Around nine o'clock in the evening, the Masons, having had a delightful conversation with Vernon Dursley, departed from Number 4 Privet Drive.
Vernon's ruddy face was filled with joy.
The deal was practically sealed. When he went to the company tomorrow, he could take the contract over to be signed.
"Thanks to you, Lynn."
After returning inside, Vernon knocked on Harley's bedroom door and saw Lynn sitting at the head of Harley's bed, playing a dueling card game with her.
"I just happened to drop by; I hope I didn't delay your business."
Lynn stood up to answer Vernon, simultaneously stating one of his purposes for coming today: "I actually came to tell you that a classmate has invited me and Harley to visit his home in mid-July. He's a student from our house, and their father works at the Ministry of Magic."
"Is that so..."
Uncle Vernon nodded slowly. Hearing that the classmate's father worked in the government agency of the magical world eased his mind slightly. Going to the home of a classmate with a respectable job meant the probability of meeting a loafer like James—a good-for-nothing hooligan—would be much lower. Vernon didn't have a very good impression of wizards, even though magic was indeed quite interesting.
"Since you are going to a classmate's house to play, I have no objections. Just pay attention to your safety."
"Do you need me to drive you there? I should have half a day of free time tomorrow afternoon."
"No need to trouble you with that," Lynn shook his head. "The wizarding world has a very convenient Knight Bus. It can reach any location within England in a very short time, which is convenient for underage wizards like Harley and me."
"Then how long will you be gone?"
Lynn turned his head to glance at Harley. "Probably a week or two. If there are any changes, we'll have an owl send a letter."
"Alright." Uncle Vernon hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "But you must stay safe."
"By the way, Lynn, do you want to stay here tonight? There is a spare room; I'll have your Aunt Petunia tidy it up for you."
"Then I'll impose on you for the night."
Lynn nodded in thanks, and Vernon closed the bedroom door, returning to the living room in a cheerful mood.
"What kind of surprise do you think Fred and George prepared for us?"
After Vernon left, Harley tucked the feet she had just pulled out back into Lynn's embrace to warm them. They stopped playing cards; she had lost five or six hands in a row just now, and even when she cheated, she still lost. It wasn't fun at all.
"If we could guess it, what kind of surprise would it be?"
Seeing this, Lynn put away the cards, pulled out a thick tome, flipped to his bookmark, and began reading.
"True enough."
"It's so boring not being able to use magic outside of school. If we go to the Burrow, since there are adult wizards nearby, we can use magic, right?"
"Mhm."
"Then they must have planted something very interesting at their home. I heard Fred and George say they have a vegetable garden. I wonder if vegetables grown with magic will secretly pull themselves up at night and run away."
"Magical plants might, but ordinary vegetables won't. They'll just grow faster and larger."
Hearing Lynn's distracted answers as he multitasked, Harley pouted her little lips.
"Tell me a story. I'm a little sleepy."
"A long, long time ago, there was a girl with skin as white as snow. Her name was Snow White..."
"I don't want the Seven Dwarfs."
"So many complaints." Lynn lowered his book and rolled his eyes at Harley.
"I bought you a Nimbus 2001."
"Thank you, boss!" Lynn's expression changed instantly, and he immediately corrected himself.
"Then I'll tell you a story that happened back when Muggles and wizards still lived together."
"More than two hundred years ago, for the fact that Newton discovered gravity, he actually has to thank Ma Liang the Divine Painter. Back then, when Ma Liang was practicing his painting, he painted ten suns. As a result, all ten suns went up into the sky, roasting the people on the ground so badly they'd be cooked medium-rare just by stepping out the door. So, a man skilled in archery stepped forward. His name was Hawkeye. He fired ten enchanted explosive arrows and shot down nine of the suns, but the last shot went astray and poked a big hole in the sky.
"Nuwa saw this and thought, 'This won't do, it must be patched.' So she took five-colored stones to patch the sky. But as she was flying up, she accidentally dropped two stones, which blocked the doorway of an old man named Yugong. Yugong saw this and thought, 'I can't just never leave the house,' so he planned to dig away these two mountains. But when he dug down with his shovel, he brought up a scoop of calabash seeds. He took them home and planted them in his yard, and they grew into seven calabashes.
"These seven calabashes turned into seven children, who then helped their grandfather dig the mountain. The eldest of the seven brothers was called Big Baby. Born with supernatural strength, he grabbed a huge rock and hurled it. Coincidentally, Erlang Shen's sister was trapped under that mountain. Erlang Shen happened to be on vacation that day and had brought his celestial dog, Xiao Tian Quan, to visit his sister. Just as he arrived, he was smashed by this rock. He shouted in anger, 'Hand over your life!' and released the dog to bite them. Fortunately, the sixth brother of the seven had the power of invisibility. He shouted, 'I'm the Sixth One!', and ran away with his brothers.
