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Chapter 707: Birthday Gifts
Chapter 707: Birthday Gifts
Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place, headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, was rarely this lively.
Every corner of the house had been thoroughly cleaned, the picture frames polished, and vibrant decorations adorned the walls.
Despite Mrs. Black's shrill and angry shouts, it didn't stop Fred from sticking a red pointed hat on her portrait, and even Kreacher pretended not to see anything, tapping his head with a broom and walking upstairs with his eyes closed.
Pointed hats of various colors could be spotted everywhere, and the walls and windows were adorned with colorful streamers. Above, balloons in the shape of unicorns and phoenixes floated and fluttered about, creating a festive atmosphere.
When Kyle pushed open the door, he saw Fred and George laughing as they set off a few fireworks indoors.
The fireworks exploded on the ceiling, releasing seventeen golden winged fairies that joyfully circled around him.
"Don't play with fireworks inside the house..." Mrs. Weasley walked over and chided the twins lightly.
She then approached Kyle and gave him a big hug. "I'm so glad you're back. Today is a big day... Happy birthday, dear."
"Yes, it's important," Fred said with a grin.
"After today, you're officially an adult wizard," George added.
In the wizarding world, seventeen was the age of maturity, and today happened to be Kyle's seventeenth birthday.
Starting tomorrow, all restrictions on young wizards, especially the rule prohibiting underage wizards from using magic outside of school, would no longer apply to him.
It also meant that he could use magic freely without any constraints... Even though he had already been doing so, like during the Death Eater attack that morning and the previous incident with the Dementors, no one had brought up the issue of him using magic outside of school, not even Scrimgeour, the Head of the Auror Office.
But that was just because everyone knew he was about to turn seventeen, so they turned a blind eye.
If it had been last year, Fudge certainly wouldn't have allowed him to deal with the Dementors.
However, starting tomorrow, that problem would be completely resolved.
"Don't stand there gaping at the door. Come on in," Fred and George pulled him into the dining room.
Dinner was almost ready, and Mrs. Weasley had even hung two bright red banners above the lavishly prepared table, which read:
[Happy Birthday, Kyle and Harry]
[Celebrating Kyle's Coming of Age]
Indeed, today was not only Kyle's birthday but also Harry's, who was turning sixteen.
It was a momentous occasion to have two people celebrating their birthdays on the same day, and almost everyone who could make it from the Order of the Phoenix was present.
The first to arrive were Lupin, Mr. Weasley, Tonks, and Kingsley, who seemed to have planned their return together, heading back as soon as they finished work at the Ministry.
Moody and Mundungus were also there, and although Mrs. Weasley wasn't particularly fond of the petty thief, she didn't say anything since it was a special day.
With so many people gathered, the atmosphere was lively and cheerful, a rare break from the usual discussions about Voldemort and Death Eaters, as everyone enjoyed each other's company.
As the clock struck eight, the door opened once more, and in walked Diana and Chris.
"Oh, Diana, I'm so glad to see you. I thought you might be staying at the Ministry again," Mrs. Weasley said as she hurried over. "Today is Kyle's coming-of-age day, and it would've been a shame to miss it."
"You're absolutely right, Molly," Diana said with a smile. "So no matter what, I made sure to come back."
"But won't that cause problems over there?" Mrs. Weasley asked, concerned.
Diana knew she was referring to the Department of Mysteries.
"Don't worry, my colleagues are quite understanding," she assured her.
...
At eight o'clock, everyone took their seats at the table, and Mrs. Weasley was in high spirits, happier than she had been throughout the entire holiday season.
"Before we eat, I think we have something even more important to do," she said, taking out two beautifully wrapped boxes and handing them to Kyle and Harry.
"These are your gifts. Happy birthday."
"Thank you," Kyle said with a smile as he opened the box to find a watch with a golden planetary pattern on the dial. The strap fit perfectly on his wrist.
Harry's gift was also a watch, but of a different style—shaped like a golden Snitch. Clearly, Mrs. Weasley had put a lot of thought into her choices.
After that, the others presented their gifts as well.
Fred and George's gift was a large bag filled with the hottest products from their joke shop.
Moody gave them both a Sneakoscope, believing that they should always be vigilant and aware of any Dark Wizards or Death Eaters lurking nearby.
Lupin's gift was a pair of ties, the latest style from Madama Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. To buy these gifts, he had to advance a month's salary.
Mundungus, whom Kyle didn't know very well and had only met a few times, gave him two silver trinkets, which looked like they might have been stolen.
