Birthday Dinner

5:30 p. m.

In the Ottery St Catchpole village, on the outskirts of the Burrow Kitchen, roast beef in the oven oozes thick, slightly reddish juices that drip onto Yorkshire pudding made with milk, eggs, and flour, the carbohydrates and proteins baking together to create a rich and enticing aroma.

The wonderful scent tickled Crookshanks's nose like a feather, making the poor little cat with its keen sense of smell pace restlessly back and forth in the house.

Harry and Ron were playing tabletop Quidditch. The set was older than Ginny, and the Quidditch players on both sides were quite old, wobbling on their miniature flying brooms as if they might fall off at any moment, making it very inconvenient to direct them.

"Merlin's ass!" Ron slapped the center of the field in frustration, making the Quidditch hoop shake. He pointed at the goalkeeper in the back row, his face flushed with anxiety, "Goalkeeper, fight back! Fight back!"

Harry was only slightly better off; his face was also flushed, and he was panting heavily through his nose. These players were too old, slow-moving, and unresponsive to execute his perfect tactics accurately.

"Oh, if you ask me, you shouldn't have let him hit the ball and shoot."

George shouted, "You should disrupt his formation with a constant barrage of attacks and take control of the tempo!"

Fred chimed in, pointing and saying, "That's right! That's exactly how you and Charlie lost to us on the mountain the other day!"

"Trust us, we can't be wrong!"

Charlie subtly moved his stool further away from them.

These younger brothers are really annoying. They just accidentally lost two points, why do they always have to bring it up?

Loren sat behind the table, holding a book of Household Magic, reading the recipes with great interest. Most of the dishes Molly made today were from the recipes, so he could learn from them.

Seemingly sensing something, he suddenly looked up from his book and gazed at the fireplace by the wall.

A bright green flame suddenly shot up from the fireplace, which had no firewood or coal. Scattered soot splashed out of the fireplace and onto the ground. Arthur walked out of the fireplace, followed closely by Percy, who had a folder under his arm and two bottles of wine in his hand, a bottle of whiskey and a bottle of champagne.

Arthur brushed the soot off himself and greeted them warmly, "We're back!"

"..."

Arthur paused, then called out again, "Guess what we brought back?"

"Why did you let the goalkeeper hit the ball? Goalkeeper, goalkeeper, he's the goalkeeper!"

"Attack! Attack... Well done!"

"..."

Arthur glared angrily at his sons. As the head of the family, he had returned, and these people were pretending not to see him—how rude of them...

Taking a sniff of the sweet aroma filling the air, Arthur's anger vanished instantly. He happily walked into the Kitchen, ready to have a good discussion with Molly about the children's education.

Molly is making fried flounder fillets. She uses magic to remove all the bones from the fish without damaging its shape. After marinating it with a secret sauce from a pre-made recipe, she adds wild mushrooms and truffles and puts it into the oil. In no time, it turns golden brown and smells delicious.

Before long, the clam chowder in the pot was ready.

Smelling the aroma of food, Hermione and Ginny, who had been huddled inside the shed, slowly strolled out, sat on stools, and whispered among themselves while eagerly waiting.

Loren glanced at Hermione and saw that her face wasn't as tense as it had been at lunchtime, so he knew that the "Ancient Rune" assignment should be finished.

Half an hour later, the tables and chairs were moved to the garden outside. Molly served roasted red venison, and Arthur served strawberry shortbread pies that Loren had requested to be added. The sumptuous dinner then began.

Arthur conjured some candles, illuminating the gradually darkening courtyard.

Percy eagerly pulled out the whiskey and champagne, excitedly saying, "Try this! Mr. Crouch says it's from his collection!"

"Mr. Crouch... your boss?" Ron asked curiously.

"Yes, Mr. Crouch heard that someone was having a birthday party at home, so he specially sent me two bottles of wine." Percy had a smug look on his face. "It's made by fairies, and I heard that a bottle is worth several dozen Galleons. Mr. Crouch is such a good man."

