Birthday Gift

Working for the Waynes, even the lowest pay and benefits were about the same as Sam's.

What Fallen Paradise should be grateful for was that they hadn't targeted the Waynes like Night Wraith and Dream Killer had.

To some extent, Vincent had always considered himself a good person.

The Unbreakable Vow only required them to keep the secret and imposed no additional demands.

"I'm planning to open an Alchemy Shop in Knockturn Alley. When the time comes, you'll be the people in charge."

Perhaps they hadn't expected this outcome. The four across from him all looked as though they hadn't heard clearly.

"No need to doubt it. This isn't a trap." Vincent scooped up a spoonful of strawberry sundae.

"Eat up. It'll melt."

Cheshire set aside her concerns and picked up her spoon, taking a small scoop.

Unlike the Wizarding World, the Muggle world had more sugar.

Fanny stretched out his large, fleshy hand, picked it up, and gave it a huge lick.

Abraham exchanged a glance with Sassm. The former was cautious, while the latter seemed somewhat restrained.

"I'll find someone else to manage the factory. You know how to run a business, right?"

The three wizards widened their eyes and shook their heads.

Vincent looked over at Cheshire.

"No problem. I handled reward calculations in the organization."

He looked at the other three.

Abraham excelled at spells and usually served as a combatant.

Sassm was the same, though he mostly worked in logistics.

Fanny had the highest Transfiguration and Potion-making skills in the organization. Aside from brewing all kinds of potions, he was responsible for jobs requiring disguises.

The five Viktor had captured were probably all highly skilled in their own ways. Vincent had truly struck gold.

"You have pounds on you—Muggle currency, I mean?"

Cheshire nodded. "Lucifer would exchange a small portion of each job's payment into pounds. I know he used it for the orphanage that raised him."

It seemed this leader had a story.

Vincent had no interest in knowing it right now.

He finished the last bite of strawberry sundae and gently set down the glass cup.

"For now, rent a place near my house. A little farther away is fine too."

He took out his wallet to pay, but after thinking about it, put it back.

"Stay away from Sam Chavez. He's an Auror with the Magical Congress of the United States."

The four of them instantly shrank their pupils.

No wonder he wasn't afraid of those troublemakers at all. He was law enforcement himself.

"My two bodyguards—Night Wraith and Dream Killer—you can meet with them more when you have nothing to do."

Vincent stood up. "I'll contact you in a few days. That's all for today."

After he left, the four of them tacitly began eating the nearly melted strawberry sundaes.

First the stick, then the carrot. That wasn't something a child could come up with.

"Cheshire, what do you think he..."

"We have no other choice now. We can only take things one step at a time."

"I hope what he said is true. Otherwise..."

"Otherwise what?"

Abraham immediately fell silent.

The man was Nick Flamel's apprentice. To him, they were like ants by the roadside... otherwise, would they run?

Run somewhere no one could find them?

Cheshire unzipped her jacket and took out a shabby little cloth pouch from inside.

She reached in, rummaged around, and pulled out a twenty-pound note.

She called over the server to pay, her tone seeming to deliberately imitate the way Vincent had ordered earlier.

When she received the change, she even said thank you.

Fanny gently rubbed his large face, likely trying to make himself look more like a Muggle street thug.

Sassm had no problem either. With a cane in hand and a felt hat on his head, he looked like a typical gentleman.

Only Abraham kept twitching the corners of his mouth.

He wasn't good at disguises, and he didn't look like a worker either.

July 23rd.

Today was Vincent's birthday, and also the deadline for nominations for the Wizengamot Youth Representative.

Early in the morning, he was awakened by a massive flock of owls pecking at his window.

After putting away the Alchemical Items on the table, he took out over a dozen bags of low-oil, low-salt snacks.

When he opened the window, the little darlings obediently set down their gifts before heading over to the wardrobe to eat.

Vincent sat on the floor and casually picked up a small, exquisite package in front of him.

Inside was a Gwent card—a Vincent Wayne Gwent card.

There was also a note inside, signed by Devine Rosier.

Besides birthday wishes, he proposed releasing the card publicly when Vincent took office as Youth Representative on the first of next month.

His fame was sufficient, and his faction would be listed as Hogwarts for now.

After writing his reply, Vincent decided to speed things up a little.

He called over Gu Gu, who was lecturing the well-fed owls, and had him help open the gifts that were nearly piled to the ceiling.

There were gifts not only from Dumbledore, but from several professors as well.

The one wrapped in green paper with silver trim was most likely from Snape.

Carefully opening it with his wand raised, he found a Wolfsbane Potion recipe inside.

Clearly, this was an incredibly vicious curse.

He wasn't even a werewolf. Giving him the recipe was practically cursing him, wasn't it?

He crumpled it into a ball and tossed it into a corner, calming himself slightly before continuing.

This time, Harry hadn't sent Gold Galleons, but a brand-new pair of boxing gloves.

There was also a photograph in the gift box, showing Harry with the Dursley family.

James's gift was especially improper—several booklets translated into English.

Vincent hadn't expected such things to exist in the nineties already, but that still couldn't change their fate of ending up beneath the bed.

Alfred and Neville's gifts were fine.

The heavy Quaffle could help Gu Gu lose weight, while the miniature Hogwarts castle would make a decent ornament.

"This..." Vincent swiftly sealed the long gift box again.

Inside was a life-sized Draco body pillow.

Only Fred and George would dare give something like that.

They hadn't forgotten his birthday while traveling in Egypt, so he would be a little touched before sending it under the bed as well.

Cedric's gift was three neatly cut Occamy eggshells.

Thinking of the Occamy egg yolk in Lockhart's shampoo, Vincent guessed they had probably been pilfered from Mr. Diggory, who worked in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Fantastic Beasts.

Rolf's gift was a bottle of dark gray powder.

After reading the note, Vincent solemnly placed the small bottle into his suitcase... Graphorn horn powder was extremely precious. Not only was it an essential material for many advanced potions, it could also greatly increase strength when forging Alchemical Items.

Hermione, who was also traveling abroad, had prepared a gift.

It was a small Eiffel Tower made of an iron-copper alloy. A light touch against its body caused it to emit a faint pale-yellow glow.

A beautiful and practical night-light; judging by the fine workmanship, she had probably made it herself.

Naturally, Daphne had gifts too—three of them, in fact.

A custom pocket watch made of pure Mithril, with his Magical Runes engraved on the front cover. It was probably prepared by Mr. and Mrs. Greengrass.

The half-human-sized Gu Gu doll could only have come from little Astoria, while the remaining set of black sportswear enchanted with Cleaning and Ventilation Charms was perhaps Daphne's own gift.

Before breakfast, Vincent and Gu Gu each opened their final gift.

Inside a box nearly forty inches long lay a thick branch with wavy patterns.

It was Kenny's gift: Snakewood that perfectly met the requirements.

Vincent placed it solemnly into his suitcase as well, then looked at the small wooden box beside it, which Gu Gu had struggled mightily to open.

ROTARY—Rotary, the same brand as the wristwatch he was currently wearing.

Founded in Switzerland in 1895, it became a watch supplier for the British Army during World War II and later became one of the brands favored by the royal family.

A sapphire crystal, stainless-steel case, and leather strap.

Judging by its thickness, it should have had a quartz movement. His Magical Runes were printed on the dial, so Rinne had probably commissioned it especially for him.

There was also a birthday card in the gift box Gu Gu had opened, and the signature on it was indeed hers.

Vincent stretched.

Naturally, any gifts related to snacks did not belong to him, but even after using magic to sort them, the quantity was still astonishing.

Qingmo Immortal reminds you: Don't forget to bookmark after reading.