Death's Gift, and What Harry Desired Most

The Elf ' argument didn't attract much attention, since it was just a few words exchanged and didn't escalate into a fight.

Ron's attention was completely drawn to the large chicken leg on the table, which was roasted to a golden brown and looked incredibly appetizing.

Especially for a level-ten chicken leg connoisseur like Ron, there was absolutely no resistance to these little guys.

As for the big turkey on the table?

Who in their right mind would eat turkey for no reason...?

The meat was tough and tasteless; it was just displayed there to make it look nice.

On a small table not far away, there were also Little Gingerbread and eggnog.

Even as minors, Hermione and Ron were allowed to have some eggnog on this holiday.

The Christmas tree was decorated with a variety of small gifts, but most of them were just for decoration, and Sirius didn't intend to give them to anyone.

Hanging them on the tree looks nice and adds a touch of Christmas festive spirit.

Even wizards, now influenced by the Muggle festival, have begun to celebrate it as well.

Not only did the Daily Prophet make an unprecedented exception by not reporting on a secret history of the Black family home, they even went so far as to give a long negative review to various businesses.

For example, there are various promotional activities at Zonko's Joke Shop, as well as announcements about new products from Honeydukes.

"I truly believe that Zonko's Joke Shop is starting to decline," Ron said, pointing to the newspaper. "Their joke shop is completely living off its past successes, with absolutely no innovation... As far back as I can remember, that shop has been selling the same stuff, and it hasn't changed at all over the years."

"I should say, they've been selling the same products since we were in school," Sirius said, crossing his legs. "I could practically recite the entire menu of their shops by heart..."

"Yes, but there's still no Joke Shop in the Magical World that can stand up for itself." Hermione clasped her hands on the open book on her lap. "I think that's one of the reasons they're not ambitious... By the way, their stuff isn't cheap either. I remember Lavender Brown complaining about that to me once."

"So I think your two older brothers could develop something in this area," Sirius said with a chuckle. "I remember... they invented an interesting candy called ' Instant Class-Skipping Candy,' right? It was a really nice little gadget. It would make you bleed from your nose very quickly... Quite a few students tried to use it to skip class, but I always managed to catch them."

"Those two don't think about anything else all day," Ron said, shrugging. "I've noticed they're really into pranks; they'd rather be joke shop owners than great wizards."

"But we can't expect everyone to dream of becoming a great wizard, Ron," Veratia said. "This society is made up of different classes of people, that's an undeniable fact. There will always be people who have to do other things—besides, becoming a great wizard isn't the only way out, and of course, they might not necessarily live a good life because of it."

"That's true." Ron nodded hesitantly. "But my mother always believed that students should act like students. She would prefer that George, Fred, Bill Charlie step by step, find a class, and live a peaceful life."

"This kind of life might suit Percy, but it's definitely not suitable for Fred and George, believe me." Harry patted Ron on the shoulder. "Those two are restless to the core. I don't think they'll be the kind of obedient kids who follow the path your mother laid out for them."

"You're right, that's what I think too." Ron nodded in agreement.

Outside, Luchi came in carrying a stack of newspapers.

"This is the latest newspaper, mistress."

Luchi walked over to Veratia and handed her the newspaper.

Veratia took the newspaper but didn't rush to read it; instead, she put it aside.

Seeing that the lady of the house wasn't reading the newspaper, Luchi hesitated, wanting to speak but holding back.

Noticing Luchi's unusual behavior, Veratia asked curiously, "What's wrong, Luchi? Is there something you want to tell me?"

"Just now... just now Luchi saw some news in the newspaper," Luchi stammered. "Of course, Luchi didn't do it on purpose; she just happened to see news about the young master..."

The "young master" that Luchi was referring to was, of course, Gellert Grindelwald, who had gray hair.

Sirius didn't realize what was happening; he thought it was one of Grindelwald family's younger relatives.

"Is it Gellert? What happened to him?" Veratia reached for the newspaper lying to the side, opened it, and began to read it carefully.

Sirius, finally regaining his senses, exclaimed "Wow!" and whispered, "I thought it was someone else! I never imagined that the ' young master ' of the Grindelwald family would be Gellert Grindelwald, my Melina!"

