Chapter 126: 126- Greengrass's Invitation
Lupet wrote the letter as quickly as possible and sent it out overnight. Soon, an anonymous letter was sent to Dumbledore.
Dumbledore often received all kinds of letters, including official letters from the Ministry of Magic, letters from his old friends and admirers around the world, and letters for various purposes—he had even received a letter from a candy company wanting to discuss an endorsement deal with him.
Handling dozens of letters every night before bed and every morning after waking up was routine for Dumbledore.
However, today he received a rather peculiar package. There was no information about the sender on the package; it was an anonymous letter, and it seemed to contain something inside.
With his wealth of experience, Dumbledore instinctively raised his guard against this type of mail. But after a brief examination, he found that the letter didn't have any malicious spells on it.
Carefully opening the envelope, he found a small black booklet inside.
'A booklet?' Dumbledore's curiosity was piqued.
He opened the booklet, and the words on the title page came into view. His eyes immediately narrowed; the incident in the Scottish Highlands had left a very deep impression on him.
Seeing that there was also a letter inside the envelope, he took it out and read it carefully.
"The Secret Order," Dumbledore muttered softly, the name rolling off his tongue as his eyes gradually deepened in thought.
He decided to investigate this mysterious organization.
After disrupting Dumbledore's holiday with a single letter, Rhys began to enjoy his own summer break—desserts, cold drinks, and books from the new era, all of which delighted him.
Neville and Valentina had joined Lupet's dessert shop and officially started their part-time jobs.
Initially, Neville was clumsy with accounting and caused quite a few mishaps. Later, Rhys made a simple calculator for him, which helped Neville finally get on the right track with his job. As for Valentina, she was doing quite well; she was quick and efficient, perfectly compensating for the messes Neville made.
This routine continued for half a month before it was interrupted by a visitor.
"One tiramisu, one Basque cheesecake, to-go." A silver-haired girl with delicate features appeared at Lupet's dessert shop, attracting the attention of several passersby.
"Daphne? What are you doing here?" Neville, though somewhat surprised, quickly took the dessert bags from Valentina's hands and prepared to start tallying up the bill.
"No need for change." Daphne placed a silver Sickle on the counter and then walked out with the packaged cakes.
Watching Daphne's departing figure, Valentina raised an eyebrow. "A friend?"
"A classmate."
"Envious."
...
"Want some cake?" Two pieces of cake suddenly appeared in Rhys's line of sight.
He was sitting outside an ice cream shop, enjoying ice cream and sunlight while reading a book.
"Daphne? What brings you here?" Rhys looked up, and that familiar silver hair came into view.
"My mom pre-ordered a signed book by Lockhart at Flourish and Blotts, and I just got two outfits made at Twilfitt and Tatting's," Daphne said, waving the two bags in her hands in front of Rhys. "So I got sent out to run errands!"
As for why they didn't send the family's house-elf to run errands instead, Rhys thought it best not to dwell on such details.
"Probably a good idea to buy some summer clothes." Rhys nodded and accepted the Basque cheesecake. Tiramisu, while sweet enough, had a flavor that was too complex for Rhys's taste. He preferred something simpler, like Basque cheesecake.
To repay Daphne, Rhys gave her a cream ice cream in return.
"By the way, I remember you inviting me to your place for a holiday before the break?"
Daphne's heart leapt with joy; that was exactly why she had come!
However, she kept her composure and elegantly told Rhys that the doors of Greengrass Manor were always open for him.
Rhys glanced at her. If he said he planned to visit her house before the end of the holiday, the girl's expression would certainly be priceless.
However, he restrained his mischievous impulse—something only Godric would do. Instead, he looked at Daphne and asked if today would be a good day to visit her home.
The answer was, of course, yes.
Rhys left a note for Lupet and, after finishing his cake and ice cream, prepared to head to Greengrass Manor.
"Apparition? Or Floo Network? It can't be a broomstick, can it?" Rhys looked around and, not seeing the Greengrass family carriage, asked.
"Use this." Daphne took out an hourglass from her pocket, black on the top half and white on the bottom.
Rhys: "?"
"This is actually a Portkey," Daphne explained to Rhys how to use the Portkey she was holding.
