July 31st was Harry Potter's birthday, but it was also Arthur's birthday.
However, Arthur was a bit happier, as he still had people celebrating his birthday.
After his mother's death, he spent most of his summers in France. Therefore, his birthdays were always celebrated at the Delacour family's home or with his uncle Antoine.
This time, his birthday was also celebrated at the Delacour family's home, and his uncle Antoine made a rare appearance.
As Antoine walked in the grey area and Mr. Delacourwas currently an Auror, both knew each other's identities. Occasionally, they even collaborated, but meeting face-to-face still made them a bit awkward.
This also caused Antoine to leave after staying for an afternoon.
On Arthur's birthday, the most excited person wasn't Arthur, but Gabrielle, because she could eat delicious birthday cake.
The birthday cake was brought by Antoine, and it was generously filled with all sorts of fruits and chocolates that Gabrielle loved.
Mr. Delacour, however, looked at the birthday cake with great displeasure.
Ever since Arthur held Fleur's hand last time, and Fleur told him that he didn't understand Arthur, he found Arthur annoying in every way.
For example, this cake was at least half a month's salary for him as an Auror.
"What a waste! They don't treat money like money," he cursed in his heart, but then he ate the most vigorously. He wanted to consume all this ill-gotten gain into his Auror stomach and digest it.
Gabrielle gave Arthur a potted plant she had grown herself, a small, beautiful blue flower that could also be used as an ingredient for healing Potions.
Fleur gave Arthur a silver-white bracelet woven from her own hair.
Mr. Delacour glanced at Mrs. Delacour; he had never received such treatment back then.
Then Arthur took out the magical defense necklace he had already made.
The necklace was entirely silver, not only the string, but also the two gems hanging on it were silver gems that Arthur had specifically asked Baru to buy.
A larger gem hung in the front, and another smaller spherical gem was strung through the back by the cord.
Baru was inexplicably hit by a spell last time and then passed out. In the end, an Auror found him discarded in a patch of grass.
After waking up and learning what Arthur had encountered, he hated himself for not protecting Arthur, almost cutting off his own hand.
Arthur knew that the mastermind that night was not someone Baru could deal with, but because of the House-elf, he still tied a blood-stained Unicorn tail hair, left by Charlotte previously, to Baru's hand, leaving a permanent scar as punishment.
At the same time, this would allow Charlotte to sense Baru's location later, so that if similar incidents occurred again, the situation would not repeat itself.
The gems Baru bought were naturally excellent materials, with an extremely hard texture.
Arthur also reinforced them again, tying a thin gold ring around the gems, inscribed with Ancient Runes.
"What is this? Why are you giving us gifts on your birthday?" Fleur looked at the necklace with great joy, but asked with some confusion.
Arthur personally put the necklace on Fleur. "This is a magical defense necklace. When you encounter malice, this gem will automatically detach and help you block enemy attacks. The environment in Paris is not very good right now. Wear this necklace, and if you encounter any danger, it can help you block the opponent."
Fleur touched the necklace, her eyes filled with Arthur's image.
Mr. Delacour, standing nearby, spoke up at this moment: "Is this true? What are the specific effects?"
As the head of the Auror office, he had naturally come into contact with similar magical defense items. Not long ago, the Auror office had purchased some defensive cloaks, but the effects were not very good.
Arthur replied: "The effect is quite good. Although it cannot withstand frequent attacks from powerful Wizards, one or two Vampires or a regular Auror are no problem."
"What? No problem even against an Auror?" Mr. Delacour said in surprise.
Since its inception, the Auror profession has always represented the elite Wizards of the Ministry of Magic.
To become an Auror, one needs to pass an examination. If no Wizard passes the exam in a given year, the Ministry of Magic will not lower its requirements for admission. In the original work, the British Ministry of Magic had such a situation.
Although the average level of Aurors is far inferior to decades ago due to the relatively peaceful state of the Wizarding World, Aurors can still be considered powerful when viewed among all Wizards.
According to students in magical schools, Wizards who can become Aurors are at least among the top 5% in terms of combat ability.
Facing Mr. Delacour's doubts, Arthur said: "We'll know by testing it."
"Alright then, let me see if this necklace actually works."
After saying that, Mr. Delacour stood up, took out his wand, and looked at Fleur, saying: "Shall I try?"
"No problem, I trust Arthur." Fleur stood up and walked to a distance of about ten meters from Mr. Delacour.
Immediately, a "Petrificus Totalus" shot out from Mr. Delacour's wand.
However, the white light only reached about two meters in front of Fleur before it was blocked by a silver gem glowing with golden light.
"Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap!" Gabrielle was clapping on the side, her palms red, and she kept praising: "So amazing! Now I'm not afraid of those Vampires anymore."
The Delacours also showed a hint of joy. They were both adult Wizards, and Aurors had similar equipment, so this necklace wasn't a necessity for them. However, the Fleur sisters couldn't Apparate yet, so the magical defense necklace would be very useful.
Thinking of this, Mr. Delacour's gaze towards Arthurbecame much more satisfied.
However, he still asked: "What if the opponent doesn't attack from the front, but ambushes?"
Arthur ran to Fleur's side, turned her around, and pointed to the small gem behind the necklace, saying: "Attacks from behind can also be detected, but it takes a bit longer for the gem to get into position. You can try it too."
Another "Petrificus Totalus" was cast, but it was still blocked by the gem in front of the necklace, this time at a distance of about 1.5 meters behind Fleur.
It takes a little reaction time for the gem to circle around and avoid the Wizard's body.
Mr. Delacour's eyes grew even more satisfied, and he quickly asked: "Arthur, did you make this?"
"That's right, I made it myself."
"Can you make more similar necklaces then?"
Arthur shook his head, "The materials required are very rare, even I can't find any more. And even if I could make them, not counting the most important material, the other materials combined would be hundreds of Galleons. Mass production is impossible."
After all, the most important material could only be dropped by killing the remnant soul of Lord Voldemort. He didn't have much of it left now, and he still wanted to do some experiments later, so it was impossible to make finished products to sell to Aurors.
Mr. Delacour's face was full of regret. Magical items that could defend against frontal attacks were not rare, but magical items that could defend against attacks from behind could be said to be precious.
However, Arthur had prepared them for both of his daughters, and The Delacours were still very happy. Mr. Delacour nodded in approval at Arthur at this moment, and Mrs. Delacour even completely regarded Arthur as her son-in-law.
Fleur's eyes were also full of Arthur, and she kept holding Arthur's hand.
After a pleasant birthday, Arthur received a letter from Kreacher the next afternoon.
It included a copy of The Daily Prophet, which reported on the "Sirius Black's Escape from Azkaban" incident, which Arthur had almost forgotten.
It read: "The first prisoner to successfully escape from Azkaban! An extremely vicious murderer who used an exploding curse to kill… on XX Street."
Below the text was a dynamic image of Sirius Black, holding his nameplate and roaring in anger, vividly depicting the murderer's cruelty.
With the last remaining Black having escaped Azkaban, Arthur naturally had to return. Even if he didn't, people from the Ministry of Magic would forcibly break into the ancestral home of the House of Black to search. Even if he had a new house and didn't care about that ancestral home anymore, it was the face of the House of Black. As an heir who could be said to be somewhat unqualified, he still had to protect its basic dignity.