"Victor!"
Just as Victor snapped his fingers, Aliya came bounding over, shouting, and hugged him tightly. Rick followed close behind her. Victor pushed her face away, trying to create some distance. Her over-the-top, excited brother-loving persona was truly annoying.
"Aliya, Rick, how was your day in Diagon Alley? Did you have fun?" Victor asked after pushing Aliya away.
"We saw so many interesting things, but I don't have any of the money here, you know, the Galleons. It was so frustrating because I could look but not buy anything," Aliya said, her face instantly turning from excited to disappointed. It was especially frustrating for her as a girl who loved to shop; to want something, have the means to buy it, and yet be unable to was truly painful for her.
"Don't look so glum. I bought gifts for you and Rick. I'll give them to you when we get back!" Victor said, smiling reassuringly. "Besides, I have to go back to Diagon Alley tomorrow. If there's anything you want, we can go together."
"Yes, yes, yes! Let's go back tomorrow!" Aliya's sadness instantly turned to joy when she heard they could go back to Diagon Alley, and she nodded excitedly.
"What about you, Rick?" Victor asked, turning to Rick, who was standing behind Aliya.
"I'm really interested in this sport called Quidditch. I heard Fred and George say that it's a sport where wizards play a ball game on brooms in the air. I really want to see a match with my own eyes." As a hockey player, Rick was naturally very curious about Quidditch. Come to think of it, Quidditch was quite similar to hockey, where the goal was to get a ball into a goal to score, and fighting was allowed. The only difference was that Quidditch used a ball, while hockey was a full-contact sport.
"Rick, Quidditch is a bit more than just snatching a ball in the air!" Fred and George said as they walked over and draped their arms around Rick's shoulders. "If you ever get the chance, we'll take you to a match. It's full of passion and excitement. Last time, we…"
As Rick was being regaled with the twins' half-truths and tall tales about Quidditch, Mrs. Julie noticed that Victor had only brought back one box and asked curiously, "Dear, did you buy everything you need? Why is there only one box?" She remembered there were a lot of things on that list.
"No, I bought everything. I put all of it in this box," Victor said, lifting the slightly battered box in his hand and patting it.
It was a box he had found at a junk shop that had an Undetectable Extension Charm on it, but it wasn't like Newt's box.
Newt's box, which was filled with all sorts of magical creatures, was a high-level magical artifact.
The one he had was just an ordinary enchanted box with a space inside about the size of a freezer, like the ones used to sell ice cream on the street, and it didn't have the ability to switch between Muggle and Wizard modes.
In reality, Victor, who had access to spatial magic, didn't need this box. But to avoid any unnecessary trouble, it was a good cover. By the way, the junk shop wasn't a real junk shop but a store in Diagon Alley that recycled old, used magical items, such as broken wands.
As for how Victor found this box in a junk shop, it was likely that some Malfoy heir had thrown it away because it was too old and shabby, which they felt was beneath them. That's how it ended up in Victor's hands.
Victor glanced at the faded mark on the box where the name Malfoy had been. Although it wasn't the names of the two Malfoys he knew, he had still used magic to erase it.
"One box can fit all that stuff?!" Mrs. Julie asked in surprise. A box that small couldn't even fit a few shirts.
"Magic, Aunt Julie! Magic!" Victor said, patting the box again with a helpless expression.
After a few more moments of chitchat with the Weasleys, Victor and the Swintons got ready to head home. Before they left, Mrs. Weasley handed Victor a slip of paper and said, "Victor, this is our address. You are always welcome to come visit. Just send us a letter by owl." In return, Victor gave the Weasleys his address.
As the sun set, the group finally arrived home. At Victor's strong suggestion, they had dinner in a restaurant. They had a rare outing together, and he didn't want to go home and eat mashed potatoes.
"Victor, hurry up and show me the gifts you bought today!" Aliya said, her stomach full. She was sprawled out on the sofa in a languid position, just like the others. The food was so delicious that everyone had accidentally overeaten, and now they couldn't move.
"Okay!"
Victor put the box on the floor, unbuckled the leather straps, and took out two large bird cages.
Hoot! Hoot!
Inside were two owls: a brown tawny owl and a white snowy owl. They both had big, round, dark brown eyes and were hooting and fidgeting in their cages. Victor opened the cages and let the two little creatures out...
"Wow, owls! They're so cute!"
Aliya tried to get up and pet them, but the weight in her stomach pulled her back down onto the sofa. She felt so uncomfortable that she decided it was better to lie still.
"In the wizarding world, wizards usually use owls and ravens as messengers and delivery people. They can help deliver letters and small items. You saw an owl deliver my acceptance letter earlier," Victor said, looking at the two owls that had jumped out of their cages and were now perched on top of them. "This brown one is named Cygnus. I'll keep him at home. When I go to Hogwarts, you can send me letters through him if anything happens at home."
"This white snowy owl is named Fiona. She'll come to Hogwarts with me."
"Cygnus and Fiona?! Are they a boy and a girl?" Mrs. Julie asked.
"Cygnus is a boy, and Fiona is a girl," Victor explained.
"Wait, that doesn't make sense! Why would we need to use owls to contact each other? Can't we just call Hogwarts?" Rick asked, a confused look on his face when he heard they had to use owls and write letters to communicate.
"I'm not entirely sure why," Victor said, shaking his head. "All I know is that our mobile phones and other electronic devices will stop working when we get to Hogwarts. They'll be completely useless."
"Oh, right! I bought you all gifts. Look, this is… Ah! Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch!"
After letting the two owls out, Victor was about to take out the gifts he had bought for everyone, but for some reason, Cygnus and Fiona suddenly flew onto his head and started pecking at him furiously. Their eyes were shaped like angry triangles.
"Ah! Ouch! Stop pecking me!" Victor said, grabbing the two owls on his head.
Hoot! Hoot!
Cygnus and Fiona hooted angrily, glaring at Victor. In their language, it meant: We're hungry!