"Then, these seven brothers ran to the sea and developed their own power, becoming known as the Seven Warlords of the Sea. But they soon grew tired of the life of fighting and killing. So one day, they left the sea and found a place to live in seclusion. Because these seven brothers were all relatively short, people called them the Seven Dwarfs. Until one day, a princess named Snow White was being hunted down. The Seven Dwarfs prepared to save her and settled her in a treehouse.
"However, because the Queen hunting Snow White was too powerful, she eventually found Snow White. Snow White took a bite of a poisoned apple and immediately fell to the ground. The apple in her hand also fell, landing right on the head of Newton, who was sitting under the tree. Newton picked up the apple, looked at it, and said, 'Eh~ Gravity.'"
"Wait!" Harley, who had listened until she was confused, reached out and grabbed Lynn's hand. "Isn't this still Snow White?"
"Because it's time for Snow White to go to sleep."
Lynn rubbed Harley's dog-head vigorously, covered her with a thin blanket, clicked off the light, and left the room.
At seven in the morning, the sky was bright. Lynn, sleeping comfortably under his covers, suddenly felt his heart tighten and instantly opened his eyes.
A grinning Harley, looking treacherous, was attempting to steal the warmth from his body with her freezing cold palms.
"Holy crap... a frost banshee coming to suck my life force in broad daylight?"
"It's all your fault anyway. You have to take responsibility, Lynn."
Harley, her plan having failed, had a look of slight regret on her face. "Aunt Petunia has made breakfast. Go down and eat quickly; sandwiches taste much better when they're steaming hot than when they're cold."
"Bacon and eggs?"
"Mhm-hmm. Don't you like eating that in the morning?"
"That's because I have no choice. I'd love to have soy milk, fried dough sticks, and big steamed buns for breakfast too."
"But England doesn't have those conditions."
Chatting as he got up, Lynn changed his clothes. By the time he had washed up and was ready to go downstairs, Dudley, stifling a yawn, also walked out of his room listlessly.
"Getting up this early these days, Dudley?"
Lynn looked at Dudley with some surprise and greeted him.
"Dudley has a date today. Otherwise, how could he possibly have been a well-behaved waiter downstairs last night?"
Harley raised an eyebrow and teased, "Is that right, Dudley? How much money did you save for the date?"
"Not much." Dudley blushed a little shyly; it was his first time being asked out by a girl.
"Well, good luck." Lynn patted his shoulder and went downstairs with Harley. A hearty breakfast was already laid out on the table.
After simply filling their stomachs, Harley packed the clothes she needed to bring into her Undetectable Extension Charm bag. After bidding farewell to the Dursleys, the two opened the door and walked through the garden path.
Just like yesterday, Lynn raised his wand. The purple triple-decker Knight Bus came roaring over, causing Harley to let out a "Wow" of surprise.
"The wizarding world has buses too? I thought wizards all used carriages."
"Welcome—" A familiar voice cut off as soon as it started. It was Stan Shunpike, with his listless face.
"Haven't gotten off work yet?"
" The guy for the shift change ate something bad. I have to cover his shift until 9 o'clock. Otherwise, I would have been off hours ago."
The conductor had large dark circles under his eyes and a face full of exhaustion, but upon seeing the petite and cute Harley, he suddenly perked up quite a bit.
"Went to that place yesterday, and today you've abducted a little girl?"
The look he gave Lynn was one of absolute awe—could being good-looking really let you do whatever you wanted?!
Stan Shunpike suddenly clutched his chest, his heart twitching with pain. This guy deserves to die! "Where did you go yesterday?" Harley held onto Lynn's arm with some suspicion.
"Went to Oxford University to snuggle with big sisters. Reliving what it feels like to be amidst turbulent waves—so full that one hand can't even hold it all, overflowing. It was absolutely amazing."
"Lynn, you're too much! You didn't take me along for such a good thing!"
Harley glared at Lynn angrily. "Next time I want to go too! I want to snuggle with big-chested, long-legged big sisters too!"
"For the safety of the girl living with you, I can't take you along for that kind of thing."
Harley, lips pursed and face unhappy, followed Lynn onto the bus and sat on his lap with a slight huff.
"Where to this time?" Stan asked listlessly, his eyebrows drooping.
"The Burrow."
"Oh, fourteen Sickles for two."
He accepted a handful of silver coins and patted the back of the driver's seat. "Let's go, Ernie. To the Burrow."
If a wizarding family's address is registered with the Ministry of Magic, the Knight Bus can travel directly to the destination.
Ernie's reaction was two beats slower than yesterday evening, but he still stomped the gas pedal to the floor. With a whoosh, the bus shot forward.
"What kind of bus is this!"
