Chapter 249: Only in front of his parents did he act like a child
The two stone statues at the gate were still there. Dylan glanced at them. These two guys didn't seem to be ordinary magical constructs. Dylan guessed they might have once been human, but for some reason, they were sealed in these statues. And since they were now Ravenclaw's gatekeepers, they might have once offended her and were turned into this by her.
Seeing Dylan come out, the red-eyed stone statue immediately said flatteringly, "How was it? You must have had a good harvest, right?"
The blue-eyed stone statue remained silent.
Dylan nodded slightly. "It's not bad. Now I can do more things at school."
The red-eyed stone statue saw that Dylan seemed to be in a good mood, and enduring the pain in its soul, it spoke eagerly, "Then... I wonder, are you willing to let us go?"
"We've been imprisoned here for so many, many years!"
Dylan blinked. "You've been imprisoned. What does that have to do with me?"
"Uh..." The red-eyed stone statue was speechless.
Dylan chuckled. Let them go? How could that be? His world also needed two gatekeepers. Besides, Dylan really wanted to study how these two stone statues were made. Was the principle behind it what he thought it was?
In addition to that, these two stone statues could do a lot of things for him. How could Dylan let them leave so easily? Not a chance!
Dylan didn't pay attention to the red-eyed stone statue anymore. Instead, he sized up the palace. Then, he gently raised his hand and lightly tapped the palace wall with his index finger.
The next moment, the entire palace instantly disappeared before his eyes. The red-eyed and blue-eyed stone statues also vanished with it.
"I can really take it with me."
Dylan's eyebrows rose slightly. He was even happier. No matter what, the equipment in the palace's laboratory would be best left in their original places. After all, Dylan had checked and found that there were many spells on the palace. The spells affected every aspect of the palace. If he were to simply dismantle some parts by force, he might damage some things. He also wouldn't be able to use the spells in the palace to make what he wanted to do more convenient.
Fortunately, Dylan hadn't forcibly dismantled the equipment in the laboratory before. Now that the entire palace was in his possession, he could even put some of the things he had previously packed back where they belonged.
He looked up at the sky. It was very late now. Dylan decided to go home and get some sleep. He would deal with everything else in the morning.
His body floated toward the sea surface. At the same time, the surrounding seawater was visibly squeezed inward. With a loud roar, the waves surged. The seabed was refilled with water.
Looking back, Dylan then looked in another direction. "This commotion has attracted others, hasn't it?"
Dylan's figure suddenly twisted, turning into a pitch-black shadow under the moonlight. The sea breeze swept past him, but it could only lift a few wisps of faint afterimages. The black shadow tore through the air at an extremely high speed, breaking through the clouds. After flying over a large area of land, Dylan returned home.
His parents were already home, but they weren't sleeping. They were busy with something. Dylan's eyebrows raised, and his figure instantly disappeared.
"He's going to be so surprised tomorrow morning."
Hubert chuckled. "We said we were going to the movies, but we were actually preparing gifts for him. Tomorrow morning, when he wakes up, he'll see a pile of gifts and he'll be so excited he'll jump for joy!"
"Keep your voice down," Maeve reminded him. "Dylan is already asleep. Don't wake him up."
Hubert nodded repeatedly, but still mumbled softly, "When he thinks we only gave him a few things, and then he wakes up tomorrow and sees all these gifts, I can't wait to see the look on his face!"
Maeve didn't deny this. She nodded gently, her hair falling. "I'm curious, too. Let's hurry up and finish so we can go to bed early. We don't want him to wake up before us tomorrow."
At this, Hubert's face changed from excitement to helplessness. He even seemed a little exasperated.
"I don't understand it. He's so young, but he gets up so early every day. Doesn't he worry about not growing tall? I'm not going to get a good night's sleep again!"
Maeve smiled softly. "Do you think our son is short now?"
Hubert rubbed his head. "That's true."
Looking at his parents who were busy sorting through gifts, Dylan's eyes softened.
"Seriously, it's so late. Why are they still doing this?"
Dylan was a little moved. Then, he looked at the things his parents were sorting through. They included, but were not limited to, a large pile of snacks, some strange and gaudy toys, and all kinds of Muggle clothes...
Dylan opened his mouth. He actually wanted to say that he didn't have much use for these things. He didn't like snacks. He couldn't wear the clothes to school. As for the toys... There was no need to even mention them. He had absolutely no interest in these things.
But after all, his parents had put a lot of thought and effort, and spent a lot of money, to create this surprise. Dylan thought for a moment about what kind of reaction he should have when he woke up tomorrow morning to make it look good. He also wondered how he could make his performance not look too exaggerated.
"Is there a spell for acting?"
Dylan sighed in his heart. His invisible body floated up slightly and passed directly through the wall, returning to his bedroom. He didn't enter the pet space to talk to Ravenclaw about the treasure she left behind or the palace. Instead, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.
Since he had transmigrated here, a problem that had once plagued Dylan had been solved without him having to do anything. He used to suffer from insomnia! However, now, perhaps because he had a younger body, he could fall asleep as soon as he closed his eyes. And his sleep quality was excellent. This feeling became even more profound after he started learning magic. And he almost never had any dreams at night. He slept soundly until morning. This was something he hadn't experienced for a very, very long time in his previous life.
The night was uneventful.
When he woke up the next morning, Dylan sat up in bed and stretched. He had to admit, sleeping at home was very comfortable. No one would bother him. He didn't even need to use spells to take precautions to avoid being disturbed. His parents would try their best to keep their voices down so as not to wake him up. Of course, it was also possible that his parents were still asleep.