"A few dozen Galleon!" Molly and Arthur were slightly surprised.

George and Fred leaned closer to examine the two bottles of wine closely, seemingly trying to spot Galleon's presence in them.

Bill squinted at it, then slowly looked away. "It's a gift from Gringotts to a client. It's not actually worth this price, but because it's not for sale, Knockturn Alley's valuation will be much higher."

Percy muttered under his breath, "That's still worth several Galleon. Mr. Crouch really values me..."

Molly, on the contrary, breathed a sigh of relief and said with a relaxed smile, "That's perfect, let's also try what whisky costing tens of Galleon tastes like."

With a gentle shake of the wand, the cork popped out with a "pop," and Molly took Bill and Charlie's glasses and began pouring the wine.

Bill's, Charlie's, Percy's, Arthur's, and her own...

Guh—

The sixth and seventh glasses also lowered themselves, making a slight rustling sound as they rubbed against the tablecloth, the glasses brought close to the bottom of the wine bottle.

"..." Molly knew who it was without even thinking, and refused without looking up, "Forget it, George, Fred, I absolutely won't let you drink. And if I find out you're sneaking off to drink, hmph..."

Before she could finish speaking, she saw several more cups appear in front of her, Molly looked up.

Loren, Harry, and Ron all silently handed over their cups, and even Hermione and Ginny, the two girls, looked at her expectantly.

Arthur chuckled quietly to himself.

Molly raised an eyebrow and said firmly, "You're all underage, you definitely can't drink! Even if it's Loren's birthday today, it's still not allowed. Don't think I don't know you always go to Hogsmeade's the Three Broomsticks for Butterbeer! Professor McGonagall really should talk to Madam Rosmerta..."

Everyone silently moved the cup back.

Molly laughed at their pitiful look, "Alright, alright, there's some apple cider I made at home, you can each have a spoonful."

"What apple cider? It's clearly apple cider vinegar..." Ron muttered under his breath.

Molly glared at him. "So, are you going to drink or not?"

"Drink, of course I'll drink!" Ron stood up and ran briskly into the house, bringing back a small bottle of cider.

He said he'd only give one spoonful, but he poured everyone a full glass; the pale yellow, slightly cloudy cider, like a daisy, was almost overflowing.

Arthur raised his glass. "Let's all wish Loren a happy birthday!"

"Happy birthday!"

"..."

Loren couldn't help but grin, raising his glass to clink with everyone's. The wine swished, and the warm air was filled with the sweet aroma of apples.

Red venison is tender and low in fat. Marinated with sea salt, black pepper, garlic, and rosemary, it's delicious no matter how you cook it; its smooth texture and rich aroma are incredibly appetizing. The grilled fish fillets are golden brown, fragrant, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Not only is the meat tender, but it's also boneless and not at all fishy.

The milky white soup uses plump clams as the main ingredient, garnished with tender yellow potato cubes, orange carrot cubes, and bright green celery cubes. It is thicker than a regular soup due to the addition of a large amount of cream and potatoes.

As night deepened, the shadows of a group of people blended together with the rising moon.

While everyone was eating cake, Fred and George secretly switched Arthur's cups, each taking a small piece. After just one bite, they couldn't help but grimace, shivering from the sourness.

Slowly, a blush crept onto their cheeks, and George stood up from his chair. "Let's sing!"

Before anyone else could respond, Fred had already started singing, and George quickly joined in. Their figures, heads tilted back, cast long shadows on the wall as they sang, but in reality, they were singing different songs at the same time, so it sounded very chaotic, dragging and wailing.

Loren leaned close to Hermione's ear and whispered, "Have you finished your Runes homework?"

Hermione glanced at him, hummed twice, and didn't answer.

"Hey-hey..."

Their eyes met, and they couldn't help but giggle, as if an invisible hand was tickling them.

Ah, I originally wanted to find a sweet storyline to draw inspiration from, but then... Anyway, I'll make up for today's short story tomorrow. My apologies to all my readers.