Chapter 10: The Fleeting Summer Vacation
The next day, he was awakened by the sound of an owl flapping against the window.
He got out of bed and looked out at the four or five owls, realizing they were a delivery from Flourish and Blotts.
He quickly opened the window and let them in.
The five owls dropped the huge package they had been hauling onto the floor. They stared at him, unsure whether to approach for attention.
However, intimidated by Edward's enormous outstretched wings and menacing gaze, the owls reluctantly returned to the windowsill, keeping their distance.
He was busy feeding the owls and didn't notice the standoff.
When he filled the small bowl from yesterday with food and placed it on the windowsill, he noticed the tension between them.
Edward watched as the other owls used his bowl and hooted indignantly.
Ethan guessed Edward was jealous and quickly stroked his head to comfort him.
Soon, the owls had finished the small bowl of food mixed with dried meat and grains.
Seeing that the owls were still watching him with hopeful looks and showed no sign of leaving, Ethan went to prepare another bowl for them.
Just as he picked up the bowl, as if on cue, the five owls spread their wings and brushed past his shoulders, face, and hands before flying out the window.
Edward was furious.
"Good grief, they've been waiting here!" he thought.
With a whoosh, Edward, who had been standing on the edge of the desk, spread his 1.2-meter wings, flew out the window, and chased after them, intending to teach those guys a lesson for daring to steal affection right under his nose.
"Hey! Come back, Edward!" Ethan called out, stopping the bloodshed before it could happen.
Edward, who had already flown about thirty meters away, hovered, torn. After hesitating for a moment, he angrily hooted a few times in the direction the owls had gone, then flew back toward Ethan, who was calling anxiously from the window.
Ethan, having successfully prevented the bloodshed, spent considerable effort calming Edward, who was still muttering curses under his breath.
This commotion dispelled even the little bit of sleepiness he had left.
It was already 2 p.m. He rubbed his rumbling stomach, gave up on opening the package, and went downstairs in his pajamas.
"Mom, is there anything else to eat? I'm hungry," he asked his mother, Sofia, who was reading a novel, while his hair was still disheveled.
"Go wash up first, and I'll have Lilith cook for you in a bit."
Lilith was the family's cook.
"Oh." He went upstairs to wash up, still wearing his slippers.
When he came downstairs again, a steak, soup, a fruit platter, and a small pudding were already set out on the dining table.
Starving, Ethan wolfed down his food, completely disregarding the dining etiquette his teacher had taught him.
Listening to the clatter of dishes, Sofia couldn't resist scolding him. "I know you're curious about wizarding books, but you need to be mindful of the time. You can't stay up this late again!"
"I understand, Mom." He spoke with a mouthful of food.
Sofia shook her head, doubtful he had heard a word.
After polishing off almost everything, he let out a satisfied burp, grabbed the remaining grapes, and popped them into his mouth one by one as he settled beside Sofia, eyeing the book in her hand with curiosity.
"Is this book really that good?" he asked, noticing the dark circles under her eyes that she couldn't quite hide.
Sofia rolled her eyes and said nothing.
Once he'd finished the last grape, Ethan wiped his hands and headed upstairs to continue reading.
The hours flew by. If it weren't for school tomorrow, he wouldn't have planned on sleeping at all.
The next morning, Ethan arrived at school yawning, escorted by Pierre-Nico. There he ran into Hermione, who looked equally exhausted.
They exchanged knowing smiles, silently acknowledging their shared fatigue, then parted ways in the academic building and headed to their separate classrooms.
Still exhausted from the night before, he couldn't focus on the lessons. Instead, he buried his head in his arms on the desk and slept.
The teachers, aware of his family background, pretended not to notice as they lectured on material for the junior high entrance exam.
He slept through the entire morning. At noon, he met up with Hermione for lunch and told her about his plans.
"After I graduate in a few days, I'll probably stay at our place in the suburbs for a while. There are too many people in the city to practice properly."
He'd decided this over dinner with his parents the night before. The family owned a sizable estate in the suburbs, secluded and rarely visited, perfect for studying magic.
Hermione simply nodded, saying nothing.
"So, do you want to spend your vacation with me? We'd be more efficient working together."
Hermione blushed at the direct invitation.
"I... I need to ask my parents first," she said timidly.
"I'm sure they'll agree," he said confidently. He had no ulterior motives toward Hermione whatsoever. His conscience was clear; he had nothing to hide.
Unfortunately, the Grangers turned down the suggestion; they weren't comfortable with their daughter living with a boy her own age.
"It's okay. We'll keep in touch by phone during the holidays." Ethan comforted the heartbroken Hermione, sparking jealousy among the other girls. They couldn't understand how the handsome, wealthy Ethan had gotten so close to this unassuming academic genius.
With no entrance exams to worry about, Ethan moved to his holiday estate in Croydon on the first day of vacation.
He and Hermione, who was also being homeschooled, often spent one to two hours on the phone each day discussing the problems they encountered in their magical studies.
"Have you mastered the Levitation Charm yet? I made a feather float yesterday," Ethan boasted.
"I did it! I made the feather float the day before yesterday!" Hermione said assertively.
"Really? That's great. If we hadn't run out of feathers at home, and I hadn't had to send Edward out to catch a sparrow, I think I could have learned the spell even sooner." Ethan's words held a note of regret and childish competitiveness.
Magic was so unscientific that he often failed to cast spells because of his deeply ingrained scientific beliefs.
Take the Levitation Charm, for example. He always imagined a gust of wind blowing when he cast the spell, which would make the feather float. That distraction caused his spells to fail.
After several days of practice, constantly reminding himself that this was a magical world and giving himself encouragement, he finally succeeded in casting his simplest spell for the first time.
His thirty years of memories brought him both advantages and some troubles.
"The reason Hogwarts sets the admission age at eleven is probably that raising it to fourteen or fifteen would make it even harder for Muggle-born students to integrate into the magical world," he thought.
Holidays always flew by, and in the blink of an eye, two months had passed. It was time to start school again.
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