Chapter 463: Easter
Chapter 463: Easter
Felix took out the colorful wax candles from the package with interest, stuck them into the cake, and lit each one with a match. As he blew out the candles, he suddenly realized that he was already 24 years old.
Today was the first day of the Easter break, and he had no classes. Even Valen was still sleeping in.
He thought about his recent schedule. In the afternoon, Draco Malfoy would come over to practice the Disillusionment Charm. Felix had already mastered the basics of the spell, but the magical fluctuations were too obvious, making it easy for others to spot the loophole at close range. Later, Harry would arrive. Harry's Occlumency was on track, and only a few pages of the magic book remained.
Tomorrow was Easter, and there would be a banquet in the evening. He had heard that the other four schools would perform, and he sincerely hoped that the busy goblins he saw at the Quidditch Pitch were not preparing for it... The day after, he would set off for the Ministry of Magic to train the Aurors and Enforcers, and to hand over the completed Runes Booklet to the publisher. Scrimgeour had written to offer him a nominal advisory position, which Felix didn't care much about, but he still politely thanked him in his reply.
The bedroom door opened, and Valen stood at the doorway, yawning.
"Chirp...?"
"Familiar smell?" Felix smiled. "It's a birthday cake. We can eat the fruits and chocolate on top first. I only had it once at the orphanage..."
"Chirp!"
The next evening, the Great Hall at Hogwarts was brightly lit. Many young wizards had gone home for the holiday, but a significant number stayed behind to watch the legendary goblin performance.
When Felix entered the Great Hall, he saw a massive Easter egg in the center of the room. Upon closer inspection, he realized that the egg was made up of various sweets. He saw fruit preserves, pudding, mint hard candies, nut brittle, liqueur chocolates, and gummy candies. A group of students were gathered around the egg, pointing and commenting.
The Head Boy and Head Girl had to announce loudly that the egg could only be shared after the banquet.
Harry, however, wasn't particularly interested in the egg. He had been consuming too much sweet food lately. Besides the slice of Professor Hep's birthday cake he had yesterday afternoon, he received a dragon-egg-sized Easter egg from Mrs. Weasley this morning, filled with homemade toffee. He was feeling a bit full, and even his burps tasted sweet and cloying.
He and Ron and Hermione found a seat and waited for the banquet to start.
"I told you that woman wouldn't leave us alone!" Hermione threw a newspaper over.
Harry picked it up and glanced at it. "It doesn't say anything outrageous..."
"She's spreading rumors that I'm practicing Giant Magic!" Hermione said angrily. "Do I look like I'm related to a troll?"
"What's that?" Harry asked.
"A troll's innate ability, but the magical community has always been skeptical about it. They have to make up something, or trolls would be no different from ordinary creatures", Fred and George Weasley, who were sitting next to them, chimed in.
Soon, everyone was assembled, and the students from the other four schools were scattered at the four long tables. Bjork and Fleur chose to sit with the Gryffindors. "What are you going to perform?" Harry asked.
"Oh, you mean that", Bjork said listlessly. "You'll see. What about your school?"
Harry shook his head. He didn't know. Neville, who was sitting nearby, interjected, "It's the ghosts performing. I heard the Fat Friar and Nearly Headless Nick from Hufflepuff discussing the event. The Fat Friar was worried that there wouldn't be enough food to go around..."
Everyone looked at each other in surprise. "They're bringing the ghosts' food into the Great Hall?" Ron couldn't help but shiver.
"Don't forget, we now have Classroom 7. Maybe the food will taste better", Harry reminded him.
"I still can't forget Nearly Headless Nick's five-hundredth deathday party", Ron said pessimistically. The ghosts had deliberately let everything go moldy to enhance the flavor.
The banquet began. The table was laden with all sorts of delicious food, and Harry's eyes fell on a salmon. He couldn't help but think of the salmon skewers he had seen the other day, wondering if the kitchen house-elves had come up with a new dish. Unfortunately, he hadn't seen it on the table.
Then the lights dimmed.
A group of silver ghosts floated in like a wave, performing a carefully choreographed routine in the Great Hall. Harry spotted Nearly Headless Nick, who was holding his head with one hand to keep it from falling off while performing intricate movements with the other ghosts. He looked incredibly excited.
Harry knew that Nearly Headless Nick had worked hard to join the Headless Hunt but was rejected due to a small piece of skin still connecting his head to his neck. He had even complained about it.
A few minutes later, the ghosts gathered together, and the students politely clapped. Suddenly, the ghosts dispersed and flew up, sprinkling silver light points in the air.
Harry nervously raised his head and gazed up, recognizing some egg-shaped objects. He couldn't resist reaching out to touch them, despite the significant risk. His past experiences told him that touching ghosts would give him the sensation of suddenly falling into an icy pit.
But the next second, a wave of happiness washed over him. He felt as if he were back in the Ancient Runes Office, sitting on the professor's sofa, flipping through the magic book, stuck on the chapter titled "Happiness" for a long time.
"That's my memory!" a ghost floated in front of him, excited. It was Nearly Headless Nick.
"Oh, uh, that feeling is amazing", Harry sincerely complimented.
"Thanks, it was hard to get this opportunity!" Nearly Headless Nick said, "I mean, I had predicted this result... after all, I was a courtier of Henry Vii and tasted the royal cuisine!" His tone turned somber, "Though he also sentenced me to death."
"That's too bad", Harry could only say. But he thought that Henry Vii must have been quite poor, unable to afford a good axe, since Nearly Headless Nick had mentioned being decapitated 45 times without his head fully separating.
"Would you like to try?" Felix asked from the teacher's table. "My memory likes to do some weird things, and it complains about not being able to come out..."
"No need", Snape coldly said, pushing the silver light points around him away.
The Great Hall returned to its usual brightness. A row of small goblins walked to the center of the Great Hall, their faces even stiffer than Snape's, expressionlessly waving miniature shortbows as if ready to draw an arrow at any moment. The Great Hall was silent, and no one reacted until they left.
Dumbledore politely clapped, encouraging a sparse round of applause. The following performances were more normal. The students from Wagadu performed a lively African dance, and Nona Lebert's graceful and beautiful movements caught the attention of many boys. The students also witnessed the Durmstrang Wood Nymph Choir, with Fleur enthusiastically joining in to sing a serenade.
"So, Professor Hep's birthday is on April 15th?" Fred asked, spearing a piece of chicken with his fork.
"Maybe", Harry hesitated, "I didn't ask in detail, but Professor Hep said the cake was just opened this morning, so it's fresh..."
"Oh." Fred and George Weasley exchanged a meaningful glance, and Fred said seriously, "George, next year is our last year at school."
"Yeah", George responded without hesitation, "it's best to give gifts early."
"You're planning to prank Professor Hep on their birthday?" Hermione asked sharply.
"Don't put it that way", Fred didn't deny it, "just want to leave a good memory... and I just realized that our birthdays are all in April, mine, George's, and Professor Hep's. It must be a special connection."
"Yours?"
"April 1st, yeah, April Fool's Day, but it's not a joke."
(End of Chapter)
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