After breakfast, the three of them settled onto the living room sofa.
Mrs. Harland quietly wiped her tears while Richie watched her with a guilty look. Denton was sprawled across the couch like a corpse, staring blankly as he waited for the handprint on his face to fade.
Time dragged on. Just when Richie started getting fidgety, the doorbell rang. Mrs. Harland stood up to answer it.
"Oh, my adorable little Richie!"
Before he could even react, a cloud of sweet perfume hit him, and the next second he was yanked off the ground and smothered in darkness.
"Auntie… Auntie Annabelle! Air! I need air!"
Richie squirmed until he finally dropped back onto the sofa, gasping.
That was way too close. For a second he thought he was about to reincarnate again.
A stunning woman now filled the living room.
Annabelle Godwin—Elena's younger sister and Richie's aunt. Late twenties, extremely well-endowed, single, and living life on her own terms. She adored her nephew and loved greeting him with those bone-crushing "affectionate" hugs.
"Alright, take a look at this."
Unusually, Mrs. Harland skipped the usual lecture. She simply handed over the letter.
Annabelle glanced at her half-dead brother-in-law and her tear-streaked sister, a gleeful sparkle in her eye.
"Oh? Did Denton piss you off again?"
"Want me to turn him into a pig to help you calm down?"
"Or if you two are thinking divorce, I'd be happy to fight for little Richie's custody."
"Okay, okay—I'm kidding."
She dodged her sister's glare, plopped down beside Richie, ruffled his messy blond hair, and took the envelope. Her expression changed instantly.
"A Hogwarts acceptance letter? How did this end up here?"
Mrs. Harland sat down with a grim face.
"Richie got it this morning."
Annabelle lit up with a huge smile.
"That's fantastic news!"
"I was planning to send him to Beauxbatons anyway, since that's where I graduated. But if Hogwarts sent one too, that works perfectly."
This wasn't the divorce papers she'd been half-hoping for, but in its own way, it was exactly what she wanted.
"Wait a second, dear sister… why are you suddenly okay talking about all this in front of Richie?"
Facing Annabelle's curious gaze, Mrs. Harland looked at her innocent-looking son and let out a bitter sigh.
"There's no point hiding it anymore…"
"I thought if we just never mentioned it, he'd never come into contact with that world. I wanted him to stay far away and grow up safe and normal."
"But I never imagined a magical owl would show up at our door with an acceptance letter."
"And the worst part? I just found out my own son has been secretly learning magic right under my nose this whole time!"
As she spoke, Mrs. Harland grabbed Richie's cheeks with both hands and started kneading them like dough.
"He already knew about magic!"
"He even said he belongs in that world!"
"You little brat! Which world do you belong to, huh?! Tell me!"
"I'm only trying to protect you!!"
Richie's fair cheeks quickly turned red… then edged toward purple.
Knowing he was in the wrong, he could only endure the pain and blink innocently.
"You already knew? You could've said something earlier! I've been pretending for so long."
Hearing that, Annabelle gave the desperate, SOS-signaling Richie a surprised look, then pulled him into her arms and rescued him from his mother's clutches.
"Pull out your wand. Let me see what magic you've learned."
"Wand?" Richie repeated, confused.
Oh right. That was the wizard weapon thing.
He'd never seen one before.
"I don't have a wand."
Richie rubbed his sore face, then raised his hand instead. The newspaper that had somehow ended up in his dad's grip slowly floated into the air.
Annabelle's eyes went wide.
"Wandless Levitation Charm?!"
"Little Richie, you're a genius?!"
Richie scratched his head, not really getting what the big deal was.
"Then what about the wand I gave you last year? Don't tell me you never even opened it…"
Seeing his blank, adorable expression, Annabelle slapped her forehead.
She flicked her wrist and called out:
"Richie's wand, come!"
A loud clatter erupted from the kitchen. Seconds later, a long box flew out and landed neatly in her hand.
"Cool~" Richie couldn't help but say.
Thump!
A bright red bump with a wisp of white smoke popped up on top of Richie's head.
Mrs. Harland pulled her fist back and glared at her sister.
"Don't you dare tell me that box just flew out of the locked cabinet I put it in."
Annabelle shrugged and casually waved her wand again.
"Reparo."
More crashing sounds came from the kitchen. That was the last straw. Mrs. Harland jumped up and stormed off.
"You stay right there! If anything's broken, you're dead meat!"
The second her sister was gone, Annabelle winked at Richie and handed him the box.
"Looks like the old witch really locked it up tight."
"Oh, please ignore what I just called your dear mother."
"Little Richie, this is the gift I gave you for Children's Day last year—your very own wand."
"Let me think… twelve inches, vinewood, with a phoenix tail feather core. Perfect for curious, knowledge-hungry witches and wizards who love exploring the unknown."
---
June 1st, 1990 – Day 31
Good news: This world actually celebrates Children's Day.
Bad news: My birthday falls on Children's Day, so I basically lose one gift every year!
As time goes by, my mindset keeps getting younger and more hyper. It really feels like reverse aging.
Scratch that. Forget the fancy talk—I'm just a kid celebrating Children's Day now!
The memories from my old life are slowly fading. I've truly become Richie Harland.
That's probably for the best. New life, clean start.
Auntie, who disappeared for nearly a month, showed up again today. She brought me a gift in a long box, but I have no clue what it is because Mom locked it away in the kitchen cabinet.
The two of them got into another huge fight. Dad grabbed me and we escaped the "battlefield" to the bookstore in town.
Not bad at all. I actually love reading. It's a great way to kill time. I took the chance to grab a bunch of sci-fi books about the supernatural and paranormal.
Hopefully I'll find some clues about superpowers in them.
By the way, if I really do have superpowers, I wonder what kind they'll turn out to be?