Chapter 253: Can't you two wait until I'm gone to be affectionate?
The night in Diagon Alley wasn't deserted. The breeze always carried a hint of dampness.
Borgin turned around and saw a person in black robes sitting behind him without him noticing. He was stunned and quickly poured a glass of Butterbeer. "I didn't know you were coming, sir."
A large glass of Butterbeer was placed in front of him, and Dylan didn't refuse it. Dylan rarely showed his face, and his sudden appearance made Borgin a little flustered. To be able to see Dylan was, at the moment, the highest privilege. Although he was nervous, he was also very happy. This would bring him many benefits—even if he had to pay a sum of Galleons every time they met.
Dylan just smiled at Borgin's flattery and didn't respond. He knew that even if Borgin said that, he wouldn't charge him less. "No need to be flustered, Borgin. I just happened to be passing by."
"Your business here is the same as usual." Dylan glanced at the interior of the store, which was as cold and empty as ever.
"As you can see, sir." Borgin said, handing this month's rent to Dylan. He was being modest. This was a shop that made Tom Riddle reject a job with the Ministry of Magic after graduation just to stay there. It always hid some strange and bizarre treasures. Maybe not many people came, but as long as he sold one item, it would be enough for the Weasley family's expenses for several months.
"Has Delphini not found anything good?" Good things were rare, but he could always find some.
"Don't mention that guy; I haven't seen her in a while. Merry Christmas, sir."
It was clear that Borgin was still a little scared of Dylan's presence. Or perhaps, it was more reverence. With the strongest magical talent in history, there was nothing he couldn't do. Such a person was never short of followers.
Dylan didn't say anything, just gave him a faint glance, and took out a 20-milliliter glass bottle from his extension bag.
"This is? Another batch? The quality is really good." Borgin took the bottle with both hands. The black liquid inside was mixed with a faint dark light. Even through the glass, he could feel the power of this thing.
"Yeah, Aragog's venom is not easy to collect."
"Uh-huh..." Borgin chuckled dryly. Not easy to collect? This is a whole jar! "This venom, even a little bit can take a wizard's life. Such a precious thing, it must be difficult to collect."
Borgin held the bottle tightly in his hand and quickly found a box to put it in. His eyes were fixed on it; this thing was priceless. What Dylan had given him before had already made him a lot of money. Although a lot of that money had to be returned to Dylan, it had also allowed him to get a lot of connections.
After all, Aragog was already hard to find—except for the one in the Forbidden Forest. An ordinary person would be hard-pressed to get ahold of some. Just one drop, if mixed in with the food at Hogwarts, could take out a whole House of students. He didn't want to waste a single bit of it.
"Make good use of it." Before leaving, Dylan reminded Borgin. The value of this venom was far more than this.
Dylan left the shop and disappeared down the street. When he returned home, he didn't see his parents. Well, it was the same whether he was there or not. He guessed that Hubert would be very happy when he found out he wasn't home. Sure enough, there was a note on the table. "Not coming back tonight, don't wait up for us."
Well, they were afraid he would suddenly come back. He finally understood; he, their son, was an extra wheel.
The next morning, the sunlight shone through the window, right onto Dylan's face. There was a commotion downstairs. Dylan went downstairs and saw Hubert and Maeve being affectionate. "It looks like I should go back to school earlier," Dylan said with a helpless look. Sure enough, children get annoying when they stay home for too long.
"Christmas is over, you should go back." Maeve immediately perked up and had no intention of keeping him. "Have you packed your things?" Maeve said, looking up, not seeing Dylan's luggage. Dylan knew he really should go back.
"His holiday is almost over anyway, so why don't we go to that restaurant we went to last time? A new movie is coming out too."
"A rare family day." Maeve was a little happy. After all, this way she wouldn't have to prepare lunch. She was so happy not to cook. Sure enough, housework was difficult for women.
After a quick tidy up, the Dylan family went to a special restaurant. Hubert and Maeve were quite satisfied with the food there. Dylan had to admit that sometimes Muggle cuisine was pretty good. Even with advanced magic, the food might not be as delicious as this place's.
