Knowing that Luke hadn’t eaten for more than a day, Helen got up early the next morning and prepared a hearty breakfast.
“Luke, aren’t you planning to attend the Grammys and the Oscars this year? You’re almost certain to be nominated,” James said while eating, as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
“How about Mom takes Anna this time? I want to spend more time practicing magic before I start school, and I still haven’t finished reading the rest of the books I bought.”
“Are you really going to Hogwarts?” Helen asked reluctantly.
“Where is it? Can we come visit you?”
“It should be somewhere in Scotland. I’ll be able to come home during the holidays, and I can write to you anytime. Besides, Grandpa will be moving here too.”
After Easter, Grandpa Chang Hong had agreed to resign from his position in the United States and move to London.
He also planned to introduce Luke to other members of the Chang wizarding family.
“It works out perfectly,” Luke continued.
“You can attend the awards ceremony and also spend some time with Grandpa in the United States.”
“Luke, where are we going to play?” Anna asked, far more interested in traveling than awards ceremonies.
“Next year, Mom will take you to America to visit Grandpa.”
“Really? That’s great! I’ve never been to America!” Anna cheered excitedly.
“Dad, I’m planning to go to Diagon Alley again this Christmas to buy a few things.”
He then looked at Helen.
“Mom, do you want to come this time?”
“I want to go too!” Anna immediately raised her hand.
“Anna, be good. I’ll teach you magic when you’re older, and then I’ll take you out with me. This time I’m just going shopping.”
“Okay… but you have to keep your promise,” Anna replied reluctantly.
Since Anna hadn’t shown any magical talent, Luke didn’t want to expose her to the wizarding world too early.
Otherwise, she might become upset knowing she couldn’t attend Hogwarts.
“Let your mother go with you this time,” James said.
“Is Hermione coming too?”
“I’m going to call her after school this afternoon, but I’m sure she’ll want to come.”
Luke smiled.
This time, he also planned to help Hermione buy a second-hand wand.
Her mental control had already reached the point where she could begin practicing magic.
…
After school that afternoon, Luke called Hermione.
Before he could even explain why he was calling, Hermione excitedly told him that she had finally broken through in her mental training and was now ready to buy a wand.
When Luke asked whether she wanted to visit Diagon Alley on Christmas Day, she immediately agreed.
She also mentioned that her father would be coming along.
The two arranged to meet outside the Leaky Cauldron on Christmas Day.
Back at home, Luke headed to the attic to continue practicing the Sword Control Technique.
The sword he was using had been custom-made by James at a prop workshop based on an ancient Chinese sword design that Luke had drawn.
Although it was forged from quality steel and was reasonably sharp, Luke felt that it lacked a certain spirituality.
For now, however, it would have to do.
He also discovered that there really was potential to merge the Sword Control Technique with both his Mental Power Training Method and the control principles behind the Fire Spell.
Unfortunately, his mastery wasn’t deep enough yet to find the key breakthrough.
It wasn’t something he could rush.
He even tried flying on his sword.
Unfortunately…
He couldn’t even get it off the ground.
Luke guessed that his cultivation level was still too low and his spiritual energy wasn’t sufficient to support sword flight.
After practicing for a while, he took out the Shennong Cauldron and began refining the newly acquired Spirit Beast Nourishing Pills.
To his surprise, the first batch succeeded.
He summoned Aster and fed her one.
He could clearly sense her delight through their bond.
Next, he gave one to Bella and one to Garfield.
After observing them for a while and confirming there were no adverse reactions, he finally began refining the pills in larger quantities.
The three little animals had no idea they had just served as test subjects.
They continued playing happily together.
With the spirit beast food problem solved, Luke decided to give some pills to Hermione as a Christmas gift.
After returning from Diagon Alley, he would also craft Spirit Beast Tokens.
Once that was done, raising spirit beasts would finally be on the right track.
On Christmas Day, Helen drove Luke to Charing Cross Road.
After waiting for a while outside the Leaky Cauldron, they saw Hermione and Mr.
Granger walking toward them.
“Luke, we’re here!” Hermione called out, running over as soon as she spotted him.
Even though this wasn’t her first visit to Diagon Alley, she was just as excited as before.
After exchanging greetings, Luke took Helen’s hand while Hermione held Mr.
Granger’s hand, allowing the two Muggles to see the Leaky Cauldron.