"What's so strange about that?" Ron raised an eyebrow and said, "With his sister as a kind of elder, no matter how old Mr. Grindelwald is, he's still the young master of the family—after all, he's not married yet."

Upon hearing this, Dumbledore pretended to be very interested in the chandelier above his head and carefully examined the patterns on it.

Sirius glanced at Dumbledore discreetly. Of course, he knew some of the amusing anecdotes between Dumbledore and Grindelwald —but knowing didn't mean Sirius understood.

Even though he and James were very close, he had never thought about that kind of thing...

Sirius remained straight until his death. Weren't those sweet and soft young ladies appealing? Aside from being a little proactive in throwing themselves at you, they didn't have any other flaws, did they?

However, Walburga's portrait suddenly turned toward Sirius.

As Sirius's mother, she didn't know much about her son, but she did know certain things about Dumbledore—

This was no secret in those days; after all, she was Phineas Black's granddaughter and would naturally know about these secret stories.

So, she suddenly thought of James.

No, we have to get this brat married and find him a girlfriend as soon as possible—otherwise the Black family home will end.

With this in mind, Walburga came up with a plan. She decided to take some time to talk to Sirius's godson, Harry, and ask him to persuade Sirius to find a girlfriend and get married soon, instead of just being single all the time.

At this moment, Veratia also put down the newspaper in her hand, her brows furrowed, as if she had something on her mind.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked with concern.

"It's nothing." Veratia shook her head. "Just some news about Gale —nothing serious, except that he recently went out of Nurmengard to relax, and it seems the Germany are taking it very seriously and making a big fuss about it."

Want to get away from Nurmengard and clear your head?

Sirius and Lupin exchanged a glance. Wait a minute—wasn't Gellert Grindelwald prisoner of Nurmengard? He was defeated by Dumbledore and imprisoned there... Could such a serious criminal really just walk out of Nurmengard for a stroll?

If I'm not mistaken, the Germany description of this must be "prison break," right?

However, the clever Sirius chose to remain silent, thinking it best not to say this to his future daughter-in-law.

He changed the subject, saying, "Speaking of which, what are you planning to do after graduation, Miss Grindelwald? If I remember correctly, you're already in seventh grade this year, right? You'll be graduating in six months."

Upon hearing Sirius's words, everyone looked at Veratia.

Veratia's description of Gellert was very understated, using the word "relaxation," so no one took it seriously.

Comparatively speaking, they were more interested in what Veratia would do in the future.

"What are you going to do?" Veratia thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "I plan to go to the Austrian Ministry of Magic and start from the bottom..."

"To the Ministry of Magic?"

Everyone exchanged glances, and Ron, whose emotional intelligence was relatively the lowest, scratched his head and asked, "If I remember correctly, your last name is Grindelwald... If you applied for a job at the Austrian Ministry of Magic, would they accept you?"

"Why not?" Veratia said casually. "I'm just a Grindelwald, they have no reason to refuse me, do they?"

"That's true," Ron said with a relieved smile.

Harry hadn't expected Veratia to choose to return to Austria; he had thought Veratia would stay in Britain.

But he didn't think much of it, after all, they were wizards, unlike Muggle, and could meet anytime they wanted.

Cassandra narrowed her eyes. She really hadn't expected that Veratia, who had such a huge advantage, would choose to return to Austria.

Is she overconfident, or does she value her career more than anything else?

But Cassandra dismissed the second idea. If her career were more important than anything else, Veratia wouldn't have locked herself away in Slytherin's Study; instead, a true Dark Lord would have emerged in this world.

Gellert Grindelwald with his sister by his side—no, it should be said that Gellert was carried by his sister—was exponentially more terrifying than Gellert alone...

By then, Dumbledore be facing Gellert, but also another wizard who is more proficient in Charms and more ruthless Gellert Gellert...

Dumbledore. He subconsciously reached out and touched his beard, thankful that Harry was pulling Veratia back.

Otherwise, this Earth might really belong to Grindelwald.

"So, with six months left, I plan to continue my studies at Muggle university." Veratia reached out and ruffled Harry 'Muggle-born. "It must be admitted that Muggle do have their strengths, which wizards should learn from. I think the current Wizarding World education system has significant flaws. If only I could attend a Muggle World primary school like my Muggle classmates before entering Hogwarts at age eleven—"

"Yes, just like Hermione." Ron said, pouting. "Look at her, she's like a know-it-all, she knows everything—I always felt that Professor Snape was absolutely right, though it wasn't a compliment... Besides, Hermione has quite a talent for Arithmancy."

