Aine lived very comfortably at the castle.
He trained in the mornings and brewed potions in the afternoons, verifying the experimental records on potions he had brought back from the ancient castle.
After this period of experimentation, Aine had basically mastered the contents of Beginner’s Potions and had begun studying Advanced Potions and The Fundamentals of Alchemy.
This also proved that Aine had begun to gain a preliminary grasp of Ancient Runes.
Learning Ancient Runes was a tedious process.
He needed to understand the meaning of every rune.
Only by understanding a rune could he use it.
Aine had also begun learning the pronunciation of runes, as their pronunciation was the source of spell incantations.
Studying Ancient Runes was extremely painful for him, and the source of that pain was the immense magical power within Aine’s body.
For example, when Aine pronounced the Ancient Rune for “wind,” a powerful gust would immediately sweep around him.
Although Aine could control the wind and send it flying upward, everything around him would be carried into the air along with it.
If an ordinary wizard were learning Ancient Runes, things wouldn’t be nearly this ridiculous.
At most, there would only be a faint breeze.
But combined with the immense magic within Aine’s body, that gentle breeze became a powerful wind.
Aine’s overwhelming magic had become a small obstacle in his study of Ancient Runes, but this was only temporary.
Once Aine learned the grammar of Ancient Runes and the rules governing their pronunciation, his powerful magic would become an advantage.
Time passed quickly as Aine immersed himself in his research.
Eventually, the final week before Lydia’s due date arrived.
By then, Lydia had already been admitted to the maternity ward of St.
Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.
Paland and Aine had also taken up residence at the Leaky Cauldron so they could stay close to Lydia.
After all, the castle wasn’t connected to the public Floo Network.
The Leaky Cauldron looked shabby on the outside, but its guest rooms were neat and clean.
Aine suspected that the owner of the Leaky Cauldron, Tom, had put all his effort into maintaining the guest rooms.
After all, the Leaky Cauldron was open twenty-four hours a day, so there wasn’t much time to tidy up the other areas.
As for why Aine didn’t go to Diagon Alley to purchase his school supplies, it was because the magical world’s age restriction for purchasing magical items was based on the age at which wands could be purchased, namely eleven years old.
This was a provision written into the Ministry of Magic’s commercial laws.
When operating a shop, merchants had to sign magical contracts agreeing to abide by those commercial laws.
However, there were two categories that did not have to follow this restriction: candy and toys.
These two categories still had to comply with specific legal provisions, such as reporting the ingredients used and following additional legal regulations concerning the spells cast upon them.
(Butterbeer was classified as an alcoholic beverage.)
During the wait for his sister to be born, Aine endured some of the most difficult days of his life.
Apart from reading, there was practically nothing he could do.
After all, the Ministry of Magic had prohibited magical experiments in public places, and potion brewing was included in that restriction.
The Leaky Cauldron was considered a public place.
Then, on a night when the full moon was visible, Aine’s younger sister was born.
Because she was born on a night with a full moon, Aine’s grandfather, Goodrian, named her Diana Ambrosius, after the Moon Goddess of ancient Greek mythology.
Aine looked at his little sister through the glass partition separating the nursery.
He channeled magic into his eyes.
This was a little trick Aine had developed while studying rune writing.
It allowed him to see the color of magical power.
At that moment, Aine saw a moonlike silver-white glow emerge around his little sister, Diana.
Seeing the color of magic surrounding Diana meant that his little sister possessed magical power, proving that she wasn’t a Muggle.
The silver-white magic gently pulsed outward, indicating that her magic was naturally connected to the surrounding world.
This proved that she wasn’t a Squib either.
These two signs meant that Diana wouldn’t have to leave the Ambrosius family.
They were sent to the Muggle world and placed with the Hughes family.
The Hughes family was a collateral family established by Squibs who had left the Ambrosius family.
If a descendant of the Hughes family later became a wizard again, they would once more take the Ambrosius surname.
Because of this, the Ambrosius family possessed extensive connections in both the magical and Muggle worlds.
The Hughes family had another family tree, represented by a plane tree symbolizing rebirth.
Although the Hughes family wasn’t a wizarding family, it maintained close ties with the magical world and served as a bridge between the Ambrosius family and the Muggle world.
After confirming that Diana was in good condition, Aine’s mind settled down as well.
He could now calmly wait for her magical outburst.
The reason St.
Mungo’s required newborn babies to stay in the nursery for a week was because the nursery could temporarily suppress the magic within a baby’s body, accelerating the eruption of the baby’s magic and making it possible to quickly determine whether the baby was a Squib or a wizard.
This was done so that the child’s future could be arranged while they were still too young to understand what was happening.
After all, according to the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy, revealing the existence of the magical world to ordinary Muggles was forbidden.
Under the latest supplementary provisions to the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy, Squibs and Muggles were to be treated in the same manner.
After all, although Squibs possessed magical power, they were no different from Muggles within the magical world.
However, the bloodline aristocracy of the magical world had always opposed the implementation of this supplementary provision.
After all, the birth of a Squib was considered a disgrace to the family.
They were usually dealt with in secret.
(As for how they were secretly dealt with…
use your imagination.)
Therefore, when the birth of a Squib was detected, bloodline aristocrats would attempt to conceal it.
Ordinary wizarding families, on the other hand, would choose to send the child to an orphanage in the Muggle world.
After all, to an ordinary wizarding family, having their descendant live in the Muggle world was safer and happier than having them live in the magical world.
Aine was already thinking about what to eat at his sister’s celebration banquet.
After all, whenever a new member was born into the Ambrosius family, a family banquet would be held.
At that time, all family members who weren’t away on training or missions would gather together to celebrate and bless the birth of the new life.