Chapter 707 Birthday Gift

As the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, No. 12 Grimmauld Place is rarely so lively.

Every place was cleaned up, even the picture frames were wiped and decorated with colorful decorations.

Although Mrs. Black's sharp scolding was harsh, it still couldn't stop Fred from sticking a certain red pointed hat on her picture frame. Even Kreacher pretended to see nothing, hitting his head with a broom while walking upstairs with his eyes closed.

Pointed hats of various colors can be seen everywhere in the house, the walls and windows are decorated with fresh ribbons, and the ceiling is full of unicorns and phoenixes blown out of balloons flying around, which is very lively.

When Kyle pushed open the door, he saw Fred and George laughing and throwing a few fireworks.

The fireworks exploded on the ceiling, and seventeen golden elves with wings flew happily, surrounding him in the middle.

"Don't play with fireworks in the house..." Mrs. Weasley came over and said to the two of them lightly.

Then she came forward and gave Kyle a big hug, "Luckily you're back, today is a big day... Happy birthday, dear."

"Yes, it's very important." Fred said with a smile.

"After today, you will be an adult wizard." George said.

Wizards become adults at the age of seventeen, and today happens to be Kyle's seventeenth birthday.

Starting tomorrow, all restrictions on young wizards, especially the rule that underage wizards are prohibited from using magic outside of school, will be completely ineffective.

This also means that he can use magic as he pleases without any restrictions... Although he is doing so now, such as the Death Eater attack this morning, and when targeting Dementors before, no one mentioned his illegal use of magic outside of school, including Scrimgeour, the head of the Auror Office.

But that was just because everyone knew that he was about to turn seventeen, and chose to turn a blind eye.

If it was last year, Fudge would never allow him to deal with Dementors.

But starting tomorrow, this problem will be completely solved.

"Don't stand there, come in." Fred and George dragged him to the dining room.

Dinner was almost ready, and Mrs. Weasley hung two bright red banners above the extremely sumptuous dining table, which read.

[Happy birthday to Kyle and Harry]

[Celebrate Kyle's coming of age]

Yes, today is not only Kyle's birthday, but also Harry's, but he is sixteen years old.

Two people have birthdays on the same day, which is a big day. Almost everyone who can come to the Order of the Phoenix came.

The first to come back were Lupin, Mr. Weasley, Tonks and Kingsley. They seemed to have made an appointment and came back together after the Ministry of Magic got off work.

Moody and Mundungus also came. Although Mrs. Weasley didn't like this thief very much, today was a special day after all, so she didn't say anything.

So many people gathered together, the scene was very lively, and everyone didn't discuss Voldemort and the Death Eaters for a long time, and talked and laughed together.

When it was almost eight o'clock, the door was pushed open again, and Diana and Chris walked in from outside.

"Oh, Diana, I'm so glad to see you. I thought you were going to stay in the Ministry of Magic again." Mrs. Weasley trotted over, "Today is Kyle's coming of age day. It would be a pity to miss it."

"Yes, Molly, you are right." Diana said with a smile, "So no matter what, I will definitely come back."

"But won't there be any problems there?" Mrs. Weasley was a little worried.

Diana naturally knew that she was talking about the Department of Mysteries.

"Don't worry, my colleagues are easy to talk to."

...

When it was eight o'clock, everyone sat at the dinner table. Mrs. Weasley was in a good mood. She hadn't been so happy during the entire holiday.

"Before eating, I think we have one more important thing to do." She took out two beautifully packaged boxes and handed them to Kyle and Harry respectively.

"This is a gift, happy birthday."

"Thank you." Kyle took the box with a smile. Inside was a watch with a golden planetary pattern on the dial. After Kyle put it on, the strap fit perfectly on his wrist.

Harry's was also a watch, but the style was different. It looked like a golden snitch, and it was obviously carefully selected by Mrs. Weasley.

After that, other people also presented their own gifts.

Fred and George's gifts were a large bag of the most popular products in the joke shop.

Moody gave a peephole. He thought that both of them should be vigilant and always pay attention to the dark wizards or Death Eaters hiding around them.

Lupin gave a tie, the latest model from Madam Malkin's robe shop. In order to buy these two gifts, he had to advance his salary for one month.

And Mundungus, Kyle was not very familiar with him. He had only met him a few times before. His gift was two silver ornaments. It was hard to say whether they were stolen from somewhere.

But Kyle still expressed his gratitude.

The hair dye Tonks gave me can change the color of your hair according to your mood for a period of time after you spray it on your hair... It's a simplified version of Disguisemagus.

