A Memory
December 30, 2020 8:08 AM
A Difficult Gift by A Memory
It was an hour or so after all of the dinner food and plates had been cleared away from the Cascade Hall, but there was still a little time for hungry students to grab a quick snack before curfew confined them to their House common rooms and dorms. As one person walked near to the Aladren table, they might have noticed a shimmery silver man sitting there, with long wild silver hair that wasn't too far off of its real life hue, though the light brown streaks that were left in it did not contrast as much at the moment. A scraggly stubble matched the wild hair, disguising a fair resemblance to a much more clean shaven seventh year prefect."I have one more gift for your birthday," the man stated, his English clear and understandable, but anyone who had spent time around any of the Hexenmeisters or Zauberhexens in the school would be able to detect a mild German accent. He held out a small wrapped package, just about the right size to contain a pocket watch. "I did not give it to you with the others, because it's . . . a difficult gift."
The gift left his hands and seemed to vanish. After enough time had passed that it was reasonable to assume the person who had taken the gift had successfully unwrapped it, the man continued, "I don't know if you recognize it, but that's the one your grandfather gave to your father on his majority. He carried it until . . . well, until you came to live with me. It was one of his few personal affects that were not held onto for the investigation or reparations. I thought you should have it now."
The man looked uncomfortable, but he pressed on, like the words were something he had been wanting to say for some time. "For what little it is worth, I think he'd be proud of you. You're - don't take this the wrong way - you're a lot like him. A much better man than he was, of course, but . . . you take after him. He'd be proud. I'm proud of you, too. You're all the best parts of my brother."
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A Memory
A Difficult Gift
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