Nobody moved. Everyone was frozen in place for at least half an hour... alright, in reality, it was probably only ten seconds.
Albert bent down and picked up the pale yellow envelope. It was a letter with no stamp. An address was written in emerald-green ink. He read it aloud:
Mr. Albert Anderson
By the Doorstep
19 Tibber Avenue
The moment Albert read the text, he found he had triggered a new quest in his System:
[The Path of a Wizard]
You have the potential to become a wizard, but you are not yet qualified. You have now received a precious opportunity to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as a student.
Reward: 10,000 EXP, 2 Skill Points, Wizard Bloodline +1.
Wizard Bloodline?
Albert froze.
What the hell is that?
The 2 Skill Points were very tempting. He'd only gotten 1 skill point for his acceptance into Eton College. In all these years, he had only managed to save up 3 skill points, and he hadn't even been willing to use them.
What was more, he now knew he was living inside a novel.
The magical world from the Harry Potter novels?
Albert turned the envelope over. Sure enough, he saw the Hogwarts crest: a large "H" surrounded by a lion, an eagle, a badger, and a snake.
"Mom, do zoos train owls to be postmen now?" Nia asked, curiously staring at the owl, which was still lingering nearby.
"Nia, I don't think anyone uses owls to send letters. At least, normal people don't. Perhaps this is just a prank," Daisy said. She looked at her husband and saw his brow was tightly furrowed. "What is it, dear? Shouldn't we be going?"
"It's nothing. Albert, let me see the letter," Herb said softly.
"Oh. Here." Albert handed the envelope to his father.
"Dear!" Daisy said, a little annoyed.
Herb ignored his wife's displeasure. He quickly tore open the envelope, pulled out the parchment inside, and scanned it. "Kids," he said, "it looks like our plans will have to be postponed."
"Dear Herb, what's happened? What does the letter say?" Daisy felt her husband was acting abnormally, and her tone hardened.
"Dad, what's in it?" Nia chimed in. In contrast, Albert, the actual recipient, had almost no reaction.
"Let's go back inside, Daisy," Herb said. He shut the car door firmly and led his family back into the living room.
Even after the front door was closed, the post owl did not leave.
"Dear Herb, you had better give me a proper explanation," Daisy said, looking very angry. She had been eagerly anticipating seeing her son in his new Eton uniform.
"Dad, what's in the letter? Just read it aloud for everyone. I'm also curious to know who could have predicted my exact location," Albert said, his face calm. He, of course, knew exactly what this letter was. If he hadn't already experienced transmigration and his System, he might have been shocked.
But after those two initial shocks, discovering he lived in the world of a novel didn't seem quite so strange. Besides, he had read the bestselling Harry Potter series. He'd even written a fan-fiction about it once.
He had done a lot of research back then, so he had a decent understanding of this world.
"Alright, I'll read it." Herb glanced at his son, who was as composed as ever, and began to read the contents of the parchment:
"HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Supreme Mugwump, International Confederation of Wizards, Chief Warlock, Wizengamot)"
"Hogwarts... School!" Daisy's eyes went wide with disbelief. She already had a sinking feeling she knew what this was... an admission letter?
"Magic? Is magic real?" Nia's face was lit with unconcealed excitement. "I want to learn magic, too! I want to go to magic school!"
"Stop it, Albert! Let go of me!" Nia looked at her brother, annoyed. She had tried to get a closer look at the letter, but Albert had pulled her back.
"Nia, let Dad finish reading," Albert said. He motioned for his father to continue and gently pulled his fuming mother down to sit on the sofa.
"Son, I will absolutely not let you go to some Hog..." Daisy was furious. She had a feeling her husband knew something about this.
Herb cleared his throat and continued reading:
"Dear Mr. Anderson,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 21st.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress"
Herb finished reading and handed the letter to his son.
Albert glanced at it before passing it to his curious little sister. Nia took the letter and ran over to her mother.
Daisy studied the letter, sentence by sentence, before stating flatly, "I will not agree to let Albert go to this kind of school. No. This must be a prank. Perhaps we should call the police right now and catch those awful troublemakers."
"Mom, does it mean we should write a letter back to them when it says 'await your owl'?" Nia suddenly asked.
Daisy didn't answer. Instead, she fixed her husband with an intense, pressuring stare.
Albert asked, "Dad, do you know something about this?"
"Not... exactly." Herb pressed his hand to his forehead, seemingly lost in a brief memory. "When I was about your age, my father—your grandfather—was very disappointed that I didn't receive a letter from Hogwarts."
"I asked him what Hogwarts was, and he just said it was a school."
"Later, my father got drunk once, and I asked him why he wanted me to go to Hogwarts so badly."
"He just said he was a 'Squib,' but I didn't know what the word meant." Herb's voice was low. He still remembered that day. His father had cried.
"I think... I think I know what Hogwarts is now. My father will be so happy to know his grandson received a letter."
Albert, of course, knew exactly what a Squib was, but he had never imagined he had any connection to the wizarding world. Then again, he checked his skill panel. There were no magic-related skills listed, or he would have noticed long ago.
"Yes, I should write to him! No, I'll call him! He'll be overjoyed!" Herb said suddenly, moving as if to find the phone.
"HERB ANDERSON!" Daisy shouted. "Albert is going to Eton College! He will achieve things we can't even imagine. He is not going to some school we've never heard of! Do you understand? This is about his future, and I absolutely forbid you..."
"Mom, we don't even know if magic is real yet," Albert interrupted, grabbing his mother's arm before she could completely explode. He soothed her, "The letter says 'await your owl,' right? Maybe we should write back. Ask someone from this Hogwarts school to come and prove magic exists. If they can't, then we'll know it's a fake."
"Fine," Daisy said, clenching her fists and giving a sharp nod. "I agree. Let this... this damned school prove this letter is real. Just wait. I'm still going to call the police and see those swindlers put in prison for a few years."