Fred shamelessly threw his arms around Ivan's legs and refused to let go, crying falsely and declaring that if Ivan didn't agree, Wood would drown in the Black Lake tomorrow…
"Alright, stop, stop, stop… I have to think about this for a few days!" Ivan was really annoyed, so he could only say helplessly.
George, Wood, and the others did not dare to push him too hard, and when they saw that Ivan was willing to back down and consider the matter, they stopped.
However, before leaving, Wood kept hinting to Harry to do more thinking for Ivan.
"Sigh… How troublesome. I don't have time for Quidditch…" Ivan sighed, returning to the dormitory with a headache.
Ron looked on with envy, unable to understand why Ivan was troubled.
He would jump for joy if Wood, George, and the others ever invited him to join the Quidditch team. He would have to win the Quidditch Cup even if he did not have to attend class. What an honour!
Ron fantasised about opening the door and entering his room, but his attention was caught by the package by the window.
Ron took a few quick steps forward. "What's this? Who sent this? Is it an early Hallowe'en present?"
It was a beautiful package, over a meter long, bound in golden-red ribbons, with a card dangling from the bottom, addressed to Mr Harry Potter in black ink.
"Harry, it looks like it's for you! It looks weird, it doesn't even have the sender's name on it!" Ron called out to him.
Harry was confused as to who would send something to him at a time like this, as the packaging looked expensive.
Curious, Harry unwrapped the box and opened it, then froze, staring at the contents as if possessed.
Ron was surprised by his reaction, and when he looked inside the box, he gasped…
A glittering, exquisite broomstick sat inside the box, looking rather dazzling in the sunlight.
Ron knew it well. It was the glow of gold Galleons…
"Am I seeing this right? This is a Firebolt?! Who gave it to you?" Ron asked after a while as he regained his composure.
"How should I know?" Harry was stunned, pleasantly surprised, and wondering who would give him something so valuable.
The Dursleys? That's impossible, they hate me…
Professor McGonagall? His last broomstick was a gift from Professor McGonagall, but Harry knew very well that Professor McGonagall was unlikely to sell him anything as fancy as a Firebolt…
Ivan, the only one who knew, said nothing. He knew that Sirius was behind the Firebolt, but he did not expect the gift to arrive early.
Ivan had expected Sirius to be a Christmas present, as in the original timeline, or perhaps a surprise for Harry when they met.
Scabbers, who was hiding in Ron's pocket, sneaked out to watch them.
Although Peter did not know exactly what a Firebolt was or how expensive it was, he could tell from Ron's words that someone had anonymously given Harry a broomstick, which made him think of something and his heart leap into his throat…
At that moment, another owl swooped in through the window, clutching a large package in its paws that looked exactly like the Firebolt package…
However, even though the package was enchanted with a weight-reduction spell, the owl was exhausted from flying so high. It flapped its wings and flew slowly towards them.
"This… this can't be the second Firebolt?!" Ron stammered.
Ivan was equally surprised. Had Sirius accidentally filled in the wrong amount to buy a broom and sent Harry two Firebolts?
"It looks like it's for you this time, Ivan!" Harry said when he saw the package.
As expected, the owl dropped the package in front of Ivan and flew away.
Bewildered, Ivan opened the package, which, unlike Harry's, contained a letter in addition to a Firebolt.
Ivan opened the envelope and read the contents, before realising that Sirius had purchased the Firebolt to thank him for his help.
In Sirius's words, he was going to buy Harry a Firebolt anyway, so he didn't mind buying another one…
In the letter, Sirius also asked if he liked the broom, and if he wasn't interested in Quidditch, he could always get something else.
After reading the entire letter, Ivan was shocked at the actions of Sirius the local tycoon, who was so rich… that he would say "I don't care if you buy another one" in the face of something like a Firebolt.
Harry and Ron leaned forward to check the contents of the envelope, but Yvonne grabbed it first.
Although the letter only mentioned thanking him, and not much in the way of specifics, it was possible to guess something if one was smart enough to read it and knew Sirius well.
After all, there weren't many people with that much money who still had contact with Harry…
"Ivan, who the hell sent these two packages?" Harry asked. He was both pleased and disturbed that he had somehow acquired a Firebolt, and he wanted to know.
"Yes, what did the letter say?" Ron was curious.
Yvonne glanced at Scabbers, who was eavesdropping on Ron, and said,
"This letter is from Professor Dumbledore, who is very worried about Harry's safety after learning that Harry accidentally fell out of the air while playing basketball and broke his broomstick.
The professor also knew that Harry was troubled by the Dementors, so he sent the Firebolt to cheer him up!"
Ivan pretended to be impressed, and almost believed it himself.
It couldn't be helped, as Sirius had bought two Firebolts on a whim and insisted on sending a letter, which was the only explanation he could come up with.
Ivan had wanted to say that it was from Lupin, so as to make it easier to lie.
However, due to his poor appearance, and the fact that he was wearing patched-up clothes, it seemed impossible for him to buy a Firebolt, so Dumbledore had to take the blame.
Only Dumbledore could so easily fork out so much Galleon to buy two Firebolt arrows…