Luke led everyone inside.
Perhaps because it was Christmas, the pub was much busier than usual.
Even so, Luke still didn’t spot any familiar faces from the wizarding world.
“The hygiene here is really poor,” Mr.
Granger remarked.
As a dentist, he naturally paid close attention to cleanliness.
Now that Luke had his own wand, there was no need to ask Tom to open the entrance for them.
After greeting him briefly, Luke led everyone into the courtyard behind the pub.
“So this is the entrance to Diagon Alley?” Helen asked curiously as she looked at the seemingly ordinary brick wall.
“Yes, Aunt Helen,” Hermione answered before Luke could.
“Luke just has to tap the correct bricks with his wand, and the entrance will open.”
Luke lightly tapped the correct bricks with his wand.
The wall slowly shifted apart, revealing the bustling streets of Diagon Alley.
Christmas had made the wizarding shopping district even livelier than usual.
“Hermione, why don’t you take Uncle Granger around for a while? I’ll go buy some materials first. Then I’ll meet up with you and take you to the shop where I bought my wand last time.”
“Okay, I’ll take Dad to Gringotts first to exchange some Galleons.” Hermione pulled Mr.
Granger toward Gringotts Wizarding Bank.
Luke still had plenty of Galleons left from his previous visit, and the materials he needed today were all fairly common, so there was no need to exchange more money.
Instead, he took Helen around Diagon Alley while shopping for the materials on his list.
Around noon, they had finished buying everything they needed and were about to look for Hermione when they saw her and Mr.
Granger walking toward them, carrying two books.
“You bought more books? We haven’t even finished reading the ones we bought last time,” Luke said.
Hermione’s enthusiasm for reading was truly remarkable.
“I thought these two looked really interesting. They weren’t among the books we bought last time, so I picked them up,” Hermione replied with a smile.
Luke glanced at the titles.
Important Magical Events of the Twentieth Century.
The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts.
“Good choices. Alright, let’s go buy your wand. Mom, you and Uncle Granger can wait for us at the café next door. We’ll be back soon.”
“Let’s go, Dad,” Hermione said.
“Luke and I will be back after we buy my wand.”
Luke led Hermione to the second-hand shop where he had bought his own wand.
The same shopkeeper was there, and as before, there were no other customers.
“Sir, we’d like to buy a used wand,” Luke said.
“They’re all over there. Pick one yourself,” the shopkeeper replied without even looking up, casually pointing toward the rack.
“Come on,” Luke said to Hermione.
“A lot of the wands here are unusable. Hold each one and see how it feels. Also check carefully for cracks or other damage.”
Hermione searched through the pile of old wands, picking them up one after another and testing how smoothly they responded to her magic.
“This one feels really good,” she said excitedly.
“The magic flows very smoothly. Luke, take a look.”
Luke examined the wand.
It showed only light signs of wear, and it was obvious that its previous owner had taken good care of it.
He just didn’t know why it had eventually ended up in a second-hand shop.
“Hmm, this one’s pretty good.”
“I’ll take it!” Hermione happily walked over to pay.
Luke glanced around the shop one last time but didn’t notice anything unusual, so he followed her to the counter.
“All the wands are five Galleons,” the shopkeeper said.
“Same price.”
Hermione simply counted out five Galleons and handed them over.
“Let’s go,” Luke said.
“The next time we come will probably be before school starts to buy our Hogwarts supplies. These books should keep us busy until then.”
Thinking of Luna Lovegood’s mother, who had died in a spell experiment, Luke reminded her, “Be careful when you practice magic. Even though you’ve broken through in your mental training, spellcasting can still be dangerous if something goes wrong.”
“I will,” Hermione replied seriously.
“I’ll be careful.”
The two rejoined their parents at the café.
Since it was Christmas Day and Diagon Alley was especially crowded, neither family stayed long, and they headed home separately.
Before parting, Luke gave Hermione a Self-Inking Quill as a Christmas present.
To his surprise, Hermione handed him a wrapped gift containing…
another Self-Inking Quill.
When they both got home and opened their presents, each thought they had accidentally picked up the wrong package.
Only after talking on the phone did they realize they had chosen exactly the same Christmas gift for each other.
It became one of those warm and amusing Christmas memories that made both of them smile whenever they thought back on it.