Unlike the common touch-activated or time-triggered Portkeys, Daphne's Portkey was a combination of both timed and triggered. When the black half of the hourglass is facing up and the white half is down, once the sand runs out, the Portkey will transport the person holding it back to Greengrass Manor.
"Amazing alchemical device." Rhys marveled at the Portkey in Daphne's hand. In their time, there were no such convenient and interesting means of transportation.
Extremely advanced spatial magic—after examining the hourglass for a moment, Rhys concluded that the wizard who invented the Portkey could truly be called a genius.
Daphne placed the hourglass in her palm and gestured for Rhys to put his finger on it.
As the last grain of sand fell into the bottom chamber, Rhys felt something like a hook grab his navel and yank him upward at a tremendous speed.
He and Daphne spun rapidly like a top, but the centrifugal force didn't fling them away because his fingertips were firmly stuck to the hourglass.
Rhys could feel Daphne being tossed around in the air; their shoulders bumped into each other occasionally. After a dozen seconds, his feet hit solid ground with a heavy thud.
Taking a few deep breaths to dispel the dizziness in his mind, Rhys found himself in a lush valley filled with green grass and fruit trees. A small stream flowed gently, bringing a touch of coolness to the hot summer day.
Upstream of the creek stood a large white European-style mansion.
Rhys was quite familiar with this place—this was Greengrass Manor he had set up the Fidelius charm.
"Welcome to the Summer Valley of the Greengrass family. We move here during the summer to escape the heat."
"So, do you live in different manors during the other seasons?"
"Of course!" Daphne said proudly. "We have different manors for each season. For example, the winter manor has an amazing hot spring!"
A smile appeared on Rhys' face.
The Greengrass family certainly knew how to enjoy life.
____
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Chapter 127: 127- Lockhart would be a good teacher, right?
Following the stream upstream, Rhys and Daphne quickly arrived outside the white mansion.
As soon as they reached the door, a young girl's voice came from inside the house: "Dad, Dad, sister brought that boy back!"
The one shouting was Daphne's younger sister, Astoria.
She had been leaning by her bedroom window, daydreaming, so she immediately saw her sister returning home with Rhys.
Hearing her sister's voice, Daphne pursed her lips and muttered under her breath, "I told her his name; it's so annoying!"
Astoria's shout awakened the "sleeping" house. Mr. Greengrass, Mrs. Greengrass, and their house-elf all came to the first-floor living room, waiting to meet Rhys, whom Daphne had frequently mentioned in her letters.
Mr. Greengrass already knew about Rhys from the Knockturn Ally that day but from his daughter's letters, Mr. Greengrass had a much better understanding that Rhys couldn't be viewed as an ordinary child.
He possessed a wealth of ancient and mysterious knowledge and held many precious and rare treasures—exactly what Mr. Greengrass urgently needed for his child.
Even more astonishing, if his daughter's speculations were accurate, this young wizard, who looked like an aristocratic boy, had a power that could only be described as unfathomable.
As for why Rhys was willing to extend kindness to his daughter, Mr. Greengrass believed that his own family name had at least half of the credit. If Rhys was indeed, as his daughter suggested, a descendant of Slytherin, then their families could be considered old friends—though their previous connection dated back a thousand years...
Unlike Mr. Greengrass, Mrs. Greengrass and Astoria were simply curious about the boy that Daphne frequently mentioned.
Rhys made a good impression on them with his appearance.
"We meet again young Rhys!"
"Please have a seat, Dodo, go brew some tea and bring over some snacks," Mr. Greengrass instructed their house-elf.
"At once!" The little elf snapped its fingers and disappeared, only to return shortly with a huge silver tray.
"Make yourself at home; you can stay as long as you like," Mr. Greengrass said warmly.
"Yeah, it's good to see you too, Sir Greengrass" Rhys nodded with a smile and started chatting casually with the Greengrass family.
While chatting, he also took the opportunity to observe the surroundings.
As expected, the estate was still the same estate, but the arrangements from a thousand years ago had vanished without a trace; almost all signs from a millennium ago were completely gone—it was now entirely a new residence.
Thus, Rhys settled down in the Greengrass estate and ended up staying for most of the summer holiday.
His life there was very comfortable and pleasant.
