“Meow~ Meow~”
The little orange kitten kept meowing at Luke while nestled comfortably in Hermione’s arms.
“Luke, I think the kitten really likes you. Do you want to take it home?” Hermione asked.
Luke turned to James.
“Dad, can we keep it?”
James looked at the tiny orange kitten.
It was still very young and didn’t seem to be a stray.
“Sure. After we drop Hermione off, we’ll take it to a veterinarian for a checkup. If it’s healthy, we can bring it home.”
“Come on, get in the car,” James urged.
“It’s getting late. Your mom’s probably getting impatient waiting for us.”
In the Car
“Luke, what are you going to name the little guy?” Hermione asked.
Naming things had always been Luke’s greatest weakness.
Then an idea suddenly came to him.
He thought of another very famous orange cat.
“How about… Garfield?”
As if it understood him, the kitten let out a cheerful meow.
“Garfield… Garfield… I like it,” Hermione said with a smile.
It was only about a ten-minute drive from the London Sanctum to the Grangers’ home.
As soon as the car stopped outside, Hermione’s parents hurried out to greet them.
“Dad! Mom! I’m home!”
Hermione ran over with Garfield still in her arms.
“Hermione!” Mr.
Granger said helplessly.
“Don’t run off by yourself again.”
Then he turned to James.
“Thank you for bringing her home.”
“It’s no trouble,” James replied with an embarrassed smile.
“If anything, it might be my son’s fault. Hermione came to his book signing for an autograph.”
Mrs.
Granger smiled warmly.
“Thank you both. We were terribly worried when we realized she’d gone out alone.”
“You can call me James,” he said.
“And this is my son, Luke.”
“Hello, Uncle. Hello, Aunt,” Luke greeted politely.
“So you’re Luke, the author of The Lion King.” Mr.
Granger smiled in surprise.
“I never imagined someone your age could write such a wonderful book.”
He opened the front door.
“Please, come inside. I’ll make some coffee. Luke, would you like some juice?”
“Yes, please. Thank you, Uncle.”
“Then we’ll gladly accept your hospitality,” James said.
The father and son followed the Grangers inside.
Mrs.
Granger smiled apologetically.
“My husband and I are both dentists, so we were too busy to take Hermione to the book signing today. She loves The Lion King, but we never expected she’d go by herself.”
“Mom…”
Hermione blushed with embarrassment.
Suddenly, she remembered something.
She quietly walked over to Luke and whispered,
“Luke, do you think I should tell Mom and Dad about magic now?”
“I don’t want them to keep worrying about me.”
Luke thought for a moment.
Hermione was only seven years old.
There were still four years before she would receive her Hogwarts letter.
The Grangers clearly loved their daughter very much.
There was no reason to let them spend the next four years worrying about unexplained incidents when they would learn the truth eventually.
Hermione deserved a carefree childhood.
Luke nodded.
“Go ahead.”
“I’ll help explain.”
“Thank you, Luke.”
“Hermione,” Mrs.
Granger called, “what are you two whispering about? Go help your father bring Luke some juice.”
“Mom,” Hermione said seriously, “I have something very important to tell you after Dad comes back.”
She glanced at Luke, and he gave her an encouraging nod.
James and Mrs.
Granger exchanged puzzled looks.
A moment later, Mr.
Granger returned carrying coffee and juice.
“Hermione,” he said with a smile, “you didn’t even help your dad.”
“Dad, please sit down.”
Hermione gently pulled him onto the sofa.
“I have something very important to tell both of you.”
Before Hermione could begin, Luke spoke.
“Uncle, Aunt… and Dad.”
“What you’re about to hear may be difficult to believe, so I’d like you to prepare yourselves first.”
Hermione nodded.
“Luke’s right.”
The Grangers and James all looked at the two children in confusion.
Hermione took a deep breath.
“Dad… Mom…”
“Remember all those strange things that happened around me? The times when objects floated by themselves?”
The Grangers’ expressions immediately became serious.
“I know why it happened now.”
“Luke told me.”
She paused before continuing.
“It’s because… I have the talent to learn magic.”
The room fell silent.
The Grangers looked completely bewildered.
James, however, seemed to have already guessed part of the truth.
“All right,” Luke said.
“Rather than explaining it with words, a demonstration will be much easier to understand.”
He focused his telekinesis.
Several empty cups on the table slowly floated into the air.
They circled gracefully above everyone’s heads before gently returning to the tabletop.
Then, thinking that might not be convincing enough, Luke raised his hand and cast the basic fire spell he had obtained from the system.
Suddenly, one…
two…
three small fireballs appeared in front of Luke, circling around him.
“Oh my God!” Mrs.
Granger exclaimed.
Hermione was equally stunned.
She had no idea Luke could conjure fireballs.
Thankfully, I’ve already trained my mental strength, Luke thought.
Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to control the fire spell I just obtained.
After dismissing the fireballs, Luke looked at the Grangers and his father.
“Hermione, like me, has the talent for magic. There are many magic users in this world, and there are even schools dedicated to teaching it.”
“So… I can go to a magic school?” Hermione asked excitedly, her voice filled with anticipation.
“Yes,” Luke nodded.
“But not until you’re eleven. People with magical talent receive an admission letter when they come of age.”
James finally asked the question that had been on his mind ever since Baker Street.
“So the place you took Hermione to… there are really people there who can use magic?”
“Yes, Dad.” Luke nodded.
“This world is much more complicated than it appears. The school I mentioned belongs to the wizarding world, the place on Baker Street belongs to another group of magic users, and… I’m something a little different.”
Mr.
Granger frowned.
“Is learning magic dangerous? I’m more worried about Hermione’s safety.”
“Magic itself isn’t dangerous,” Luke replied.
“But the world is. And in the future, it’s only going to become more dangerous.”
He suddenly stopped himself from saying anything more.
“Still, learning magic will allow Hermione to protect herself.”
He smiled gently.
“And I’ll protect her too. I’ll make sure she never gets hurt.”
The adults looked at Luke in surprise.
The moment the words left his mouth, Luke regretted saying them.
An awkward silence filled the room.
Although Hermione didn’t fully understand what he meant, she instinctively felt those words carried a special meaning.
Luke quickly changed the subject.
“Dad, it’s getting late. Mom’s still waiting for us to come home for dinner. Shouldn’t we head back?”
“You’re right.” James stood up.
“It’s getting late. Thank you for your hospitality.”
Mrs.
Granger smiled.
“You’re too polite. To be honest, everything that happened today was quite a shock. I think we’ll need some time to process it all.”
She then looked at Luke.
“You’re always welcome here. Hermione doesn’t have many friends at school.”
“Mom…”
Hermione tugged at her mother’s sleeve in embarrassment.
Luke smiled.
“My birthday is in a few days. Could Hermione come to my house? I live in Windsor.”
Mrs.
Granger looked at Hermione, whose hopeful expression gave away her answer.
After a moment, she nodded.
“Of course. I’ll drive her there.”
“Thank you, Aunt.”
Luke’s expression became serious.
“It would be best if you and Uncle didn’t tell anyone about what happened today. It could cause unnecessary trouble.”
Mr.
and Mrs.
Granger nodded.
“Don’t worry. We won’t tell anyone.”
The Grangers walked James and Luke to the front door.
After getting into the car, Luke held Garfield in his lap and looked at James, who seemed like he wanted to say something but was holding back.
“Dad… is there anything else you want to ask?”
James glanced at him and smiled wryly.
“You should start thinking about how you’re going to explain all of this to your mother when we get home.”