Harry used it on the spot and turned his hair red, and excitedly asked Ron if it looked good.

But Kyle felt a little ashamed, so he secretly put the hair dye into his pocket... This made Diana look disappointed. She really wanted to see what Kyle would look like after changing his hair color.

When everyone had given gifts, she also took out her own gifts.

A photo album, and some parchment.

"I put all the photos of Lily that I could find in it." She handed the album to Harry, "From her schooling to her graduation to her marriage to James, there are seventeen photos in total."

"Thank you, thank you..." Harry took the photo album excitedly.

It was obvious that he wanted to open her, but felt it was inappropriate, so he just held her tightly in his arms.

Then Diana gave the pieces of parchment to Kyle.

"The content on this will disappear tomorrow, remember to read it quickly." She warned: "In addition, if a second person sees it, the content will also disappear instantly."

Kyle was a little confused. He felt the touch on his hand. It was just ordinary parchment, the most common kind in Diagon Alley.

Until he saw the top line of the parchment:

【Merlin's Notes】

The corner of Kyle's mouth twitched suddenly, and then he quickly closed the parchment because he heard Diana's words. During this period, the others also turned their heads to the side in tacit agreement.

Mundungus seemed a little hesitant, and Sirius, who was sitting next to him, put his arms around his neck.

After Kyle completely put away the parchment, they started chatting again as if nothing had happened.

"Haha, it's finally my turn." Sirius rubbed his hands.

As a well-known prodigal son, Sirius's gift was as unoriginal as ever. What he gave to Kyle was a solid gold Quaffle.

Solid, a heavy golden bump.

When he took out the gift, the entire restaurant seemed to be dyed gold.

"Sirius..." Lupine couldn't help but rub his forehead, "You've been struggling for three days. Is this what you said...a surprise?"

"Isn't it bad?" Sirius blinked and said seriously: "Kyle is a chaser. I think it is very appropriate to give this... Oh, it has other functions."

Sirius smacked the Golden Quaffle, and a loud roar suddenly echoed through the restaurant.

"Kyle, score!"

For a moment, everyone in the restaurant was silent. Everyone sat there looking at each other, and the scene was a little awkward for a while.

Kyle looked at the golden pimple in front of him and didn't know how to get it. Suddenly he didn't really want it.

"It's golden...it's golden...as long as you don't shoot it..."

Kyle tried hard to convince himself in his mind and struggled to smile, "Thank you, Sirius."

"You're welcome, as long as you like it."

"Haha." Kyle laughed dryly.

"Oh, by the way Harry, I also prepared a gift for you." In order to change the subject, he took out a suitcase and said:

"There is a traceless stretching spell in this box. It is about the same size as a broom closet. It is not big, but it can hold a lot of things. It will be much more convenient for you when you go to school."

"Thank you." Harry accepted it happily.

He had always envied Kyle for not having to carry luggage with him wherever he went. Unlike him, who had to push a cart full of things every time he started school or on vacation. Now that he had this box, it was much easier.

But embarrassingly, he suddenly found that compared to the box of the Seamless Stretch Spell, the set of Quidditch models he had prepared was somewhat out of reach.

Fortunately, Harry reacted quickly enough, quickly took out another item from his pocket, and used the transformation spell to create an exquisite package.

"This is the gift I prepared."

Kyle took the box and opened it.

There was another burst of golden light, and inside was a pile of Galleons, about a hundred of them, with a few silver Sickles mixed in between.

Kyle raised his eyebrows. Sometimes he really suspected that it was Sirius's character that affected Harry, or that he had done something to feel sorry for Lily.

All in all, Harry was becoming more and more like his godfather in some ways.

"I really don't know what you like..." Harry's face felt a little hot and he said sheepishly, "Don't dislike it."

"Of course not," Kyle said with a smile.

Although the gift is nothing new, he just likes such vulgar things, and he still likes them very much.

Seeing Kyle put away the Galleons with a smile, Harry breathed a sigh of relief.

He had just taken this out of Gringotts yesterday. It was gone before he could warm it up, but it didn't matter. He could just go there again before school started.

After the gift session, the atmosphere became more lively, and everyone began to enjoy the delicious food and chat at the same time.

As we chatted, the topic naturally turned to some recent major events.

"Sirius, I see that many people are running to the Ministry of Magic recently. How much of your donation is left?" Fred asked curiously.

"I don't know either." Sirius, who was drinking brandy, raised his head and said, "You have to ask Remus about this."

Fred looked at Lupine again.

"It should be more than three thousand Galleons. I didn't look at the details carefully." Lu Ping said casually.

"Why are there so many?" Sirius was stunned for a moment.