Dylan got out of bed, put on his clothes and shoes, and snapped his fingers. Magic swept over him, quickly cleaning him up.
Dylan pricked up his ears and didn't hear any movement outside. After waiting for a moment, he opened the door. The wooden floor made a faint creaking sound. He saw his parents at the end of the hallway. The Hawkwoods were wrapped in fluffy bathrobes. Maeve's hair was a bit messy and sticking up. Hubert's appearance was even worse. He was rubbing his eyes, yawning, leaning against the wall, and occasionally his head would drop, looking as if he was about to fall asleep. He was holding a coffee cup in his hand and was about to take a sip when Dylan opened the door.
Hubert was startled when the door suddenly opened. But he quickly reacted and hurriedly put the coffee cup into a nearby wall niche. Then he quickly pulled Maeve, who was also looking sleepy.
When they saw Dylan open the door, they both said with a thick nasal voice, "Merry Christmas, little one!"
Dylan looked at the two of them. A helpless smile appeared on his face. "I'm not little anymore."
He walked forward. He saw that his parents were still holding a banner. He glanced at it. It looked like his parents had written it by hand.
"Are you all grown up? You're still just a little kid!" Hubert mumbled.
"Merry Christmas, Mom and Dad." Dylan smiled. "Is this my surprise? I'm so happy, and I love you both!"
"We love you too," Maeve said with a gentle look on her face. "Come look at the living room."
Maeve handed the banner to her husband. Then she took Dylan's hand and led him to the living room. It was still early in the morning. Maeve's hand was warm. After pulling Dylan along, her thumb gently rubbed Dylan's wrist. Her pajamas still had a bit of lavender scent, which, mixed with the slightly strong smell of coffee, entered Dylan's nose. This scent made Dylan's nose a little red. He sniffed lightly, but held back his emotions.
"Guess what Santa Claus brought you this time?" Maeve said softly.
Hubert followed behind the mother and son. "I wonder if there really is a Santa Claus. After all, there's magic now."
Dylan looked back at him. "Actually, Dad, if you put it that way, everyone is Santa Claus. Not just wizards with magic, but ordinary people too."
Hubert blinked in surprise. "What do you mean?"
Dylan smiled. "Because you are my Santa Claus!"
Hubert was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing. "Hey! You little rascal, did learning magic make your mouth so sweet?"
Dylan stuck out his tongue. Only when he was with his parents did he feel like he was truly a child. This was a feeling he had never experienced, even when he was with older people like Professor McGonagall.
Maeve also covered her mouth and smiled. "It seems our son has grown up a little."
Dylan snorted lightly and then lifted his chin. "Of course! You should see whose son I am."
The three of them arrived at the living room. Outside the French doors, a gray-blue morning mist hung. The morning light seeped in through the gaps in the curtains like soaked cotton wool. The flickering flames in the fireplace reflected on his parents' robes, casting a shimmering glow.
Hubert, without a care for his image, curled up on the rug first and let out a big yawn. "Oh my god, I didn't expect preparing all this to take so long. I'm so sleepy!"
Maeve gently kicked her husband's leg with her foot. "Don't say that."
Hubert pouted, but still nodded.
"Come on, son. These are all the things your mom and I prepared yesterday. We put them into gift boxes one by one." Hubert waved at Dylan.
Maeve led Dylan over. She sat on the sofa, and Dylan took two steps forward and squatted on the rug with his dad.
"No matter what gift you want, it should all be here!" Hubert said without reservation.
The Christmas tree in front of the sofa was decorated with Christmas ornaments. The statue on top of it was still standing with its spear. Since entering the living room, Dylan hadn't even glanced at the statue.
Maeve reached for a gift box and played with it. "How about you open this one first?"
The box was bulging, and the wrapping paper was printed with crooked snowmen.
"Did Dad wrap this?"
Maeve smiled and nodded. "You guessed it. Yesterday he even wrapped the tape around his fingers. I thought he was going to give you his hand as a Christmas gift."
Hubert's eyes widened. "Honey! Why would you tell him that? My hands have other uses! You should know that, honey!" Hubert winked at Maeve.
Maeve paused, a blush rising on her cheeks. She glared at her husband. This old rascal! Why is he saying these things in front of our child! I'm definitely going to punish him tonight!
Maeve cleared her throat and changed the subject. "Here, open it and take a look." She handed the long gift box to Dylan.
Dylan took it and unwrapped the colorful paper to reveal a wooden easel and a full set of paints.
Hubert also lifted his head, his eyes glancing at Dylan. "I remember you once said you wanted to learn to paint when you were little. This set is supposed to be very good. You can take it back to school and use it in your art class."
Dylan was stunned for a moment. He played with the easel in his hand and couldn't help but laugh. "Dad, our school doesn't teach art."
Speaking of wanting to learn to paint, it was because he didn't know he was in the world of Harry Potter at the time. Back then, he was single-mindedly thinking about what kind of work he could do in the future that would be easy and profitable. With his memories from his previous life, he had some impressions of some bizarre paintings.
If he could replicate them more or less, he might have a chance to become a painter. This was a time when painters were relatively rare, or rather, artists who could become famous.
But when he tried to draw the pictures he remembered with a simple brush, another problem arose his paintings were just too ugly. They were so bad they were unbearable to look at! So in the end, Dylan gave up on the idea.
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