"I've made up my mind. I'm going to learn swordsmanship!"
Neville didn't hesitate for a second.
He couldn't explain it, but deep down he felt some kind of connection with swords. Like one day he was destined to pick one up and do something absolutely legendary.
Alice looked at how dead-set he was and didn't try to talk him out of it. She wasn't the type to hoard family secrets.
Besides, her grandfather had told her before he died that when the right person and the right moment came along, she should pass his sword style on.
And no, she wasn't planning to teach Neville the elegant "sword dance" that had been tailored for her. She was going to teach him the actual combat style her grandfather had mastered.
There was just one catch: Neville still had to pass Grandpa's test.
Alice met Neville's eyes with a slightly pitying look. "Longbottom… since you're sure about this, all I can say is, good luck."
Neville blinked, totally thrown off by the weird expression on her face.
Before he could ask what that meant, she added, "Meet me in two days at the spot where I practice in the mornings."
Then she turned and left. She had preparations to make.
Back in the dormitory, Alice tracked down Stardust, who was busy preening his feathers. He had no idea that in about thirty seconds he was about to pull the very first mail-delivery shift of his bird life.
Alice sat down and started writing.
Dear Uncle Taylor,
Do you still have the sword manual Grandfather left me, along with the selection criteria for who's allowed to learn it? Please send the book to me via this owl (if it even counts as an owl).
Also, toss in whatever materials you can find for learning Chinese. You know there's no practicing that manual without being able to read the language.
Finally, I'll tell you some of the fun stuff that's been happening at Hogwarts…
Love,
Alice
She sealed the letter, addressed it to "Hewin Taylor, Housekeeper's Office, Norton Manor," and turned to Stardust with a sweet smile, waving the envelope.
Deliver mail?
Me?
Alice could practically hear the indignation in his stare.
She nodded firmly. She wasn't some charity-running aristocrat lady. If Stardust wanted to stick around, he was going to earn his keep.
Remember, she'd had to borrow that heirloom pearl necklace from Pansy just to lure him in the first place. Pansy hadn't said a word, but Alice had seen the reluctance in her eyes. No way was she letting this fancy magical bird sit around doing nothing, not even carrying a single letter.
Stardust finally gave a long-suffering nod. He'd seen enough of Alice's one-on-one time with Pansy to know her decisions weren't up for debate.
Alice reached to tie the letter to his leg, but Stardust shot her a look, tapped the envelope with one talon, and the whole thing vanished. Then he flapped out the window.
As he left, he glanced back just long enough to enjoy the stunned look on Alice's face, and let out a deliberately awful screech of victory.
In the Headmaster's office, Fawkes jolted awake and whipped his head toward the window.
That hideous noise again!
…
Norton Manor – Housekeeper's Office
Hewin Taylor was slouched in his chair, looking exhausted. He'd just finished a string of business meetings on behalf of the young lady of the house, Alice Norton, and gone over the latest income reports.
Not that he was snooping. It's just that ever since Miss Alice started at that wizard school "Hogwarts," she'd actually needed pocket money sent to her. The fact she was finally spending money was, in Taylor's opinion, a very good sign. He intended to make sure the supply never ran dry.
Luckily, what she spent these days was pocket change for the Norton fortune, but he still believed in planning ahead.
Tap-tap-tap.
The window. Taylor stood immediately. Another letter from the young miss.
Why in the world did wizards still use birds for mail?
He'd assumed they could just send their voice a thousand miles like those Eastern immortals his late madam's father used to talk about.
Taylor opened the window.
Huh. This "owl" looked… different. Sharper. Smarter.
And, uh… where's the letter?
Taylor checked the bird's beak, checked its legs, nothing. His hand instinctively went to the pistol on his belt.
Next second, the bird gave him the most withering, pitying look a bird has ever given a human, and a letter popped into existence under its talon.
"…Owls can do magic now?" Taylor yelped.
Stardust rolled his eyes so hard it was audible. Ignorant human. I'm not an owl, you're the owl, your whole family's owls.
Taylor obviously couldn't hear the internal rant. He almost drew on the bird anyway, but then spotted Alice's handwriting and relaxed, barely.
He tore open the envelope, read it, and his expression turned strange.
He figured it out immediately: she'd found someone worthy of learning that sword manual.
A wizard wants to learn swordsmanship? Really?
But a good butler doesn't question. Taylor swallowed his curiosity (and his common sense), summoned the staff, and had them fetch the manual, the selection criteria, and every Chinese-language textbook they could dig up. He even tossed in a few extra books Alice had asked for ages ago.
When the stack was nearly taller than the bird itself, Taylor hesitated.
"Can you understand me?" he asked Stardust.
Stardust, halfway through the plate of pastries Taylor had set out. He looked up with cream on his beak and gave a single, dignified nod.
Every time, still unbelievable that an owl can understand English, Taylor thought, shaking his head.
"Look," he said, pointing at the mountain of books, "there's a lot here. Maybe you should call some friends to help carry everything?"
He gestured hopefully at a few normal birds flying past outside.
Stardust's feathers actually bristled. This butler was an idiot. Couldn't he tell he was clearly a superior magical creature?
You're the owl! Your whole damn family's owls!!!
Fuming, Stardust slapped one talon on the book pile.
Every single volume vanished instantly.
Then he reached over, patted Taylor's shoulder in a vaguely condescending way, and soared out the window.
Taylor watched him go, heart still racing. For a second there he'd been worried the bird was about to vanish him next.
He still didn't get why any wizard would want to learn sword fighting.
Especially not when the manual was titled something like… what was it again?
"The Seventy-Two Forms of the Shushan Sword"?
Yeah. That one.