Harley, feeling herself violently thrown, didn't fly off but was scared enough to death-grip Lynn's hand, pinching a row of finger marks into it.
"You're pinching me black and blue!"
Lynn spoke to Harley through gritted teeth. "Let go, you won't fly out..."
But Harley just clenched her teeth, her face turning somewhat pale as she buried Lynn's arm into her embrace. The terrible ride experience made her feel like vomiting.
"I hate this bus..."
After ten minutes of suffering, Harley, her legs a bit weak and her small face pale, said, "Lynn, can't you just buy a car? I can give it to you."
"Then I want a Ferrari F40."
"How much?"
"A mere six hundred and fifty thousand pounds."
"Thirteen hundred Galleons? That's a little pricey, but affordable."
The little rich lady did a quick calculation. "I'll give it to you for your birthday."
"I'm joking." Lynn waved his hand. "A Muggle luxury toy. If I really wanted one, I'd transfigure one myself. The performance would be several times better than that, and it wouldn't even need to burn gasoline."
"Did we just hear some incredible number?"
Just as the Knight Bus dropped them off, the twins strode out the door quickly.
"A Muggle car worth thirteen hundred Galleons? Did I hear that right?"
George's face was full of astonishment.
"But modifying Muggle artifacts is against the law, you know." Fred walked over quickly, grinning. "However, I have a way for you to tinker with a modified magical car for 'collection' purposes without breaking the law." He hooked his index fingers, putting air quotes around collection.
"How could an upright little wizard like me exploit such a loophole?" Lynn said solemnly. "I'm hand-crafting it with Transfiguration; it's an alchemy item. Does it have a half-penny's relationship with Muggles?"
"Of course, absolutely none."
The twins, understanding instantly, gave a thumbs up. "Your way of thinking is much trickier than Dad's. We can drop a hint to him later."
"Does your family have a car? Fred, George?"
Harley's complexion was much better now, but she still hung onto Lynn's arm.
"We do, but Dad got it secretly. We use it privately and no one cares; as long as Muggles don't find out, everything is fine."
"Come on, let's go inside. Have you two had breakfast? If not, come have some together; Mom made extra sandwiches this morning."
"We've already eaten."
They followed the twins into the somewhat crooked-looking "illegal structure" ahead. The layout inside the Burrow wasn't exactly luxurious, but a thick sense of life came rushing at them, making one involuntarily feel a sense of warmth and intimacy.
"Is that Harley and Lynn?"
Just as they walked into the living room, a witch who was somewhat short and plump but had a kind and gentle smile walked out. She wiped her hands, not forgetting to direct the pots and pans in the kitchen to wash themselves.
"Fred and George told me you would be coming over to play during the holidays. Treat this like your own home, please don't stand on ceremony."
"Would you like some snacks? I'll go get you some."
"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley."
Harley and Lynn expressed their thanks, then followed the twins to sit on the sofa in the living room.
"Who is it?"
Percy's voice came from the staircase; he was coming downstairs.
"Of course, it's our Gryffindor legend—the only pair in history to get points from Snape—"
"It's Harley and Lynn!"
Percy's figure appeared at the turn of the stairs, interrupting the twins' exaggerated announcement.
"Welcome to the Burrow." Percy's voice became warmer when he saw that neither of them showed the slightest expression of disdain for his home.
"Percy, your good mood is reserved only for good students, isn't it?"
"Why haven't we seen you welcome us home enthusiastically like that?"
"Shoo, shoo." Percy waved his hand in disgust. "I get a headache just looking at you two."
"We didn't lose a single point last year!"
The twins retorted, slightly unconvinced.
"But you didn't earn any points either, did you?" Percy glared at them sternly, though it was of no use. "You clearly could have earned points for the House."
"We had more important things to attend to."
"It was a great cause! Professor Flitwick and Professor McGonagall both said it was good!"
"I just hope you can put a little more heart into your studies."
Percy sat on the sofa, feeling a bit helpless. The twins not losing points for the House was indeed good news—it had saved him a lot of brain cells—but he couldn't handle the fact that there was another 'genius' brother working hard at it. Ron was giving Percy a really hard time.
"Aren't you supposed to be tutoring Ron? That's the important task Mom gave you. Go on up, go enjoy your trip to hell."
The twins winked at Percy, their faces full of teasing.
"Ron..." At the mention of this name, veins popped out on Percy's forehead. "I really want to strangle that rascal!"
"What's wrong with Ron?" Seeing Percy's huge reaction, Harley was a bit curious. In her eyes, Percy was a very responsible prefect. Although a bit stiff at times, he was a good person.
"Ron broke a record our family has held for decades."
Fred was trying to hold back laughter but failed.
"Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, Herbology, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Astronomy, History."
"Ron's report card is PPTPADD."
"It's the legendary 'Please Troll, Pity A Daft Dunderhead!'"
