Abigail, experiencing all the delights of Side-Along Apparition firsthand, collapsed helplessly onto the floor.
— Forgive me, Master! I... I don't know what I did to offend you... — she began to apologize frantically, genuinely assuming that Victor had chosen to punish her this way. However, as her vision cleared, she realized she was not in her cramped cell at all. It was a magnificent, huge room filled with works of art and exquisite decor. Abigail even wondered for a moment if she had ended up in a royal palace. Raising her head, she saw a man and a woman who appeared to be roughly her age.
Adele, watching Abigail crawl humiliatingly on all fours, scoffed contemptuously.
Noticing his sister's reaction, Victor merely rolled his eyes. The girl had already gotten used to Apparition and was now acting quite brazenly, completely forgetting that the exact same thing had happened to her during her first trips.
— Anyway, explain to her what's what: where she is and who we are, — Victor glanced at Abigail once more, taking a closer look: — Missy, take her to a clothing store.
Even though he had transfigured her hospital pajamas, he had no idea how long the charm would hold. Missy nodded understandingly, and with a loud pop, they both vanished.
Adele, her face set in an icy expression, walked deep into the room and sat down beside Perenelle, clinging tightly to her arm. Perenelle immediately realized that her beloved granddaughter was deeply upset about something and clearly had no intention of explaining anything to anyone. Perenelle shifted her gaze to her husband, but he was suddenly examining a painting on the wall with far too keen an interest.
Perenelle frowned and looked back at Abigail, who was still on all fours, gaping at her surroundings. Only then did it dawn on her why Nicholas had turned so abruptly toward the art: the girl's position offered a rather revealing and seductive view.
— Hey, stop seducing my husband! — Perenelle said sternly. — Get up and sit properly!
More than four hours had passed. Dawn was just around the corner. Abigail had managed to take a bath and change into a dress that turned out to be a bit tight around the bust. She was slowly sipping tea, sitting in an armchair directly across from this strange family of wizards relaxing on the sofa. All in all, she had pieced it together: magic was real, a whole civilization of mages existed right alongside regular people... For some reason, it was remarkably easy for her to accept this reality — at least much easier than the idea of demons from hell. She also finally realized the true reason why she had been brought here.
Nicholas, watching her calmly drink her tea, was growing visibly irritated. They had been stuck here all night — he would much rather have spent that time in his workshop!
— Alright, that's enough! — he snapped, losing his patience. — Victor, take this crazy woman back where you found her! It was a stupid idea.
Abigail shot him a sharp look over the rim of her teacup:
— Hey, that's actually offensive. And don't forget it was your... grandson who drove me crazy in the first place.
It still felt strange to call Victor the grandson of a man who looked to be her own age — even though she now knew the alchemist was over six hundred years old.
— Nick, let her pull herself together, — Perenelle soothed him. — This is all too much for a Muggle to process.
— Oh, don't exaggerate, it's not hard for me at all, — Abigail scoffed. — Trust me, in my line of work, I've imagined far stranger things... Damn, this dress is terribly tight.
She casually adjusted her tight bodice, hoisting up her chest.
Noticing the movement, Perenelle pouted in annoyance. Now she fully understood why Victor hadn't borrowed clothes from her wardrobe.
— Though I agree with Nicholas — she's useless. Take her away.
Adele nodded in agreement with Perenelle. The girl cast a brief glance at her own chest and frowned.
Victor rolled his eyes expressively:
— Nicholas, calm down and stop pushing her. Grandmother, Adele — your opinions don't count here at all. You're both just blinded by female jealousy.
Perenelle demonstratively crossed her arms over her chest and turned away:
— I am not jealous of anything!
Adele chose to remain silent.
— And you, Abigail, stop stalling, — Victor turned his gaze to her. — Tell me quickly what you think about my situation.
Abigail looked at him with completely cold, sober eyes:
— Don't tell me what to do.
Everyone present in the room stared at her in shock. Wasn't this the exact same woman who, just a couple of hours ago, was on her knees calling Victor "Master"?!
— Wow... Looks like someone has finally come to terms with the existence of the magical world, — Victor smirked.
He slowly rose from his seat and walked over to her armchair. In an instant, the Sharingan flared into a crimson blaze in his eyes. Victor gripped Abigail firmly by the chin, forcing her to look straight into his spinning tomoe:
— Don't stop fearing me just because you found out I'm not a demon. Believe me: if I ever drop down into hell, Lucifer himself will hand over his throne and bow to me along with every devil down there. Because I am far worse than any demon. And I don't even need to kill you to send you to hell — I can make a living hell for you right here and now.
Abigail cowered back into her chair, nodding submissively. Victor released her chin and calmly returned to his seat.
— Ahem... I'm not sure I can help right away, — Abigail continued after clearing her throat. — I have no idea how wizards work psychologically. I'd need a couple of years just to study your society in detail...
— That's enough! — Nicholas waved his hand dismissively. — This crazy woman is clearly of no use to us.