On the way back, Dylan saw a bookmark. It was made of nylon rope and a metal charm. The 'R' on it was very unique, and he guessed Luna would like it. He had already prepared a gift for her. One more shouldn't be a problem.
"Okay, dear, do you need to buy some popcorn? I need two lemonades." Maeve bought the movie tickets and sent Dylan to get some popcorn and lemonade. She was always like this, sending him on errands.
When Dylan came back with the things, Hubert and Maeve had already gone inside. He should have known. With these two, they were more entertaining than the movie itself. Dylan didn't know what happened in the second half of the movie, and he guessed Hubert didn't either. He only heard the two of them whispering to each other. They were told to quiet down a few times by a couple behind them, but he guessed it wouldn't have much of an effect. At most, they would be quiet for a few days.
That evening, when the family returned home, Maeve was ready to make dinner. From the way she looked, she didn't really want to do the cooking, and Dylan knew it. When he came out of his room, the things hadn't even been unwrapped yet. He should have known that Maeve's love was all for Hubert.
Dylan waved his wand, and a purple onion floated up. The tomatoes flew into the sink to be washed. The spatula and kitchen knife also knew what to do. Thank goodness, this world really couldn't function without magic.
"You know, I've always had a question, and I don't know if I should ask." Maeve stood behind Dylan with a smile.
"What could you possibly not ask?" Dylan was used to it. Whenever Maeve asked like this, it was never a good thing.
"Don't they have a way for wizards to store magic at your school? Or maybe you could leave behind some help."
"That way I won't have to worry about dinner every night after you leave."
"Or maybe you can make these things move on their own every day. I mean, it's definitely more delicious than what I make."
Dylan was speechless. He knew it. Maeve wouldn't miss him, she'd only miss the convenience that magic brought.
"Oh, my dear, you don't need to worry about that. When he goes back to school, you'll still have me." Hubert heard the conversation between mother and son and quickly came forward to express his love.
In fact, the two of them really didn't have anything to worry about. With Dylan going back to school, they could go back to their two-person world. They didn't need to have dinner at home every day. Just a bottle of wine would be enough.
"Oh, my gosh, can't you two wait until I'm gone to be affectionate?" Dylan turned around and saw Hubert and Maeve hugging. It wasn't that he was being too conservative. A few boys at school often gathered to discuss girls. After all, Hogwarts didn't openly approve of dating, so they had to be a little more reserved.
It was like at the Yule Ball, everyone was with someone they liked. Only Snape ran to the carriage parking area and searched everywhere. If Hubert was at Hogwarts, he would probably have points taken away all the time.
"He's just jealous of us." Hubert and Maeve were hugging, and the sweetness between them was too much for Dylan to bear.
That night, Dylan packed his luggage, putting the gifts for his friends in a box.
Platform 9 3/4. Dylan pushed his trunk through the wall. The train station to Hogwarts was packed with people. He finally found an empty carriage and got in, only to run into Neville.
"Look who it is." Neville walked in and joined Dylan in the carriage. "Why are you here? I thought you'd stay a few more days."
"How have you been? Merry Christmas, Dylan, though I guess it's a little late to say it."
Dylan shrugged. "The holiday's almost over anyway, so I just came back a few days early." He would never admit it was because he couldn't stand the affectionate couple at home. He'd rather spend time with Luna in the library or secretly study dark magic in the Room of Requirement than be a third wheel at home.
"That's what we thought too. My Gran wouldn't stop talking. I'd rather be back at school, at least you guys are here."
Of course, he was doing well. This semester was a mix of pain and joy for Harry, and he would soon find out.
Back at school. Dylan just got to the school gates and ran into Luna. "Hello, Dylan." Luna was wearing a pair of radish earrings and holding a copy of The Quibbler. Honestly, he saw Luna carrying a pile of newspapers wherever he went.
The Daily Prophet was at least a proper publication, and no matter what it wrote, it still had some circulation. Except for a few people who were a little exaggerated, it was still up to date with current events. The Quibbler was different; he always felt that the things in it were probably all Luna's own ideas.