Nonetheless, Kyle expressed his gratitude.
Tonks' gift was a hair dye that allowed the user to change their hair color according to their mood for a period of time... a simplified version of a Metamorphmagus's abilities.
Harry used it right away, turning his hair red, and excitedly asked Ron how it looked.
It was a photo album and a few rolls of parchment.
"I've put all the photos of Lily that I could find in here," she said as she handed the album to Harry. "From her school days to her graduation, and then her marriage to James. There are seventeen photos in total."
"Th-thank you..." Harry said, his voice filled with emotion as he accepted the album.
It was clear that he wanted to open it right away, but he felt it wasn't the right time, so he simply hugged it tightly to his chest.
Diana then gave the rolls of parchment to Kyle.
"The content on these will disappear tomorrow, so make sure to read them quickly," she instructed. "Also, if a second person looks at them, the content will vanish instantly."
Kyle was a bit puzzled. He sensed the texture of the parchment in his hand—it felt like ordinary, everyday parchment from Diagon Alley.
Then he saw the first line written on the parchment:
[Merlin's Notes]
Kyle's mouth twitched, and he quickly closed the parchment, having heard Diana's words. The others also discreetly turned their heads away during this exchange.
Mundungus seemed hesitant, but Sirius, sitting next to him, simply reached out and ruffled his hair.
Once Kyle had completely put away the parchment, they resumed their conversation as if nothing had happened.
"Haha, finally it's my turn." Sirius rubbed his hands together.
As a well-known spendthrift, Sirius' gift was, as always, unoriginal. He presented Kyle with a solid golden Snitch—a hefty, golden lump.
When he took out the gift, the entire dining room seemed to be bathed in gold.
"Sirius..." Lupin massaged his temples. "You agonized over it for three days, and this is your so-called... surprise?"
"Isn't it good?" Sirius blinked innocently. "Kyle's a Seeker, so I thought this would be very appropriate... Oh, and it has other functions too."
Sirius suddenly clapped his hands on the golden Snitch, and a loud roar reverberated throughout the dining room.
"Kyle, score!"
For a moment, everyone in the room fell silent, looking at each other awkwardly. The atmosphere became tense.
Kyle looked at the golden lump in front of him, unsure how to react. Suddenly, he didn't feel so eager to receive it.
"It's gold... It's made of gold... As long as you don't clap, it's fine..."
Kyle tried to convince himself, forcing a smile. "Thank you, Sirius."
"You're welcome. I'm glad you like it."
"Hehe." Kyle gave a dry laugh.
"Oh, right, Harry, I have a gift for you too." To change the subject, Sirius took out a briefcase and said, "This case is enchanted with an Undetectable Extension Charm. It's about the size of a broom closet, so it's not too big, but it can still hold quite a lot of things. It will make your life much easier when you're at school."
"Thank you!" Harry exclaimed happily as he took the briefcase.
He had always been envious of Kyle, who never seemed to carry luggage wherever he went, unlike himself, who had to lug around a cartload of belongings every time he went to or left school. Now, with this briefcase, things would be much simpler.
However, he felt a bit embarrassed when he compared the Undetectable Extension briefcase to the Quidditch set he had prepared as a gift.
Fortunately, Harry was quick-witted enough to reach into his pocket and take out another item, which he then wrapped with a Transfiguration spell to create a beautiful package.
"Here's the gift I prepared."
Kyle took the box and opened it.
Another flash of gold greeted him—inside was a pile of Galleons, approximately a hundred of them, with a few Sickles mixed in.
Kyle raised an eyebrow. Sometimes he wondered if it was Sirius' influence on Harry or if Harry had done something to offend Lily.
Either way, Harry was becoming more and more like his godfather in certain respects.
"I really don't know what you like..." Harry said, his face a bit warm with embarrassment. "I hope you don't mind."
"Of course not," Kyle said with a smile.
While the gift lacked originality, he loved such mundane things and truly appreciated them.
Seeing Kyle's cheerful expression as he collected the Galleons, Harry finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He had just withdrawn this money from Gringotts the day before, and now it was all gone. However, it didn't matter—he could always make another trip to the bank before the start of the school year.
After the gift-giving, the atmosphere became even more lively as everyone indulged in delicious food and enjoyable conversation.
As they chatted, the topic naturally turned to some of the recent major events.
"Sirius, I've noticed that a lot of people have been heading to the Ministry of Magic lately. How much of your donation is left?" Fred asked curiously.
"I have no idea," Sirius replied, lifting his head from his brandy. "You'd have to ask Remus about that."
