Chapter 812: Chapter 706: Birthday Gifts (Part 2)
But Kael felt a bit embarrassed, so he quietly tucked the hair dye into his pocket... This left Diana looking quite disappointed; she had been curious to see what Kael would look like with a different hair color.
Once everyone had mostly exchanged their gifts, she took out hers as well.
An album and a few pieces of parchment.
"I put all the photos of Lily I could find inside," she handed the album to Harry, "from when she started school to her graduation and even to her marriage to James, a total of seventeen photos."
"Th-thank you..." Harry stammered, taking the album excitedly.
It was clear he really wanted to open it, but felt it wasn’t the right moment, so he just held it tightly against his chest.
Then Diana handed the parchments to Kael.
"The contents on these will disappear by tomorrow, make sure to read them quickly," she advised, "also, if a second person sees them, the contents will vanish immediately as well."
Kael was a bit puzzled, as he felt the parchments in his hand; they were just the usual ones you find in Diagon Alley.
Until he saw the first line written at the top of the parchment:
[Merlin’s Parchment]
Kael’s mouth twitched involuntarily, and he quickly closed the parchment after hearing Diana’s warning. During this, everyone else very tactfully turned their heads to the side.
Mundungus seemed a bit hesitant, and Sirius, sitting next to him, simply reached out to wrap an arm around his neck.
Once Kael had completely put away the parchment, they all started chatting again as if nothing had happened.
"Haha, finally it’s my turn," Sirius rubbed his hands together.
As a notorious spendthrift, Sirius’s gift was as unoriginal as ever, giving Kael a solid gold Quaffle.
A solid, heavy chunk of gold.
When he brought out the gift, the entire dining room seemed to be bathed in gold.
"Sirius..." Lupin couldn’t help but rub his forehead, "You agonized over it for three days, and this is the ’surprise’ you came up with?"
"Isn’t it good?" Sirius blinked, earnestly saying, "Kael is a Chaser, so I thought this gift was fitting... oh, and it has another feature."
Sirius suddenly slapped the gold Quaffle, and a gigantic roar echoed through the dining room.
"Kael, scores!"
For a moment, everyone in the dining room fell silent, exchanging awkward glances at each other, creating an awkward situation.
Kael looked at the golden lump in front of him, not knowing why, but he suddenly didn’t really want it anymore.
"It’s gold... as long as it doesn’t make any noise..."
Kael tried hard to persuade himself, forcing a smile, "Thanks, Sirius."
"No problem, as long as you like it."
"Hehe." Kael chuckled awkwardly.
"Oh, by the way, Harry, I got you a gift too." To change the topic, he pulled out a suitcase and said:
"This suitcase has an Undetectable Extension Charm, about the size of a broom closet, not very big, but it can hold quite a lot. It’ll be convenient for school."
"Thanks," Harry happily accepted it.
He had always envied how Kael didn’t have to carry luggage everywhere, unlike him, who had to cart loads of stuff during school openings and breaks. With this suitcase, it’d be much easier.
Yet, he awkwardly realized that compared to the suitcase with the Undetectable Extension Charm, the Quidditch model set he prepared seemed a bit inadequate.
Luckily, Harry was quick to react, hurriedly pulling another item from his pocket and using a Transfiguration Spell to create a delicate wrapping.
"This is the gift I prepared."
Kael accepted the box and opened it.
A dazzling golden light shone, revealing a pile of Galleons, about a hundred of them, mixed with a few silver Sickles.
Kael raised an eyebrow, sometimes he truly wondered if it was Sirius’s personality influencing Harry, or if he did something to wrong Lily.
In any case, Harry was becoming more like his godfather in certain ways.
"I honestly had no idea what you’d like..." Harry said, his face a bit flushed, "I hope you don’t mind."
"Of course not," Kael replied with a smile.
Although the gift wasn’t innovative, he just liked such mundane things, especially so.
Seeing Kael cheerfully pocket the Galleons, Harry let out a sigh of relief.
It was what he had just withdrawn from Gringotts the day before, and before it even warmed in his pocket, it was gone. But it was okay; he’d just visit again before school starts.
After the gift session, the atmosphere became livelier, and everyone started enjoying the delicious food while chatting.
As they talked, the conversation naturally shifted to some recent major events.
"Sirius, I see lots of people headed to the Ministry of Magic lately. How much of your donation is left?" Fred curiously asked.
"I have no idea either," Sirius replied, raising his head while sipping brandy. "You’ll have to ask Remus about that."
Fred looked towards Lupin.
"There should be over three thousand Galleons left, but I haven’t checked carefully," Lupin said casually.
"How can there be so much left?" Sirius was taken aback.
He had donated a total of five thousand Galleons, with one-fifth each going to the Auror Office and the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. So many days had passed; how could there still be this much left?
"It’s thanks to the people from Knockturn Alley," Lupin couldn’t help but laugh, explaining:
"Almost every day, some Knockturn Alley person shows up with a fake cloak to claim the reward, and we just arrest them as per the rules.
