Christmas Gifts

Sean gazed at the Gemstone Ring on the platform, his mind filled with a myriad of thoughts.

However, he didn't dwell on it; instead, he put the ring away.

The key now is still dealing with Grindelwald's time travel accident. As for the things in the ring, like what his future self wrote on the note, let's deal with that first.

Otherwise, under the intense scrutiny of the World Will, a message from the future could very well become another bombshell.

Emerging from the crevice, the Selma Lake Monster was obediently waiting nearby. Upon seeing Sean emerge, it swam over happily and nuzzled him with its head.

"Rubbing" might not be the right word; this guy's head is several sizes bigger Sean's whole body, and when he flicks his tongue, it looks like he's going to cover Sean with a red blanket.

However, Sean now knows why there's a Selma Lake Monster here.

This guy hatched from Sean's ring from the future...

The future self likely obtained an egg of the Selma Lake Monster, but before he could hatch it himself, a series of accidents occurred, and the ring eventually followed Grindelwald to the present Timeline.

By a twist of fate, the Selma Lake Monster eventually caught up with Sean's trail.

This did remind Sean that there shouldn't be anything he needed to guard against in his future ring, otherwise the little lake monster wouldn't have had the chance to slip out of the ring.

Thinking about all this, he touched the lake monster's scales. "Come with me?"

The Selma Lake Monster's ribbon-like whiskers on its head rose slightly and then trembled.

"You have to take your egg with you too—" Sean hugged the lake monster egg, which was nearing hatching, and then swam out of the cave.

As they swam upstream, the Inferi went berserk trying to attack the Selma Lake Monster, but Sean took the lead, and the Inferi dared not approach—the cold corpse convulsed wildly in the lake water like someone having an epileptic seizure.

It's probably a system conflict... Sean thought to himself.

With water splashing everywhere, Sean and the Selma Lake Monster quickly burst out of the lake.

"Got it." Sean shouted towards the open space where Grindelwald was.

"Hmm, get lost—take your little pet with you. I was wondering why a bunch of the Inferi I released were missing," Grindelwald's lazy voice drifted over.

"Damn old man... Once you've extracted your memories, I'll definitely teach you a lesson... "Sean muttered to himself.

He opened the ring, and the passage kept expanding until it became a huge hole.

Fortunately, Sean had widened the entrance to make it easier to release the Basilisk to glare at people, otherwise the Selma Lake Monster might not have been able to squeeze in.

Sean first went inside and spoke to the other animals in the ring, then turned to the Selma Lake Monster.

"There are a few guys inside, they're all easy to get along with, just remember not to cause trouble—you'll see them once you go into the lake," he instructed.

The Selma Lake Monster nodded obediently, then took its egg into its mouth and swam into the ring.

A lot of noise came from the ring, including various animal sounds—it was greeting its new friend.

Seeing that the guys inside seemed to be getting along quite well, Sean put away the ring and then looked towards the open space in the center.

"Then I'll be going?"

"Hmm," Grindelwald replied.

Sean glanced at his watch, then pulled out a beautifully wrapped gift box.

The gift box floated above the open space where Grindelwald was, guided by the wand.

Sean smiled and said, "Merry Christmas, teacher."

Grindelwald chuckled, "You really are... well, I owe you a gift."

Sean waved casually, "Then I'll be going now."

Halfway there, he suddenly turned around, looking like a curious child. "Teacher, I have a question that has been bothering me for a long time, but only you can give me the answer."

Grindelwald replied casually, "Yes, ask away."

"Um... how do you take care of your daily physiological needs while you're trapped under the Invisibility Cloak?"

Grindelwald remained silent for a moment.

"Get lost."

"Hahahaha, I'm off, I'm off!" Leaving behind a string of laughter, Sean turned into black smoke and fled the island in the middle of the lake.

Shortly after Sean left, Grindelwald's laughter and curses echoed across the empty island in the middle of the lake.

"You clever little rascal..."

"Merry Christmas."

Godric's Hollow.

