The man explained that his family often rescued strange individuals because the nearby forest was full of legends—undiscovered animals and peculiar wild tribes, among other things.
"You can call me Fat Sandy. You and your mother must be enthusiasts of mysterious cultures, right?" Fat Sandy said with a knowing expression, as if he had perfectly deduced their reason for being there. He then invited Lys and Senna to stay.
Senna looked down on Muggles, with a sense of superiority akin to humans viewing gorillas, so she didn't say a single word.
Instead, it was Lys who, after putting away her wand, took care of Senna and even cooked meals.
She got along quite well with Fat Sandy. After all, before starting school at age eleven, she had always had periods where she had to take care of herself.
When Senna finally felt her body had recovered and no longer had to endure the chatter of that noisy, fat "gorilla," Lys enthusiastically bid farewell to Fat Sandy, leaving behind an unpolished opal as a gift.
Once they were out of Fat Sandy's sight, Senna took Lys and Apparated to a location near their home. They lingered for a while before stepping into the area protected by the house's magical enchantments.
Following their usual routine, they checked the integrity of the spells and the alarm records. As always, Senna went straight to Noah's bedroom.
Meanwhile, Lys pulled Gah-Bang out of the pouch on her chest, pressed her face against its head, and then called Coco over. She instructed the house-elf, "This is Gah-Bang. It's my pet and also my good friend, okay?"
She then dashed into the kitchen, where she prepared lunch amidst Coco's panicked shrieks.
By the time Senna emerged from Noah's room, a delicious meal was ready.
Habitually picking the ginger root out of her chicken stew, Senna said, "I've tidied up a room for you on the second floor. You'll stay there from now on."
With that, she wiped her mouth and headed to the basement potion lab, leaving Lys blushing furiously. She clutched Gah-Bang's tail, stabbing her fork into the table in frustration.
After a few bites of air, Lys suddenly stood up, her chair screeching loudly as it slid back.
Suppressing the joy that threatened to overwhelm her, Lys stepped into the part of the second floor she had never seen before. The mere sight of it made her mouth water uncontrollably.
As a child, she had always assumed that space belonged to her mother. She had never been allowed upstairs and had lived in the kitchen with Coco.
Now, she had her own room. This meant she shared the same home as her parents.
Hugging Gah-Bang tightly, Lys began jumping up and down, kissing it repeatedly. Gah-Bang struggled to escape, smacking her feet with its tail several times, but she didn't care. She rushed into the small room, which contained only a desk and a bed, and rolled around on the floor.
Stifling her laughter, she wiped away tears from the corners of her eyes. Now, all that was left was to bring home a report card with four "O"s (Outstanding). Lys took a deep breath, lay on the floor, and pulled out the blackthorn wand. Though it might not be perfect...
"Expecto Patronum!"
Silver mist burst from the tip of her wand, slowly filling half the room. The wand trembled violently, as if screaming, and a thin crack appeared at its tip. Then, a loud explosion echoed through the small house.
The chaotic magic left Lys's right hand covered in bloody scratches. Blood dripped from her raised fingertips onto the corner of her eye, but she was still elated. She sat up and casually wiped her face.
When she saw her mother standing in the doorway with her arms crossed, she gave an embarrassed smile.
Senna snorted. "Noah, your daughter seems to have gone mad."
A voice came from the next room, "She's your daughter too."
Hearing her parents' exchange, Lys felt as if her entire body was floating, as though every hair on her body had been hit with a Levitation Charm, making her itch all over.
Frowning at the little oddball on the floor, who had a streak of blood smudged across her face and a still-bleeding hand, Senna said disdainfully, "Stop acting like a lunatic. Heal your wounds and come downstairs to help with the materials."
When Senna saw Lys still dragging her injured hand in the potion lab, she grew impatient. Lys quickly explained, "Mom, the wand exploded. I can't use the school wand at home either..."
Stirring the potion a half-turn before pausing, Senna was genuinely baffled. How had this happened?
Blackthorn wands were known for favoring powerful magic. Even if this wand had belonged to someone else and didn't fully recognize Lys as its master, the worst it should have done was cast a Cleaning Charm in a room...
How had she managed to blow it up?
Perhaps Senna's confusion was too evident on her face, as Lys hurriedly explained, "I tried the Patronus Charm, and then it exploded."
"You... You used a secondhand wand made of blackthorn, previously owned by a dark wizard, one that had been cleansed of curses. Do you understand that?"
"Yes, Mom, but I wanted to..."
"You wanted to? What? Did you want to blow up your new room so I'd have to build you another floor?!"
Senna couldn't understand. Was this child brilliant or just plain foolish?
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