Birthday Gift

The dark night sky was dotted with stars like diamonds, and the waves continuously crashed against the rocky pillars, creating a somewhat hypnotic sound.

In the place where he usually practiced magic, a salamander skewer was roasting on a charcoal stove, and Charles was brushing it with oyster sauce and sprinkling cumin.

Jack sat on a nearby chair, looking up at the stars, his wine glass gently swaying in his hand for who knows how long.

"Are you serious?" Charles asked.

Jack knew what he was asking about and replied calmly, "Honestly, I don't know."

Charles sighed and said earnestly to the old man, "You need to think carefully. You're already getting on in years. If something happens, someone could really die."

Jack didn't want to continue the topic. After taking a sip of wine, he asked him, "What about you? Do you have any thoughts on marriage in the future?"

Charles plated the roasted salamander, placed it on the table, sat down in the chair on the other side, and picked up a skewer to eat.

The blood of the salamander had healing properties and could be used to make potions. Charles's minor injuries from training didn't require potions, so he opted for dietary therapy.

After eating half a salamander, he said, "Let's talk about the future later. As far as I remember, there's no one suitable for me at Hogwarts. The world is so big; there's no need to hang myself up there."

"Suit yourself," Jack said. "Just don't end up like me, still single at over a hundred years old."

"Oh, right," Charles said, picking up a second salamander skewer. "Are you going to get involved in that dual-socket situation?"

Jack chuckled and said, "It's just kids fighting. Why should I get so involved?"

"And you, are you going to get involved?"

Charles replied irritably, "Didn't you move to Privet Drive precisely because you wanted a front-row seat to the drama? I told Dumbledore everything on the first day of school. What else is there for you to watch?"

Jack poured himself another glass of wine, his eyes fixed on the starry sky, and said, "I'm not watching the show. You might think you're an outsider, but I'm a local."

"I just want to see if Harry is worth nurturing. Every era has its villains. In my time, I was fortunate enough to be a pillar of the righteous side. Now it's Dumbledore's era, and after Dumbledore, there will always need to be someone powerful to step up when necessary."

Charles unscrewed a bottle of iced fizzy drink, took a few sips, let out a burp, and then asked him, "What exactly did you do at Hogwarts back then? There's no record of the years you were there in Hogwarts: A History. It directly became Hogwarts: Abridged History."

Jack quietly finished his wine and slowly said, "Let the past be the past. If problems arise in the future, trust in the wisdom of future generations."

Charles continued to finish the last salamander skewer with his fizzy drink. Full and satisfied, he prepared to wash up and go to bed.

He didn't consider himself a chosen one destined to save the world; doing what was within his capabilities was enough.

His relationship with the old man was both familial and a friendship between people of different generations. He wouldn't take advantage of the old man to do anything outrageous, and the old man wouldn't force him to do anything he was unwilling to do, except perhaps going to the dentist.

Now, one of them was watching the younger generation's antics, while the other was constantly thinking about escaping when the time came, with little interest in intervening in the major events unfolding before them.

Contentment brings happiness. The old man and the young man were living quite happily now.

As Charles was about to go back to sleep, Jack called him back.

"This is for you," the old man said, tossing a dark object over. "Happy birthday!"

Charles chuckled. It was on this day 11 years ago that the old man had found him in a trash can.

"Thank you, Grandpa!"

After thanking the old man, he began to examine the gift. It looked a bit like a running phone armband. The black rectangular bag was made of an unknown material and had three straps, seemingly for tying to the hand.

"This is a Bag of Holding," Jack said. "It can hold a lot of things. You can put anything important in it."

"Hmm... I'll just say I bought it from a hooded wizard in Knockturn Alley."

Charles tied the Bag of Holding to his left arm. After learning how to use it, he was stunned when he saw what was inside.

With a wave of his hand, a wand flew out of the bag. It was Jack's.

"Is this..." Charles looked at the old man, "your wand?"

He previously had no intuitive understanding of wand length, thinking Jack's 16-inch (406 mm) wand was normal. It wasn't until he went to the wand shop that day that he realized most wands were no longer than 15 inches, and both his and his grandfather's wands were exceptionally long.

Jack smiled and said, "Take it and use it. Don't easily let others see it, especially the ghosts and portraits in the castle. I still want a peaceful life."

After saying that, he took a gentle sip of wine, gazing at the starry sky as if reminiscing about something.

Charles scratched his head, feeling that the old man must have done something earth-shattering during his time at Hogwarts.

When he returned to his room, he tried putting all the things he had bought in Diagon Alley inside, only to find that they occupied a very small portion of the space.

The next morning, before his practice, he experimented with some gravel. He discovered that the space inside was almost as large as two shipping containers.

Just then, a seagull flew by. Charles raised his hand, aimed at the target, and the seagull was sucked into the Bag of Holding.

A short while later, he released the seagull. It was still alive and had even defecated inside!

When Charles used the Bag of Holding, it seemed like a part of his consciousness went in to retrieve the item he wanted, so he had to grimace and throw the seagull droppings into the sea.

"I didn't know you had such a hobby!" Jack emerged and happened to see the scene.

Charles quickly explained himself and then asked the old man, "How long can animals stay inside?"

Jack replied, "The volume inside is too small, unlike Scamander's. The air will run out."

Then, the old man became serious. "So, don't go tying up any pretty young girls you see with this. Someone could die, and I'll personally kill you and put you back in that trash can."

Charles shivered. The old man was serious. He was truly capable of killing without batting an eye.

When he ran for councilor, a rival had sent a few thugs to his house to intimidate him. The leader, who had kicked over a chair, was subjected to the Cruciatus Curse for ten minutes, and then, along with the others, was placed under the Imperius Curse and made to jump into the Thames River.

"Why would I bother?" Charles said. "I can just take a few strands of her hair and brew some Polyjuice Potion."

Jack fell silent for a moment, then pulled him along and said, "Sigh, you might as well go to Azkaban directly. I'm acquainted with the Dementors..."