In the room, Chris was sitting on the sofa in the living room, talking to Mr. Weasley.
On the way back, Mr. Weasley noticed Fred and George's expressions of utter despair.
Out of familiarity with Molly and the twins, he hadn't even gone home after returning to the Shabby Residence, and came straight here after getting off the car.
As long as he's not at the Shabby Residence, no one can speak for the twins when they get punished.
Molly has been very anxious these past few days because of a Dark Wizard incident at Hogwarts, not eating or sleeping well, which made him feel distressed.
Now that everything is finally over, letting her discipline the kids to relax is quite good. Besides, the twins have delivered a ready-made reason, might as well use it.
"Oh, dear." Mr. Weasley smiled and said when he saw Kai: "I never got around to asking before; how's school going for you."
"It's fantastic," Kael said. "The professors are easy to get along with, the classmates are friendly; it's exactly the campus life I've dreamed of."
"That's good." Mr. Weasley took a small sip of whiskey. "Time really flies, doesn't it? In the blink of an eye, you're already in your second year... Oh, and Ron, he's going to school this year too."
"Isn't that good?" Chris laughed from the side: "That way you and Molly will have it a little easier."
"Yeah, you're right," Mr. Weasley took another small sip of his drink, "But to truly have it easy, we'll have to wait for another year; Ginny is no less trouble than her brothers."
Then, he started talking about some of Ginny's black marks and how she would always fight with Ron at home.
Kael wasn't interested in those things, so he took his luggage upstairs to his room. By the time he came back down, Mr. Weasley was just about ready to leave.
"Are you sure you don't want to stay for dinner? Molly's prepared a lot."
"Next time, Arthur," Chris declined. "Today is a day for long-awaited reunions, and with Charlie having graduated, you probably have a lot to talk about with him.
How about this, I'll come by later for a drink. I brought back some authentic Gu Gu fiery liquor from North America this time."
"That's great," Mr. Weasley's eyes lit up. "I've been wanting to try that for a long time."
Mr. Weasley, like Chris, enjoys a drink or two when there's nothing else to do, but they have one characteristic in common: they never overdrink. They always keep themselves in a sober state.
Unless it's a particularly joyous occasion, like the day Ginny was born, Mr. Weasley got thoroughly drunk and pulled each passerby to elaborate on his and Mrs. Weasley's love story.
This incident later became the black mark he most wished to forget, bar none.
Not long after Mr. Weasley left, the clatter of cooking sounds soon filled the kitchen.
Chicken legs lined up to coat themselves in egg wash and breadcrumbs, and kitchen knives floated in midair, slicing cabbage into uniformly thin strips.
Beside it, the pastry was diligently stuffing itself with filling, then wobbled its way into the oven, even applying the oil by itself.
Diana never liked using magic to heat food directly. She always felt that things made that way lacked something.
Soon, a sumptuous dinner was ready.
As it happened, both Chris and Diana had finished their tasks almost simultaneously a few days ago, so they could gather today to celebrate the end of Kael's academic year.
The three of them chatted while eating at the dinner table, but for most of the time, it was Kael telling them about what happened at school.
This was what Chris and Diana were most concerned about.
Kael thought about his experiences that academic year and chose some of the more interesting stories.
Like his amazing "Forbidden Curse Mage" roommate, how exciting the Hogwarts Quidditch match was, and business ventures selling maps and trinkets with his friends.
As for the Room of Requirement and sneaking into the Restricted Area late at night, he decided to skip those; he didn't want to end up like the Weasley Brothers whose screams had just ended.
While Kael was talking, Chris and Diana listened quietly, but soon their expressions changed.
"Wait a minute..." Chris raised an eyebrow and couldn't help but interrupt Kael: "You sold those Rowan Tree Branches for seven hundred Galleons?"
"That was just for the raw materials," Kael said earnestly. "From collect... ahem, selecting the right branches, to making the final product, it took the six of us half a year, you know, it wasn't easy.
Seven hundred Galleons was only a bit of compensation for our hard work."
"Really..." Chris cast a skeptical glance at him. He felt something was off but couldn't put his finger on it.
Moreover, six young wizards earning seven hundred Galleons in half a year was astonishing enough.
He didn't possess such skills during his school days.
If Chris was just skeptical, Diana was quite sure Kael wasn't telling the whole truth.
In her view, Kael would never waste half a year just for a hundred Galleons; there's much more to it, perhaps half a month's work would be more like it.
"By the way, Dad," Kael seemed to suddenly remember something and reminded: "I don't know if Fred and George have told the family about earning Galleons. When you go to drink with Mr. Weasley later, don't let it slip."
Kael truly forgot, and it had nothing to do with their gloating attitude at the station earlier.
Chris took a sip of Butter Beer and mumbled a response.
After dinner, Chris helped clean up the table and then took a fancy wine bottle to find Mr. Weasley.
Kael returned to his room.
Although he hadn't been back for most of the year, the room was very clean, and there wasn't any bad odor, likely cleaned in advance.
His suitcase was still on the floor. Kael tidied up a bit and took out a stack of parchment to place on the desk.
Before sleep, there was one thing he needed to do: the promise he made to Conna on the train.
Taking money to relieve others' worries; he accepted a hundred and fifty Galleons, so he better get things done well, or else people might give him poor reviews.
Kael took out a quill and some ink, and soon the scratching sound of writing filled the room.
Kael only stopped after writing a full two pages of parchment. After checking it over and making sure it was fine, he put them into an envelope.
Ladon flew in through the window, naturally lifting a leg.
"Just like before." Kael looked at the name on the envelope and instructed: "Go to the Owl Post Office in Diagon Alley and send the letter from there."
...