Chapter 16: A Trip to the Amazon

"Sue is annoyed she cannot join."

"She would get her trip the summer before she starts Hogwarts, plus I would prefer having people with a wand on this trip," Uncle Diego noted.

"En-han cannot use his wand outside school," Simon pointed out, holding a beam of light as the three of them entered a cave in the Amazon Rainforest.

"Well, at least he has one and knows how to use it in an emergency situation.

"Uncle Diego, you said this was a safe trip!" En-han shouted shakily, causing his voice to echo around them.

"It is but you can never be too prepared," the Care of Magical Creatures professor replied, "Once we are out of this shortcut you should be able to collect the plants you need and take the photos for your assignment."

If En-han did not have a Herbology summer assignment where he could earn extra credit by collecting unique fauna on his own, he would not have joined this extremely "hands-on" adventure. Based on their past excursions with Uncle Diego they already knew his definition of "safe" was quite different from theirs' and was definitely much more flexible even compared to Jane who built a crazy maze simulation in the Li's garden. Simon still recalled a day trip to a Dragon Sanctuary with his Uncle and Aunt a few summers ago which Sue greatly enjoyed because a dragon almost stomped on her brother. Simon was definitely having second thoughts about this pre-Hogwarts trip to the Amazon Rainforest which was not a regulated "sanctuary." He felt lots of strange textures underneath his feet as he trudged through the dark cave and was worried his waterproof-charmed boots were not going to last after touching all these foreign materials.

"I honestly do not understand why the prohibition of wand use is not really enforced the summer before wizarding schools start," Simon commented, having been able to practice casting with his wand during the past week in the manor. He recalled how Hermione was also able to do that before starting her first year too in the books.

"Guess it is a treat for excited children and also there is a limit to what harmful things an 11-year-old could do with a wand anyways. Not all kids are smart-asses like you!"

While Uncle Diego did not know the full extent of Simon's abilities, he did know Simon was able to harness his magic pretty well for a child. Simon did not appear to have done much accidental magic since he was three and was able to cast *Lumos* after a few tries when Diego told him to do so. Of course, he had no idea Simon purposely took more tries than he needed to.

"Okay, we are here," Uncle Diego announced as they exited the cave. They were met by a well-managed garden with a variety of plants that formed a spectrum of bright colours.

"I thought we were exploring the rainforest – this does not look wild," En-han commented, surprised he was led to a controlled environment, *for once.*

"I am not scared of the wild but I am scared of your mother," Uncle Diego replied, seeming to recall how unnerved Lady Yang was when she eventually found out En-han was near Simon when he acquired the occamy. En-han had accidentally drank some alcohol at a family gathering 2 years ago and mumbled the truth to his mother. Diego was given a very firm talk from the Lady of the Honglong Yang clan. If Lady Yang knew En-han had touched some occamies too, Diego was certain based on Lady Yang's reaction that he would have been skinned alive, "Anyways, welcome to this 'greenhouse' established by Castelobruxo for more advanced Herbology studies. Only staff members, sixth- and seventh-year students as well as authorised guests can access this resource."

"What if we were not authorised?" En-han queried as he readied his camera and other equipment.

"The cave floor would have detected these unwelcomed guests and sucked you into the underground parts of the Amazon River where you would be flushed out," Uncle Diego replied non-chalantly, "No biggie."

Simon was grateful to know whatever he stood on did not malfunction as he would have hated to swim with the magical beasts of the Amazon. Raze seemed to chuckle while curled around Simon's arms. *"I could pull you out of that situation easily."*

*"Yeah, thanks for pulling me away from the dragon last time – AT THE LAST MINUTE."*

*"What can I say…you are getting pretty heavy."*

Just when Simon was about to argue with his familiar in his mind, he noticed white fluffy beings running around the outskirts of this 'greenhouse'.

"Why are there a pack of white puppies encircling this garden?"

"Oh, we often have different magical creatures visiting the greenhouse for demonstrations as well as to study their eating habits. We do not want an uninvited Nogtail to arrive and affect the controlled environment," Uncle Diego explained, before spending more time to tell Simon about the beasts that resemble a long-legged piglet with a tendency to curse farms but feared pure white dogs.

"These cuties are not our only security staff," Uncle Diego motioned to Simon, after seeing En-han had found a plant of interest and had begun working on his assignment, "Meet Pedro!"

Simon found himself looking at a miniature of a man with a stocky build, hair that was somehow a fierier red than the Weasleys and feet that were pointed backwards. "Pedro" grunted at Simon before beginning to converse with Uncle Diego in Spanish.

"He is delighted to meet you," Uncle Diego translated but based on Pedro's expression Simon was certain Uncle Diego made whatever Pedro said more positive than it originally was. While Pedro seemed annoyed with Diego arriving with children, Pedro did seem interested in Raze who was moving further down Simons' arms to get a better look at this stranger.

"If the feet did not give it away, Pedro is a Curupira, a defender of the forest. We have the puppies to chase off the Nogtails, but we can only trust Pedro should a human ever trespass into this habitat!"

Pedro was unfazed by Uncle Diego's enthusiastic explanations, likely used to seeing the man in action when he taught classes at the greenhouse. He ignored En-han's fervent notes and photo-taking as well as Simon's stare, continuing to converse with Uncle Diego while stealing glances at Raze who was clearly basking at this attention. Simon had tried to learn some Spanish during these past seven years but with his heavy schedule of magical martial arts, self-study of spells at night and socialising with his friends, he only knew basic vocabulary. All he could make out was something about a package ("el paquette").

