Hogwarts: This Wizard is Unscientific 63
by adminChapter 63: The Collins Family Has a Tradition
Andy discovered that Helena had truly gone rogue.
As a Gryffindor, she should have become a hero like Harry’s parents, silently guarding the peace of the wizarding world. But she’d married Andy’s father—Kyle Collins.
The Collins family had a tradition: being subtly wicked!
Take Andy’s grandfather, Norman Collins, for example. Don’t let his current overweight physique fool you; even Andy couldn’t beat him. But in his youth, he’d smuggled illegal items through Muggle channels quite often.
Then there’s Andy’s father.
Kyle, though just an ordinary employee at the Ministry of Magic, knew how to pull strings when necessary and embezzle funds better than anyone.
And then there’s Andy.
Well…Andy always considered himself a good kid, a mature and reliable young wizard.
Perhaps Andy hadn’t inherited the family tradition.
Andy didn’t know what Helena was like before, but the current Helena—if she were to be sorted at Hogwarts again, the Sorting Hat might send her to Azkaban.
Helena had brewed and sold illegal potions more than once. She’d told Andy to use the Killing Curse in secret encounters with enemies; she might have even done it herself.
She’s a tough one!
“Got it!” Andy gave an OK sign.
“Mom, can you teach me the Killing Curse?” Andy genuinely wanted to learn this spell. Regardless of whether Dark magic is evil or not, from an enemy-facing perspective, the Killing Curse is truly effective.
“You?”
Helena ruffled Andy’s hair. “Don’t even think about it! Practice your magic yourself; I’m going inside to prepare lunch.”
Andy was a little disappointed.
Helena seemed to have practiced magic with Andy for a while, but in reality, Andy hadn’t learned much.
And this was the norm in the wizarding world.
Forget ordinary wizarding families like the Collinses; even the Malfoys, a pure-blood family with a thousand-year legacy, didn’t demand much in terms of strength from their offspring.
This was due to the overall environment.
Andy estimated that perhaps only the resurrection of Lord Voldemort would make these free-and-easy wizards truly focus on strength!
Without further thought, Andy continued practicing magic.
Helena’s assessment was accurate: Andy’s current magic level only looked good, but he was still a long way from practical application.
It’s a bit like the difference between trick basketball shots and the NBA.
This was partly due to a lack of combat experience, and partly because Andy hadn’t trained in this direction yet.
As Helena said, as long as he laid a solid foundation, learning those advanced techniques would be easy later.
The Killing Curse can kill, and the Confringo Charm can also kill.
As long as you hit the enemy.
…
Christmas.
Andy had already sent out his gifts in advance.
The gifts for Harry were a few photos; for his roommates, Ron, and some other friends he got along with, it was a Christmas card and a bag of candy. For young wizards, that’s pretty good.
As for Hermione’s gift, Andy had carefully prepared a collection of legendary stories from the wizarding world. The little witch was a know-it-all, and Andy hoped she could find clues to those legendary stories in other magic books.
Besides that, Andy also prepared gifts for the professors. The wizarding world didn’t have the custom of giving teachers red envelopes (cash gifts); Christmas presents were Andy’s only chance to show his appreciation, so he put some thought into it.
Except for Professor Snape, the gifts for the other professors were scarves—just different styles. It’s cold, an extra piece of clothing shows the student’s care for their teacher.
As for Professor Snape, Andy gave him a bottle of shampoo and a Christmas card. This was Andy’s decision after much deliberation.
Andy also wrote his blessings on the card: May you regain your strength, don’t waste your time, smile and start a new life.
In short, Andy hoped that Professor Snape would take good care of himself. He was still young and had a bright future; he couldn’t give up on the pursuit of a better life because of a tragic past. Snape, a magical genius who could create his own spells as a student, seeing him fall to this state, Andy felt sorry for him.
In the bedroom, Andy sat on the bed wrapped in a blanket, while Isabelle was busy unwrapping Andy’s gifts. The little girl didn’t have many friends; her Christmas presents were all from family, mostly snacks, clothes, and toys. Nothing new.
After unwrapping her own gifts, the little girl set her sights on Andy’s.
“Andy, you don’t like candy, right?” Isabelle asked casually, stuffing candy into her pocket.
“I do like it, who said I don’t?” Andy yawned. “Isabelle, if you steal my gifts, I’ll hide all your snacks.”
“Humph!” Isabelle pouted, reluctantly taking the candy out.
“Ugh? This sweater is so ugly.” Isabelle held up a sweater and compared it to herself, first with a face full of disgust, then she exclaimed, “Andy, a girl actually gave you a sweater!”
“I told you, I have a girlfriend.” Andy rubbed his nose, though feeling embarrassed inside, he wore a smug expression on his face. “In a few years, you’ll be an aunt. Isabelle, it’s fine if you steal my snacks, but if you steal your nephew’s snacks, that’s embarrassing.”
“I won’t!” Isabelle quickly adopted the role of aunt, saying, “I’ll buy my nephew snacks every day and take them all away from him.”
“Then you have to make money first.” Andy glanced at the little girl. “Don’t tell me you’ll be using my allowance!”
“Humph! I’ll start saving now!” Isabelle said confidently.
After teasing the little girl, Andy felt much better.
“Isabelle, don’t forget what you said today.” Andy picked up his wand and tidied the room. “Let’s go out, or Mom will get mad again.”
“It’s all because you sleep in every day,” Isabelle mumbled, feeling like she’d been cheated.
Stepping out of the room, Andy immediately smelled a strong aroma. Helena and his grandmother, Veronica, were preparing breakfast in the kitchen.
Andy glanced over; the two were simply standing in the empty kitchen, waving their wands, and the ingredients would cook themselves, then fly onto the plates and arrange themselves neatly.
“Andy—”
Andy looked in the direction of the voice and saw a woman in her twenties walking quickly towards him, giving him a warm hug as soon as they met.
“I was wondering when this lazy bum would finally get up.”
“Merry Christmas, Aunt.” Andy struggled. “You were about to suffocate me.”
(End of Chapter)
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