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HRHL# CHAPTER 217
🕑 Added 2025-06-19 12:15:39 +0000 UTCAfter absorbing some magical energy at the Dursleys’ house, Veratia left and returned to school to continue her classes.
Harry didn’t understand what was so fascinating about Muggle knowledge, nor did he care to find out at the moment. His top priority was tracking down Cassandra.
In his spare time, he didn’t forget to visit Godric’s Hollow to practice his magic.
Practicing magic at the Dursleys’ was out of the question, of course. The Ministry of Magic’s Trace could detect magical activity within their vicinity.
Just imagine: Ministry officials noticing magical fluctuations at the Dursleys’ house...
Let’s see, who in the Dursley household can perform magic? Oh! It’s me! Harry Potter!
He had no interest in stirring up unnecessary trouble.
Some time ago, he had visited two Merlin Trials—using up the last of his mallowsweet to complete them.
Unfortunately, there was no sign of Cassandra at either location.
Before long, his birthday arrived.
July 31st marked both his and Neville’s birthdays. Harry received a stack of birthday cards: one from Dumbledore, one from Snape, one from Wood, as well as cards from Neville, Seamus, and Cedric.
Even Professor Scamander sent him a card, which included a tiny note from Poppy Sweeting. In it, Poppy complained about why he hadn’t invited her to celebrate his birthday with him.
Harry carefully tucked away the cards, treasuring them. Then he opened the letter delivered by the Weasleys’ ancient, feather-ruffled owl.
As he tore open the envelope, two pieces of paper fell out—one was a letter, the other a newspaper clipping.
The clipping was clearly from The Daily Prophet, as the figures in the black-and-white photograph were moving.
Harry smoothed out the clipping and read its contents:
“Ministry Employee Wins Grand Prize!
Arthur Weasley, Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office at the Ministry of Magic, has won The Daily Prophet’s annual Galleon Prize.
An elated Mr. Weasley told The Daily Prophet reporter, ‘We plan to spend the money on a summer trip to Egypt. Our eldest son, Bill, works as a Curse-Breaker for Gringotts Wizarding Bank there.’
The Weasley family will spend a month in Egypt, returning before the start of the new term at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where five of their children currently attend.”
Harry glanced at the moving photograph. Nine Weasleys stood in front of a pyramid, waving enthusiastically at him. A smile spread across his face.
Mrs. Weasley was short and stout, while the balding Mr. Weasley was tall and lanky. Their six sons and one daughter all sported fiery red hair—though the black-and-white photo didn’t show the color.
Ron stood right in the center, in prime position.
Now in the throes of adolescence, he was tall and gangly, his arm around his sister, Ginny. His pet rat, Scabbers, perched on his shoulder, standing on its hind legs with its front paws raised like a tiny squirrel.
Harry could even make out that one of the rat’s paws was missing a toe.
Magical photographs were astonishingly clear… Harry marveled.
He couldn’t think of a family more deserving of such a windfall. The Weasleys were wonderful people, but sadly, quite poor.
He picked up Ron’s letter and began reading:
Dear Harry,
Happy birthday!
I’ve got some great news to share. You won’t believe this, but Gringotts suddenly sent someone to tell us that my grandfather… no, my great-grandfather, Gareth, left us a fortune at the bank!
Merlin’s beard, we were over the moon! We never expected our ancestors to leave us anything, but Gareth came through.
I don’t know why he instructed Gringotts to give us only three hundred Galleons a year, but I know we’ve struck it rich!
Also, Egypt is amazing.
Bill took us to see all the pyramids. You have no idea how many spells ancient Egyptian wizards cast on those things.
Mom wouldn’t let Bill go into the last pyramid. It’s filled with creepy skeletons—remains of Muggles who tried to break in. They ended up with extra heads and all sorts of weird stuff.
I still feel like I’m dreaming. Like I said on the train, I can’t believe Dad actually won The Daily Prophet’s prize draw! Seven hundred Galleons! Add that to the Galleons from Gringotts, and we’ve got a thousand Galleons…
Most of the money went toward this trip, but they’re buying me new robes, and Ginny too… Ginny won’t have to use secondhand books anymore. We’re all getting new books and robes—it’s like Christmas… no, better than Christmas. We’ve never been this happy, even at Christmas.
We’ll be back about a week before term starts. We’re heading to London to buy our new books. Will we see you there? Try to make it to London!
Happy birthday again. Oh, by the way, Percy’s been made Head Boy. Merlin, Mum and Dad are practically carrying him around on a pedestal. I hope I can be a Prefect or Head Boy someday… Oh, no, mate, I’m not trying to compete with you or anything…
Yours,
Ron Weasley
Harry set the letter down, a mix of amusement and exasperation on his face.
