Birthday Present

Charles spent the entire night racing through the mountains north of Hogwarts on his broomstick. The biting cold wind cleared his head a little.

He had thought of one clue, but he had no idea how to investigate it further. The only person who could probably answer the question was Voldemort.

But asking him required some skill. He also needed to set the mood first.

Charles returned to the castle, ate a meal in the kitchen, and soaked in the bathroom of the Room of Requirement. By the time he finally entered the Common Room, most people had already gone back to their dormitories to rest. In the empty hall, the only sounds were the crackling of the fireplace and Hermione turning pages in front of it.

Charles had not spoken to her since Flying Class on the first day. He had been busy with his own affairs.

Hermione was reading very seriously. Judging from the pages she had turned, she had probably been sitting there without moving since dinner. She had likely lost track of time and naturally failed to notice Charles walking up behind her and delivering a chop to the crown of her head.

"Ow!"

Hermione covered her head and turned around. When she saw that it was Charles, she pursed her lips.

"Why did you interrupt me while I was reading?" Hermione looked furious.

Charles said irritably, "Do you know what time it is? You're still reading. Hurry up and go to bed. Don't you have class tomorrow?"

Only then did Hermione realize how late it was. "I'll go back to the dormitory after reading two more pages... Ow..."

Two more pages? The headmaster, who had said something similar yesterday, had been lectured by the deputy headmistress for ages. So Charles gave her another chop.

Hermione was like a child whose parents had taken away her phone while she was climbing the ranks in a game. All she could do was pout and glare angrily at Charles.

Charles took out the beautiful feather he had traded for in the Centaur tribe and handed it to her with a grin. "It's for you. You can use it as a bookmark. It's a few days late, but happy birthday!"

Hermione's expression changed faster than a page could turn. A delighted smile immediately appeared on her face. After taking the feather, she began examining it carefully, her eyes shining with excitement.

No matter how clever she was, she was still only a girl who had just turned twelve, and like other girls her age, she was interested in pretty little things. Moreover, this was a birthday present from a good friend after she had believed that nobody remembered her birthday. Even though it was two days late, that was more than enough to make her happy.

Charles quietly watched Hermione from the side, a kindly smile appearing on his face.

After Hermione's excitement had subsided a little, Charles said to her, "All right, it's getting late. Hurry back and go to sleep."

Who would have thought Hermione would grin and say, "I'll just read one more page..."

When she saw Charles raise his hand for another chop, she instinctively covered her head with both hands, her lips pursing again. "Listen, I've made an incredible discovery. It's about the period of Hogwarts' history that vanished... Ow!"

Charles withdrew his chopping hand from the crown of Hermione's head and said with a grim expression, "You should look at the time. Even if Hogwarts were going to disappear tomorrow, you'd still have to go to bed now."

In the end, Hermione put away her book and left with a pout. Charles watched her back as she climbed the staircase to the girls' dormitory, then sat in a chair and sighed. He suddenly felt that children became harder to manage once they grew older.

Time passed slowly, and the first-years' lives at Hogwarts began settling into a routine. After mastering the basic principles of magic, everyone became more adept at casting spells.

There was also a minor incident during this period—not among the students, but on the professors' side.

On the fourth morning of October, while the entire school was eating breakfast, more than a dozen owls flapped into the dining hall together, hauling a gigantic package.

The students immediately began discussing it. From the shape of the wrapping, everyone could tell at a glance that it was a broomstick, and they started wondering who had bought a new one.

However, the owls did not stop at any of the four long tables. Instead, they flew toward the professors' table and finally landed in front of Professor McGonagall.

Professor McGonagall was full of questions. She had not bought a second broomstick. Had it been delivered to the wrong person? Or had she become a lucky customer when she helped Harry buy his broomstick last time and received a buy-one-get-one-free offer?

Dumbledore wore a knowing smile beside her and said, "Today is a very special day."

Professor McGonagall fell silent and turned to look at Dumbledore. In all of Hogwarts, this old best friend was probably the only person who knew that today was her birthday. Flitwick, who had entered the school in the same year as her, probably did not remember it either, let alone the other professors.

As for who had sent the gift, Professor McGonagall knew without thinking. She looked toward Charles at the Gryffindor table and sighed inwardly.

Charles had anticipated this long ago. At that moment, he was speaking intently with Neville. "Rolf is always getting lost. That can't continue. I suggest you learn the Accio Charm."

Ron, sitting opposite them, immediately joined in. "I've heard of that spell. It's mentioned in The Wizard and the Jumping Toad. The Jumping Toad's first master's son used it to help a neighbor find a missing donkey."

The Wizard and the Jumping Toad was a story from the wizarding fairy-tale book The Tales of Beedle the Bard. Every child from a wizarding family had read it. After hearing this, Neville nodded repeatedly.

A capitalist smile appeared on Charles's face. He said solemnly to Neville, "When you have time, go to the empty space beside the greenhouses. I'll teach you the spell."

Neville said worriedly, "I'm afraid I won't be able to learn it."

He still looked as timid as ever, worrying about everything he did.

"It's fine," Charles said. "It's perfectly normal not to learn it, because the Accio Charm is taught to fourth-years. There's no harm in trying. What if you manage to learn it?"

At that moment, Seamus asked him in surprise from the other side, "You can use a spell that isn't taught until fourth year?"

Only then did Neville and Ron realize what Seamus meant. If Charles could teach Neville, that meant he already knew the spell.

Charles answered calmly, "So what? The spell you used that day is something even seventh-years can't use, and you still managed to cast it."

Seamus immediately puffed up with pride. "You're right. Absolutely right!"

Then he asked Charles, "Can I learn it too?"

Charles wondered whether the Accio Charm would explode, then nodded. "The Accio Charm is actually very simple. As long as you grasp the trick, you can learn it too."

"What about me? What about me?" Ron asked. "Can I learn it too?"

Recently, Harry had been secretly training for Quidditch whenever he had free time, so there was no one left to play with Ron. He was bored out of his mind.

Charles naturally agreed. As the saying went, many hands made light work, and having one more free laborer was just what he needed.

Thus, they settled on it. They had no classes tomorrow afternoon, so everyone would go to the empty space, where Charles would teach them the Accio Charm.