Chapter 88 - A welcome change

After leaving the Weasley's house, Thomas didn't waste any time, and using his broom, he flew back to London and from there to his grandparent's house to drop the gnomes to their new home.

When he reached the house, he found his grandma outside enjoying the sun. As soon as he landed, she jumped out of her chair before scolding her grandson not to scare her like this ever again, before hugging him, telling him that she would make some food for him right away.

He would lie if he were to say that he didn't enjoy everything his grandparents did for him. And so, he didn't say anything about getting to eat once more, even though Mrs. Weasley gave him a somewhat bigger portion than Harry's. So while his grandma went inside the house, Thomas walked towards the fields where he saw his grandpa resting beside his tractor.

Once he saw his grandson walking towards him, Paul smiled brightly before waving at Thomas. "I didn't know you were coming to visit today."

"Neither did I Grandpa. Though as much as I would want to say that I've come here to see you and grandma, the truth is that I've come here for my project."

"Oh, you mean that strange garden of yours? Have you finally found some plants to plant or what?"

Thomas grinned at his grandpa's question and replied, "Well, actually, I've found something better than plants for my garden. You see, I met a group of gnomes today, and I made a deal with them. They're willing to help me take care of the garden and maybe even the fields around here."

Paul's eyes widened in surprise. "Gnomes? Do you mean those little creatures that are rumored to cause mischief in the garden? They are real?"

"Yep, Grandpa, they are real," Thomas confirmed, still grinning. "But I think that they can be quite helpful if treated with respect and kindness. So, I've offered them a safe place to live in my garden, and they seemed thrilled at the idea of having a home where no wizard or witch will chase them away."

At that moment, Thomas opened his satchel, and one by one, the gnome family emerged, their tiny faces filled with excitement and wonder. They chattered among themselves, clearly delighted to finally have a place they could call home.

Grandpa Paul's jaw dropped when he saw the gnomes leaving the satchel. He had never seen such tiny creatures in his entire life, and the fact that Thomas had managed to form a peaceful agreement with them left him utterly astonished.

"My god," Paul muttered in disbelief, "you really did it, Tommy. You've made friends with gnomes!"

Thomas nodded proudly. "Yes, Grandpa and I think they'll be a great help around here. They love living near a farm, and they promised to assist with gardening and other tasks. Plus, I've promised them kindness and respect, so they won't cause any trouble."

After saying that, Thomas turned towards the gnomes he had caught back at the Weasleys and motioned for them to follow. The gnomes, still somewhat nervous, scurried along behind him as they made their way toward a patch of land that Thomas had set aside for his magical garden.

Once they reached the designated area, Thomas began to plant the magical plants he had brought with him. Most of the plants were for some of the basic potions Thomas learned, but even so, the seeds were carefully selected to be high quality, even though it was slightly more expensive than buying a bulk of random quality seeds and while these plants were nothing rare or expensive it was always good to have a significant stock of basic materials at hand.

As Thomas planted each seed or seedling, the gnomes watched with wide-eyed wonder. They had never seen a wizard or witch treat them with such kindness and consideration. Thomas explained to them how to care for the plants and what plants might even be editable for them if they desire to eat some of those plants, as well as what plants they should never try to consume raw.

The gnome that Thomas had caught back at the Weasleys spoke up, "Thank you, esteemed wizard, for giving us this new home and for allowing us to be a part of your magical garden. We promise to take care of the plants and the fields to the best of our abilities!"

The other gnomes echoed their gratitude, expressing their joy at finally having a safe place to call home and the chance to finally grow their family without fearing for their lives. Thomas was glad that he was able to help the gnome help him and so, when he stopped in London an hour ago, he quickly took a trip to Diagon Alley and bought some underground mushrooms that the gnomes could grow to feed their families, something that made the gnomes even happier than before, to the point that some of them even cried out in joy. After all, Thomas was probably the first wizard in history to treat the gnomes as actual beings rather than pests.

Just like that the rest of the week passed without anything noteworthy happening in Thomas's life. Most of the days were spent either with his parents, with his grandparents, or inside the basement of his house where he was brewing potions to sell. Though while he was by no means a certified potion master, Thomas did make quite a lot of options that were quite easy to make such as the Cure for Boils, Forgetfulness Potion, and a lot of antidotes for most low-rank poisons which frankly sold quite well, especially when Thomas, with the help of a certain bubbling Satan managed to make a name for himself in the underworld as one of the cheapest and best merchants that will sell potions to devils.

Thanks to that, he managed to get just a little short of 300 gallons in profit in just three months. And while Thomas didn't spend all of his time brewing potions he did use two hours a day for every other day to brew some of them before contacting Serafall and asking for her help.