"Everyone knows that," Harry said to Ron. "But you need to understand that not all Muggle-born students are Hermione."

"I will seriously consider your suggestions," Dumbledore said from the side. "Indeed, the Wizarding World needs reform—but as you know, we are unlikely to convince Fudge on this matter."

"It's okay, you have to take things one step at a time," Harry said nonchalantly. "We'll have plenty of opportunities later..."

"But Muggle won't give us much time, Harry," Veratia said worriedly. "Muggle are developing at such a rapid pace—and from what I know of them, if they knew about Muggle, their first reaction might not be fear, but rather to capture a few wizards and figure out why wizards can possess magic... Don't underestimate the greed of Muggle."

"No... no way?" Hermione said somewhat guiltily, not even quite believing her own rebuttal.

Veratia snorted coldly and said, "Perhaps Britain doesn't have that ability, but the America States, even if it's a pile of dog shit, will rush over to taste it."

She held a strong prejudice against America, especially after learning that this nouveau riche had come to control all of Old Europe, making Europe hesitant to move Europe if it wanted to go west...

Are these nouveau riche from the stinky New World trying to act tough in Old Europe?

"You know what, my dad said the same thing to me..." Hermione said with a wry smile, "It seems you really do have something in common with my dad in some ways, Veratia..."

Veratia thought about it and realized that what Hermione said was indeed true.

After all, Hermione's father was a man who read banned books, so it's normal for him to have all sorts of prejudices against America.

After chatting for a while about where we would go after graduation, it was time to have lunch.

Everyone took their seats to celebrate Sirius's first Christmas since his return.

Since Sirius returned, Lupin's standard of living has improved considerably; at least his clothes are no longer patched up like before.

"Looks like Snivellus's still brewing that stinky Potions in his cellar," Sirius commented before he'd even settled in. "Seriously, I've been incredibly generous, even inviting him to join Harry for Christmas dinner, but he still hasn't replied—should I say he's a guy with a mind smaller than Hinkypunk's eyes?"

"Professor Snape is indeed petty, Sirius!" Ron began to complain bitterly. "You have no idea how vengeful he is—"

Sirius glanced at Ron's red hair, then at Hermione, and then at Harry's green eyes...

He thought to himself, "It's not that Snivellus is targeting you guys, but look at the three of you— Ron has red hair, Hermione is a genius Muggle witch, and Harry has green eyes... aren't you just a bunch of different Lily?"

It's understandable that he targeted you few.

"I really suspect that the reason he still doesn't have a girlfriend is because he's just too petty..."

Before he could finish speaking, a greasy, slurred, signature voice rang out from behind Ron.

"It seems Mr. Weasley is quite interested in the professor's personal life."

Ron turned around in alarm and, sure enough, found Snape standing behind him.

"Perhaps after School Opening, I should test your knowledge of Potions Class more often, what do you say, Mr. Weasley?"

Harry reached out and smeared it all over his face.

Tell me about yourself...

Everyone knows they have this problem: whenever you say something bad about Snape, Snape will automatically appear behind you...

Then why did you even say it?

But Ron hadn't expected Snape to be there either; he had thought Snape would refuse Sirius's invitation.

He never expected that Snape Sirius's provocation would actually work on Snape, who readily accepted the offer and chose to spend Christmas with him.

"I'm sorry, Professor..." Ron said, sobbing.

Snape forced a smile, tossed his black robe aside, and strode over to Lupin's side. He plopped down in a chair, crossed his arms, and looked at Sirius.

Merry Christmas, Severus!

Sirius, unusually, didn't use the word "Snivellus" but instead offered Snape a blessing.

Upon hearing this blessing, Snape curled his lip and gave a cold snort to indicate that he had accepted it.

It was at this moment that the House Elf served the last dish on the table.

"This should be our first Christmas together."

Sirius, sitting in the main seat as the host, said, "I am honored and fortunate..."

He stood up, looked around, and finally looked at Harry, a relieved smile on his face.

