Two Cakes

At the end of July, the Ottery St. Catchpole welcomed a special guest.

Hagrid was discharged from the hospital, and with the help of Newt and his therapist, he remembered everything that had happened. He also learned from other professors about the events that occurred in the Forbidden Forest at the end of the semester.

Hagrid could hardly believe that Kyle's two life-threatening encounters a month ago were both related to him.

"It's all... my... blame... for me... this... idiot!"

In the Kyle family's living room, Hagrid covered his face with his hands and sobbed, "Was it because of me that you almost died in the Forbidden Forest, or because of me that you encountered Werewolf at St Mungo's's? I should be expelled from Hogwarts and remain Muggle for life!"

Hagrid trembled all over, crying like a Giant whose lollipop had been taken away, overwhelmed by grief and remorse. Large tears seeped into his beard.

"Hagrid, calm down." Kyle handed him a tablecloth and comforted him, "Wipe your face. Don't forget you were a victim in Oren's affair too, and I've compared the notes; the contents of that note weren't written by you, were they?"

Kyle glanced at his sofa with a hint of heartache.

Carrying Hagrid was already a heavy task for Kyle, and with Hagrid's sudden tremor... Kyle could clearly hear a teeth-grinding creak coming from the sofa, as if it might give up at any moment.

"But you almost lost your life!" Hagrid sobbed. "It was I who told Oren Ruwei that he had the chance to lie to you."

"He always finds a way," Kyle said. "Don't forget he's my Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts; he'll always find a reason to take me to the Forbidden Forest."

"But you'll definitely be prepared for other excuses!" Hagrid's shoulders were still trembling. "Besides, St Mungo's was the Werewolf you encountered when you came to see me."

"It was an accident," Kyle shook his head. "And luckily I was the one who stumbled upon it, otherwise, how many innocent patients do you think would have died that day... or turned into Werewolf?"

We successfully averted a major crisis, Hagrid.

"Besides, I should also thank you, because of the Werewolf matter, I'll probably be receiving the Order of Merlin soon. Dean Sacia promised she'd be my nominee."

"Rushing Gorgons, the Order of Merlin ..." Hagrid finally raised his head, looking at Kyle with a shocked expression, and said, "You're probably the youngest recipient of the medal."

"Who knows?" Kyle shrugged. "Have a candy, it might cheer you up."

"Thank you, Kyle." Hagrid took the toffee Kyle offered, rubbed his nose with the back of his hand, and said, "That reminds me, I also brought you a gift."

Kyle looked a little nervous, frowning as he said, "It's not going to be a new flavor of ferret sandwich, is it?"

Hagrid finally managed a weak laugh. "If you like it, I can make it for you next time, but not today."

He pulled a large box from behind his back and said, "I just found out that your birthday is also tomorrow."

Happy birthday in advance, Kyle. This is a cake I made myself.

Kyle opened the box; inside was a large chocolate cake covered in frosting, with the words "Happy Birthday, Harry?" written on it in green syrup.

Hagrid misspelled the word, but I think that's the gist of it.

But that's not the point.

Kyle squinted, his face full of confusion and bewilderment. "This is... for me?"

When did he change his name? Do Chris and Diana know about it?

"Of course, you don't like it... Sorry, I took the wrong one."

Hagrid looked at the words on the cake, slapped his forehead with enough force to topple a bull, and then pulled a box from another inner pocket of his coat.

"This is for you."

The same frosted chocolate cake, the same typo, but the syrup on top is yellow, and Kyle's name has been changed.

"You and Harry share the same birthday, and I mixed up the two cakes."

"Hagrid, Hagrid, I like it very much."

Kyle immediately cut a small piece of cake and put it in his mouth, and then... that was it.

A rich, sweet taste shot straight to the top of my head from my mouth, like drinking a mouthful of concentrated syrup.

He shouldn't have eaten any of the food Hagrid gave him!

Kyle gritted his teeth and swallowed the small bite of cake with difficulty.

"How does it taste?"

"Fantastic!" Kyle gave a thumbs up. "I've never had such a sweet cake."

"I'm glad you like it," Hagrid said happily. "Won't you eat some more? There's plenty more."

"No, no, it's not the right time yet." Kyle shook his head repeatedly. "I plan to share it with my friends tomorrow."

"This cake is so delicious, it would be a shame if Fred and George missed it. And Cedric will be back soon too, I'm going to save a slice for him as well."

"Yes, good things are meant to be shared with friends," Hagrid chuckled. "If you'd like, you can come find me anytime after school starts."

"Cough cough... Certainly, certainly." Kyle felt a tightness in his throat and quickly changed the subject, "By the way, you prepared a cake, are you going to give it to Harry Potter?"

"Yes, Dumbledore agreed to let me take him to Diagon Alley, but..." Hagrid frowned and said, "I was supposed to go tomorrow, but for some reason, the acceptance letter hasn't been delivered to him yet. So Dumbledore asked me to go ahead and check, just in case anything unexpected happens."

Kyle raised an eyebrow and said, "That does seem a bit off."

"Yes, so I'll be going to Surrey, London this afternoon to deliver the letter to him in person," Hagrid continued. "You know, Harry can't miss the start of Hogwarts."

"Don't worry so much, it's the owl's fault too." Kyle looked out the window, thought for a moment and said, "Some Muggle don't like birds, maybe they're the ones who chased away the owl that was delivering the message."

Here's what we'll do: give me the letter, and I'll have Ladon deliver it. You can just take him directly to Diagon Alley then.

"Isn't this too much trouble?"

Hagrid hesitated; he still wanted to hand the letter to Harry himself.

"It's no trouble at all," Kyle waved his hand. "The owl delivering the acceptance letter is a Hogwarts tradition, it's very memorable, and every young wizard can only experience it once. Once you miss it, there won't be a second time."

After hearing Kyle's words, Hagrid suddenly paused for a moment.

Yeah... how could he forget that?

"Alright." Hagrid hesitated for a moment, then took out a pale yellow envelope and handed it to Kyle. "Thank you for your help."

"No problem at all." Kyle accepted the envelope.

Hagrid stayed a little longer before preparing to leave.

Before he left, Kyle suddenly asked, "By the way, Hagrid, what did you think of that toffee?"

"Oh, I haven't had any yet," Hagrid said with a smile. "I'm going to bring some for Harry to try; he's never had any Wizarding World sweets before."

"..."

Let's wander around.

After Hagrid left, Kyle summoned Ladon and handed him the acceptance letter. He also took the toffee that he had secretly hidden next to the wax seal earlier.

"Be careful, that family isn't very friendly, and they might have weapons."