Easter Surprise

As they chatted, Madam Crouch suddenly remembered something.

"Oh, right, Easter... it's almost here."

"Mm..."

Lucretia replied softly, her gaze still resting on the booklet in her hands.

Madam Crouch said with a smile, "Barty will be coming back to stay for a week."

Lucretia unconsciously glanced out the window—toward the greenhouse.

Noticing this small gesture, Madam Crouch reached out and smoothed her daughter's hair.

"I was thinking, once the weather gets warmer, all the plants in the garden will start sprouting. Those Bouncing Bulbs should be germinating soon too, shouldn't they?"

Lucretia closed the book in her hands and gave Madam Crouch a shy smile.

"Winky and I went to look this morning. Little shoots have already come up. They were bouncing around in the soil... as if they were saying hello to me."

Madam Crouch said gently, "I know. Winky told me you go and take care of them every day."

Lucretia lowered her head, her voice small. "Because... I promised I would take good care of them."

Seeing how serious she looked, Madam Crouch recalled the roundabout reminder in her son's letter and found it rather amusing.

These two children.

One was softhearted despite his sharp tongue, clearly concerned but determined to make it sound like an order.

The other was thoughtful and sensitive, clearly cared but insisted it was simply what she ought to do.

Feigning casualness, she said, "That corner used to be Barty's territory. He never let anyone touch the flowers and plants there. Even when guests came with children, he wouldn't let them play there."

Lucretia listened quietly, her fingers unconsciously brushing the edge of the page.

"On Easter, I'm planning to have Winky prepare some Easter eggs. Barty loved them when he was little and always had us hide eggs in every corner of the garden."

Madam Crouch sighed softly.

"Your father has been getting busier and busier with work these past years... Our family hasn't had a lively Easter in a long time."

Lucretia looked up, a trace of confusion on her face. "Easter eggs?"

Madam Crouch explained, "Wizarding Easter eggs... aren't ordinary eggs. Winky will enchant them with House-elf magic. Some will glow in rainbow colors, some can sing... and some will suddenly bloom into flowers when they're found."

Lucretia's eyes lit up. "Really?"

"When Barty was little, he especially loved this game. He had all sorts of mischievous ideas and was always thinking of strange places for Winky to hide the eggs. Once, he actually hid one inside a dandelion. That rascal was rather clever—he had Winky cast a Color-Changing Charm on it beforehand so it matched the dandelion perfectly. No one could tell."

Lucretia could almost picture Little Barty's smug expression.

She could not help asking, "What happened after that?"

Madam Crouch shook her head with a smile.

"After that... the egg suddenly sneezed and blew all the dandelion fluff into the air. The whole garden was filled with little golden parachutes. It was beautiful. Barty was delighted and said it was the prettiest thing he had ever done. This year, we can start again. Winky said she'll prepare twelve Easter eggs, each enchanted differently, and you can search for them together in the garden."

Thinking of how Little Barty had not been particularly friendly toward her, Lucretia felt uncertain. "I... I'm supposed to search too? Could I just sit in the garden and watch you look for them?"

Madam Crouch held Lucretia a little tighter.

"Of course you should join us. Barty may seem cold, but he actually wants someone to play with him. And aren't you especially sensitive to plants? Perhaps you'll find the eggs hidden among the flowers before he does. Let's see how smug he can be then."

Lucretia lowered her head, her face slightly red. "Will the plants tell me? Maybe they'll secretly cover for each other instead."

Madam Crouch blinked. "Who knows? But I think Barty might have Winky deliberately hide the eggs near those Bouncing Bulbs. He'll definitely want to see whether you've been taking good care of them."

Lucretia's fingers once again stroked the edge of the page.

She thought of those little shoots bouncing happily in the soil and suddenly felt that this year's Easter might be quite fun.

Madam Crouch continued, "Let me tell you a secret: Winky said she's making one very special Easter egg this year, along with a surprise your father and I have prepared."

"Father will be there too?"

"Hmph. At first, he said he would join us if work wasn't too busy. But I made a point of telling him that this is the first family holiday you'll be spending since coming to the Crouch family, so he has to make sure he isn't busy."

After Madam Crouch finished discussing the Easter egg arrangements, Professor Boot's afternoon class had just ended when Lucretia heard clattering sounds coming from the kitchen.

"Winky? Are you in the kitchen?"

She gently pushed open the door, and the sight before her left her stunned.

The kitchen was a mess. Winky stood on a chair, desperately trying to catch an Easter egg bouncing about in midair.

The egg glowed blue. Every time she was about to catch it, it suddenly made a sharp turn and bounced somewhere else.

It had scattered flour all over the floor.

"Miss!"

Winky turned around in a panic and nearly fell off the chair.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Winky was practicing a new enchantment for the Easter eggs... but... but it's too naughty..."

Lucretia could not help laughing.

The egg was mischievously circling above her head, as though showing off its agility. One moment it bounced onto her left shoulder, the next onto her right.

Steadying the egg on her shoulder, she asked Winky, "Do you need my help?"

Winky waved her hands repeatedly. "No, no! This is a surprise prepared for Miss and Master. Winky must do it herself—ah!"

Before she could finish speaking, another Easter egg on the shelf suddenly came to life and hopped onto the counter.

Then came a third, a fourth...

Soon, the entire kitchen was filled with bouncing Easter eggs.

Some glided across the tops of cupboards as if skating, some spun around on the windowsill, and others tried to burrow into the overturned sack of flour on the floor.

Standing in the doorway, Lucretia watched Winky flounder about, and an idea suddenly came to her.

"Don't panic. Wait a moment."

She closed her eyes and quietly sensed the presence of the plants in the kitchen.

The herbs on the windowsill, the pot of rosemary in the corner, and the various herbs drying on the shelves...

Slowly, the plants began to sway gently, as if moving to the beat of some invisible music.

The Easter eggs that had been bouncing around gradually calmed down, enchanted by the mysterious rhythm.

Winky's eyes widened as she watched the eggs obediently settle one by one among the herbs.

"That's amazing! How did Miss do it?"

Lucretia shook her head and crouched down to gently touch the most mischievous egg.

"I just... suddenly remembered that when Professor West taught me to dance, she first had me listen to the music and feel the rhythm. They seem to like dancing."

"Then Winky knows how to make them behave! Master loved watching Winky enchant Easter eggs when he was little. Every time, he asked Winky to make the eggs do different tricks, and he also..."

The House-elf suddenly stopped. Thinking of the pranks Master had played on Miss before, she felt a little embarrassed.

"Did Winky say too much?"

Lucretia comforted her, "It's all right. Aren't we friends? I'd also like to hear about him... about Barty when he was little."

Winky's expression gradually relaxed, and as she cleaned up the kitchen, she began recounting old stories.

"Back then, Master always liked making trouble in the garden and had Winky hide Easter eggs in the most unexpected places. Once, Madam searched for an entire afternoon, only to discover that the Easter egg had been enchanted to look like a stone and was lying right beside the path. Master laughed so happily that Madam was furious."

Lucretia listened quietly as she watched Winky begin enchanting the Easter eggs again.

This time, the eggs did not misbehave. Instead, they traced graceful arcs through the air like a flock of dancing butterflies.

"Miss, Easter will definitely be very lively!"

Yes.

Lucretia thought.

This would be her first Easter at the Crouch family home.