ch. 66 I'm on break. Why am I so busy?

Dec 21, 1991 8:02 pm Witcherly Residence, Ottery St. Mary

- Marshall's POV-

"Oh, I remember her. Good thing you're able to remove that witch's soul on this finger safely," said Nana as she held the finger of Jadis the White Witch.

After inspecting the finger, Nana returns it to the lacquer lunch box. She then took a sip of her tea and said, "That witch came from another dimension and run amok in England. The Hogwarts founders fought and defeated her. In her last struggle, she confined her soul and magic onto this finger."

"It was an easy battle for Helga and the others, but they don't have any means to remove the strong soul from the finger and just opt to lock it up somewhere. So they put it in the castle? That's just dumb… Must be Rowena's idea."

Remembering one of Nana's titles, I asked, "You didn't help them, Nana? Your title is Guardian Seer."

Nana smiled, "Yes dear, but the Hogwarts founders were capable enough to defeat her. And after their battle with the Witch, the Hogwarts founders got to know one another and became friends. Their friendship spurred the idea of building the school in response to the growing persecution of witches and wizards back in the days."

"Too bad their friendship didn't last..." Nana said the last part with a solemn tone.

Silence looms on the dining table for a bit, but it didn't last long.

"Hoo! Hoo!"

"Neighhh....."

🔔"Ting! Tiing"🔔

"Croaakk?!"

I looked over the living room where my pets are watching a Christmas theme movie on the TV.

Besides my 'golden trio', another golden little one is with them, the unicorn herd's young foal who I named, Uno.

I didn't form a bond with Uno, or rather, I don't have to. The foal became attached to me and the freebies I provide.

"Are you planning to take the foal as your pet? I could ask Penny and Nick to upgrade your license to XXXX, or we can even push to XXXXX." asked Nana.

Sipping my tea, I pondered a bit, "I'll talk to Grace and the others first so that we're all on board with adding new ones to their areas."

Speaking of the Flamels, I remembered the card Josh gave me. Taking out the card from my wallet and handing it to Nana, "Nana, do you know this guy?"

"Hmmmm?... Haha!... Is that the name he's using these days?" Nana laughed reading the card. She quickly composed herself and explained, "He had also attended Hogwarts and after graduating, he tried to learn from me..."

"He's the one who messed up my "Agency"..."

'Wait?... Isn't that....' With wide eyes, I blurted, "You mean Merriman Lyon is..."

Nana nodded, "Yes Dear, the one and only... Myrddin the Wild... or Myrddin Wyllt.... or Ambrosius Aurelianus... or simply, MERLIN."

Silence ~

"Haaa..." I slouch on my sit with thoughts running through my mind. 'Won't this lead to a bigger buzz if I used him as my backer? And will he even agree?'

"Don't worry too much, Dear. He is very capable... though he sometimes does silly things. So you don't have to worry about disturbing him. I'll write him a letter explaining your situation." Nana got up and proceeded to our antique desk and started writing.

She enclosed the letter in an envelope, and she walked toward the front door.

Upon opening the door, I'm surprised to see the plain faced Charles, the man from Wildwood, waiting there.

Nana gave the letter to Charles, closed the door and proceeded to sit in front of me in the dining table. She said, "I don't want to disturb Naji from watching TV."

Nana then remembered something, "Speaking of letters ,dear. A lot came from Francis asking for some songs for next year. They are under the drawer in the writing table. Please prioritize Scatty' songs first. If you delay it any further, she'll be mad and probably punch you when you meet her."

"Oh?" I opened the drawer and found a lot of manila envelopes.

Due to me being in Hogwarts, I was unable to answer telephone calls from the studio for the songs.

Instead, I requested the studio to send me recordings of the new artist singing some songs, so I can grasp their vocal range and a letter stating the specifics of the song like genre and theme.

When I send my reply, I include a demo of the songs that I sang myself with the sheet music.

Looking at the envelopes, I sighed, "Ugh, I'm working during my vacation."

After catching up some more, Nana went to sleep early while I accompanied my pets in the living room while perusing the letters from the studio.

