Gavin slowly spread his hands, and three small whirlpools appeared between them, transforming into an old notebook, a pure white pocket watch, and a solid gold badge.
Sean's eyes lingered on the gold badge; it looked similar to the one Gavin had given him earlier, but there were subtle differences in the material and details.
"Can you tell me what these three things are?" Sean asked.
Gavin looked at him and replied, "That's for you to judge yourself. If you don't know what they are, then choose based on your own instincts. Sometimes, a wizard's intuition will guide them to the right path."
"Intuition, huh…" Sean murmured, reaching out to touch the three items.
But at that moment, Borell spoke up with a displeased expression. "Father, didn't you already promise the pure white pocket watch to Millicent? How can you give it to this squib's son?"
A flicker of annoyance crossed Gavin's face before he quickly masked it. He didn't respond to Borell, simply turning back to Sean. "Choose one. Trust your instincts."
"Father, Millicent—"
"Get out!"
Gavin's sudden roar made the lights in the room flicker violently. The windows and doors flew open as a powerful gust of wind swept through the house, accompanied by the crackle of electricity. Borell was caught in a swirling vortex and expelled from Sean's home.
Gavin lowered his eyelids, calming his emotions. The strange phenomena in the room faded, the lights steadied, and the windows and doors closed again. Yad and Martha looked pale, clearly startled by what they had just witnessed.
Sean was equally shocked by Gavin's display of power. He glanced at his grandfather, whose face had already returned to calm, and swallowed hard.
Is this really the world of Harry Potter?
It seems… maybe things are a bit different from the wand-waving wizards I remember.
"Sean, don't be afraid. Pick the one you want," Gavin said, urging him to choose for the third time.
Sean no longer hesitated. He reached out and gently touched the three items before him, his fingers passing over the gold badge and the white pocket watch before finally stopping on the old notebook.
He studied the notebook. Maybe it was his intuition at work, or maybe it was the influence of that plot in the original books when Harry Potter obtained Snape's old textbook. Either way, the notebook called to him.
As Sean grasped the notebook, the pocket watch and badge vanished from Gavin's hands.
Gavin stood up, his face expressionless, and calmly addressed Sean. "In another month or two, the Hogwarts owl will arrive. When it does, follow the instructions in the letter and enroll as normal. Before that, I want to give you a few words of advice.
Although you didn't grow up at Bulstrode Manor, since you bear the Bulstrode name and will be attending Hogwarts, you must understand that your every word and action at school will represent the Bulstrode family.
I'm not saying this to force you to follow rules rigidly or to become a model pure-blood noble. Even if I demanded it, you might not be able to do it. Therefore, I have only one requirement: do not bring shame upon the Bulstrode family. That is all I ask of you. Can you do that?"
"What exactly does 'not bring shame' mean? No cheating on exams? Always be serious in class? Never fight or cause trouble?" Sean asked. As he spoke, he'd already decided—if Gavin's definition was too restrictive, he'd simply return the gifts. There was no need to trouble himself for a few items.
Gavin looked at Sean, as if seeing through his thoughts, and shook his head slightly. "I don't care about those petty things. You can cheat, but you must not get caught. You can daydream in class, but you must pass your exams. You can fight, even duel with others, but you must win.
Do you understand?"
Sean raised his eyebrows, then grinned. "I understand."
"Good. Then I look forward to your performance in your first term."
With that, Gavin turned and walked to the front door. Before leaving, he turned to Yad. "If there's anything about Sean in the future, you can communicate with us by owl. Also… your mother misses you very much. Write to her often."
Yad's eyes reddened slightly at the mention of his mother. He nodded gently and said nothing more.
Gavin didn't linger. He turned and left Sean's house with the middle-aged witch who had accompanied him.
As his father left, a look of pure joy finally appeared on Yad's face. He picked up Sean, ignoring his protests, and kissed his son's face more than a dozen times. Martha laughed and scolded her husband for being so improper and undignified in front of their child, swatting at him as she did.
The rest of the day passed in a joyful atmosphere. Even when they went to bed that night, Yad and Martha talked for a long time before finally drifting off to sleep. If they hadn't needed to work the next day, they might have talked all night.
Sean closed his door, lay on his bed, and gazed at the starry sky through the window.
Everything that had happened today was overwhelming, and his mind was still racing. He lay there for a long while before sleepiness finally crept in. Just as he was about to drift off, a thought struck him, and he sat up, eyes wide open.
On his first day in this world, Sean had discovered a unique interface in his mind. Through this interface, he could see his various skills at a glance. He could also earn points by competing in exams or tests, which allowed him to improve his skills. This was why Sean had been so confident about getting into a private school.
In the past, his skills were mostly in subjects like mathematics, literature, and music. Now that he had awakened his magical powers, he was eager to see if the panel would bring him any surprises.
However, when Sean opened the panel as usual, what appeared before him was not the familiar interface he'd used for ten years but a notification:
[Due to special circumstances, the system will be upgraded. Time required: undetermined. Please wait patiently.]
"…Tch. What a letdown."
Time to sleep.
Lying back down, Sean closed his eyes.
Although the notification didn't state the reason for the system upgrade, Sean was pretty sure it was because of his magical outburst and the awakening of his powers. All the more reason to look forward to what new abilities the upgraded system would bring!
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