The twins' sharp tongues even made Percy laugh. He pinched his thigh to stop the laughter, but the expression on his face was still somewhat distorted.
"Alright, that's enough. At least he won't be this bad next term; Mom asked me to keep an eye on him."
"Then you'll have to teach him how to recognize all the letters first."
"Oh, are there 24 or 26 letters? So hard to guess, right!"
"Surely it can't be 25!"
"But what if it is?"
"Hahahaha!"
The twins clutched their stomachs, overjoyed.
"What are you laughing at!"
Mrs. Weasley walked over carrying a large porcelain platter filled with snacks, her face somewhat dark. She didn't even need to cast a glare; the twins instantly behaved themselves.
"If you two continue to make trouble and set a bad example for your brother, I won't let you off easy!"
"Mom!"
"We didn't lose a single point last year."
"This has absolutely nothing to do with us."
"We went to the professors' offices to ask questions more often than we took showers."
"Alright, alright, keep it up in the future."
Mrs. Weasley waved her hand. The twins' performance this year was passable, so she couldn't be bothered to lecture them.
"Percy said that you and Ron are in the same dormitory, Lynn?"
After setting down the snacks, Mrs. Weasley spoke with some worry, a trace of embarrassment in her eyes.
"Yes, Mrs. Weasley." Lynn nodded and replied calmly, "However, during the last school year, I did help the classmates in the dormitory correct some bad habits. Neville, Seamus, and Dean all stuck with it."
Mrs. Weasley's face sank slightly. Since Lynn put it that way, she understood the meaning. It wasn't that Lynn didn't help, but that Ron, that brat, didn't appreciate it. Otherwise, how could everyone else in the dorm have changed, while he tested like that!
"We can testify. In the month before Christmas, Ron was a little diligent, but he was only diligent for that little bit."
Fred spoke quickly, and George completed the second half of the sentence: "He also told us he was going to earn points in Snape's class, but undoubtedly, he never succeeded."
"Admirable courage."
"Reckless stupidity."
The two gave a concise summary, then high-fived.
After Mrs. Weasley left, Percy went upstairs with a distressed face. A few minutes later, his exasperated voice could be faintly heard from upstairs, breaking down once again.
"Now it's time for us to talk."
"I know a good place. Let's go outside."
Grabbing a large handful of snacks from the plate, the twins led Harley and Lynn out of the Burrow and toward the small hill behind the house.
On the hill stood an old, thick, squat tree; its trunk would require four or five people to encircle it.
"This is the treehouse Bill took us to dig out back in the day, though we haven't been here in a long time."
"I really miss the days running around with bare bottoms, carefree. We even climbed up the tree and peed while he was sleeping underneath. Bill thought it was raining."
"But the result was that George and I got spanked until one butt cheek was higher than the other. We had to sleep on our stomachs for days."
"The treehouse was dug after that, mainly to stop us from making it rain on him again."
"Also to keep us quiet and give us something to do."
Pushing open the hidden door of the treehouse, they entered the fairly spacious interior. The floor was covered with dry straw, and there were wooden chairs and partitioned "second" and "third" floors, just like a giant cat tree.
"Now you can tell us, right? What's so mysterious?"
Lynn, sitting cross-legged, was actually looking forward to this. The twins liked to joke, but they never messed around when it came to serious matters.
"Actually, it's Charlie."
The twins lowered their voices and spoke mysteriously. "He told us he found a very incredible place over in Romania. He didn't say exactly what it was, but he wrote a letter to Bill."
"Of course, as his quick-witted, clever, and intelligent brothers, we also got the news from him."
"Charlie thinks we might get some inspiration there. There shouldn't be any danger, but it will definitely be very interesting."
"Romania?" Lynn recalled some facts about the place. "I remember Romania is the origin of vampires, and also the largest dragon sanctuary in Europe?"
"Correct. So we guessed it without even needing to be told—it's definitely going to be fun."
"When do we go?" Harley was so excited she wanted to jump up. "Today? Or tomorrow?"
"That depends on when Bill can get time off. He's working as a Curse-Breaker in Egypt, and the goblins at Gringotts aren't that easy to talk to."
"I'll sponsor one thousand Galleons for adventure expenses! The sooner we leave, the better!"
"No need at all. Charlie has already prepared everything over there. Since we invited you two to play, there's no need for you to spend money, Harley."
The twins, who loved money but were not greedy for it, rejected Harley's attempt to throw money around. Their family wasn't very wealthy right now, but they were spiritually rich. Their brothers were excellent, and they themselves were awesome too.
"But Romania isn't close to here. How do we get there?"
"International Floo Network, of course. Aside from the experience being a bit poor, it's cheap, fast, and safe."
"Leave these things to us. Just wait for the owl to bring the letter."
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