"My godson has grown into an excellent wizard. He has not only defeated Voldemort several times, but has even destroyed one of his Horcrux. Moreover, I am even happier that he has grown into a brave, upright and kind wizard."

Upon hearing this, Snape was visibly taken aback.

Others might not know, but he did know how Quirrell died.

Back then, it was he and Dumbledore who collected Quirrell's body. The way Quirrell died clearly indicated that he had been poisoned by the Avada Kedavra.

Moreover, this kid's Avada Kedavra is clearly different from others; when it hits the wall, it leaves a green fluorescent mark.

After he and Dumbledore went to the basement, the walls were covered with Scabbers, eerie green spell marks.

You're saying a little wizard who started with Avada Kedavra and developed the spell to a level comparable to Voldemort is kind?

Sirius, of course, had no idea Snape was thinking. In fact, even if he did know, Sirius would have scoffed at it.

Why don't I teach my son to use Avada Kedavra on someone else?

That's naturally evil Riddle brat! Using Avada Kedavra on him would save the Wizarding World!

"Of course, I also want to thank my good friends and Professor Dumbledore. It is your trust and your help that allowed me to clear my name, walk openly in the Wizarding World, and reunite with Harry."

"Also, I want to thank Harry's three..."

At this point, Sirius suddenly stopped talking.

What are the three?

girlfriend?

But there's clearly no concrete evidence of a relationship...

friend?

That's too formal. We're just friends. Would someone do so much for Harry? Even risk their life?

Finally, Sirius gritted his teeth and said, "Three girlfriends—enough said, thank you..."

After saying that, he raised his glass and drank the aged red wine in one gulp.

Veratia didn't object to Sirius's definition of "girlfriend," Cassandra didn't object either, and Pabbie certainly didn't either; she was overjoyed.

"Respect to Sirius."

Everyone raised their glasses together.

This wasn't Harry's first time drinking, but he still didn't really like the taste of red wine.

Hermione and Ron were not allowed to drink red wine; their stemmed glasses contained Christmas eggnog.

It contains very little alcohol, just enough to give you a slightly refreshing beer-tea-like feeling – an alcoholic beverage.

"Let's eat!" Sirius said loudly after they put down their glasses.

Ron eagerly picked up two chicken legs, one in each hand, just like he did at the Hogwarts welcome party for new students.

You wouldn't understand the joy of dual-wielding Fury Warriors.

"I can tell this chicken leg is really delicious," Hermione said with a hint of disdain. "But I still suggest you correct your eating habits, otherwise..."

"Otherwise what?" Pabbie can't eat, so she's just drifting around.

Just then, Pabbie floated up to Hermione's side and teased, "Otherwise, Ron won't find a girlfriend? Ha—how could that be? I think Ron will definitely find one someday!"

Hermione blushed instantly upon hearing Pabbie's teasing.

Ron, on the other hand, nodded in agreement. "Yes, yes, I'm sure I'll find a girlfriend someday, just like Pabbie said!"

At this point, he hadn't realized Hermione... well, anyway, he hadn't realized it.

Harry could tell that this brother was just as dense as he was.

"It seems I'll have to find a way to bring them together," he thought to himself.

"Was dinner satisfactory?" Sirius turned to the side and spoke quietly with Dumbledore, asking for the Headmaster's opinion.

"Not bad," Dumbledore said with a chuckle. "It's just that these foods aren't sweet enough. You can understand how an old man with a sweet tooth feels right now, can't you?"

"Then I'll have Kritcher make you some desserts," Sirius said, adhering to the principle of hospitality. "Kritcher's cooking is quite good; I used to love his desserts, they're so sweet..."

Dumbledore's eyes lit up when he heard Sirius's words.

Okay, that's sweet!

Unexpectedly, Snape suddenly put down his knife and fork.

"I think I've overheard some incredible backroom deal, haven't I, Headmaster, and Assistant Professor Black?"

Snape pronounced the words "trade" and "teaching assistant" with exceptional clarity, as if he were specifically reminding people of those words.

"What do you mean, Snot... Severus?"

Sirius quickly stopped himself from saying "Snivellus," realizing it was a holiday and there was no need to say anything unpleasant.