Begin all focused on his newest potion, a stronger variant of the healing potion, something that from what he had read was not exactly possible due to some of the ingredients needed not being found anymore, however, that didn't stop Thomas from using his relationship with Serafall to get just a gram of Celestia Blossom. The plant was deemed extinct almost two hundred years before Merlin was born so it was no shocking matter that not a lot of potion master didn't know about this plant, but luckily for Thomas some of the devils were older than the entire UK and some of them even had plants that were thought to be extinct. The price he had paid for that potion was something that Thomas might regret in the future, but then again it wasn't all that bad since in a way he got a legal partner that wasn't a Satan so in the end everything worked in his favor.

Anyways, as he finished the potion, he felt a hand on his shoulder, making the boy turn around only to see his mother smiling at him. Usually, his lovely mom will not come down here for fear that she will cry seeing her baby boy try to cure her. Even now, after a few years since that incident happen, Kate still blames herself for what happened. For having, her baby boy witnesses that bloody sight, for seeing his mother in such a state. For having, her baby worry. For having him waste years as of now trying to find a way to make her speak once more.

Thought for some reason, today, her boy seemed happier than usual, almost as if he had just found something so obviously rare that made him go into his little crazy state of mumbling while writing down notes.

[Did something good happen today?]

Thomas smiled back at his mom before handing her the potion he had just brewed. "I made this for you Mom."

Kate just stared blankly at the potion, not knowing what to do with it, after all, if the potion didn't work, her baby boy will be devastated and as his mother, she didn't want that to happen to him.

Almost as if he was reading his mother's thoughts, Thomas pushed the potion close to her chest before he spoke in a tone that his mother had never heard from him.

"Mom, I know that you blame yourself when that's not the case. You got wounded because of me and me alone. I love you and because of that, I want to help you regain your voice, no matter what it will take. So please mum, drink the potion even if it won't work."

Unable to stop her tears from falling down her cheeks, Kate hugged her boy before drinking the potion not expecting anything from it, but no matter what, she couldn't let her baby boy blame himself for something he didn't have control over.

As the potion coursed through Kate's body, she felt a warm, tingling sensation spreading throughout her entire body. The sensation was unusual, but it was not unpleasant. In fact, she felt more alive than she had in years. Memories of her youth flooded her mind, and she was overwhelmed with a sense of vitality and energy she thought she had lost forever.

Then, a strange thing happened—Kate felt a surge of energy building up inside her, and before she knew it, she let out a muffled yet still audible sob. The sound was raw and emotional, and it took both her and Thomas by surprise. Kate's eyes widened as she realized that she had made a sound, a sound she hadn't been able to make in years.

Overcome with the realization that the potion had indeed worked to some extent, Kate cried even harder. All the emotions she had bottled up for so long came pouring out like a dam that had burst open. She tightly hugged her son, unable to put into words the mix of gratitude, love, and relief she was feeling at that moment.

Thomas, who had been dumbfounded by the potion's effect, couldn't help but cry alongside his mother. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he held her tightly, and for the first time in his life he knew that he had done it, he managed to somewhat heal his mother. He had been desperate to help his mother, to give her back something she had lost, and now, seeing her cry and hearing her voice once again, he knew he had done something truly extraordinary.

Sadly, while the potion worked, it didn't completely regenerate the damage done to her vocal cords, but it was still something that made Thomas's brain work double time, trying to think of ways to improve the potion further since right now, he couldn't exactly afford to pay almost his entire saving for a second gram of Celestia Blossom.

When his mother broke the hug, Thomas remembered that she never came down here when he was brewing a potion, so he decided to ask her what was the occasion.

"Mum, I forgot to ask you, but did we get a letter or something, since you don't come down here when I'm working on my potions."

Kate wipes some of her tears before nodding her head at her boy.[ Whoo came a few minutes ago with a big letter from your school. I didn't open it since I don't want to read something that might worry me so I came down here to tell you."

She then gave him the letter and Thomas opened it before reading its contents. Most of the stuff was the same and the only different thing was the books necessary to start his second year: SECOND-YEAR STUDENTS WILL REQUIRE:

The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2 by Miranda Goshawk

Break with a Banshee by Gilderoy Lockhart

Gadding with Ghouls by Gilderoy Lockhart

Holidays with Hags by Gilderoy Lockhart

Travels with Trolls by Gilderoy Lockhart

Voyages with Vampires by Gilderoy Lockhart

Wanderings with Werewolves by Gilderoy Lockhart

A Year with the Yeti by Gilderoy Lockhart

Well, it seems that they have a new Defense Against Dark Arts teacher this year and from the sheer amount of books needed, Thomas had his worries that this new professor was nothing more than a hox, after all, no sane man will try to look like a hero when he was weaker than a stick.

<Visit 50 my patr3on for more chapters this novel (at least five chapter ahead - right now there are than here )>

< Just change "3" with "e" Patr3on Link : https://patr3on.com/meatbunkun>