Besides Weasley jokes, the parties at the Owl Court Club also featured carefully prepared little surprises.
Fred and George mysteriously opened a silver-white briefcase. "Look closely, everyone! This is a living fossil that has witnessed the history of our school!"
"Hiss—" A long snake tongue emerged from the suitcase, followed by a huge snake head.
Jormungandr's appearance terrified almost all the girls.
"Ah—" Their screams startled Jormungandr, who was unsure whether to continue crawling out.
Seeing its adorable blinking eyes, everyone understood that it meant no harm.
There's a thousand-year-old Basilisk that you won't find another one like it anywhere else in the world, and it's also one of the school's mysterious School Board Member.
Jormungandr squinted and raised his large head high, seemingly to express his joy.
Its massive body slowly emerged from the suitcase, eliciting another round of gasps from below.
When Vincent came in, he saw that it was already surrounded by everyone.
Harry acted as the translator, answering questions, while Fred and George took photos with the alchemical camera.
The photos taken with the thousand-year-old Basilisk will surely become cherished memories of their school days.
Those students who went home for the Christmas holidays must be kicking themselves.
"Meow—" Crookshanks seemed to have a GPS tracker installed, quietly coming over and rubbing against Vincent's trouser leg.
In the distance, Hermione, who witnessed this scene, looked down at Gu Gu in her arms and suddenly felt that this was not so bad.
Daphne, who was standing next to her, followed her gaze and couldn't help but smile slightly. "It seems your efforts haven't been in vain."
Hermione quickly looked away. "I gave him the scarf so he could properly cover the scar on his neck."
I started knitting in November and continued until the day before yesterday. I unraveled and started knitting again three times because I was not satisfied with the result.
Seeing that she was still being stubborn, Daphne knew that their ambiguous relationship would last for a very long time.
The banquet at the Owl Court continued into the evening, and by the time an exhausted Jormungandr crawled back into his briefcase, Vincent should have gone back to continue unwrapping his gifts.
The reason there are so many this year is largely due to the booming business of the Alchemy Shop.
As if by prior arrangement, Alchemists from all over the world anonymously sent him one exquisitely crafted and powerful alchemical tool after another.
There was even a brand new Firebolt among them.
They actually knew about Beta's damage; they're really quite "concerned."
Vincent didn't take such a blatant provocation to heart at all.
To bring down his Alchemy Shop, we need to find a way to lower the selling price and costs first.
If you can't get past this hurdle, even the most powerful alchemical tools are no match for you.
Late at night, the owls, who had been coming here sporadically, finally stopped bringing gifts.
"Aha—" She stretched out a big yawn and jumped straight into bed to sleep.
I slept until noon, and when I woke up I saw Fawkes playing with Gu Gu.
Vincent's eyelids twitched wildly. He changed his clothes, put on a scarf, and headed straight for the Headmaster's Office.
Dumbledore was indeed waiting for him, and Harry was there too.
It's just the Gaunt Family Home, we can go there.
After a brilliant burst of red light, Fawkes appeared on Dumbledore's shoulder.
"Let's go."
Another burst of brilliant red flames appeared as the three of them stood before a dilapidated wooden shed.
The surrounding area was full of weeds and shrubs, the wooden walls were covered with moss, and a small part of the roof had collapsed.
The surrounding nettles grew to the point where the window was covered in years of grime, and a faint aura of Dark Magic could be sensed.
Vincent and Harry couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness at the sight of the once glorious Gaunt Family in such a state.
Dumbledore has already told Harry about the Horcrux, and one of them might be hidden inside.
"Please step back."
The two obediently stepped back.
When the distance was safe enough, Dumbledore pointed the Elder Wand at the door where a withered, dead snake was nailed.
A large amount of black mist quickly poured out from the crack in the door.
The weeds on the ground withered instantly upon contact with them, and the surrounding air seemed to thin out.
Dumbledore waved the Elder Wand, drawing all the black mist into the huge vortex at the tip of the wand.
Once the last wisp was sucked in, the vortex rippled a few times like the surface of water before slowly disappearing into the air.
The door, nailed with a withered, dead snake, opened, and countless Scabbers iron nails shot out from the darkness.
The more traps are set, the more important the contents inside must be.
Dumbledore casually drew a circle in front of him with the Elder Wand, and the deadly nails fell down as if they had hit a steel plate.
The house was pitch black inside; you couldn't see anything.
A burst of intense light shot into the tip of the Elder Wand, but it was instantly swallowed by endless darkness.
"It seems we've come to the right place." Dumbledore turned to face the two.
"Before I go in, I have to deal with the countless terrible spells inside."
With each swing of the Elder Wand, Voldemort's traps were reduced by one.
But this is where Horcrux are placed, and even Dumbledore would take quite a while to figure it out.
After waiting patiently for a few minutes, the two started chatting.
"You also received an anonymously sent Firebolt?"
"You too? You didn't receive it too, did you?"
Vincent received far too many anonymous Christmas gifts.
Almost all of them were the masterpieces of Alchemists, who certainly had the financial means to acquire Firebolt starting at 10,000 Galleon.
But what about Harry?
Vincent lowered his head in thought, his eyes suddenly turning strange. "Could it be some rich young lady who has a crush on you?"
Harry looked utterly bewildered. "And what about you? This rich girl is secretly in love with both of us?"
If she's a rich girl who secretly admires them, why would she send gifts anonymously?
Unless... she's unwilling to reveal her name?
Could she be a married woman?
"Hiss—" Vincent suddenly gasped.
"Anyway, my Rascal Rabbit is already fixed, and you don't have any other brooms, so just use it for now."
"Okay." Harry still felt that his gaze was a bit strange, as if he was pitying him.
Thinking about the Gryffindor Tower spectacle that everyone in the school knew about yesterday, I imagine there are quite a few rich girls who have a crush on Vincent.
As they chatted, it began to get dark.
Dumbledore was still disarming the traps, and his swinging of the Elder Wand was noticeably slower.
"Has the professor run into trouble?" Harry asked with concern.
Vincent waved his hand dismissively, "Tom can't possibly cause him any trouble. He's probably just out of shape and exhausted."
No sooner had the words left his mouth than a burst of energy erupted from the Gaunt Family Home.
Dumbledore his hand to stop them, then turned back and smiled kindly at the two of them. "Mr. Wayne, I'm still full of energy."
He managed to thwart Voldemort's elaborate traps while still being able to eavesdrop on their conversation; it really didn't seem like he was physically weak.
Vincent pursed his lips, showing no remorse whatsoever, but rather some impatience.
"I'll speed things up." Dumbledore didn't seem too concerned and turned to continue disarming the traps.