Knockturn Alley, Borgin's shop, back room.
Borgin's curse had long since become like a maggot clinging to the bone, sinking deep into his soul. It was like a few nearly invisible strands of hair mixed among thousands of fishing lines.
And they had all become tangled into a single knot.
The difficulty of clearing them was easy to imagine.
Of course, that difficulty was only from Borgin's perspective.
For Mu En... well, he had plenty of time.
He could not be bothered to trace the curse back to its source and remove it through the logic of its operation.
He had nothing better to do anyway. Every so often, he came to Borgin's place to do some "handicraft," while helping himself to a few Dark Magic items that caught his eye.
Life was quite enjoyable.
As Mu En pulled the final curse node from Borgin's soul, the curse that had clung to him for decades could no longer sustain itself and began to collapse.
"Done." Mu En shook his hand, and the deep-blue threads linked to his fingertips drifted apart in the air.
Borgin pushed himself up, strange light flashing in his old, clouded eyes as his voice trembled. "Captain, is it over?!"
Mu En put on his hat. "It is. I have destroyed the curse's chain of operation. Remember, from today onward, you are no longer a Living Dead who feels no pain and fears no injury."
Borgin rose to his feet and quickly bowed. "Thank you."
Mu En nodded, put on his wool coat, and headed straight for the shop's main hall.
"Oh, right!" Borgin suddenly called after Mu En.
When Mu En turned around, he saw two parcels in Borgin's hands, wrapped in colored paper and ribbons.
"Captain, Merry Christmas in advance," Borgin said. "I had intended to offer my wishes on Christmas Day itself, but after thinking it over, I thought it might be inconvenient to disturb you."
Mu En froze for a moment, then turned to look at the snow outside the window and could not help laughing. "I feel like I have become less sensitive to the passage of time."
As he spoke, he accepted the two parcels.
"The small one is your Christmas gift, and the large box is for your child," Borgin said thoughtfully.
Mu En had not expected him to be so thorough. Borgin had only seen Harry once, during the explosion a few months ago.
"I will pass your wishes on to him." Mu En nodded with a smile. "Merry Christmas."
With that, he walked out the door.
A blast of cold air immediately hit him. Snowflakes drifted through the sky, and there was no trace of the starlight that had filled summer nights.
"I did not realize Christmas was so close." Mu En sighed, then Apparated away.
Moonlight Castle, second-floor study.
Compared to a few months ago, the place had clearly changed completely. There was a desk, a potion-making table, a bookshelf, a coat rack, and a small rack for potion ingredients.
At the desk, Harry slowly took off his glasses and wiped his face.
Phew...
After letting out a long breath, he got to his feet and went to the potion table to check on the brewing potion.
After an entire autumn term, he had grown quite a bit taller and looked much sturdier too.
He and the Dursleys had now reached a delicate balance. Especially after he had been required to run to school every morning, he had even fewer ties to the Dursleys in daily life.
But...
The thought of Christmas, the day after tomorrow, gave him a headache.
Aunt Petunia would be visiting the Dursleys.
Aunt Petunia was Uncle Vernon's sister. Although Harry had no blood relation to Aunt Petunia whatsoever, people had always forced him to call her Aunt Petunia.
Just thinking of her irritated Harry. If it had been the old him, he might even have felt terrified.
That was because she had truly been one of Harry's nightmares.
At Dudley's fifth birthday party, Aunt Petunia had viciously beaten Harry's calves with her cane simply because she did not want Harry to beat Dudley in a musical game.
She had also visited two Christmases ago. Her gift to Dudley had been a robot with a computer inside, while Harry had received the first Christmas gift of his life—
A box of dog biscuits.
After confirming that there was nothing wrong with the potion, Harry went to his desk and picked up a Citrine Pendant.
He calmed the distracting thoughts in his heart, then lifted the pendant.
"Aunt Petunia's arrival is good news."
After silently repeating it seven times, whether because Harry's hand was trembling or because of some other reason, such as a breeze—
The pendant began to sway.
Harry watched carefully and found that its simple side-to-side movement gradually turned clockwise.
Which meant "correct."
He put down the Crystal Pendant, feeling somewhat helpless. "I really have no talent for divination."
After going downstairs, he greeted Mr. Lucifer first.
Meteor hopped over, rubbing its broom head against Harry.
Lucifer did not seem to be thinking about anything. Rather than sleeping, he stood stiffly in the fireplace.
"Meteor, it has been too cold lately. Let us wait until it gets warmer before we go flying again," Harry comforted it.
"Harry," Lucifer suddenly said.
"Mr. Lucifer, I am here." Harry turned back.
"Do you want to come celebrate Christmas?" Lucifer suddenly asked.
"Really?" Harry could hardly believe his ears. Fine, he had entertained the thought before, but... he should not have been the one to say something like that.
He knew his place.
Lucifer nodded. "Of course it is true. Most of the time, it is just Mu En and me in the castle anyway. Having one more person around would make things livelier.
When it is a holiday, it should feel like a holiday, right?"
Harry nodded, unable to suppress the smile on his face. After saying goodbye to Lucifer, he returned to Number 4, Privet Drive.
Harry felt that he needed to hurry and share the good news with the Dursleys.
They should be quite happy too...
Not long after Harry left, Mu En flashed into Moonlight Castle.
After brushing the snow from his shoulders, he took off his coat and hat, collapsed onto the sofa, and let out a comfortable sigh.
"It is snowing outside..." Mu En said. "I have always thought our home's layout was best suited for winter.
Outside, there is a blizzard, while inside there is only a warm fireplace, and a..."
"And a lazy dog who sprawls on the sofa all day—no, a fat cat!" Lucifer immediately answered.
"What are you talking about!" Mu En pushed himself upright and pinched his stomach. "Look, my belly has gone down a lot already, all right!!"
Lucifer took a look and saw that the extra fat that had appeared some time ago had indeed disappeared considerably.
"Then it seems I was right," Lucifer said smugly.
Mu En waved a hand, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with Lucifer's words.
"I invited Harry to celebrate Christmas with us," Lucifer suddenly said.
Mu En froze for a moment before realizing what he meant. "But we do not celebrate Christmas. Holidays and such... to me, they just mean eating and drinking, then taking a break.
But I am on break every day. I eat whatever I want every day."
"I do not care. A holiday should feel like a holiday. You are always so detached from worldly desires. No wonder you got cursed." Lucifer pointed at Mu En and spoke irritably.
Mu En picked at his ear, utterly helpless. "All right, all right. I will listen to you."
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