Chapter 7

Late at night, the light on the second-floor window of No. 19 Tibe Avenue is still on. Albert is inside, reading the contents of books with his enhanced memory, which he has recently upgraded to level 2. His memory is now much stronger than that of ordinary people.

Just now, Albert discovered that he had another unfamiliar skill: the Wizarding Bloodline, at level 0. Unlike other skills, this one cannot be upgraded with experience points, only with skill points. This is the first time Albert has encountered this situation. After some hesitation, he decides to raise the wizard bloodline to level 1.

As a result of upgrading his skills, Albert finds that his efficiency in learning magic has increased. His magic power has become stronger, and his mastery of the Wand Lighting Charm has become faster. After only a dozen minutes of practise, he improves his use of the skill until it reaches level 1.

This means that Albert has achieved initial mastery of the Wand Lighting Charm and can easily use it even without paying attention while releasing magic.

Do I want to invest all my skill points? Albert hesitates. Skill points are difficult to obtain, and he wants to reserve some for himself. However, after considering his options, he realises that he can only level up one of the remaining two skills.

"What a boon!" Albert thinks to himself as he raises the wizard bloodline to level 2. However, he doesn't feel any other changes and wonders if it is a passive skill. Despite feeling a little depressed, he doesn't regret his choice.

Albert walks out of the room and begins trying the unlocking charm, Alohomora. With a wand in one hand and "The Standard Book of Spells, Grade One" in the other, he follows the gestures taught in the book and swipes it twice, making a reverse S-shape, which feels awkward.

After a few more attempts, Albert locks the door with his key and checks to make sure it is securely locked. He stretches out his hand and chants the incantation a few times, but the door does not open.

He has failed, although this was expected. However, there is still some good news. There is another variant of the unlocking charm on the panel, but this time there is no experience.

"Albert, what are you doing?" A voice sounds from behind, and Nina, wearing pyjamas, appears at the end of the corridor.

Albert turns and looks at his sister. He knows she has been caught trying to go downstairs and look for snacks.

"Why aren't you in bed yet?" Albert asks.

"I can't sleep!" Nina complains. "It's really unfair that you are secretly practising magic at night."

Albert feels a bit embarrassed, but the fact is that he too has been caught red-handed.

"I want to play too!" Nina says, staring at Albert's wand.

"But this is not a toy!" Albert shakes his head. He won't let his sister use his wand.

Little children know very little about restraint and self-control, and if they do things according to their own preferences, it's hard to predict what kind of trouble they might cause. Of course, this assumes that Nina is also a wizard. After all, Albert is a wizard himself, and there is a high chance that Nina is a wizard too, so he won't let her easily try to use the wand, at least not now.

"It's so unfair; aren't you just playing with it?" Nina complains, like a child whose favourite toy has been taken away.

"Go back to sleep," Albert says, changing the subject.

"No, I can't sleep," Nina replies.

"Follow me; I'll tell you a story!" Albert takes out the key, reopens the door, and walks in.

"Brother is too mean!" Nina mutters, but she still picks up Tom and walks into Albert's room.

Tom was sniffing around as soon as he entered the room. He seemed to be looking for that owl. "Sorry Tom, Snow is out looking for food!" Albert picked up the shorthair cat, scratched its belly, and then remembered to put the wand in the drawer, lock it, and put the key in his pocket. Albert is very aware of his sister's personality.

"Come on! Is that really necessary?" Nina pouted, frustrated.

"I don't know, do you?" Albert rolled his eyes at Nina. "If you got your hands on the wand, wouldn't you blow up our house?"

"I wouldn't," Nina said stubbornly.

"Who knows? Don't forget how the scratches on your arm came about." Albert didn't want to risk it. "Promise me you won't try to steal it. I don't want you to lose an arm, or worse, lose you."

"Okay," Nina said, feeling a little frustrated.

At the beginning, it was indeed a similar situation. It wasn't long after Tom arrived at their house that Nina was scratched because of her rude treatment towards him. She still remembered when Albert scolded her angrily. That was the first time Nina had seen Albert angry.

"Don't forget what you said," Albert asked rhetorically. "Do you still want to listen to the story?"

"Okay!" Nina leaned on the cushion, touched Tom's hair, and listened quietly to Albert's fairy tale.

It is worth mentioning that he also learned French. Albert wouldn't be regarded as a genius without a valid reason.

"Brother, do you think I can use magic in the future?" Nina asked suddenly.

"I think you should be okay. I can use magic, and so should you," Albert comforted.

"That's because you are a genius and learn everything quickly."

"This has nothing to do with being a genius!" Albert was speechless for a moment. "We are siblings. If I can, you can too."

"But Grandfather can't. He said that his family could use magic, but he couldn't," Nina murmured. "Furthermore, Dad can't either."

"Even if you can't use magic, you can do other things," Albert comforted.

"It's so unfair! You can already use magic. Tom, hit him." Nina grabbed Tom's paw and put it on Albert's face.

As the night got deeper, Nina fell asleep unconsciously. The door was pushed open, and Daisy and Herb in pyjamas walked into the room, looking helplessly at their sleeping daughter.

"Finally, she fell asleep," Herb said as he picked up Nina and returned her to her room.

"Good night, Albert. Get some rest, and don't stay up late. You can finish reading the book tomorrow," Daisy said as she kissed Albert's face and whispered softly, "and your dad and I won't oppose your decision."

"Good night," Albert said, covering a yawn. He reached out and pushed Tom, who just rolled over lazily, as if he had no intention of moving.

"Forget it. Good night, Tom," Albert said, pushing the cat aside. He reached out to fiddle with the pillow and found a comfortable position to lie down and get some rest. He was also very tired.