"For an old man like Headmaster Dumbledore, sweets would be a great burden," Snape said, his eyes half-open. "And he has to have some Potions professor, who wishes to remain anonymous, brew him Tooth-strengthening Potion... It's alright if his poor professor suffers a little, but this Headmaster is almost developing a resistance to the Tooth-strengthening Potion."

"Is that so?" Sirius looked at Dumbledore with suspicion.

He could tell, of course, that the Potions professor who refused to reveal his name could only be this Snivellus man in front of him.

The problem is that it's not a big deal for Professor Snivellus to suffer a bit, but Dumbledore's resistance to the Tooth-strengthening Potion is indeed something to worry about.

"Oh, I'm used to it," Dumbledore said, touching his fingers somewhat embarrassedly, looking extremely aggrieved.

"That's definitely not a good habit, Dumbledore," Veratia said seriously, speaking as the older sister... well, in a sense, the older sister—"You really need to give up these meaningless sweets. I don't want you to lose to mere candy, even though you didn't lose to Voldemort."

"Why don't we try a different approach?" Ron waved his chicken leg, as if casting Leviosa Charms. "We can have Professor Snape develop a better Tooth-strengthening Potion, a more potent one, one that effectively counteracts the effects of other potions... Wouldn't that solve the problem?"

Upon hearing Ron's words, everyone present stared at Ron with a death stare, except for Dumbledore showed a look of surprise.

"You'd better not say anything, Ron!" Hermione quickly grabbed Ron. "Good heavens, you're crazy..."

As she spoke, she whispered to Ron, "Is this related to the Tooth-strengthening Potion? Eating too much sugar can cause irreversible damage to your internal organs!"

"I think..." Veratia, as the elder, set the tone. "We should formulate a plan to limit Headmaster Dumbledore's excessive consumption of sweets—and Professor McGonagall Minerva McGonagall should be in charge of implementing this plan. What do you think?"

"Oh no!" Dumbledore anguish, "Don't let Minerva know about this—I promise I won't eat any more sweets..."

"It's too late." Veratia held the Crystal Ball in her hand, waving it at Dumbledore. "I've already called Professor McGonagall— "

Of course, although it's called a "telephone," it's called "telephone," just like in the Muggle world.

As soon as she finished speaking, Professor McGonagall's phantom rose from the Crystal Ball.

Beside Professor McGonagall, you could also see a small silver tabby cat.

"Merry Christmas, Professor McGonagall," Veratia said with a smile.

"Merry Christmas, Miss Grindelwald," Professor McGonagall said gently. "Is there something you need that you're calling me at this hour?"

"It's nothing serious, just that we've made a rule limiting Professor Dumbledore's sweets." Veratia glanced at the sighing Dumbledore and continued, "Considering that this plan requires an impartial person, we immediately thought of you... I heard from Professor Snape that Professor Dumbledore has developed a resistance to the Tooth-strengthening Potion, which is why we made this decision, and we hope you will support it..."

To everyone's surprise, upon hearing Veratia's words, Professor McGonagall not only didn't refuse, but instead jumped up like a little girl, clapping her hands and saying, "Is there really such a plan? I've wanted to do this for a long time!"

Seeing that Professor McGonagall had agreed to their plan, Veratia smiled and nodded, saying, "Since you agree, I will send you a copy of the plan tomorrow."

After exchanging farewells, Veratia hung up the phone and looked up at Dumbledore, saying, "Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall has agreed to our plan. So... from now on, this plan is officially in effect, and we will strictly control your daily sugar intake..."

Before he could finish speaking, Dumbledore swiftly pulled a few candies from his pocket and popped them into his mouth.

It's clear he planned to eat a few more candies in the final moments, so he wouldn't run out later.

"Okay, let's eat first." Veratia smiled slyly. She didn't really intend to prevent Dumbledore from completely giving up sweets; she just wanted to control him.

Dumbledore found the meal rather bland and unappetizing.

He is heartbroken that he will never see those lovely candies again.

Seeing Dumbledore's somewhat dejected look, Sirius poured him a glass of wine and offered it to him, saying, "Don't look so sad, have a drink."

Dumbledore took the goblet, sighed, and drank it all in one gulp.

Forget it, let's drown our sorrows in alcohol.

Hopefully, Minerva won't be so strict when enforcing the rules...