"Your earrings are very unique." Dylan really didn't know what to say, so he could only compliment her earrings. He didn't think Luna was crazy, she probably just had her own unique ideas.
"Merry Christmas, Dylan. How was your holiday?"
"Pretty good." If a few more people asked him, he would still give the same answer.
"What about you?" The two of them walked side by side towards the school. The castle, bathed in the golden light of the setting sun, looked even more majestic.
"Not bad. My dad hosted a party, but it was really just the two of us."
"He still made a turkey. Honestly, sometimes I think my dad's cooking is better than the school's."
"He also gave me a pair of shoes. Look." Luna's voice was still slow, and she seemed to be in a trance. If he hadn't known her for so long, Dylan would have suspected that someone had cursed her.
Dylan looked down, and he saw a pair of silver patent leather boots with two silver wings on them. He didn't know if they were good-looking, but judging by Luna's reaction, she seemed to really like them.
"They're nice. They're really beautiful. Your dad is very good to you." At the mention of her father, the corners of Luna's mouth turned up slightly. She was just like that, seemingly crazy, but she had her own ideas. Maybe that was why Neville liked Luna so much.
While they were talking, they finally arrived back at school.
Inside the Gryffindor common room, many people were gathered and talking. When Dylan walked in, Harry was just putting a Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Bean into his mouth.
"Don't eat that." Ron wanted to stop him, but it was too late. Harry's face showed disgust; he couldn't even describe the taste.
"This thing has been around for so long, can't they change the flavors?"
"It tastes like goat poop." Harry's face was full of disgust. He felt like the taste was the same as the smell of the Forbidden Forest. A mix of animal feces and fresh grass, it was simply unbearable.
"Honestly, I've always wondered how you can tell it's a goat?" Dylan's voice came from behind.
When Harry and Ron saw Dylan, they quickly threw the last Bertie Bott's bean at him. "This is the last one. It's yours." Honestly, he really didn't want to eat it. The last time he ate one, it was mustard flavored, which was considered a good one compared to Harry's goat poop.
"Can I not eat it?" Dylan's whole body was refusing.
"And here I brought you guys gifts." Ron's eyes immediately spotted the bag in Dylan's hand. The gift boxes inside were very noticeable.
"Share the wealth." Harry was relentless. Dylan knew he couldn't escape today. He simply closed his eyes and put the bean in his mouth.
Chocolate flavor? Dylan didn't expect to be so lucky with the last one. Harry and Ron watched him, clearly expecting something.
"Just like Harry said, this is just too disgusting." Dylan immediately pretended to be disgusted.
Seeing that he had gotten a bad flavor, everyone burst into laughter. See, people this age are easy to fool.
Dylan gave them their gifts. Hermione's gift was a book, so he would have to give it to her tomorrow.
The next day. The crystal balls that were hanging in the Great Hall were gone overnight, and no one knew where the Christmas trees had gone.
The first class was Potions. Just thinking about seeing Snape so early in the morning, Harry and Ron couldn't be happy.
"I'd say Professor Snape shouldn't teach Potions. He should be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts."
"The one who's being defended against." Harry and Ron laughed, but Hermione didn't agree.
"I actually think Professor Snape teaches very well."
"If you two just paid attention in class, you wouldn't get detention all the time."
Ron looked helpless, and Harry was speechless. Snape had a great talent for this subject, but it was clear that Harry and Ron didn't realize it.
"Oh, come on, Hermione. Even if you're good at it, he's never praised you once, or else Gryffindor would have passed everyone else's score long ago."
"I'd rather follow Hagrid into the Forbidden Forest and learn a few more herbs."
Ron's words almost made Dylan laugh out loud. It wasn't like he wasn't chased by spiders himself.
"Quiet, the professor is here." As soon as Dylan spoke, Snape walked in with a dark expression and closed all the windows in the room. As he passed by them, Dylan could smell the herbs on him.
...................
AN: Check out my P@treon For +80 extra chapters.
Thank You For your Support!!
👉 Join now: patreon.com/Chaos_God