Chapter 123 ⭃ Happee Birthdae

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

Hagrid had been discharged from the hospital. Thanks to Newt and the healers, his memory had fully returned. From the other professors, he learned about what had happened in the Forbidden Forest at term's end.

Hagrid was devastated to learn that Kyle had faced two life-threatening situations in the past month — both connected to him.

"It's... all... my... fault, you... fool!"

In Kyle's living room, Hagrid buried his face in his hands, sobbing.

"I nearly got you killed in the Forbidden Forest, and then you ran into that werewolf at St. Mungo's because of me. I should be expelled from Hogwarts and live as a Muggle forever!"

His massive frame trembled with grief and remorse. The four-meter-tall giant wept like a child, tears streaming into his thick beard.

"Hagrid, calm down." Kyle said, offering him a tablecloth, "Wipe your face. Remember, you were also Oren's victim — and I've checked the handwriting. That note wasn't yours, was it?"

He glanced anxiously at his sofa.

Supporting Hagrid's weight was already pushing its limits, and with his trembling... Kyle heard worrying creaks from the furniture, as if it might collapse at any moment.

"But you almost died!" Hagrid choked out between sobs, "I told Oren about Fluffy — that's how he managed to lure you there."

"He would have found a way regardless." Kyle replied, "He was my Defense Against the Dark Arts professor — he could have invented any excuse to take me to the Forbidden Forest."

"But you'd have been more careful with other excuses!" Hagrid's shoulders heaved, "And at St. Mungo's, you only met that werewolf because you were visiting me."

"That was pure chance." Kyle said, shaking his head, "And it's lucky I was there. Think how many innocent patients might have died or been transformed into werewolves that day. We prevented a terrible disaster, Hagrid.

Besides, I should thank you. Because of the werewolf incident, I'm likely to receive an Order of Merlin. Pegasus, the Head Healer, has promised to nominate me."

"Gallopin' Gorgons, Order of Merlin..." Hagrid finally looked up, staring at him in shock, "You must be the youngest recipient ever."

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

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

Kyle looked nervous, frowning, "It's not a new flavor of ferret sandwich, is it?"

Hagrid finally managed a laugh, "If you'd like that, I could make it next time, but not today."

He pulled out a large box from behind his back.

"I just found out your birthday is tomorrow too. Happy birthday in advance, Kyle. I made this cake myself."

Kyle opened the box to find a large chocolate cake covered in frosting, with green syrup spelling out, "Happee Birthdae Harry"?

Hagrid had misspelled some words, but the meaning was clear enough.

But that wasn't the main issue.

Kyle squinted in confusion, "This is... for me?"

When did he change his name, and did Chris and Diana know about this?

"Of course, you don't li — oh, sorry, I grabbed the wrong one."

Hagrid looked at the writing on the cake and smacked his forehead with enough force to knock over a bull, then pulled out another box from a different pocket of his coat.

"This one's for you."

It was the same frosted chocolate cake with the same misspellings, but this time the syrup was yellow and had Kyle's name on it.

"You and little Harry share a birthday, I mixed up the cakes."

"Thank you, Hagrid. I love it."

Kyle immediately cut a small piece of cake and put it in his mouth. The moment he tasted it, his eyes widened — an overwhelming sweetness shot from his mouth straight to the top of his head, like drinking concentrated syrup.

He should never have eaten anything Hagrid made!

Kyle gritted his teeth and struggled to swallow that small bite of cake.

"How is it?"

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

"Glad you like it." Hagrid said happily, "Won't you have some more? There's plenty left."

"No, no, not right now." Kyle shook his head quickly, "I'm planning to share it with my friends tomorrow. It would be a shame if Fred and George missed out on such a delicious cake, and Cedric's coming back soon too — I want to save him a piece."

"Yes, good things should be shared with friends." Hagrid smiled, "If you all like it, you can always come see me after school starts."

"Ahem... definitely, definitely." Kyle felt his throat tighten and quickly changed the subject, "By the way, you made a cake — are you going to deliver it to Potter?"

"That's right, Dumbledore agreed to let me take him to Diagon Alley, but..." Hagrid frowned, "I was supposed to go tomorrow, but somehow his acceptance letter hasn't reached him yet. So Dumbledore asked me to check early, just in case something's wrong."

Kyle raised an eyebrow, "That is rather strange."

"Yes, so I'm heading to Surrey this afternoon to deliver the letter personally." Hagrid continued, "You know Harry can't miss the start of Hogwarts."

"No need to worry, it's probably just an owl issue." Kyle said, looking out the window, "Some Muggles don't like birds — they might have scared away the delivery owls. How about this: give me the letter, and I'll have Stella deliver it. Then you can take him to Diagon Alley when it's time."

"Wouldn't that be too much trouble?" Hagrid hesitated, still wanting to deliver the letter personally.

"It's no trouble." Kyle said, waving his hand, "Having an owl deliver the acceptance letter is a Hogwarts tradition. It's very meaningful, and each young witch or wizard only gets to experience it once — you can't get that moment back if you miss it."

Hearing his words, Hagrid suddenly paused.

Right... how could he have forgotten that.

"Alright." Hagrid said after a moment's hesitation, taking out a yellowish envelope and handing it to him, "Thank you for the help."

"It's nothing." Kyle said, taking the envelope.

Hagrid stayed a while longer before preparing to leave.

Just before he went out the door, Kyle asked, "By the way, Hagrid, how was that toffee I gave you?"

"Oh, that? I haven't eaten it yet." Hagrid said with a smile, "I'm planning to give it to Harry to try — he probably hasn't had any magical sweets yet."

"..."

Fair enough.

After Hagrid left, Kyle called for Stella and gave her the acceptance letter. He also removed the toffee he had secretly stuck near the wax seal earlier.

"Be careful, those people aren't very friendly, and they might be armed."

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