Chapter 20: Little Shanna's Christmas (Edited)

December 25, 1990, 6 AM, Minethil Family Castle.

Today, as usual, young Shanna went to her brother's room. Upon opening the door, Shanna realized her brother wasn't in the room.

"Did he wake up earlier than usual today?" Shanna wondered aloud.

Shanna looked over to her brother's bed, where there was a small pile of presents, fewer than she had received herself.

Shanna knew that these gifts, apart from the ones given by mom and dad, could only have come from relatives living far away in the United States.

In the years they spent attending parties, Shanna had gotten to know some young witches she got along with, and they were now in a gift-exchanging relationship for Christmas. But her brother, while participating in the parties and enjoying pleasant conversations with many people, had no close friends.

It was when Shanna was 4 years old that she, along with mom, dad, and her brother, traveled to the United States for the first time and met the legendary relatives. They told her that her brother had never met them before, which made her happy.

...

"Bell, Shanna, these are your grandparents, Owen Minethil and Bernice Minethil, your aunt Lena Menehild, and your maternal grandparents, Durwood Jeslav and Clara Jeslav, and your aunt Helena Jeslav."

William introduced the two young ones to their relatives.

"Oh, Bell, the last time I saw you, you had just been born, and now you've grown so much! I'm so happy to see you enjoying your freedom outside. My poor child," Grandma Bernice said as she hugged Bell and then Shanna.

"Shanna, I'm so sorry we haven't visited you all this time. There were too many issues on our side in the United States. I hope you can forgive us."

After the conversation, Shanna finally learned that her relatives had fled to the United States several years ago to escape a very, very bad villain. They had only left their parents in England to take care of the family businesses.

Shanna recognized the name of that villain from books; it seemed his name was "Voldemort" or "Lord Voldemort." Or was it "the man with two holes"? Shanna tilted her head, wondering why someone would have such a strange name.

However, on one occasion, Shanna mentioned that person's name in front of her parents, and both of them got frightened and told her she couldn't say that name, that she had to call him "You-Know-Who." That was also a strange name.

Then, Shanna asked her brother why everyone was so afraid of "You-Know-Who." Her brother told her it was because that man was very ugly, and when people saw him approaching, they all ran away.

It turns out my parents are a bit cowardly, thought Shanna. She wasn't scared by someone's ugliness. Her brother had even found something ugly called a "Grindylow" once, and she wasn't afraid of it... well, maybe just a little, only a little. So, her brother was definitely the bravest, and that made her very proud.

After a long time apart, everyone sat together and started with the usual conversation topics like "How have you been?" and the like. However, gradually, the conversation shifted to topics like "business" and "staff shortage" that Shanna didn't understand at all.

Shanna felt a little sad because she didn't want anyone to know that she didn't understand what they were talking about. She wanted everyone to think she was a smart girl so her brother would be proud of her. She tried to join the adults' conversation but quickly failed. Everyone just smiled and didn't say anything, but Shanna still felt sad.

But what saddened her even more happened afterward when everyone dispersed to rest, and only her brother and she were left alone.

"Shanna, why did you pretend to understand what they were saying?" her brother asked her a bit sternly.

"I'm sorry, brother. I... I just wanted everyone to think I'm a smart girl. I want you to be proud of me," Shanna apologized with teary eyes.

Little Shanna felt extremely sad.

╥﹏╥

But in the next moment, all her sadness vanished when her brother hugged her tightly.

"I'll always be proud of you, Shanna," her brother said while stroking her head. "So, next time, don't pretend to know something you don't. Recognizing what you don't know is what makes a person truly intelligent."

"Okay!"

"My brother is truly the best brother in the world," thought Shanna.

In the following days, Shanna and her brother, guided by their aunt and great-aunt, went to many places together.

The place Shanna liked the most was a place called "Disneyland." It was said to be a Muggle amusement park. There were many attractions there, such as roller coasters and haunted houses.

Of course, Shanna didn't like Disneyland for the games themselves because she didn't find them particularly fun, especially because she didn't understand why Muggles got so scared on those rides. The heights were so low, and the speeds were so slow that Shanna only had to release her magic to make sure nothing would happen to her, no matter what.

However, there was an exception: the haunted house. As they walked through the haunted house, her brother held her tightly and told her over and over, "Those are not dark magic creatures; you can't attack them."

In fact, after her brother's explanation, Shanna already knew that the monsters in the haunted house were just Muggle costumes, like on Halloween. But at first, she was scared and had an instinctive impulse to attack.

The reason Shanna enjoyed Disneyland was that there were many people there, allowing her and her brother to successfully separate from their aunt.

It was a very happy day for Shanna, although she later felt a little guilty when she saw her worried aunt, drenched in sweat, looking for them.

...

"May I assist you, Miss Shanna?" Lym's high-pitched voice interrupted Shanna's thoughts.

"No, it's nothing. Has my brother already gone for his morning training?" Shanna shook her head and asked Lim.

"Yes, Miss. Today, young Bell woke up 10 minutes earlier than usual."

Bidding farewell to Lym, Shanna left the castle and headed to two warehouses in a corner of the garden.

These two warehouses had been built by her brother several years ago specifically for training. Although they looked like small cubes from the outside, with about 10 meters in length, width, and height, inside they had been expanded using the "Undetectable Expansion Charm." In reality, they were over 100 meters in length, width, and height, allowing for various training programs designed by her brother to take place.