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December 22, 1991 , 11:45 am Sunday Witcherly Residence

🎶🎵🎶🎵

Baby Shark, doo-doo, doo-doo, doo-doo

Baby Shark, doo-doo, doo-doo, doo-doo

Baby Shark, doo-doo, doo-doo, doo-doo

Baby Shark

🎵🎶🎵🎶

"Kyaaa..hahaha" 👶👶 The baby waves his arms and kicks his legs while giving some chuckles.

"Haha... That's so cute. Can you say Marshall? MAR-SHALL... come on now..." I'm just playing with the baby in front of me.

Jeanne rolled her eyes, "My brother is only 3 months old. He can't talk yet."

"Really, I was able to talk when I was 2 months old," I proudly said.

Kyle laughed, "Yah right. Man, you're in full MOM mode again."

My friends and their families are at my home for lunch to welcome me back.

Us kids are in the living room while the adults are preparing lunch.

I was surprised to see that Jeanne now has a baby brother, who was born around mid-September. His name is Bruce.

While cradling Bruce in my arm (like a pro), I asked, "So how's school?"

"Pretty much the same, it's just a bit boring without you around, mate." Luke answered.

MeiMei said, "I can't believe your school is a freaking castle, Marshall. And from the look of it, everyone is so posh."

The lovebirds are currently looking at the photo album I created of my school life in Hogwarts.

Yes, I have photos of the castle compiled. Some of the shots I took were with my classmates.

I just excluded the ones with magical elements in it.

Using space isolation plus invisibility field, I was able to protect my camera from the interference that magical places has on electronic devices. I just can't do the same to my walkman because of the irregular shape of the headset.

Kyle looked at the photos and asked, "Why do you wear such outfits? Is it cold there?"

While playing with the baby, I answered, "Actually, Yes. Especially now that it is December and it started snowing."

"And what do you learn there?" asked Jeanne who was also looking at the photos.

I nonchalantly said, "Same as you guys, though some added subjects such as ..."

"... Culinary Arts" ....' Potions'

"... Boring History" ....' tedious H of M'

"... Self Defense " .... 'really annoying DADA'

"... Horse Back Riding" ... ' Flying Lesson'

"... and several Advance Sciences.." ... 'Transfiguration, Charms, Astronomy, and Herbology'

"Woah! You guys must be really busy?" Kyle shudders as he imagines our workload.

I shrugged, "Nah, we actually have lots of spare time. During the weekend, I always roam the garden(Forbidden Forest) and play at the pool(Black Lake).

"Oh look, there's Harry." Mei pointed at one of the pictures, but she asked, "Why is his tie red and yours is yellow?"

Patiently answering her question, I explained, "Because we were sorted at different houses. He was sorted as a lion, while I was placed as a badger."

Luke raised an eyebrow, "Isn't it supposed to be the other way around? I remember Harry being so meek when we first met him."

"I don't know. But I still doubted how we were sorted by the faculty." I gave a vague reply but in my head, I was mumbling, 'Damn Sorting Hat! Who is not courageous, smart and cunning?!'

"Kids, Lunch is ready!" Nana called us out.

We had a lovely lunch with our families, sharing stories and eating good food.

Before 2, everyone left, and I finally let go of Baby Bruce, who had fallen asleep in my arms.

Now that the guests had left, I released my pets, who quickly turned on the TV and started watching cartoons. I placed the food I prepared in front of them.

While cleaning up, I asked Nana, "Will we have dinner with Uncle Nick and Aunt Penny later?"

"No Dear. They are currently vacationing in Paris meeting friends. The Lovegoods are with them. They'll return after Christmas." Nana answered.

"Oh? ..."I kind of feel sad.

As I am finishing cleaning the table, a letter slipped through the door.

Immediately, I picked it up and read the contents.

"Is that Merlin's reply, Dear?" Nana asked.

Shaking my head,"No Nana, it's from the head of DMLE. I need to go out tomorrow for some 'charity work'"

~end chapter ~