Compete with Ron for Prefect or Head Boy?
If he hadn’t been to Hogwarts a hundred years in the past, he might have entertained the idea.
But now, it just felt a bit… dull.
He opened Poppy’s letter and her gift.
Dear Harry,
I’m upset because you didn’t take me with you to look for Cassandra. You broke our agreement, and I’m not happy about it.
But I’m not that upset, because it’s your birthday! I’m planning a little party for you—if you can come to Professor Scamander’s tent to celebrate with me, I’d be thrilled.
I’ve included some materials from magical creatures, all gifts from Newt. I hope you like them.
Also, we found the Acromantula colony in the Forbidden Forest. You won’t believe it, but there are… I think at least ten thousand of them! Newt says there are even more. Merlin, those spiders are massive, some even bigger than unicorns. I don’t know how wizards are supposed to deal with them.
Two Acromantulas tried to attack us, but Newt subdued one. He grabbed it and used a Portkey to get us out of there—otherwise, we’d have been torn apart by a swarm of spiders.
Can you imagine that just a few decades ago, there were only two of them, a male and a female?
If you can come visit, I’d be so happy. Let me know in advance.
Yours faithfully,
Poppy Sweeting
Harry opened Poppy’s parcel, and a pile of magical creature materials spilled out: Mooncalf hide, Niffler claws, unicorn hair, phoenix tail feathers, Acromantula venom, and a collection of other rare items.
He couldn’t help but wonder if Poppy had raided Professor Scamander’s entire stockpile for this gift.
After unwrapping Poppy’s present, Harry remembered Ron’s gift and opened it. It was a small spinning top, supposedly designed to glow when near untrustworthy people—but as soon as Harry took it out, it began spinning frantically, almost like it was malfunctioning.
An untrustworthy person?
Harry shrugged and set the top aside.
Next to it was Hermione’s letter and her birthday gift. Harry opened the letter, which mentioned that Hermione had been traveling in France and had picked up some gifts for him.
He unwrapped her parcel to find a sleek black leather case with silver lettering: Broomstick Maintenance Kit.
Inside was a large tin of Fleetwood’s High-Finish Broomstick Polish, a pair of gleaming silver twig clippers, a small brass compass for long-distance broom travel, and a copy of The Handbook of Broomstick Care.
He loved the gift and carefully tucked it into a corner of his wallet, away from where Alfonso was sleeping.
Alfonso was napping comfortably in the wallet, looking utterly content.
After opening all his gifts, Harry stretched lazily. As he turned his head, he noticed Veratia smiling at him.
“Veratia?” he said, surprised. “When did you get here?”
“I’ve been here for a while,” Veratia replied with a grin.
A while?
Harry’s heart skipped a beat. Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at the spinning top on the table. It was whirling furiously, emitting a low buzzing sound.
The top must be broken, he thought dismissively.
“Happy birthday,” Veratia said, still smiling. “Got any plans? Maybe… we could go grab some food?”
“Poppy invited me to Professor Scamander’s tent. She wants to throw me a birthday party. Want to come with?” Harry suggested.
Veratia’s expression sharpened, suddenly alert.
“Alright, I’ll go with you,” she said, pulling an apple from her pocket.
Harry eyed the apple curiously. “What’s that? Just an apple?”
Veratia grabbed his shoulder, her tone coaxing. “This is the Forbidden Fruit—you know, the one Satan used to tempt Eve into the Fall… And now, I’m giving it to you.”
“I knew it, Aunt Veratia,” Harry said, squinting playfully. “Trying to tempt your own nephew into ruin. Merlin’s beard…”
Veratia froze.
Well, that backfired, she thought. She should’ve known better than to bring up the “aunt” thing—clearly, Harry hadn’t forgotten it.
She shoved the apple into Harry’s arms and said, “Come on, let’s head downstairs and go to Newt’s tent from the Leaky Cauldron.”
With that, she pulled Harry along as they descended the stairs.
“No dinner plans, Miss Grindelwald?” Petunia asked.
“No thanks, Petunia,” Veratia replied with a smile. “His friends are waiting for him. Thank you, though.”
With that, the two left the Dursley house and climbed into Veratia’s car.
Yes, Veratia’s car.
“You bought this?” Harry asked, astonished. “Wait, when did you learn to drive?”
“Otto gave it to me,” Veratia explained, recounting the story in detail before reassuring him. “Don’t worry, it was just a trade… I gave him two swaddling cloths that belonged to his father.”
Harry pictured it: a seventeen-year-old girl handing an elderly man swaddling cloths and saying, “These belonged to your father…”
No matter how he thought about it, it felt a little odd.
T/N: If you find any typos or incorrect names, please leave a comment. Thanks, and enjoy reading!
