Disclaimer: I don't own anything. This is not meant to infringe upon copyrights.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In the room, Chris was sitting on the sofa in the living room, talking to Mr. Weasley.
On his way back, Mr. Weasley had noticed Fred and George's utterly dejected expressions.
Knowing Molly and the twins well, he hadn't even gone home after returning to the Burrow; he came straight here after getting off the car.
As long as he wasn't at the Burrow, no one could speak up for the twins when they got beaten up.
Molly had been very stressed these past few days because of the dark wizard incident at Hogwarts, not eating or sleeping well, which broke his heart.
Now that things were finally over, it would be good for her to relax by beating the kids; after all, the twins had provided a ready-made excuse, so why not take advantage of it?
"Oh, dear." Mr. Weasley said with a smile upon seeing Kyle, "I haven't had a chance to ask you how school is going."
"It's wonderful," Kyle replied. "The professors are all very friendly, and the classmates are kind. It's exactly the kind of school life I've always dreamed of."
"That's good." Mr. Weasley took a small sip of whiskey. "Time flies. You're already a sophomore… Oh, and Ron, he's going to school this year too."
"Isn't that good?" Chris chuckled from the side. "That way, you and Molly can have a much easier time."
"Yes, you're right." Mr. Weasley took another small sip of his drink. "But if we're talking about an easy time, we'll have to wait another year. Ginny is no less troublesome than her brothers."
Then he began to recount some of Ginny's embarrassing past and how she fought with Ron at home.
Kyle wasn't interested in the rest and took his luggage upstairs to his room. When he came back down, Mr. Weasley was already preparing to leave.
"Aren't you really going to dinner with me? Molly's prepared a lot."
"Next time, Arthur," Chris declined. "Today's a day of reunion after so long, and Charlie has graduated. You two probably have a lot to talk about with him.
How about this, I'll come find you for drinks later. I brought back some authentic chugs from North America this time."
"That's great!" Mr. Weasley's eyes lit up. "I've been wanting to try that for ages."
Like Chris, Mr. Weasley liked to have a drink or two when he had nothing to do, but they had one thing in common: they never drank too much. They always just took a sip and kept themselves sober.
Unless it was something particularly joyful, like the day Ginny was born, Mr. Weasley got completely drunk and dragged everyone who passed by on a tirade about his courtship with Mrs. Weasley.
This incident later became the darkest chapter in his history that he most wanted to forget, without a doubt.
Not long after Mr. Weasley left, a series of clanging sounds soon filled the kitchen.
The chicken legs lined up, coating themselves in egg and breadcrumbs, while a knife floated in mid-air, shredding cabbage into evenly sized strips.
The flatbread beside them diligently stuffed itself with filling before wobbling into the oven, even applying its own oil.
Diana never liked using magic to directly heat food; she always felt something was missing.
Soon, a sumptuous dinner was ready.
Coincidentally, Chris and Diana had completed their tasks almost simultaneously a few days prior, allowing them to gather today to celebrate Kyle's end of the school year.
The three ate and chatted at the table, but most of the time, Kyle recounted his experiences at school.
This was what Chris and Diana were most interested in.
Kyle reflected on his year's events, selecting some of the more interesting points.
For example, his amazing "forbidden spellcaster" roommate, how exciting the school's Quidditch matches were, and how he and his friends sold maps and trinkets.
As for the Room of Requirement and sneaking into the forbidden section at night, that was out of the question; the Weasley brothers' screams had barely ended, and Kyle didn't want to follow in their footsteps.
While Kyle was speaking, Chris and Diana listened quietly, but their expressions quickly changed.
"Wait..." Chris raised an eyebrow, unable to resist interrupting Kyle, "You sold those mountain pear branches for seven hundred gallons?"
"That was just the raw material," Kyle said seriously. "From picking...cough, selecting suitable branches, to finally making the finished product, it took the six of us half a year. It wasn't easy.
Seven hundred gallons is just a small fee for our hard work."
"Is that so..." Chris looked at him suspiciously. He felt something was off, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
And six young wizards earning seven hundred gallons in half a year...that was unbelievable enough.
He didn't have that kind of ability when he was in school.
If Chris was merely suspicious, Diana was certain Kyle wasn't telling the truth.
In her opinion, Kyle would never waste half a year for a hundred Galleons; that was far too much of a stretch, half a month would be more accurate.
"Oh, right, Dad," Kyle suddenly seemed to remember something and reminded her, "I don't know if Fred and George have told the family about earning Galleons. When you go to Mr. Weasley for drinks later, don't let it slip."
Kyle had genuinely forgotten, and it had nothing to do with their gloating attitude at the station.
Chris took a sip of butterbeer and mumbled a reply.
After dinner, Chris helped clear the table and then took a delicate wine bottle to Mr. Weasley.
Kyle returned to his room.
Although he hadn't been back for over half a year, the room was very clean and didn't smell bad, so it must have been cleaned beforehand.
His trunk was still on the floor. Kyle tidied it up briefly and took out a stack of parchment, placing it on his desk.
Before going to sleep, he had one more thing to do: the promise he made to Kanna on the train.
He'd already taken 150 Galleons; if he didn't do a good job, he'd get a bad review.
Kyle took out a quill and ink, and the room quickly filled with the scribbling sound of writing.
He wrote on two full pages of parchment before stopping, checking them to make sure everything was in order, and then put them in an envelope.
Rodon flew in through the window, casually raising one leg.
"Same as before," Kyle said, glancing at the name on the envelope. "Go to the Owl Post Office in Diagon Alley and mail it from there."
[End of the chapter]