After the Christmas dinner, it's time for dessert.

Considering that the desserts were all very sweet, Veratia only ordered Dumbledore a little more.

It was this tiny bit that Dumbledore savored slowly and carefully for a whole hour before finishing it.

It's clear that he really likes sweets.

After dessert, it was time for the classic Christmas carols.

Veratia sat behind the piano, which looked very old and had been eroded by time, but fortunately it was well maintained and did not look too dilapidated.

"That's quite a long time ago," Hermione said, touching the piano that clearly bore the marks of time.

"This is a 19th-century piano," Sirius said. "It's said that my great-grandfather— Phineas's father—bought it from a Poland named a Slytherin student François Chopin."

"Chopin?!" Hermione exclaimed in shock, "You mean—the Poland musical genius Chopin?!"

"Maybe so, I don't know much about it," Sirius said, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh my God, Chopin..." Hermione exclaimed, clutching her chest. "Merlin, Jesus, and Almighty Lord, to see a piano that Chopin used in my lifetime..."

"What's wrong with that?"

Veratia had certainly heard of Chopin, but as a typical Austria, she also had her own pride.

"I've even met Johann Strauss Jr. in person," Veratia said with a smile. "But that doesn't stop us from singing a Christmas carol now—come on, let me start..."

"What are you singing?" Hermione asked curiously.

After thinking for a while, Veratia suggested, "Let's sing ' Silent Night' —I'll start."

"Silent Night"?

Before they could even figure out what song it was, Veratia switched to her heavenly voice mode.

"Stille Nacht heilige Nacht"

"Stille Nacht heilige Nacht"

"Alles schlft ein wacht..."

As she sang this part, she suddenly realized that everyone in front of her was looking at her.

"What's wrong?" Veratia asked, suddenly realizing that she was singing in German.

"Sorry," Veratia said with a smile, "I forgot it was in German—but I remember the English version, do you remember it?"

"I heard it when I was a kid." Hermione nodded vigorously. "I've heard this song many times on TV, but I really can't sing the German version..."

"How about..." Pabbie floated to Veratia's side, "We're all wizards, we don't sing Muggle songs— Veratia, why don't you sing a solo?"

Veratia readily agreed, "Alright, then I'll sing you this Christmas carol..."

After saying that, she rhythmically tapped the piano keys with her slender fingers and began to sing the famous "Silent Night".

"Silent Night" is a widely circulated Christmas carol with lyrics by Joseph Mohr and music by Franz Rubeus. It was officially completed on December 24, 1818, and was first sung by the choir at St. Nicholas Church in Austria.

In 1819, the score of the piece was spread throughout Europe by the luthier Carl Malach, and it subsequently became widely popular.

Veratia has a beautiful singing voice. Although she has not received any special training, singing is a natural talent.

Some people never learn anything in their entire lives, but others are born singers.

When the song ended, everyone snapped out of their reverie and began to applaud Veratia.

"That's a really good song," Cassandra clapped her hands gently. "Maybe you could sing it for us more often in the future, wouldn't you say, Potter?"

Harry cleared his throat; he had no idea how to respond to that.

Cassandra is wicked; her words are a trap set too obviously. A wrong answer could easily lead to a barrage of attacks.

"What's the name of this song?" Pabbie asked curiously.

"Silent Night," Veratia replied with a smile. "There's a little story behind this song."

"What story?" Harry asked curiously.

"In the 1860s, this song not only spread throughout Europe, Australia, and North America, but also to most countries in South America, and even began to be sung in many Asia countries." Veratia paused for a moment here, "My uncle was very interested in this song that 'brought honor to the empire,' so he sent the empire's minister in charge of music to investigate the original author of the song. As a result, many people claimed to be the author of the song."

"But in the end, they never found out who the real author of the song was," Veratia sighed. "My aunt was quite concerned about this matter, but unfortunately, she never found out the truth."

"I see..." Hermione nodded in understanding; she had learned something new.

but...

Aunt? Uncle? And they even sent the Imperial Minister in charge of music?

Hermione has a good grasp of history; she knows that Austria at that time was actually the Austria - Hungary Empire, a dual monarchy.

Thinking of this, Hermione tentatively asked, "The aunt and uncle you mentioned..."