This year's Christmas was blessed with exceptionally fine weather. On the cobblestone street, Capen Roman, carrying a large basket, was walking in one direction.

For the past few days, he has been delivering groceries and things left by Mr. Wallop to the old woman's house every day.

He's much busier than before, but Capen is genuinely happy.

Mr. Wallop would come to see him once a day, and Capen also learned that a Magical Creatures Obscurus resided within him.

"Generally speaking, Obscurial, or those who reside within Obscurus, do not live past the age of ten. These Magical Creatures are pure combinations of dark power, and once they go on a rampage, they will attack all living beings around them. Even the weakest Obscurus requires many adult wizards to work together to deal with it—however, the Obscurus developed, so I can remove it."

When Mr. Wallop so casually told him that there was a terrible Magical Creatures inside him, Capen had to admit that he was still a little scared.

But this fear didn't last more than a few days.

Mr. Wallop came to treat him every day, and he always seemed calm and collected. Capen's initial nervousness and fear subsided considerably.

For some reason, he always felt that in Mr. Wallop's eyes, nothing was a big deal.

Moreover, during one of his deliveries, the cool and handsome old man who lived in Ms. Bathilda's house grabbed her wrist just like Mr. Wallop had done.

He grabbed it briefly and walked away expressionlessly— Capen thought the man might have already accepted Mr. Wallop's treatment method.

After all, Mr. Wallop said that the cool old man was an extremely powerful wizard.

Of course, besides his own so-called "illness," Capen was more interested in the Wizarding World that Mr. Wallop had mentioned.

The best School of Magic, Hogwarts; the most interesting wizarding shopping street, Diagon Alley; all sorts of Magical Creatures; Mr. Wallop even brought me a jumping Chocolate Frog, an exploding Licorice Wand, and Bertie Bott's Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans with all sorts of weird flavors...

And of course, there's the magic I'll be learning in the future...

Capen felt an itch in his heart, wishing he could speed up time even further.

It was Christmas in 1994, Capen was counting on his fingers as he walked.

Another year, then nine months later...

In September 1996, I will officially step into the Magical World!

If only time could be shorter, like before, there were two strange days when Tuesday's time mysteriously disappeared!

If only I could do it all over again, disappearing for a year and nine months... no, no, it's a year and seven months, I really want to receive that acceptance letter in person...

Ah, isn't that a bit too greedy? How about five months a year... or three months a year?

Capen thought to himself, and couldn't help but laugh.

"Capen, what are you laughing at?" A crisp voice interrupted his wonderful reverie.

Capen quickly wiped his mouth and looked at the blonde girl opposite him.

"Milani, oh, hello, I was just thinking about something happy."

The girl pouted, muttering somewhat unhappily, "You won't tell me anything... and ever since David and the others went to the doctor, you've been avoiding me..."

Capen awkwardly avoided the other person's gaze and stammered, "Oh, I just haven't run into you much."

Milani, who looked like a Barbie doll, puffed out her cheeks, glared at him for a while, and then lowered her head angrily.

The atmosphere between the two children became somewhat delicate.

Just as Capen was awkwardly rubbing his heels, wondering if he should find an excuse to slip away, Milani suddenly looked up and let out a long sigh.

Then, she transformed into the look Capen loved most—a look that was a little stubborn, a little proud, yet innocent and adorable.

Milani took out a beautifully packaged little box from behind her back and handed it over with both hands.

"Capen, Merry Christmas."

Capen was a little flustered. He hesitated and clumsily put the basket on the ground, then reached behind his back to try to wipe it discreetly on his clothes.

He then reached out and accepted the gift, stammering, "Thank you, Milani."

Milani smiled sweetly, tilted her head, and said somewhat shyly, "Those are cookies I baked myself, they probably aren't as good as the ones from Mrs. Jones' Bakery."

"Oh, and the wrapping paper too. I cut a piece from my dad's and wrapped it myself. It's a bit simple, please don't mind," she added.

Capen was flustered and didn't even open the gift to express his gratitude. He just awkwardly gripped the box with one hand and said forcefully, "It's very good, very good, I like it very much."

