Her voice made Finlay whip his head around.
Those weathered gray eyes locked straight onto Lucas.
He practically launched out of the chair and was in front of his grandson in one stride.
“Grandpa—”
Finlay didn’t say a word.
He just grabbed Lucas’s shoulders with rough, trembling hands and turned him this way and that, patting him down like he was inspecting a newborn lamb, checking every inch.
“Grandpa, I’m fine.
I got a little banged up at first, but the professors at Hogwarts saved me and healed me completely.” Lucas rolled up his sleeve to show his arm.
“See?
I could punch a wolf out cold now!”
SMACK.
Finlay slapped the back of his head hard.
The old man’s roar filled the entire pub.
“Bullshit, you little idiot!”
“You think you’re—”
Finlay’s words cut off.
He yanked Lucas into a crushing hug.
The old man’s chest was solid and smelled of hay from the sheep pens.
His whole body shook as a single hot tear landed on Lucas’s neck.
Lucas could only wrap his arms around his grandfather and gently pat his broad back.
“I’m okay, Grandpa,” he said softly.
“I came back in one piece.
Not even a hair missing.”
A full minute passed before Finlay suddenly pushed Lucas away.
He turned around fast, wiped his face roughly with the back of his hand, and when he faced them again, the stubborn, grumpy mask was back in place.
He grabbed Lucas’s arm and started marching toward the door.
“Come on.
We’re going home.”
“Mr.
McGregor—”
Finlay ignored Professor Sprout’s call, but he suddenly stopped.
Lucas hadn’t moved, so his grandfather’s pull had no effect.
Finlay slowly turned back around, lips pressed tight.
He stared hard at Lucas, throat working.
“You almost died!” Finlay shouted.
“Isn’t that enough?
I won’t let you take any more risks like that.
This world is too dangerous—we’re going home right now!”
He glared fiercely at a nervous-looking Professor Sprout, then at the ever-smiling Dumbledore.
“This is all your fault!
In just one day you had him fighting dragons and trolls!”
“No, Grandpa!” Lucas cut in fast.
“The dragon came to us.
Professor Sprout saved us and the sheep, remember?
Then I was the one who tried to save Ellie and ended up on the dragon’s back.
The truth is, if it weren’t for Hogwarts’ professors, I would be dead right now.”
At the word “dead,” Finlay’s body trembled.
“Grandpa, don’t you see?
I was born a wizard.
The magical world is right beside us.
Even if we do nothing, we could still get dragged into it one day.
Today it was a black dragon falling from the sky—who knows what it’ll be tomorrow?
A griffin?”
Well… that was an extremely unlikely event… Professor Sprout thought but stayed silent.
She knew only Lucas could convince his grandfather.
“Just like we need shotguns to fight wolves, we need magic to face these kinds of dangers!” Lucas said firmly.
“I have to go to Hogwarts to learn magic.
That way I can protect our farm.
I can protect you!”
Finlay glared at him.
“I’m the one who’s always protected you!
I’m not so old that I need protecting from you!”
“Okay, Grandpa.
But what if the next time some monster falls from the sky?
How will you protect me then?”
The old man suddenly swayed.
He staggered back a step.
Lucas rushed forward to steady him.
Finlay tried to push him away but suddenly had no strength left.
I… I really am getting old…
“Lucas showed remarkable courage and quick thinking during this incident,” Dumbledore said gently, his voice sincere.
“With proper guidance, he will become an excellent wizard.
You have my word, Mr.
McGregor—Hogwarts will keep every student safe.
An accident like this will not happen again.”
Finlay ignored Dumbledore.
He looked straight into Lucas’s eyes.
“You’re set on going, aren’t you?”
Lucas nodded.
His clear hazel eyes shone with a light that could not be caged.
Finlay wanted nothing more than to keep Lucas safe under his wing forever, but he knew the farm and the ordinary world could no longer hold this young eagle.
With a deep sigh that seemed to drain every ounce of strength from his body, Finlay’s straight back suddenly slumped.
He walked back to the table, grabbed the tankard of now-cold butterbeer, and downed it in one long gulp.
Bang.
He slammed the empty mug down on the table.
Finlay turned to face Dumbledore and Professor Sprout.
“So… when does school start?
And how much is the tuition?”
…
Even though Finlay kept insisting he was perfectly healthy, considering his age, Hogwarts arranged a carriage to take them home.
It waited in the alley behind the pub.
It was an old-fashioned four-wheeled carriage with a classic Victorian look, its black paint gleaming faintly in the dim light.
But it wasn’t pulled by horses.
At first glance, Lucas thought the carriage shafts were empty, floating in mid-air.
But when he focused, the air in front of the shafts shimmered, and two skeletal figures appeared.
They had dragon-like skulls, empty eye sockets glowing with tiny white lights, and massive bat-like wings folded against their backs like tattered black cloaks.
Finlay saw them too.
He stopped dead and grabbed Lucas’s arm.
Professor Sprout looked surprised.
“You can see them?
It’s not unusual for Mr.
McGregor, but Lucas… how?”
“Professor, what are they?” Lucas asked.
He could feel a strange, cold, silent aura coming from the two creatures.
“Oh, they’re Thestrals,” Professor Sprout explained carefully.
“They may look frightening, but they’re actually very gentle and intelligent magical creatures.
Don’t worry.
Get in the carriage—they’ll take us home safely.”
She tried to stand in front of the Thestrals to block their eerie heads from view.
But the two Thestrals suddenly snorted softly.
They turned their skulls toward Lucas, white lights flickering in their empty sockets.
Finlay tightened his grip on Lucas’s arm, but Lucas simply stared back.
For some reason, he had a strong feeling they wouldn’t hurt him.
Then, to Professor Sprout’s astonishment, both Thestrals lowered their heads and stretched toward Lucas.
“Oh, Merlin!” she exclaimed.
“I’m not an expert on magical creatures, but… I think they want you to pet them!”
Lucas reached out almost instinctively and laid his hand on the Thestral’s cool, rough skin.
In that instant, a deep sense of peace and quiet filled him—an acceptance that came after enduring many hardships, a calm that followed countless storms.
Time seemed to stretch and shrink at the same time.
The two Thestrals shook their heads gently and returned to their places at the front of the carriage.
Lucas blinked, a little dazed, then took his grandfather’s hand and climbed into the carriage with him.
Professor Sprout followed.
The moment the door closed, the carriage gave a soft jolt.
With a slight feeling of weightlessness, it lifted into the air.