Chapter 100: Exchanging Parenting Wisdom
His wand snapped into several pieces under the buffalo's charge. The horns pierced straight through his chest, and a hoarse, gurgling sound escaped his throat as he collapsed unwillingly to the ground.
"Move. Now," Gomez ordered.
___
"That was… terrifyingly exciting," Russell said only after they had safely returned to their room, finally able to breathe again. This place was far too dangerous.
"I kind of want to stay," Wednesday said with lingering excitement. "That was really interesting."
For the sake of safety, after bidding farewell to their Addams relatives, they used a Portkey to return directly to Britain.
There were only a few days left before the start of the school term.
"Oh, Wednesday, my child," Gomez said tearfully. "Since the day you were born, you've never left my side. And now your wings have grown feathers—you're about to fly to the place that belongs to you."
Platform Nine and Three-Quarters was bustling as usual. Muggles cast curious glances their way—after all, the sight of a well-dressed, clearly successful middle-aged man openly sobbing while holding an expressionless little girl was undeniably absurd.
Morticia wore a faintly helpless smile. Of course she was reluctant to part with Wednesday as well, but she had already poured out her feelings the night before.
Pugsley, Fester, and Esmeralda had done the same. Only Gomez had stubbornly held back—until the moment of parting finally broke him.
No matter how strange a family might be, a father's love is always profound. And a mother's love, no less so.
"Hey, Russell."
A familiar voice sounded beside him. Russell turned and saw Ron greeting him with a broad smile.
Perhaps because of his new wand, Ron looked noticeably more confident—brighter, more spirited than before.
Fred and George, Percy, Ginny, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had all noticed Russell as well and were pushing their trolley toward him.
"Long time no see," Russell greeted them warmly.
With other people around, Gomez immediately stopped crying. A quick flick of his wand tidied him up, and he put on a cheerful expression.
"Arthur, how have you been?" he said, pulling Mr. Weasley into a hug.
"You must be Arthur's wife. It's a pleasure to meet you," he added, shaking Mrs. Weasley's hand.
Mrs. Weasley suddenly felt a twinge of embarrassment over the unkind impressions she had once formed based on rumors about the Addams family.
They were clearly a wonderful family.
That good impression didn't last very long.
Because Mrs. Weasley soon saw Gomez pull a box of cigars from his coat and hand them out—to Arthur, to her sons, and even to Ginny.
She herself was also stuffed with one.
Although she had no idea what it was, her instincts told her it probably wasn't anything good.
"Go on, give it a try," Gomez said cheerfully. "Top-shelf stuff. I had to pull quite a few strings to get my hands on these."
Ginny accepted it curiously.
"Thank you… but how do you eat this?" she asked, looking up in confusion.
"That's a cigarette, isn't it?" Arthur said excitedly. "I've seen Muggles smoke these!"
"Close," Gomez replied. "This is a cigar. Let me show you."
He clipped the end of a cigar with practiced ease, lit it, and then handed it to Pugsley.
Pugsley took it naturally, put it to his mouth, and exhaled a massive cloud of smoke that billowed upward like a mushroom cloud.
The Weasleys' eyes lit up—including Percy's.
Just as they were about to imitate him, Russell hurriedly stepped in.
"Merlin's Valentino," he blurted out. "That stuff is not meant to be smoked casually."
He didn't know whether wizards could get cancer, but cigars were definitely not something minors should be touching.
Once she understood, Mrs. Weasley immediately snatched the cigars from the children's hands. When she reached for Arthur's, though, she hesitated—then sighed.
"Just this once."
"Of course!" Arthur grinned. "Purely for educational purposes."
The three of them soon stood there puffing away contentedly. Russell, who disliked the smell, pulled the Weasley twins aside instead.
Since there was still plenty of time before boarding, Morticia struck up a conversation with Mrs. Weasley about parenting. Wednesday and Pugsley were already growing up, and Morticia had recently been considering a third child—though she hadn't yet discussed it with Gomez.
When she learned that Mrs. Weasley had raised seven children, Morticia's eyes immediately filled with admiration.
"You're incredible," she said earnestly, clasping Mrs. Weasley's hands. "I really should learn from you."
"Oh, it's nothing," Mrs. Weasley replied shyly, genuinely embarrassed. She never imagined she'd be admired for that.
After all, pure-blood families had mocked the Weasleys for years over this very thing.
If Russell had heard them, he would've shut that nonsense down immediately. Those families were just bitter.
So few heirs—thousands of acres, one lonely sapling.
No wonder several of the Sacred Twenty-Eight had gone extinct, even without their fortunes falling apart.
If any of them had the Weasley family's fertility, they'd probably have even more children. For aristocrats, expanding the family line was the proper path.
Just imagine if the Malfoys clashed with the Weasleys—Arthur and Lucius throwing punches. Narcissa wouldn't stand a chance against Molly.
That would leave Draco facing seven Weasleys.
One versus seven.
"Russell," Fred said, draping an arm over his shoulder, George mirroring him on the other side. "We've found our purpose in life this summer."
"Oh?" Russell replied dryly. "Robbing Gringotts?"
"Honestly, we did consider it," Fred admitted. "But then we decided it'd be better to earn money with our own hands."
"Trust me," Russell said solemnly, "using your wand to move Galleons into your own pockets technically still counts as that."
After a brief laugh, Fred's expression turned unusually serious.
"George and I want to open a joke shop—a place that sells magical prank items."
"A solid ambition," Russell said approvingly. "Much more practical than robbing Gringotts. So… why are you telling me? I don't know how to run a shop."
"Oh no, we wouldn't dare trouble you," George said in an overly sweet tone.
Russell shuddered.
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