Daphne, who knew his tastes and preferences well, always managed to provide him with the most suitable food and desserts, greatly enhancing Rhys's quality of life during his stay.
At the end of July, Hogwarts sent its customary owls, delivering the list of textbooks needed for the upcoming school year.
Daphne opened the letter, and after reading a couple of lines, she frowned: "The Defense Against the Dark Arts professor for next year is likely a fan of Gilderoy Lockhart. The textbooks for next semester's Defense Against the Dark Arts class include no less than seven of his books!"
This was quite an outrageous piece of news because one of Lockhart's books cost five Galleons. To buy all seven would cost a hefty thirty-five Galleons, nearly the equivalent of a month's salary for a regular employee of the Ministry of Magic.
Rhys also frowned.
Thanks to Mrs. Greengrass, he had read almost all of Lockhart's works.
How should he put it?
From a novel perspective, they were quite good, but if they were to be used as textbooks, they were clearly not up to the mark.
The books that taught practical spells for everyday life, such as "Gilderoy Lockhart's Guide to Household Pests," were well-written, but they weren't on the required reading list.
Was the new professor asking the students to spend so much money on textbooks just to promote Lockhart's works?
But Lockhart's books were already bestsellers, topping the charts!
Rhys couldn't make sense of it.
Mr. Greengrass, who was reading the *Daily Prophet* nearby, flashed a mysterious smile.
"I happen to know a bit of insider information about your new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor for next term!"
Daphne immediately looked up. She believed her father when he said he had inside information. After all, she knew her father had a certain status in the wizarding world.
"Dad, tell me!" Daphne instantly switched to her "daddy's girl" mode, acting coquettishly with Mr. Greengrass, hoping to get some inside scoop from him.
"Oh, the new teacher is not a fan of Lockhart... Cough! I thing my shoulders are a bit stiff?"
Mr. Greengrass coughed twice, made a gesture, and Daphne, understanding his hint perfectly, ran behind him to give him a back massage.
After a while, once Mr. Greengrass had enjoyed enough, he finally began to reveal the truth slowly.
"Look!" Mr. Greengrass shook the newspaper, revealing the big headline on the front page.
["Gilderoy Lockhart Announces at New Book Signing That He Will Be the Next Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor for the 'Boy Who Lived'"]
The news photo showed Gilderoy Lockhart with an extremely bright smile.
'Eh? Is Harry suppressing a poo?'
While Harry had an expression that could only be described as looking like he was constipated.
Daphne was shocked. "Wait! What kind of insider information is this? Isn't this something anyone can know just by glancing at the newspaper?!"
"If I didn't say that, how else would I get my lovely daughter to give me a back massage?"
"Ouch! That hurts!"
Daphne immediately gave a sharp twist to the soft flesh on her father's waist, punishing him for keeping her in suspense.
"Makes sense." Rhys, standing to the side, looked at the picture of Lockhart in the newspaper and silently nodded.
If the course was to be taught by someone who had actually experienced these events, using novels as textbooks might not be such a bad idea. Lockhart could expand on the parts that were glossed over for the sake of storytelling and use the novels' entertaining elements to spark the students' interest in learning.
'Indeed, Lockhart might be a pretty good choice as a professor, and Dumbledore's decision this time seemed quite reasonable.'
Rhys nodded.
This year's professor finally seemed like an actual skilled wizard!
He had read Lockhart's books and admitted that, based on the stories recorded in them, the guy seemed to be quite a decent adventurer—provided, of course, that these were all adventures he had personally experienced.
"Let's hope Mr. Lockhart can handle the responsibilities of the Defense Against the Dark Arts position at Hogwarts," Mr. Greengrass laughed. "After all, it's a cursed position!"
"What curse?" Rhys asked, intrigued.
Seeing Rhys's curiosity, He explained the feud between the Dark Lord and the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.
"Oh?" Rhys was quite surprised after hearing Mr. Greengrass's explanation. "Is there really such a curse in the world?" It was certainly an eye-opener for him.
Just as he was about to ask for more details, the doorbell of the Greengrass home rang.
"Sorry, I have a guest coming today," Mr. Greengrass said hurriedly as he stood up to go greet the guest outside the manor.
__________
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