Fred turned to look at Lupin.
"I think there are still over three thousand Galleons left," Lupin said casually. "I didn't really check the exact amount."
"How is there still that much?" Sirius was taken aback.
He had only donated five thousand Galleons in total, and he had given one-fifth of that to the Auror Office and another fifth to the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. After so many days, he hadn't expected the amount to increase.
"Every day?" Hermione asked curiously. "But don't the people from Knockturn Alley warn each other about it?"
"Actually, they don't." Lupin said, "Some even brag about getting Galleons after they get out, luring more people to fall for the scam."
"What?" Hermione exclaimed, her eyes widening in disbelief.
"It's not hard to understand." Mr. Weasley said, "In a place like Knockturn Alley, there are no friends, only interests. After getting cheated themselves, they naturally don't want others to get off easy.
"This is especially true for those who have already been scammed. They will be even more eager to trick others."
"That's right." Lupin laughed, "The Galleons they've contributed these days are almost more than Sirius' entire donation."
Hermione didn't know what to say. She found it hard to comprehend such behavior, but the others seemed to take it in stride.
After all, Knockturn Alley was notorious for such schemes.
...
Everyone enjoyed the meal immensely, and one bottle of whiskey and brandy after another was opened. Even Kyle indulged in a few drinks, now that he was of age and allowed to drink these spirits.
It was almost ten o'clock when the adults finally put down their glasses, standing up a bit unsteadily.
As most of them had things to do the next day, they chose not to stay the night and left one by one.
Diana also had to return to the Department of Mysteries.
Kyle had expected her to say something to him, at least to inquire about the attack. But Diana didn't bring it up.
She merely hugged him and whispered, "I know all about what happened, and you did a great job. Sometimes, magical creatures can be more effective than a wand.
"But next time, it might be better to use a Hungarian Horntail instead of a dragon. Also, remember to read what I gave you as soon as possible."
"Alright." Kyle nodded.
By half past ten, most of the guests had left.
Mrs. Weasley, Bill, and Charlie were in the kitchen cleaning up.
Lupin, Sirius, Chris, and Mr. Weasley gathered together, opening a new bottle of brandy and chatting leisurely while sipping their drinks.
"Kyle, how's Cedric?" Fred walked over and whispered, his arm around Kyle's shoulder.
"How did you know he was injured?" Kyle asked.
"We heard about it at the Ministry, of course." George said, "Don't forget, we're Ministry employees now, and we know quite a few people there."
"But Mum doesn't know yet." Fred glanced towards the kitchen, "Today's your birthday, and we thought it would be better not to tell her."
"That's right." Kyle smiled, "Cedric should be fine now." He asked, "Didn't you go see him?"
"We did." George said, "But we went for nothing. The healers at St. Mungo's said he had already been discharged."
The three of them walked to the living room, preparing to head upstairs.
For some reason, perhaps wanting to chat with Mr. Weasley, Chris and Kyle decided to stay the night and head home the next day.
However, as they reached the stairs, they noticed that someone had appeared in the living room.
Dumbledore stood there, beaming at them.
"Professor Dumbledore?"
"A wizard's coming-of-age is a significant occasion, and I felt it warranted a visit." Dumbledore held out a box.
"Thank you, Professor."
"No, no." Dumbledore shook his head, "In fact, I forgot to prepare a gift for you. Old age is catching up with me, and my memory isn't what it used to be. I hope you don't mind, and I will make it up to you later."
"Then this..."
"Is a gift from Miss Prince." Dumbledore smiled, "When I arrived, I saw a seagull circling aimlessly nearby, and I guessed it was trying to deliver a gift to you but couldn't find the location."
"A seagull?" Fred frowned, "Shouldn't it be an owl?"
"Not all messengers are owls." Dumbledore explained, "In other countries, seagulls are also used as messengers, and they are more adept at crossing the sea than owls."
"Oh, Dumbledore!"
Hearing the commotion, Sirius and the others joined them, equally delighted to see Dumbledore.
"It's wonderful to see you, Professor Dumbledore." Mrs. Weasley said, "Would you like to have some dinner? If you don't mind, you're welcome to stay and have some orange marmalade pie."
"While I'd like to say it's not necessary, I must admit that a warm pie is hard to resist."
Dumbledore followed Mrs. Weasley into the kitchen.
"Professor Dumbledore, would you care for some brandy?" Sirius held up the bottle, "Genuine Firewhisky."
"Then I won't refuse."
...
(End of Chapter)
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