"Loved me without seeing me?" Aurelia frowned, "What does that mean?"
"You will see," Allen grabbed her hand and led her to the stairway, "Go and get changed."
"Huh?" Aurelia raised an eyebrow and then glanced at Helen. She just smiled. Confused, she glanced at her parents. They just shrugged. She frowned.
"Go!" Allen nudged her. Aurelia pressed her lips into a thin line.
▪︎▪︎▪︎
An hour later
Aurelia jogged down the stairway wearing a notched cap-sleeved dress, flowing down to her knees. It had blue bobby prints on white. She wore a pair of a blue penny loafers and her long hair was pulled into a braid.
She slowed down when she saw Allen and Helen conversing in whispers by the stairway. She thought it was better not to disturb the lovebirds. She found her backpack on the sofa and pulled out the book she received earlier from Madam Angabhut. The event was a week later. It would be better for her to learn some new spells for self-defence and protection. She could not rely on a teammate, could she? After all, she could not predict who her teammates would be.
As she flipped through the pages, she witnessed complex spells and wand movements associated with them. But they were quite useful for the battle she was preparing for. And she was determined to master them at all cost. It would seem funny to say that she would master them in a week. But she had no other choice.
"Lia?" Allen came over the moment when Aurelia was about to get her wand ready. She sighed and put back the wand.
"What?" she asked, irritated.
"Don't you want to know about all the potential dangers lying in the Strange Lands before you go for the exploration?" Helen asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Dangers? Yes, but..." Aurelia hesitated, "I would rather prepare myself to face the dangers than running away from them."
"Yeah, but still..." Allen began, "You still need an idea on how to fend off the dangers. Right?"
Aurelia pursed her lips before she slowly nodded.
"Good!" Helen exclaimed, "Come on! Get up."
Aurelia stood up and the three of them walked out of the house.
"Wait!" Aurelia stopped in her tracks, "Did you tell Mom and Dad yet?"
"Of course!" Allen led her through the patch of land before they jogged down the seventy-eight stairs.
"It's their idea, anyway," Helen added.
"Their idea?" Aurelia raised her eyebrows.
•••
Half an hour later
Aurelia's forehead puckered with worry as the blue Alto sped through the twisted roads of the hillock of Prahelika. They were stuck in traffic because there was a magic-induced attack on the hillock, causing landslides and blockage of the road. The authority was swift in their work but it took some time.
Frown what she knew, the attack took place just a few moments after she had passed through that place earlier in the morning. She had not heard the loud boom because she had her headphones on and as she was listening to music.
Had she been a few minutes late, she could have been killed. Nearly twenty people were injured in the blast and a five were killed. The Aurors at the Department of Magic related Crime and Sins had started their investigation. As to what they had found out, it was not yet published on the New 24 net.
It made Aurelia worried. And now, she had no idea as to where she was being taken by her brother and sister-in-law. Both of them were sitting in the front, having a silent conversation with their eyes and smiles. Aurelia sighed. It was slow torture for a single dog like her.
She took the book SPELLS FOR EVERY OCCASION by Maggie Goo. She would rather take her time to learn some spells. She opened the book, skipped the acknowledgement, preface and stopped on the page for CONTENTS. She quickly skimmed through the contents.
She knew that she could not master all the spells in a go. For now, she was focused on the protection and shield spells on page 274.
She quickly found the page and ran her eyes through the rows and rows of words. She heaved a sigh of relief to see the detailed description of the various spells listed in the page.
'There are four types of protection spells~
◾ Counterspells
◾ Curse- breaking
◾ Counter- Jinx
◾ Healing Spells'
Aurelia nodded furiously while reading. It looked as if she had mastered all the wand movements and as if she was the writer of the book.
"Lia?" Alen called out calmly, his eyes boring into hers through the mirror, "What's going on?"
"Ah! Nothing," Aurelia shook her head with a forced smile. It was embarrassing to get discovered talking to herself. Helen chuckled.
"We are here," Allen took a sharp turn and stopped the car.
"What the..." Aurelia was about to curse when she gasped at the big signboard hanging outside.
It was where Allen and Helen worked for five years, THE FANTASTIC BEASTS RESERVE.
"Oh?" Aurelia's eyes widen with surprise.