---

That night, Simon and En-han had dinner in a log cabin that awfully resembled the one they flooed into on their previous outings with Uncle Diego. It appeared that Uncle Diego took his Castelobruxo residence with him wherever he went. One day Simon, hoped to learn the magic behind this. The last few times he asked Uncle Diego, the man just gave him a thoughtful smile and told him to find the answer himself.

"So, Aunt Charlotte would not be back in time?"

"No, she is still working on the new designs for the Chinese Ministry. You know she would love to see you off to Hogwarts but she had to return to the project right after the Full Moon Banquet if she wanted to meet their deadline."

Uncle Diego turned to En-han, "So have you spoken to your mother about exchange programs yet?"

"You know I tried," En-han grumbled, as he added seconds to his plate, "But she just wants me to do all my studies at the Academy. She does not understand…"

Simon had heard some of En-han's complaints the last few years since he began taking classes at the Academy. While some kids like Draco Malfoy and Zeren probably enjoyed every single minute of people recognising their family background, En-han was not really enjoying the fact everyone knew he was the sole heir of the current Lord Yang. While Simon was not super familiar with the politics within the Academy given how much was under the wraps of a powerful Fidelius Charm, En-han seemed to be dealing with high expectations as well as too much scrutiny from his professors and peers.

After a pause, En-han finally erupted, "Professors keep mentioning how my father did well in this class, or my aunt excelled at this! And because they did well at a subject, they assume I had to be good at it too! When I do well, they would be like *'he is this Yang person's son or nephew'* but when I do not do well, they would say *'oh he is just this Yang's son or nephew' and nothing more.*"

Simon found himself patting his older cousin on his back. Uncle Diego sighed, and had a distant look in his eyes. En-han was not the only one with a powerful last name that came with many expectations.

"I wished I can just say things would become better, but there would always be those voices, even when you grow up," Uncle Diego began, his voice taking on the serious tone that rarely graces their ears, "The best you can do is find something you really enjoy to do, stick to it and build something out of it. Something that is all *you*, that people cannot take away or discredit."

"It would be tough," Uncle Diego continued, "But I hope my gift to you for school helped a bit."

"Oh, it did!" En-han replied gratefully, "It gave me some space when I needed to just walk around campus."

This was news for Simon. He looked curiously at his uncle and cousin as they discuss this mysterious gift that Uncle Diego promised to upgrade before En-han headed back to China tomorrow to prepare for school.

"Um…what am I missing?" Simon quietly interjected when this exchange continued for a few more minutes.

Uncle Diego laughed at Simon's confused expression. "A secret between me and En-han. Just as I would have a different secret with you in a second. Starting with En-han I had decided to give each of my *preferred* nephews and nieces a gift before they go to school. Each tailored to their needs. You will be getting yours soon!"

---

"Well this week passed by very quickly."

Uncle Diego stood with his arms crossed as he leaned against the door frame of the room Simon stayed in in the log cabin. Simon was busy packing up for the trip home while Raze was flying circles around the room, checking if Simon missed anything.

It had been a packed week. After spending the first few days with En-han, Simon accompanied Uncle Diego to do some additional fieldwork involving Dugbogs on the Amazon River and even visited a local wizarding market with his Uncle. Having collected some notes from En-han, Simon made sure to also find interesting books and trinkets for Sue, Phoebe and Cedric. The Peruvian Instant Powder would certainly be favoured by Sue but knowing how the girl was, Simon made sure to buy a very small quantity so she could cause a controlled amount of chaos only. Simon got Phoebe a book detailing the political history and strategies of the Brazilian Ministry of Magic. Simon did have a brief thought that giving books about politics to Phoebe was going to give her a leg up in their future competitions, but he quickly pushed away that thought as he was certain it was a gift Phoebe would enjoy. For Cedric, Simon came across a cool poster featuring the Argentinian National Quidditch Team from the 1877 Quidditch World Cup, dubbed the Tournament that Nobody Remembers. As a huge quidditch history buff, Cedric would certainly appreciate this gift.

While trying to fit this poster into his trunk, Simon noticed a suitcase that was not his laying near his bed.

"You might have better luck fitting everything in with that," Uncle Diego gestured at the suitcase, "Check it out!"

Simon unlocked this mysterious suitcase to find stairs within the suitcase. He felt his heart do a somersault when he realised what this suitcase might be capable of.

"Follow me!" Simon heard his uncle say as he stepped into the suitcase. As Simon tailed his uncle, he was soon walking down stone steps into a cozy looking study room with many empty bookshelves. There was also a simple bathroom and an empty room connected to the study. Everything looks recently refurbished.

"This was one of my old travelling suitcases, where I could do some research while monitoring creatures in simulated environments," Uncle Diego explained, "The empty room used to be such an environment."

"Being a bookworm who has a tendency to stay up late, you will certainly not be satisfied with Hogwarts' library and its strict hours! So I thought you would enjoy this study room and can probably work out some use for the empty room," Uncle Diego continued before taking in a deep breath, "I think there might still be a little bit of a gunky smell but I will promise to use a few more cleaning charms…sorry about that…"

Before he could finish his sentence, the Care of Magical Creatures expert found his nephew enveloping him in a tight hug. "Thank you, uncle. This is perfect!"

"No need to thank me! I had no use for this old suitcase anyways!" he replied, patting Simon on his head, "And now, I have two years to think of what amazing gift to give Sue!"