Mr. Chang's Test

At the Chang house, Mr. Chang poured Edmund nearly half a small glass of baijiu, then poured the same amount for himself.

"Come on, Edmund. Have a drink with your uncle."

After saying that, he emptied his glass in one swallow. Edmund saw that and could only drink his own in the same way. Mr. Chang's eyes sharpened. This boy had swallowed that much baijiu without even gasping?

Was he, a grown man, supposed to lose to someone younger? Mr. Chang's competitive spirit rose at once. This time, he filled both glasses properly. Ten minutes later, he had an arm around Edmund's shoulder.

"Brother, listen to me. If you accidentally use magic in front of a Muggle, do not panic. Come find your big brother, and I guarantee I will handle it cleanly."

The other three people at the table fell silent.

Helen Chang and Cho were both embarrassed. Mr. Chang had insisted on dragging Edmund into a drinking contest, so why was he the first one talking nonsense?

Edmund, meanwhile, still looked perfectly fine. Edmund had to work not to laugh. Was he here to become this man's son-in-law, or his brother?

Perhaps the alcohol had finally caught up with him, because Mr. Chang kept pulling Edmund into stories about his work at the Ministry of Magic. At one point, he even mentioned a subordinate who had been making eyes at him.

Edmund quickly clinked glasses with him and interrupted that confession before the man talked himself into disaster.

Had he not seen Helen Chang's expression changing beside him? Cho could no longer watch.

"Dad! You are drunk."

"Nonsense. I am not drunk," Mr. Chang immediately retorted, though his flushed face offered very little evidence in his favor.

Then he looked at Edmund with solemn sincerity.

"Brother, my daughter has been spoiled by us since she was little. If she ever acts unreasonable..."

"Stupefy!"

Helen Chang drew her wand and ended the family dinner by force. She turned to Edmund with a gentle smile.

"Edmund, your Uncle Chang has had a little too much to drink. It is getting late as well. Shall we end things here for today?"

Cold sweat almost broke out on Edmund's back.

Was Cho's mother always this fierce? She had used a Stunning Spell the moment her husband said the wrong thing.

How could Edmund possibly say no? He nodded again and again, then stood.

"You are right, Auntie Helen. I should be heading back."

"I will have Cho see you out."

"There is no need. I was raised in the Muggle world. I can take one of their buses."

Edmund quickly refused.

Helen Chang still insisted that Cho walk him for a while. Cho was also worried after seeing how much Edmund had drunk, so the two of them left the house together.

Once they were outside, Edmund looked at Cho with lingering fear.

"Your father has clearly learned when not to argue."

Cho did not understand at first. Then, with her quick mind, she realized what he meant and burst into laughter.

When she finished laughing, she gave him a reproachful little smack.

"Where do you even learn phrases like that?"

"Am I wrong?" Edmund asked solemnly.

Under the streetlights, the two walked side by side, their shadows stretching long behind them and gradually overlapping.

"This is far enough."

At a street corner, Edmund stopped.

"I will Apparate home from here. You do not need to walk any farther."

Cho nodded. She was not surprised that Edmund had learned to Apparate.

In her heart, her brilliant young boyfriend was so capable that even if he defeated Voldemort the next day, she would probably accept it after a moment's shock.

She hugged Edmund gently, then turned and walked back home. Only after watching Cho enter the house did Edmund Apparate away. Over the next few days, Edmund lived a very full life.

Aelia worked efficiently. Before long, she had transformed the ingredient shop into a finished potion shop, and it had already sold a respectable amount of product.

Edmund found time to visit Aelia's home, took away another batch of herbs and materials, then gave her more potions he had brewed as a reward.

He also rewarded her with two improved spell formulae: the Shield Charm and the Reductor Curse.

The Aelia family had learned those spells before, but merely knowing a spell did not mean one could draw out its full power.

Every charm had its casting tricks and variant applications. The versions Edmund gave them had been modified after his study of ancient runes.

With the same amount of magic, each spell was more than twice as powerful.

That kind of refinement was almost enough to serve as the foundation of a pure-blood family's legacy.

Why could pure-blood families stand for so long?

One reason was constant intermarriage. Their interests were tightly woven together. Offending one family could easily mean offending half of pure-blood society.

The second reason was that every family had its own inherited spells or special techniques. That was also one of the main reasons they looked down on half-bloods and Muggle-borns.

Did people really think learning the same spell from the same textbook put everyone on the same level?

Naive. Aelia looked at Edmund with bright eyes.

"Are these two spell formulae really a reward for me?"

Edmund sat comfortably on the sofa with one leg crossed, eating grapes that Aelia peeled for him one by one.

"Of course. I told you. As long as you do your work properly, rewards will not be lacking."

"May I teach them to my people? Do not worry. I will make them sign contracts so they cannot spread them."

Aelia watched him expectantly.

"You may. They were meant for your people in the first place. As you gather more followers, you will need to cultivate trusted hands to keep control of the whole operation."

"Also, take this."

Edmund took out an elegant ring and handed it to Aelia. She put down the grape in her hand and studied the ring curiously.

"What is it?"

Edmund explained the protective ring's effect and how to use it. By the time he finished, Aelia's eyes had grown soft enough to seem almost watery.

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