He donated a total of five thousand Galleons, and one-fifth of it was returned to the Auror Office, and one-fifth to the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. After so many days, why was there still more?

"This is all thanks to the people in Knockturn Alley." Lu Ping couldn't help laughing and explained:

“Almost every day, people from Knockturn Alley came to claim bounties with fake cloaks, so we followed the regulations and arrested them all.

"Because they couldn't bear to be locked up with dementors, most of them chose to buy their own fakes with Galleons, and then the money was spent on the bounty."

"Every day?" Hermione asked curiously: "But don't people in Knockturn Alley remind each other?"

"Actually, no." Lupine said, "Some people even trumpeted that they had cheated Galleons after spending money to go back, thus luring more people over."

"What?" Hermione stared, confused.

"It's not difficult to understand." Mr. Weasley said, "There are no friends in a place like Knockturn Alley, only benefits. After you have suffered a loss, you naturally don't want to make others feel better.

"Especially for those who have already been scammed, they will try even harder to deceive others."

"That's it." Lupine said with a smile, "The Galleons they have contributed these days are almost more than Sirius."

Hermione didn't know what to say. It was difficult for her to understand this behavior, but others seemed not surprised.

Knockturn Alley, that's normal.

…

Everyone enjoyed the meal very happily, and bottles of whiskey and brandy were opened one after another. Even Kyle drank a lot. After becoming an adult, he can also drink these spirits.

It wasn't until almost ten o'clock that the adults put down their cups with satisfaction and stood up unsteadily.

Because there were still many things to do tomorrow, most people did not choose to stay here overnight and left one after another.

Diana also wants to return to the Department of Mysteries.

Kyle originally thought that she would say something to him, or at least ask about the attack, but Diana did not do that.

She just smiled and hugged Kyle, while whispering: "I know everything, you did a good job, sometimes magical animals are more useful than wands.

"But next time you'd better not just use the fire dragon. It's safer to use the basilisk. Also, remember to read what I give you as soon as possible."

"Okay." Kyle nodded.

By half past ten, the guests had almost left.

Mrs. Weasley, Bill and Charlie were clearing the table in the kitchen.

Lupin, Sirius, Chris and Mr. Weasley got together and opened a new bottle of brandy, drinking it slowly while chatting.

"Kyle, how is Cedric?" Fred came over, put his arm around his shoulders and asked softly.

"How did you know he was injured?" Kyle asked.

"Of course I heard it from the Ministry of Magic." George said, "Don't forget, we are also employees of the Ministry of Magic now, and we know a lot of people."

"But mom doesn't know yet." Fred turned his head and glanced in the direction of the kitchen, "Today is your birthday, so we think it's better not to tell her."

"That's right." Kyle said with a smile, "Cedric should be fine." Kyle said, "Didn't you go see him?"

"Yes," George said. "But we made the trip in vain. The therapist at St. Mungo's said he had been discharged and sent home."

The three of them came to the living room outside together and prepared to go upstairs.

For some unknown reason, probably because they wanted to chat with Mr. Weasley, Chris and Kyle stayed here for one night before going home tomorrow.

But just when they reached the stairs, they discovered that there was someone else in the living room.

Dumbledore stood there, looking at them with a smile.

"Professor Dumbledore?"

"It's a big day for a wizard to come of age. I think it's necessary to come." Dumbledore took out a box.

"Thank you, Professor."

"No." Dumbledore shook his head, "Actually, I forgot to prepare a gift for you. As we get older, our memory gets worse and worse. I hope you don't mind. I will make up for it later."

"Then this..."

"It's a gift from Miss Prince." Dumbledore said with a smile. "When I came here, I happened to see a seagull circling aimlessly nearby. I guessed that it was here to give you a gift, but But couldn’t find the location.”

"Seagull?" Fred asked doubtfully, "Shouldn't it be an owl?"

"There are more than just owls as messengers." Dumbledore explained: "In other countries, seagulls are also messengers, and they are better at crossing the sea than owls."

"Oh, Dumbledore!"

At this time, Sirius and the others came over after hearing the noise. They were also surprised when they saw Dumbledore.

"I'm so glad you're here, Professor Dumbledore," said Mrs. Weasley. "Have you had dinner? If you don't mind, you can eat it here and I'll make you an orange syrup pie."

"As much as I'd like to say don't bother, it's really hard to say no to a hot pie."

Dumbledore followed Mrs. Weasley into the kitchen.

"Professor Dumbledore, would you like a glass of brandy?" Sirius raised the bottle, "Authentic Fire Dragon Brandy."

"Oh, let's have a drink."

…