but now hunched, stood guard by the bedside without even turning his head.
“A Potion to suppress magic can cause a person to lose consciousness; this was indeed unexpected even for me. I am sorry, Rand.”
Dumbledore didn’t beat around the bush with him.
“But a Potion made by Severus will not have side effects; you should know that.”
That bottle of Potion was one he had specifically requested from Severus, designed to treat young Wizards whose magic was too powerful and had gone out of control.
Hogwarts had encountered similar cases before, but as long as they drank the Potion, the uncontrollable magic would be suppressed without any side effect of fainting.
After a long silence, Rand slowly stood up, his already gaunt face looking ten years older than before.
“Albus,” he spoke softly, as if afraid of waking the Child on the bed, “the magic within Miss is unfathomable. Ordinary magic suppression will only have the opposite effect.”
He had already investigated while treating her; such profound magic was almost about to surpass his own.
But an ordinary Wizard’s magic grows with age.
In other words, unless there is a miraculous encounter, the growth of magic will not exceed the limits of the human body itself.
But the magic in Kate was different; it was hidden so silently that even a butler like him, who accompanied her day and night, had not discovered it.
Once it erupted, it resulted in a scene like last night.
Yet after all these years, how could Rand not know Kate’s constitution?
Compared to her peers, her constitution was even weaker.
How could such a frail and young body withstand such massive magic?
“Only by letting her quickly master the magic in her body and possess a physical fitness that matches that magic, otherwise…”
Otherwise, Kate would be at risk of her body exploding from the magic at any time.
Dumbledore frowned deeply as he listened to his words.
If that were the case, what they needed to consider was no longer whether Kate wanted to enter Hogwarts or not.
“Albus, I need your help,” Rand looked at him solemnly.