Two days flashed by, and today was Wednesday—Christmas.
Last night had been Christmas Eve.
Thanks to the physical enhancements brought by the Dragon Knight, Basil's sleep quality was excellent, though his sleep was correspondingly short.
So, when the first ray of morning sunlight brushed across his cheek, he woke up.
The sky was still yellow, tinged faintly with red, as though someone had smeared it with a touch of oil paint.
As usual, he checked the offices of the Minister and Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Magic.
No one was there today.
Tragic! Fudge and Umbridge would miss out on today's Stunning Spell package!
He shifted his attention to the dormitory.
The window he had deliberately left open for the owls had gone unused.
The ones delivering the presents were House-elves, each wrapped in a tea towel bearing the Hogwarts crest.
Basil did not pull back his bed curtains. With his eyes closed, he watched everything through Hogwarts in his mind.
They Apparated to the owlery, collected the gifts from the owls, then Apparated into every dormitory that still had occupants.
They had merely skillfully controlled the volume of the popping sound produced by Apparition.
Unless he listened closely, Basil could not hear it at all.
Basil had asked Riddle about the Apparition spell before.
The volume of the popping sound, as well as the intensity of the oppressive feeling from that dark world during the transition from Disapparition to Apparition, depended on the distance traveled and one's proficiency with Apparition.
Here, proficiency did not merely refer to mastery of the spell itself, but also familiarity with the destination.
The farther the distance, the less proficient the caster.
The louder the popping sound became, and the stronger that oppressive feeling grew.
As for these House-elves, they Apparated frequently and