"Oh," Veratia said, "You should have heard of my aunt, um... Elizabeth Amalie Eugenie, have you heard of that name?"

"No..." Hermione shook her head, "But I feel like I've heard this name somewhere before."

Harry suddenly interjected, "It's Princess Sisi —you've heard that name before, haven't you?"

"Oh! It's Princess Sisi!" Hermione exclaimed in surprise. "You mean that name... then I know! I've seen many old movies about Princess Sisi... my parents loved watching movies about her!"

"I just never imagined she would be your aunt... Good heavens, if Dad and Mom knew you were her niece, they would be absolutely shocked..."

"She's not only Princess Sisi's niece, but also her lady-in-waiting," Harry said with a shrug. "Veratia was Squib until she was fifteen, so she's been working as a lady-in-waiting for Princess Sisi ever since."

"I see..." Hermione said knowingly.

"Alright, let's move on to the next song." Veratia interrupted them at the right moment. "Jingle Bells, you've probably heard that song before, right? Tsk... Even though it's an America song, that doesn't stop it from being very popular."

What she didn't say was that when Gellert was a child, Veratia would sing "Jingle Bells" to him when he missed his parents at Christmas.

The Veratia foreman's fingers struck the piano keys again, producing a pleasant musical sound.

"Ready—sing," she commanded.

"Jingle bells, Jingle Bells Jingle Bells"

"Jingle all the way"

"Oh, what fun it is to ride a horse-drawn sleigh!"

"In a one-horse open sleigh, hey!"

That night, Veratia pulled them into singing several songs before reluctantly announcing their disbandment.

After the singing segment, Christmas came to an end.

May our friendship last forever.

Hermione raised her eggnog and said happily.

"May our love last forever!" Sirius raised his glass as well.

Everyone raised their glasses high and clinked them together.

"Cheers!"

Everyone seemed quite happy, except for Snape.

It wasn't that he was unhappy; it's just that he always had a cold face. In any era, he could definitely be called a cold-faced king.

After the singing segment ended, Snape hurriedly returned to his residence.

After Harry returned to his bedroom, he continued to unwrap his gifts.

Hagrid had just opened a gift from Hagrid —a one-ounce Acromantula venom.

Harry scratched his head, wondering where this stuff came from, and also thinking about going to the Forbidden Forest after School Opening started to borrow some venom from the Acromantula ' nest.

The venom of the Acromantula is really expensive; it's said to be more expensive than its weight in gold.

Harry thought that as a student of Hogwarts, these spiders would surely give him face and lend him some venom.

There was a knock on the door.

Who is it?

He turned around and saw Cassandra.

Cassandra, dressed in a silver-green nightgown, looked up at Harry with a languid yet haughty air.

"Cassandra?"

Harry really didn't expect Cassandra to come to his bedroom at this time.

What are they trying to do?

"I forgot to give you a present." Cassandra walked up to Harry, glanced down at the pile of gifts beside Harry, gave a slight smirk, and scoffed, "Looks like you haven't grown up yet, Potter —still expecting Christmas present like a little kid, haven't you?"

"Aren't you also looking forward to my gift?" Harry countered.

Since Harry only had the desk lamp on, he couldn't see Cassandra's expression very clearly.

But Harry's intuition told him that Cassandra's face suddenly felt unusually hot.

"Alright, enough of this nonsense." Cassandra pulled a gift from somewhere and handed it to Harry. "Here's your Christmas present —I hope you won't be like a child, expecting Santa Claus to come. I think I told you long ago that Santa Claus doesn't exist..."

Alright.

Harry was immediately reminded of his first year, almost the same scene...

"You seem quite excited about this Santa Claus," Cassandra said haughtily, looking down at the pitiful little Harry huddled on the ground. "Poor little Muggle, who's been fooling you into believing in some Santa Claus who'll bring you presents?"

"Santa Claus must exist!" Harry retorted.

"Oh? Really?" Cassandra's lips curled into a smile. "Ah, if you could close your eyes, perhaps that silly Santa Claus would appear right in front of you~"

But to Cassandra's surprise, Harry actually closed his eyes.

That fool...

Cassandra couldn't help but smile and placed the prepared gift in front of Harry.

