- And the food won't go to waste?
"No, Harry. I had this bag custom-enchanted. It's enchanted with a stasis spell, meaning any food item can be preserved inside forever-or rather, until the spell wears off, which is at least a hundred years."
- Do they sell normal bags like your travel bag?
"Of course, Harry. There's a shop in the Caridan Market that sells enchanted bags. You can get there through Knockturn Alley or Flower Alley. I recommend the latter, as Knockturn Alley is often home to all sorts of misfits and outcasts."
- Wow! Uncle Scott and I have never heard of such a market.
"I've heard of the Caridan Market, and I've even been there," Mr. Potter corrected his nephew. "I just decided there was no point in us doing that. Everything we need can be bought in Diagon Alley."
The plane flew completely silently. At such a breakneck speed, you'd expect a loud roar, but since the craft was propelled by portal magic, there were no such problems: the cabin was quiet, without the loud bang typical of fighter jets transitioning to hypersonic speeds. Therefore, passengers didn't have to raise their voices to converse.
- Harry, did I tell you what Princess Diana did for Christmas?
- No. What?
- She gave everyone cashmere sweaters.
- Richie, but this is a good gift!
- Absolutely. Harry, you probably don't know... The royal family has a tradition of giving joke gifts at Christmas.
- You didn't tell me about it.
"On Christmas Eve, we usually gather at Sandringham, led by Queen Elizabeth II, in the drawing room and give each other inexpensive, humorous gifts. According to the rules, we enter the room one by one and place our signed gifts on the table so no one notices who the package is from. Although everyone understands, but the rules..."
"Richie, do you and your father actually have your own rooms in the royal palace?" Harry asked, surprised.
"No. Naturally, we are given guest rooms. Since dinner is too late, we spend the night at Sandringham and go home in the morning. But I was talking about the drawing room. Gifts are placed on the table in the place where the recipient of the gift is supposed to sit."
- I see. And yet, what's so special about cashmere sweaters?
"They're ordinary, Harry. Expensive, high-quality cashmere sweaters. They're a great gift for a simple family, but not for royalty. Understand, a person who has everything is skeptical of a practical gift. Why?! I have everything! I'd be happier with a Kinder Surprise than a sweater!"
"And how did the Queen react to this?" Harry asked.
"Mmm... To put it mildly, Princess Diana wasn't quite understood. And it seems she realized she'd done something stupid. You should have seen the look on Grandma Lisa's face as she examined the sweater. A simple worker would have looked with the same astonishment at the pink rubber penis a co-worker gave him as a gift.
Harry laughed and said:
- I can imagine if another director had given Uncle Vernon something like this... He would have held the thing with two fingers and looked at it with big eyes.
"You try it, Harry. Give your aunt and uncle some unique gifts next Christmas."
"Great idea, Richie!" Harry beamed enthusiastically. "I'll definitely try that. What kind of fun gifts were there?"
- Hmm... Princess Anne, the Queen's daughter, gave Princess Diana a toilet paper holder.
Harry Potter laughed and asked:
- Does Princess Diana use it?!
- I don't know, I don't have a habit of looking into the toilets in other people's bedrooms.
"Richie, what did you give the queen?" Harry asked curiously.
- Portrait of Lenin.
"Lenin?" Harry asked, confused.
"Lenin?!" Scott said in amazement.
"LENIN?!!!" Stephen exclaimed in surprise.
"Lenin!" Richard nodded affirmatively.
"You've really done something funny, boy!" Mr. Potter chuckled.
Harry looked from one man to the other with a sad expression and asked in bewilderment: