[Host: Kate Shafiq]
[Class: Wizard]
[Title: Lord of the Manor]
[Charisma: 40]
[Strength: 32]
[Agility: 32]
[Spirit: 33]
[Vitality: 72]
[Luck: 30+5]
[Mana: 66]
[Academy Reputation: 37]
[Family Reputation: 18]
[Wand Output Power: 2.0]
[Wand Attribute Points: 8]
[Emotion Points: 2]
[Stacked Ability I: Gifted Student Talent — Level 7]
[Stacked Ability II: Magic Resistance — Level 6]
[Stacked Ability III: Legendary Magic — Level 6]
[Stacked Ability IV: Animal Affinity — Level 5]
[Stacked Ability V: Draconic Protection — Level 4]
Thank you very much, System, for the end-of-year gift package. She was thoroughly pleased with herself.
She closed the System interface with a satisfied grin, making a mental note to try out her newly acquired spell once she got home.
For now — she was ready to board the train home!
She settled into the same compartment as the Gryffindor trio, half-intending to sleep for a bit, only to find Hermione already hard at work with a fourth-year textbook open in her lap.
Kate felt a pang of something uncomfortably close to shame.
If she was being honest with herself, having worked through every textbook from all seven years, she had allowed herself to get just a tiny bit lazy.
Not that her laziness amounted to much compared to the two boys across from them, who were currently putting tremendous effort into becoming invisible.
"By the way, Kate," Hermione finally tore her gaze from her book, "what are you planning to study over the summer?"
This was what a true top student looked like — not even able to forget studying during the holidays.
Kate was self-aware enough to know she lacked Hermione's natural dedication to learning. Every bit of effort she had ever put in had been wrung out of her by sheer necessity of survival.
At heart, she was still the same grown adult who liked being alone in her room, who would rather sit by the window staring at nothing than crack open a book. If not studying meant probable death, she never would have pushed herself so hard!
"Uh... I haven't quite decided yet. I'll probably spend some time going through the things my ancestors left behind," she said vaguely.
Nicolas Flamel had lived for over six hundred years. Even if you cut that in half, three hundred years' worth of knowledge and experience had been deposited into Kate's mind.
In the span of these past few hours, she'd had no chance to properly absorb and digest three centuries of accumulated wisdom.
Two months of summer holiday would probably not be enough either.
So Kate's private plan was to get home and write all of it down first, then selectively study and absorb it according to her needs.
And once it was all recorded, she could use that knowledge as a foundation to explore the alchemical items in the family's collection room — the ones she had never had the chance to examine before.
If at all possible, she also wanted to ask Dumbledore to arrange a meeting with Nicolas Flamel himself.
Because skimming through the knowledge in her head, she had found much of it obscure and difficult to parse — likely due to the missing half.
Of course, alchemy was ultimately not the mainstream path. She had chosen it, and she would honour that choice — but she had no intention of shifting her entire focus onto alchemy alone.
Magic was still vitally important. The spells in the textbooks were only the foundation, and only by building that foundation solidly could she continue to grow beyond it.
There were so many books in the family library. Surely some of them would be suited to where she was now.
"Once I get home and sort out my personal matters, I'll come pick you up," Kate said, remembering she had invited Hermione over.
Ron's eyes went wide at that. "To your place? Can Harry and I come too?"
Before Kate could say a word, Hermione wrinkled her nose primly. "Afraid not — this is a best-friends-only arrangement."
Best friends, huh...
Cho Chang probably counted as a best friend too, didn't she?
And Katherine... she was more like a best friend of her mother's generation?
Kate wiped a thin film of awkward sweat from her forehead and hastily changed the subject. "We should probably get changed — the train's nearly there."
If she didn't redirect the conversation now, heaven only knew where it would end up.
The train rolled steadily onward and finally pulled into Platform Nine and Three-Quarters at King's Cross Station. They filed through the barrier one by one, then said their goodbyes.
Kate spotted Ron's little sister too — Ginny Weasley, who would be starting Hogwarts next year — coming to meet them.
She said hello to Mrs. Weasley, thanked her for the jumper she'd been sent, and then made her way back to Shafiq Manor with the old butler.
Everything at the manor was as it should be. Kate came home, had a bath, and by the time she emerged, the house-elves had already laid out dinner.
"Oh — Grandpa Rand," she said, looking at the steaming hotpot in front of her, a sudden thought of Katherine surfacing in her mind, "our school's Professor Wynyard said..."
"I know," the old butler said with a cheerful nod. "Katherine already wrote to me. She should be along tomorrow, once she's tied up the last of her business at school — she'll be staying here for a while."
Tch. From the easy warmth in his voice, it was clear that the old butler and Katherine were well acquainted indeed.
What Kate couldn't understand was why neither of them had taken the initiative to tell her who Katherine actually was.
Unable to hold herself back any longer, she asked, "Grandpa, who exactly is Professor Wynyard...?"
"Kate, that is something she needs to tell you herself." The old butler gave a gentle shake of his head. "It isn't my place to speak out of turn."
As she'd expected...
Kate let her head drop, deflated, and took a fierce bite of the beef she'd just fished out of the pot — hard enough that it almost looked like she was taking her frustration out on it.
She finished dinner without tasting a thing, then stood up directly, used visiting the library as her excuse to summon Jingjing, and Disapparated out of the dining room in an instant.
Summer evenings always came late.
Even after dinner, the world outside was still bathed in the amber light of dusk.
Grandpa Rand directed the other house-elves to clear away the remaining food, then made his way alone to the window, watching the small figure that had just appeared at the library door alongside Jingjing.
His young mistress had grown taller. Prettier, too.
In just two years, Rand could clearly perceive that the shadow of gloom which had long clung to Kate was lifting — and her smiles had become far more frequent.
But just now, when he had bluntly refused to answer her question, he had caught a glimpse of the old Kate — that quiet, self-contained girl — flickering back into view.
She must have already sensed something, to ask him at all.
Because she had sensed the possible blood tie between herself and Katherine, she was treading so carefully around it.
She didn't dare ask Katherine directly, and after being turned away by him, she had simply gone quiet.
Katherine might well be the only woman in this world who shared her blood.
It was precisely because of that blood connection between Katherine and Kate that Rand had steeled his heart and helped Katherine buy a little more time.
Though by the look of things, there wasn't much time left to buy.
The old butler let out a quiet sigh, watching the small figure disappear as the library doors swung shut.
He hoped that when Katherine arrived, his young mistress might become a little brighter.
____
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