Chapter 2: Birthdays and Uninvited Guests
"Little master, have you finished your work yet?"
Just as Ivan walked out of the room and was still hesitating whether to go downstairs directly, a thin voice suddenly sounded beside him.
The boy turned his head towards the sound.
It was a creature a head shorter than he was, with huge bat ears and protruding green eyes the size of tennis balls. He stood on the stairs, bowed respectfully, and looked as if he was about to bury his head in the ground.
It was the house-elf of the family, Frodo.
Ivan breathed a sigh of relief when he saw him. For some unknown reason, he didn't want his parents to know about his letter to Dumbledore, but he didn't have the same worries about Frodo, a house elf loyal to the Vesemir family.
"My work is done, Frodo," answered Ivan. "Is there anything you want to see me for?"
The elf bent even lower.
"The mistress told Frodo to call you, little master," said the elf quickly, "the mistress said that the meal is ready. Today is your birthday, little master." His tone suddenly changed. A little choked up, "August 31st, oh, little master, in the blink of an eye, you have already turned eleven years old."
He sobbed and couldn't go on.
Ivan was no stranger to the scene before him; he was even used to it. For house-elves who have served the same wizarding family for generations, the master's honour and disgrace are closely related to themselves, and this emotional situation often occurs.
After comforting Frodo, Ivan went downstairs and arrived in the dining room, where Madam Vesemir was waving her wand, ordering plates of delicate dishes and desserts to be placed on the dining table.
Seeing Ivan coming down from the second floor, his mother, Veronica Vesemir, hurriedly put her wand aside, came over to hug him, and kissed him twice randomly. "Oh, happy birthday, baby. Are you done with your work?" Seeing Ivan nod, she continues.
"That's good, go clean up the fireplace, please. Fred and George Weasley will be coming over to celebrate your birthday later". Mrs Vesemir pointed to the table by the fireplace, where a letter was spread out. There is also an owl that is lazily curled up in a cage specially used for messengers to rest and enjoy the fire.
Fred and George, I thought the Weasley family was on a trip? Ivan recognised that the owl was Errol, the Weasleys' owl. As if hearing the owner's name, the owl raised its head vigilantly and looked towards this side. After seeing Ivan's face, it relaxed, turned its head away slowly, and continued to stare at the flames in the fireplace absentmindedly.
Yes, they did go on a trip, but Fred and George knew today was your birthday, so they stayed at home on purpose. His mother had already gone back to the kitchen and kept working, her voice drifting through the wall. The muffled voice said, "Ah, what wonderful children. You know, their family rarely travels."
Ivan nodded. He was well aware of the Weasley family's financial situation. This was partly due to the description in the original book, and partly because, like the Vesemir family, the Weasleys also harboured good intentions towards Muggles, which often led to their hardships. Some wizards who believed in the supremacy of pure blood looked down on their families. Consequently, the two families became friends, often exchanging letters and occasionally visiting each other's homes.
Ivan also got to know Fred and George through these letters and visits. The twin brothers didn't treat him differently because he was a squib; instead, they looked after him wherever he went and visited them, giving Ivan plenty of magic items they researched and made themselves. Although most of these are just rough prototypes, far below the quality of the products sold at "Weasley's Wizard Wheezes" in the future, they still showed good ideas.
Although it's tough being treated like a kid all the time.
Thinking so, Ivan grabbed the letter from the table and roughly glanced at it. The main message was that the two brothers planned to use Floo powder to visit that night for Ivan's birthday celebration. Although short, Ivan frowned as he looked at it before realising it was filled with their brand of jokes.
It was in line with the spirit of the two who are keen on mischief.
After putting away the letter, Ivan glanced at the time. It was nearly 7 p.m., and his father should be back.
Just then, the doorbell rang.
"Ivan, can you open the door?" His mother spoke as she poked her head out of the kitchen door.
Ivan moved to the door, but he didn't open it; he looked out through the peephole.
Standing outside the door was a man with an expressionless face. Although it was hot outside—being near the end of summer—the man was wearing a long black trench coat buttoned nearly to his chin.
He didn't seem to notice someone peeping at him through the cat's eyes. The man was still silently ringing the doorbell, his motions mechanical and dull. What made Ivan shudder was that, as the man rang the doorbell, his neck twisted oddly, his eyes were completely unfocused, and his movements resembled a marionette controlled by someone.
The man's face was somewhat familiar. Ivan frowned and thought for a while before finally recalling his identity.
"Mom?" Ivan backed away slightly, trying to keep his distance from the door as much as possible, then lightly called to his mother, who was in the kitchen, "It's Uncle Alger, from the Rosier family."
Rosier? Alger Rosier?" Madam Vesemir immediately set down the tableware, pulled out her wand, and strode out of the kitchen. Her expression was tense, as if she were facing an enemy. "Go back to the room, Ivan!"
Ivan ran upstairs as promised, while Veronica walked aggressively towards the door.
The next moment, a blazing light suddenly lit up outside the door!
Amid Veronica's screams, the door of the room collapsed under an unstoppable force. The man in black held his wand and stood quietly in front of the door. A flicker of light at the tip of the wand was gradually fading.
"Rozier! You, you—"
Facing Mrs Vesemir's scolding and raising the wand aimed at him, the man in black took a step forward expressionlessly.
"Don't be nervous, Veronica." The man said coldly. For some reason, Ivan felt that his voice sounded a little strange, like something wasn't quite right. "I'm just here to celebrate the birthday of my dear distant nephew."
"You're not welcome here!" Madam Vesemir snapped, her wand aimed at the man's nose. "You should have gone to be locked in Azkaban—"
Before she could finish her sentence, a bright green flame suddenly burst inside the fireplace, and then, under Ivan's dumbfounded gaze, two identical boys came out laughing.
"Hey, Mrs Vesemir, we're here—" the twins stopped mid-sentence abruptly, as they noticed the ruined door almost at the same time, and the two adults who were confronting each other in front of it.
And Ivan watched all this while hiding on the stairs.
These two guys showed up at the wrong time! Ivan groaned inwardly.
"Red-haired boys, huh?" The man suddenly grinned. "Young Weasleys, aren't you? Yes, it must be you, blood traitors."
"Rosier!" Madam Vesemir snapped.
"If it were a typical day, I would definitely have given you blood traitors a taste of an Unforgivable Curse." Alger spat at the twins, ignoring Mrs Vesemir's raised wand and continued, "Don't worry, Veronica, I didn't come to kill anyone today... I just came to pick up something. I don't know if Jon has told you, but it's something that my family entrusted your family to keep.
Veronica's face flashed with realisation.
"Then you should be more direct," she said coldly. She removed her wand from the man's nose, much to the amazement of the three children, then turned around and headed toward the living room. "Come in. Jon won't be back for a while; you can sit on the couch and wait— Stupfey!"
The wand now protruding from Madam Vesemir's armpit suddenly flashed with a red light, shooting straight at the surprised man.
However, even though the spell hit the man in black, all it did was make him sway in place, without producing the desired effect.
"Surprised, aren't you?" The man looked at Mrs Vesemir's shocked expression and smiled, showing his rough, yellow teeth. "You should—"
Midway through his words, he showed a surprised expression and looked at Ivan, who was running up to the second floor with his head down, tiptoeing. When the man glanced over, Ivan only felt a chill run down his spine. He raised his head and was shocked to see that, at some point, a man in a black robe had moved to the stairs behind him.
"Get down here, you brat." The man in black said hoarsely.
Ivan fell to the ground subconsciously, and in the next second, two rays of light suddenly lit up above his head.
"Avada Kedavra!"
"Expelliarmus!"
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