To tell the truth, or not to tell the truth, that is the question.
Kate herself had never imagined that one day she would be considering such a philosophical choice. If it were any other time, a stream of snarky, rotten jokes would be playing endlessly in her mind. But right now, in front of Hermione, she really hadn't reached the level of spouting empty nonsense.
After hesitating again and again, she decided to reveal a little bit of her plan to find a home tutor first.
"Hermione, actually..."
"I'm not forcing Sister Kate to make a choice!" Hermione suddenly interrupted her urgently, as if afraid to hear some bad news from her mouth.
Kate was stunned, then heard her open her mouth like a rapid-fire cannon: "I know your health isn't good, and you've always had home tutors come over to help with your studies."
"Now that you can go to school far away, that must mean your health has improved a lot, right?"
"Actually, I'm really happy. You're so wonderful; more people should be able to see you!"
"Maybe after you go to school, you won't come back. Maybe at school, you'll meet many like-minded peers..." As Hermione spoke, her eyes turned red.
She raised her hand to wipe away the falling tears, pretending not to care, and revealed a not-so-pretty smile on her small face.
"I only hope that Sister Kate won't forget me."
After saying this, the corners of Hermione's lips, which she had managed to raise with difficulty, quickly turned down. Just as she looked like she was about to cry, she turned around and fled.
"Eh..." Kate subconsciously wanted to chase after her, but the weakness of her body caused her to stagger again. When she looked up, Hermione had already run far away.
How does this little girl run so fast...
As someone who knew the future, Kate didn't actually feel much about Hermione's sudden farewell words. They would meet again next year anyway. Moreover, given a child's nature, it was possible that Hermione would be distant when seeing her again next year.
She had the most experience with this kind of thing; in her past life, she had transferred schools due to her parents' job transfers. Although she cried miserably at the time, once she arrived in the new environment, she integrated immediately, with absolutely none of the sorrow of parting from before.
Besides, the Golden Trio's relationship would be so good in the future; by then, Hermione herself probably wouldn't want to get close to a withdrawn and boring fellow like her anymore.
With an internal sigh, Kate closed the door. Turning back, she saw Rand standing behind her, asking with concern, "Will Miss not chase after her? Perhaps Miss Granger is waiting for you."
Kate pretended to be mature, clasping her hands behind her back. "Farewells should be clean and crisp; dragging them out only increases the sorrow."
"So, Miss has changed her mind and wants to go to Hogwarts?" Rand probed.
If she went to Hogwarts, how could she complete the System's quest? She didn't want to bet on that one percent chance of becoming an idiot.
Kate tilted her head up, her petite and exquisite little face full of curiosity as she looked at Rand. "Grandpa Rand, do you really want me to go?"
Rand was momentarily speechless. Concerning his Miss's life, he indeed wanted Kate to learn magic. As for the opportunity to interact with peers that Dumbledore mentioned, he also found it quite moving.
But being moved was one thing; he was the butler of the Shafiq family and obeyed the orders of the Shafiq line. If Kate really didn't want to enter the magical world, he would protect her for her entire life, even at the cost of his own.
"Miss," he slowly crouched down, a gentle and kindly smile floating upon his aged face, "you only need to listen to the voice in your heart and choose."
Hearing this, Kate raised a faint smile. "Grandpa, give me that bottle of potion from earlier."
Rand immediately took out the potion, asking somewhat tremblingly, "Does this mean Miss has already decided..."
"If I don't go to school, Grandpa, you'll be very troubled, won't you?" Kate curved her eyes, her gaze fixed on the potion bottle before her.
This Vitality Potion... it seemed a bit different from what she had seen in books before... She looked thoughtfully at the vial in front of her, then tipped her head back and drank it all down decisively.
The unpleasant liquid flowed down her throat and into her body. Kate frowned in discomfort, handing the bottle back with a trembling small hand. However, before Rand could take the bottle, Kate couldn't hold on any longer, and her fingers loosened slightly.
The bottle fell, shattering on the ground. Collapsing along with it was Kate herself.
"Miss!"
Rand's expression changed instantly. He reached out immediately, scooping her up before she hit the ground. Looking down, he realized that Kate's small face had become deathly pale at some point.
"Miss! Miss Kate!"
He called out anxiously several times. Seeing no reaction from Kate, his gaze finally fell upon the shattered potion bottle on the floor.
By the time Dumbledore arrived via Apparition, Kate had already been carried back to bed, her small face dreadfully pale. Rand guarded the bedside, his usually straight back now hunched, not even turning his head.
"That a magic-suppressing potion would cause unconsciousness... this was indeed unforeseen by me as well. My apologies, Rand."
Dumbledore didn't beat around the bush with him. "But the potions Severus brews will not have side effects; you should know this."
That potion was one he had specifically asked Severus for, designed to treat young wizards whose magic was too powerful and went out of control. Hogwarts had encountered similar cases in the past, but as long as the potion was consumed, the uncontrolled magic would be suppressed. There were never side effects like fainting.
After a long silence, Rand slowly stood up, his already gaunt face looking ten years older.
"Albus," he spoke softly, as if afraid to wake the child on the bed, "the magic within Miss is unfathomably deep. Ordinary suppression potions will only have the opposite effect."
He had probed during treatment; such profound magic was already nearly surpassing his own. Yet, an ordinary wizard's magic grows with age. In other words, unless there was a miraculous encounter, magical growth would not exceed the human body's own limits.
But the magic in Kate was different; it had been hidden so silently that even a butler like him, who accompanied her day and night, hadn't noticed. Once it erupted, it resulted in a scene like last night's.
But after so many years, how could Rand not know Kate's constitution? Compared to her peers, her constitution was even weaker. How could such a frail and young body withstand such colossal magic?
"Only by letting her quickly master the magic within her body and possess a physical constitution that matches that magic, otherwise..."
Otherwise, Kate was at risk of her body exploding from the magic and dying at any moment.
Dumbledore listened to his words, brows furrowed tightly. If that were the case, then what they had to consider wasn't whether Kate wanted to enter Hogwarts or not.
"Albus, I need your help." Rand looked at him solemnly.
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