With his other hand, he secretly tucked down the bulging pocket of his shirt a little.

Milani saw his action, and a hint of disappointment flashed in her eyes, but she quickly covered it up.

She smiled brightly, "I'm glad you like it. I'll be going now."

"Okay—" Capen hesitated for a long time, "Be careful on the road."

Milani chuckled, then waved and skipped away.

Halfway there, she stopped, clapped her hands, and looked as if she had just realized something. Then she said loudly to herself, "Oh, right, I almost forgot. I still have to go find Mrs. Lestrange. She said she would teach me how to braid a new hairstyle. Ah, I'll rest by the big tree nearby for a while. It's been so long since I've been there. There's hardly anyone there."

The little girl talked loudly to herself, then walked away with light steps.

Watching Milani's departing figure, Capen gripped the exquisite gift box tightly. He then looked down at his own pocket, where a rough, handmade box lay.

Capen pressed the box deeper into the bag and picked up the basket.

Sean, who had been silently watching all this, slapped his head hard.

This kid...

He had been coming to Godric's Hollow for some time now. Capen was a good person, polite and grateful, and Sean treated him like a younger brother.

Seeing Capen in this state, Sean felt a sense of disappointment and frustration.

What are you hesitating for? You're childhood sweethearts!

Looking at that little girl, Sean couldn't help but sigh, "How wonderful she is."

They were constantly protecting Capen's pride, and in the end, it wasn't even an explicit statement, it was a subtle hint...

So what if the handmade gift has simple packaging? The girl is the mayor's daughter, and she obviously doesn't care about the value of the gift; what she cares about is the person who gave it to her.

At least out of courtesy, you should reciprocate, Capen, Capen...

Sean couldn't help but sigh, startling Capen, who was already in a low mood.

"Mr. Wallop, when did you arrive..." Capen stammered.

Sean blinked. "Just arrived."

"Oh, oh, that's good." Capen breathed a sigh of relief.

"What's good about it?"

"No! No! I mean, I was just about to deliver something to Ms. Bathilda, and you've come at the perfect time..." Capen tried to appear calm.

Tsk... Sean turned around leisurely, gesturing for Capen to follow.

Hearing Sean's sigh, Capen gritted his teeth and finally whispered, "I... I actually understand..."

Sean curled his lip at this. "What do you understand?"

"That's right, that's right... sigh..."

Sean turned and glanced at him, deliberately saying sarcastically, "Really? Nobody thinks they're superior just because they're a wizard, right?"

Upon hearing this, Capen immediately craned his neck and retorted hastily, "I never thought that way!"

"So what are you thinking?" Sean glanced at him amusedly. "Exchanging Christmas gifts isn't an engagement, and how old are you two? Don't tell me you're already imagining the future conflict between wizards and Muggle."

"I..." Capen lowered his head in distress, "I don't know what to do..."

With his hands behind his back, Sean said leisurely, "The Wizarding World allows Muggle and wizards to be friends and even marry—and I believe a true friend is worth the effort to maintain the relationship."

The little boy fell silent.

Sean didn't say much, and the two walked until they arrived at Ms. Bathilda's yard.

"Alright, leave it to me today. You can go home early." Sean took the basket and handed over a gift box.

"Mr. Wallop, this, this is..." Capen stamped his foot as if he had caught a branding iron.

"Merry Christmas, Capen —by the way, where's my present?" Sean said with a smile.

Capen paused for a moment, then took a deep breath, pulled a similarly rough box from another pocket, and handed it over.

"Mr. Wallop, Merry Christmas."

"This is not bad, thank you for the gift." Sean took the box and immediately opened it. Inside was a small clay figure that was not very exquisite but had a certain charm.

"Oh—I really like this," Sean said sincerely.

"I'm so glad you like it..." Capen visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

Sean smiled, then waved his wand, and his other gift box instantly became exquisite and lovely.

"To undo the Transfiguration, just gently pull the ribbon—the decision is yours."

Sean smiled, waved, and walked into the yard.