Looking at the envelope on the table, the three people and one cat stared at each other in bewilderment. The air in the room seemed to freeze, permeated with a strange atmosphere.
Especially Tom—he stared at the name on the envelope, feeling his head buzzing.
'(⊙ˍ⊙)Tom Lovegood? Could they be talking about me?!'
'No, no, how could Hogwarts possibly send an acceptance letter to a cat? But the problem is, I'm the only creature in this house named Tom!'
'But I'm not surnamed Lovegood either... Could it be that this Tom is Xenophilius's illegitimate child?! (￣ω￣)'
'Mm, very possible. Although I don't want to admit it, this uncle of his is somewhat handsome~'
With this thought, Tom's gaze toward Xenophilius took on a somewhat playful edge.
He was quite curious what Pandora would think if she knew about this.
As for why there was an illegitimate child that didn't exist in the original story?
Who cares! A novel is just a novel, but this is the real world! Reality is much more fantastical than novels~
In any case, this acceptance letter couldn't possibly be for him, a cat!
However, the other people in the house seemed to have different thoughts.
"Oh, Merlin's beard!"
Xenophilius muttered to himself, a hint of excitement flickering in his eyes.
"Dumbledore must have gone senile! To actually send an acceptance letter to a cat?! I must make this the front-page news of the next issue of The Quibbler!"
As he spoke, he excitedly pulled out his chair, ready to immediately return to his workspace to record this brilliant idea.
But seeing Luna and Pandora sitting nearby, he hesitated for a moment before sitting back down. Writing could be done anytime, but his daughter's tenth birthday only came once!
As for Pandora? She looked at the letter on the table, then at Luna beside her, before reaching out to pull her daughter into her arms.
"Our little moon, your wish was too effective! Quick, make a wish for Mom—let Mom stay forever young and beautiful, okay?"
Luna's gaze moved back and forth between the envelope and Tom; her eyes were full of joy.
"(^▽^) That's great, Tom! We can go to school together!"
''(╯°□°）╯︵┻━┻ Seriously, Are there no normal-thinking people in this family besides me?!'
Looking at the reactions of this family of three, Tom's mouth twitched. He wanted to complain but didn't know where to start because there were too many points to criticize. In the end, countless emotions intertwined together and converged into a complicated: "Meow..."
"Mm, Tom, you can't say things like that randomly, (｡･ˇ_ˇ･｡)"
Luna suddenly spoke; her voice ethereal.
"Dad and Mom's relationship is very good—he couldn't possibly have an illegitimate child!"
She paused, then continued to add: "But is what you said true? Would Minister Fudge really be happy to see Dad publish statements unfavorable to Professor Dumbledore? (･_･?)"
Tom: (°ー°〃)
Tom was frozen.
Hearing Luna's words and seeing Xenophilius staring at him with burning eyes, Tom felt his entire cat body stiffen.
He had clearly only meowed casually! Even he didn't know what he wanted to express—how did Luna manage to understand so much from it?!
"Speaking of which..."
Xenophilius stroked his chin, moving closer to Tom thoughtfully.
"The Quibbler hasn't yet featured a magical creature like you... I suddenly want to change the theme. How about you replace it?"
"Meow!"
Seeing the large face getting closer and closer, Tom shuddered and pulled out a large hammer from who-knows-where, bonking Xenophilius on the head with a loud thud.
The next moment, an obvious lump swelled rapidly from the top of his head at a visible speed.
Xenophilius touched the bump on his head, his face was instantly darkening.
"Alright, you're such a grown man, yet you're arguing with a cat?"
Pandora shook her head helplessly, pulled out her wand and tapped it lightly on his head, eliminating the bump.
"Besides, I trust you wouldn't do such a thing. Tom, come here and apologize to Dad! This time it really was your fault!"
"(Tsk tsk)Meow~"
Tom let out a pitiful meow. He was innocent too! He had only been thinking it in his mind—who knew Luna could understand even that!
After some playful commotion, everyone's attention returned to the letter on the table.
Pandora looked at the still-unopened envelope and suggested: "Alright, let's see what the letter actually says. What if we all misunderstood and this isn't an acceptance letter?"
Of course, this was just an excuse to change the subject. As a former Hogwarts student, she could tell what was inside just from the envelope's format.
But just because she knew didn't mean Luna did. Hearing that the letter might not be an acceptance letter, Luna quickly picked up the envelope and carefully opened it.
After quickly scanning the letter's contents, Luna looked up at Tom, a faint smile appeared on her face.
"(*๓´╰╯`๓) Congratulations, Tom! From now on, you'll be my upperclassman!"
As she spoke, she handed the letter to Tom.
Tom took the letter and saw it read:
HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore (Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)
Dear Mr. Lovegood,
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.
...
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress
Looking at this familiar yet strange acceptance letter, Tom's feelings were very complicated.
He was excited that his childhood wish to enter Hogwarts and learn magic could actually come true. But he was hesitant because... he was just a cat right now!
Having a cat enter Hogwarts to study—was this really okay?
"It'll be fine."
Luna seemed to see through his thoughts again, and spoke in her characteristic ethereal and gentle tone.
"Dad said in The Quibbler that Hogwarts is a very open school, and Professor Dumbledore is a very open-minded headmaster. As long as you're a student of the school, he treats everyone equally. Whether you're a Death Eater, a werewolf, or a magical creature—as long as you're a member of Hogwarts, he'll treat you equally."
Tom naturally knew this. Although he had reservations about "Dumbledore treats everyone equally," he firmly believed in Hogwarts's inclusiveness.
Double agent Snape, werewolf Lupin, half-giant Hagrid, and the future centaur Firenze could all prove this point.
But the problem was—was he like them? He was just an ordinary (not) cat! Could Hogwarts really accept him? Even though this acceptance letter was sent by them personally.
"Meow?"
"Although I don't think you need to worry about this, but if you insist..."
Luna turned to her father.
"Dad, when we reply, can we ask the professor to come to our house to see Tom's situation? He's worried his admission will be rejected."
"Alright, since Luna has said so."
Xenophilius looked at the worried Tom, then at his daughter's expectant eyes beside him, and sighed helplessly before waving his wand.
A quill automatically flew up and began writing on parchment.