"Look, open your eyes," Cassandra said. "It seems that silly Santa Claus has arrived and even brought you presents—"

"Of course," Harry said.

He stood up and, to Cassandra's disbelief, pulled her into a tight hug.

"Thank you, Cassandra," he said. "I know you gave me that gift in first grade... but I didn't... well, I wasn't too sure I'd say it then."

Cassandra's gaze softened, but she still maintained her arrogant demeanor.

"Really?" she said sarcastically. "I thought you could only see the new love smiling, but not the old love crying~"

"So you cry secretly behind my back?" Harry let go of Cassandra's hand and looked at her in surprise.

He really didn't know that—not that he didn't know, but that he would never have imagined it even if you beat him to death.

Unexpectedly, this remark enraged Cassandra.

She stomped hard on Harry's foot and stormed out of the bedroom.

Harry was left rolling around on the bed, hugging his feet.

That was a really hard stomp; Harry felt like his foot was about to be crushed.

Without a doubt, the hug he just received was taught to him by Sirius.

It is indeed very useful, but Sirius didn't teach him to be a smart aleck.

So... um...

It had the opposite effect.

Harry thought to himself, feeling dejected. "It seems I should go back to Sirius and learn from him again," he thought. "Things started off so smoothly, even Cassandra..."

Just as he was pondering this, Veratia suddenly walked into his room.

"What's wrong with you?" Veratia asked him with a charming smile.

Harry rubbed his toes, grimacing, and said, "It's nothing, I just kicked the table."

"Then you'd better be careful," Veratia said with concern. "This feeling isn't pleasant."

After saying that, Veratia walked over and sat down next to Harry.

Just as Harry was about to say something, he noticed that Veratia suddenly stopped, frowned, and sniffed him.

"You smell like Cassandra," she said with certainty.

"Oh." Harry didn't think it was anything serious and readily admitted, "Yes, Cassandra just came by and gave me a gift."

"What was the gift?" Veratia didn't dwell on Cassandra's visit, but instead noticed the 'gift'.

Harry took out the gift and handed it to Veratia.

Sirius taught them all secretly—

Veratia was very satisfied with Harry's attitude. She didn't take the gift, but said to Harry in a relaxed tone, "This is a gift from Cassandra. Why don't you open it and see? I also want to see what she gave you."

Harry nodded and opened the gift.

The contents inside left him somewhat stunned.

It's a photograph, taken during a summer vacation in Vienna when I was in second grade. Cassandra is sitting in the middle, flanked by the graceful lady-in-waiting Veratia and the reserved little Harry.

"It was the three of us." Veratia's brows suddenly relaxed as she recalled the scene where Cassandra and Harry spoke up for him.

However, what she didn't expect was that this gift was also carefully selected by Cassandra —or rather, not by Cassandra herself, but by her father, Mr. Malfoy. Septimus Malfoy, who persuaded her several times and even gave her detailed instructions—when to give it, what to say when giving it...

As the saying goes, parents who love their children plan far ahead for them, and Mr. Septimus was also very worried about his good-for-nothing daughter.

If Cassandra had been a little more discreet, he wouldn't have had to worry about her even after he died...

"That's great." Harry chuckled as he looked at the photo. "I'm going to keep it... Look, we were so young back then..."

"You're young now, and we're all young," Veratia corrected Harry seriously.

Harry didn't seem to mind, and continued picking up other gifts, saying, "You're here just in time, help me unpack these gifts—there are so many! I just unpacked Hagrid's gift for me, an ounce of Acromantula venom, and a copy of ' The Moste Wicked Book of Moste Wicked Creatures,' which I left over there... Oh, and Lady Death gave me a gift too."

"Lady Death?!"

Veratia couldn't help but ask, she really hadn't expected that Lady Death would send Harry a gift?

"Yes." Harry picked up a small, mysterious black box from the top of the gifts.

"What is this?" Veratia asked with interest.

"I don't know." Harry shrugged, then said, "There's a little note here, let me see..."

He picked up the small piece of paper, which read:

Harry:

Merry Christmas.

This is a Gem of Desire; as its name suggests, it can fulfill your deepest desires.

Make good use of it.

(Requesting monthly votes)

(The last 8,000 words are an extra chapter added last month as a wish to reach 46,000/50,000 words.)

(End of this chapter)