Abigail immediately grew irritated at being publicly called crazy again:
— I can help! And stop calling me crazy once and for all!
— Then prove it, — Nicholas looked at her with genuine disdain. With his six hundred years of life experience, he had no idea what was happening to Victor's mind, and he stubbornly refused to believe that some Muggle girl could figure it out better than he could.
Abigail clicked her tongue in annoyance. In truth, she was just trying to buy herself as much time as possible. She understood perfectly well: the moment they didn't need her anymore, this boy or his "relatives" would simply wipe her memory. And there was no way in hell she was going to forget the truth about this world — a mind-blowing secret hidden from humanity for centuries. Still, her professional pride and irritation wouldn't let her stay quiet.
— Victor, come over here, — she said firmly.
Meeting his instantly cold, heavy stare, Abigail immediately softened her tone:
— Ahem... I mean... please.
Victor calmly walked up to her. Suddenly, to everyone's utter shock, Abigail reached out without a word, unbuckled his belt, and pulled down his pants along with his underwear in one quick motion.
— Wow... Quite impressive, — she assessed dispassionately.
A dead, suffocating silence fell over the room. Victor stood right in front of Abigail with his eyes wide in absolute shock, his bare backside turned toward the rest of the "family."
He was the first to snap out of the stupor:
— Hey! What are you doing?! No flowers, no date — straight to stripping me?! I'm not that kind of guy! And right in front of everyone! God, now I'm terrified to sleep alone upstairs in the third room on the left, completely naked!
— Victor, cover yourself up this instant! — Perenelle yelled, covering Adele's eyes while he put on an act of a modest maiden, flashing his manhood to the entire living room.
— Oh-h, right! — Victor quickly pulled up his pants and buckled his belt. — My god, Abigail, I had no idea you were such a shameless woman! I really hope it doesn't cross your mind tonight to come upstairs, walk into the third room on the left, and pin me down while I'm sleeping completely naked! — Victor reiterated his "concerns," acting very "worried" that she might actually do it.
Abigail merely let out a heavy sigh:
— Well, everything is clear to me now.
Victor stared at her in confusion, genuinely bewildered as to what could have possibly become clear to her just from looking at his tool:
— Wizards get stronger as they mature, right?
Victor nodded silently.
— Congratulations: you've officially become a man.
— Wait... what do you mean? Already?! You didn't even touch it! Don't lie to me, I have a massive magazine collection, and I know exactly how boys become men! — Victor put his hands on his hips proudly.
Abigail ignored him entirely and turned her attention to Perenelle:
— Haven't you noticed how drastically he's changed lately? He's gotten noticeably taller, his face has lost its boyish features, and he's started taking life much more seriously.
Perenelle studied Victor closely and nodded thoughtfully. Come to think of it, she hadn't paid much attention to the details before, but over the past year, he really had shot up tremendously. He had always looked older than his age, but now...
— Victor is twelve, but he looks every bit of fifteen, — Abigail delivered her diagnosis. — That explains the endless mood swings, the mental rebellion, the identity crisis, the awakening sex drive... All of this happened because his body grew too fast. Usually, this process takes four to five years, but Victor seems to have speed-run puberty in just a year or two.
— Where are you even getting this from?! — Victor frowned. — For all you know, I'm almost fourteen by now, so the difference isn't even that big!
Abigail gave Victor a strange look:
— Victor, you were born on December 22, 1980. You are currently twelve years and eight months old.
— Uh... What?! December 22nd? How do you know that?
— When you were found, the police quickly tracked down your biological parents... who had abandoned you. That's how they found out when and where you were born. Didn't you know?
Victor shook his head, looking completely lost:
— No... Nobody ever told me. To be honest, I never asked.
— Alright, well, that's a funny theory, but I think that's enough, Nicholas intervened. — Missy, send this woman back!
— No, wait, Missy! — Perenelle stopped the house-elf just in time.
— Dear, do you really believe this? Nicholas asked in surprise. — There's no way to prove any of it! The fact that he grew... All kids grow! Maybe he'll grow even taller by the time he's fourteen. Don't forget, he's always been tall for his age anyway. I severely doubt that it all comes down to some ordinary puberty.
— Nick, not everything in this world has to be strictly proven, Perenelle soothed him gently. — Sometimes the simplest explanation turns out to be the truth, even if it can't be confirmed with formulas.
Nicholas shook his head adamantly:
— There is a strict, logical explanation for everything! We just haven't found it yet.
— Fine... Then prove how exactly his eyes came to life.
Nicholas looked as though he had just taken an unexpected knife to the back from that question. He froze, because he truly didn't have the slightest clue how such a thing was possible.
Victor merely gave a quiet nod, completely agreeing with Perenelle. What Abigail had voiced really did explain a lot: his strange, emotional behavior lately, his sudden mood swings, and the way he now perceived himself. After all, he no longer acted randomly, guided solely by fleeting whims — he had developed clear, mature plans for his life. He had truly grown up.