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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