When young witches and wizards entered Hogwarts, they were allowed to bring one pet. Generally, that meant nothing more than a cat, an owl, or a toad. Something like Ron's rat counted as an oddity.
As for dogs, the only ones Altair could remember, aside from the three-headed dog, were Fang in Hagrid's hut.
It did not seem like any student at school kept a dog.
Besides, Charlie was a fierce Doberman, and he had even received hunting-dog training. Hogwarts probably would not allow Altair to bring Charlie with him to school.
"Poor little fellow."
Altair patted Charlie on the head. The dog affectionately rubbed against him, then went right back to devouring his steak in huge bites.
After walking the dog, Altair returned to the castle and watched television for a while. When it was time, he went to lunch. After lunch and a short rest, it was time for his shooting practice.
Generally speaking, afternoon training was held every other day. Besides marksmanship, there were also riding and combat lessons.
Altair used a PPK pistol with relatively light recoil. Even so, by the time training ended, the shock had still left his wrist sore.
"You hit every moving target, and every shot on the stationary targets landed dead center. Altair, the Shelby family will be proud of you."
The man responsible for teaching Altair to shoot was Jerome, his father Freddy's close brother-in-arms. He was an expert marksman himself and had saved Freddy's life several times in the past, so Altair respected him greatly.
"Thank you for your praise, Uncle Jerome. Without your guidance, I don't think I would have results like this."
"Hahaha!"
Jerome burst into hearty laughter, lifted his glass, and took several gulps of wine. After telling Altair a few stories about the fierce battles he and Freddy had fought in Birmingham back in the day, the afternoon's training finally came to an end.
Altair went straight to his private swimming pool behind the castle. He soaked in the water, ate a few pastries, had afternoon tea, swam several laps, and only then returned to the castle.
That was the end of today's exercise. Altair switched on the television.
Half a month passed in a row.
Every single day, Altair waited for a reply from the owl.
At last, one evening, his window was tapped once again.
It was the same owl, carrying back Professor McGonagall's response.
In the letter, Professor McGonagall said that she would pay a visit at three o'clock in the afternoon on July 30. Judging from the tone between the lines, her impression of Altair seemed to be rather good.
Altair glanced at the calendar. There was still a week left before the thirtieth.
"In one week, I'll finally come into contact with the wizarding world!"
Just thinking of those wondrous, mysterious spells and those incredible powers made Altair's heart race with longing.
To welcome Professor McGonagall, Altair specifically went to find Michael and told him that an extremely distinguished guest would be arriving on the afternoon of the thirtieth. He asked him to notify the servants in advance so they could prepare the desserts and drinks needed for afternoon tea.
Besides that, he also had him warn the Peaky Blinders gunmen guarding Shelby Manor beforehand, because he did not want Professor McGonagall to step into the estate and find armed gangsters everywhere.
At last, under Altair's constant anticipation, July 30 arrived.
2:50 in the afternoon.
With Sofia at his side, and accompanied by the rest of the Shelbys as well as quite a few servants, Altair came to the main gate of the estate.
At 2:58, a beautiful silver tabby cat appeared gracefully on the road outside Shelby Manor.
Altair's eyes lit up at once.
He knew that Professor McGonagall was an Animagus. If nothing unexpected happened, then this silver tabby was most likely Professor McGonagall herself.
What puzzled him, however, was that the tabby did not walk over. Instead, it suddenly stopped, then darted straight into the woods by the roadside.
In truth, Professor McGonagall herself had not expected there to be so many people gathered outside Shelby Manor.
As a witch, she could not display magic in front of Muggles. Of course, Hogwarts admissions were an exception, because she needed to perform a little magic in order to convince Muggle parents of the existence of the wizarding world.
But there were simply too many people here now.
Not only were Altair and his guardians present, there were also a number of completely unrelated onlookers. Left with no choice, Professor McGonagall could only slip into the woods.
"It's almost time."
Michael took out his pocket watch and checked it. It was 2:59.
"I believe she'll arrive on time."
Altair had barely finished speaking when a woman in emerald-green robes abruptly emerged from the woods, startling everyone waiting outside the manor gates.
She was a somewhat stern-looking woman with spectacles. She was tall and rather thin, appearing to be in her sixties or seventies. The lines at the corners of her eyes were fairly deep, yet her spirit was excellent. Her black hair was drawn tightly up, giving her an air of mystery, and at that moment she was studying Altair.
Because when Altair saw her, his expression first turned to stunned astonishment, then swiftly changed into delight.
Professor McGonagall, of course, had no way of knowing that the instant Altair saw her in person, an abrupt voice had suddenly sounded in his mind.
Ding!
It has been detected that the host has successfully come into contact with an important character from the main plot of the Harry Potter world. System activated!
Please choose as soon as possible which divine artifact you wish to forge.
"A divine artifact? What divine artifact?"
Caught in his surprise and excitement, Altair had no time to think it through. He only knew one thing.
So he really did have some kind of system, afterall.
And that could only be triggered after he came into contact with a major character from Harry Potter's main storyline.
Because this was the world of Harry Potter!
"Mr. Altair Shelby?"
Looking at Altair, Professor McGonagall asked curiously,
"You seem to be... rather pleasantly surprised."
"Yes, Professor McGonagall."
Altair came back to himself and gave her a gentleman's bow.
"You should know that in legends, witches are usually portrayed as rather sinister figures. They are often accompanied by death and curses. To be honest, before this, I always thought you would be..."
As he spoke, Altair smiled awkwardly.
"But now that I've really met you, I find you are completely different from what I imagined. Although you do look very stern, I can also sense your kindness. That alone is enough to make me pleasantly surprised."
After hearing Altair's words, a look of astonishment appeared on Professor McGonagall's face.
She looked at him, then a faint smile surfaced.
"Thank you, Altair."
The exchange between the two of them left everyone nearby utterly baffled. Michael's gaze carried a trace of wariness. Just now, he seemed to have heard Altair say something about a witch.
Could this so-called distinguished guest actually be a witch?
Poor Altair must have been deceived by this woman!
Michael's expression darkened, and he was just about to speak when he heard Altair invite the woman into the manor's castle. After a brief thought, he held his tongue after all and merely shot his younger brother Jimmy a meaningful look.
Jimmy gave an almost imperceptible nod.
And so, in a distinctly strange atmosphere, the group got into the vehicles heading toward the castle.
That was right. Because Shelby Manor was rather large, people generally used transport carts to travel from the gate to the castle.
Naturally, Professor McGonagall rode in the same car as Altair. Michael was driving, while Jimmy sat in the front passenger seat.
"This... Professor McGonagall, may I ask at which university you teach?" Jimmy asked, glancing at McGonagall through the rearview mirror.