Christmas Gifts

Some time ago, Loren was worried about what gifts to prepare. He wanted to give everyone something new, unique, and that would show his sincerity.

I spent ages thinking about the meaning behind various gifts, but I still couldn't decide what to give. Then I overheard Ron saying that his most desired Christmas gift was a Christmas gift box from Honeydukes.

Loren then realized that there's no need to overthink gift-giving between friends; just be happy.

Honeydukes ' Christmas gift box contains nine of the best-selling magical candies, including Jelly Slugs, Sugar Quills, Peppermint Toads, Chocolate Frog, Bubbling Brew, Fizzing Whizbees, Liquorice Wands, Ice Mouse, and Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.

The absence of Cockroach Clusters on the list proves that the magical world still has more normal wizards.

But Loren wasn't a normal wizard; he added Cockroach Clusters to all the gift boxes he ordered and sent one to each of his friends.

As Loren placed the order, he was still lamenting that Uncle Ambrose, the candy store owner, was still too young and didn't know how to cater to his boss's preferences. If he had put Cockroach Clusters on the list, Dumbledore been so pleased that he'd have him open a small branch in the Castle —that would be like sacks full of Galleon!

For the gift box he gave to Dumbledore, Loren stuffed in several pairs of women's wool socks embroidered with butterfly patterns— Dumbledore would surely love them. Loren had initially considered putting cockroaches in the Cockroach Clusters, but ultimately abandoned the idea.

Hermione's Christmas gift was Potions Master notebook compiled by Loren. The main content was a summary of some Potions theory systems, which would make it easier for Hermione to learn and would surely be of great help to her.

As for Grandpa Bates, Loren didn't prepare any gifts. The two of them had relied on each other for so many years, and every Christmas they would just have a more elaborate dinner, nothing else.

"Thank you, Loren!"

Turning around, Ron was holding Honeydukes Christmas gift box that was even bigger than himself, and cheers came from behind the box.

Ron quickly opened the gift box, took out the Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans and put them into the box; these were his chess pieces.

I opened a Chocolate Frog and popped it into my mouth. Just as I was about to open the other gifts, my eyes suddenly fell on the Cockroach Clusters in the gift box.

Ron stared at the cockroach pattern on the wrapper, its legs constantly flailing, and pondered for a moment.

"You eat some too." He Cockroach Clusters in front of Loren and quickly walked away to unwrap the other gifts.

"Oh."

"Everyone understands this little scheme," Loren sneered. "Even Dumbledore likes to eat Cockroach Clusters, don't you understand?"

"What do you know?" Ron's head popped out from behind a bulging paper package, looking confused.

"Dumbledore loves to eat Cockroach Clusters, he's the most powerful wizard, I like to eat Cockroach Clusters, I learn spells very quickly, Hermione also eats Cockroach Clusters, she's the best student," Loren solemnly rattled off a series of examples.

Ron's eyes widened, and his mouth gaped open in surprise. "Could it be?"

"That's right, Cockroach Clusters can make you stronger." Loren looked Ron in the eye, sincerely conveying a message of encouragement.

Ron's gaze fell on the Cockroach Clusters again, his eyes sometimes firm and sometimes hesitant, his brows furrowing and then relaxing. He wanted to become stronger, but he didn't want to eat the Cockroach Clusters.

Loren's voice became ethereal, "Give it a try, why not give it a try?"

He opened the package of Cockroach Clusters, took one out with one hand and put it in his mouth, then handed the rest to Ron, saying, "The secret of magic lies within."

Following Loren's words, Ron instinctively grabbed one and put it in his mouth. The sensation of the arthropod's limbs moving around in his mouth was unbearable for Ron. His eyes widened in terror, and he wanted to spit it out.

Loren covered Ron's mouth and said, "We've already come this far, don't you want to become stronger?"

Ron felt that this was indeed the case. He chewed, the chocolate shell cracked open, and the aroma of cocoa beans filled the air. Before the bitterness could rise, the Lemon Sherbet filling flowed out, coating his tongue with a sweet and sour taste.

"To be honest, this tastes better than I expected," Ron said, his expression bewildered, as if something had been taken away from him.

"Do you remember that the first Minister of Ministry of Magic was Uric Gamp?" Loren asked.

This is misleading. The question and the answer are both in this sentence. You didn't remember it before, but you remember it now.

Ron nodded, as if he had indeed heard of it.

"You can even recall such obscure knowledge of A History of Magic; that's the purpose of the Cockroach Clusters." Loren suppressed a laugh as he brainwashed Ron, and before Ron could think about it, he returned to his bedside to continue unwrapping his gifts.

Ron was eventually fooled, his eyes darting between the Cockroach Clusters and the gift, and in the end he put the Cockroach Clusters into the cabinet as well.

Loren kept his head down as he unwrapped the gifts, occasionally letting out a soft chuckle; he seemed quite pleased with the presents he had received.

Hermione gave Loren a summary of key points from the A History of Magic.

The Christmas card said she wasn't worried about Loren's other subjects, but since Loren always slept in his A History of Magic class, he might get a big P on the final. The neat handwriting filled an entire page, admonishing Loren to study A History of Magic seriously.

The last paragraph reads: We will always be best friends.

Loren looked at the greeting card and imagined Hermione nagging him to listen to the lectures and study hard. The little Witch's pretty face tightened, and her eyes were fixed on him.

A smile involuntarily crept onto Loren's face.

The next gift was unexpected for Loren; it was from Snape, who sent a standard-sized No. 2 bronze crucible.

Compared to pewter crucibles, copper crucibles can effectively speed up the Potions -making process, but they are not cheap. A standard-sized No. 2 copper pot at Potage's Cauldron Shop is priced at 25 Galleon.

Snape was indeed very rich.

The rest were gifts from various classmates, mostly things like candy and quill pens. Loren spent some time counting them.

Ron walked up to Loren's pile of gifts, holding a dark purple sweater, and looked at the bulging paper package on top. "I think I know what this gift is?"

Loren looked at the sweater in Ron's hand, and a thought struck him. He used both hands to open the paper package. Inside was a sky-blue hand-knitted sweater and a box of Mrs. Weasley's homemade fudge.

The sweater felt soft and warm to the touch, the yarn was very smooth, and it looked even better than Ron's. Loren thought it was a wonderful gift.

Ron blushed, feeling that his mother's gift was a bit old-fashioned. "If you don't like it, you don't have to wear it."

"How could that be?" Loren said, putting on the sweater. It was a little big, but that made it more comfortable.

The dormitory door suddenly opened, and George and Fred rushed in excitedly. They were both wearing the same dark blue sweaters, one with a big yellow letter "G" on it and the other with an "F".

"Merry Christmas!"

"Hey, look— Loren got a Weasley sweater too!"

The two looked at Loren's sweater, which was clearly more finely made, and laughed in a joking tone, saying:

"This is clearly better than Weasley's."

"My mother is more attentive to strangers."