A New Year's Christmas

After careful investigation, the last black gemstone was finally found on the Black Lake.

The professors breathed a sigh of relief. They gathered the gems in the Headmaster's Office and announced early the next morning that everyone could return to their dormitories and have free time.

The students were clearly enjoying the spectacle; they didn't understand what was happening, but that didn't dampen their excitement.

These gems were properly handled: two were given to Veratia, two to Sirius, one to the International Confederation of Wizards, and the last one was placed in Mr. LeMay's Alchemy Hut.

"Mysterious, utterly mysterious." Mr. LeMay stared at the black gem, a fanatical expression spreading across his old face. "My God, I have never seen such a creation of Dark Arts before—at least not with my own eyes— Albus, where did you get this?"

"Voldemort did it," Dumbledore said succinctly, then precisely seized on Mr. LeMay's words, "You mean you didn't see it with your own eyes—you mean you saw it in a book?"

"Oh, of course, Albus." Mr. LeMay smiled and looked at Dumbledore. "You should know that I haven't lived all these years for nothing."

"I'm sorry," Dumbledore a smile. He really hadn't expected Mr. LeMay to know what this thing was.

"Then what is this?" Harry asked immediately.

"A curse, a curse attached to an object," Mr. LeMay said, shaking his head. "Anyone who comes into contact with such a cursed object will have their mind controlled. In short, it's a very complex thing, but I've only ever read about it in books."

"Then how should we get rid of it?" Dumbledore asked.

"The Fiendfyre, the Killing Curse, both," Mr. LeMay said. "Most flames can extinguish such curses—of course, they must be magical flames."

"Then how do we prevent this from happening?" Dumbledore asked again. "If Voldemort and his followers spread these things around the world, it will be a real problem. We can't keep sending wizards all over the country, or even the world, to use their Revealing Charm to detect these things—"

"You're using Revealing Charm Search for this kind of thing?" Mr. LeMay was stunned.

"Yes," said Dumbledore.

"Let me think—" Mr. LeMay pondered for a moment, then said to Dumbledore, "How about this, give me a month, and I'll give you a better solution."

"Can you go any faster?" Dumbledore asked.

Unexpectedly, Mr. LeMay was furious.

"Then you should find someone else!" he said angrily. "You Albus, you really are..."

He thought for a long time but couldn't come up with a suitable word to describe Dumbledore.

Snowflakes are swirling outside the window, pattering against the icy glass; Christmas is just around the corner.

Professor Slughorn announced that a club-wide party would be held, where everyone could invite a dance partner of the opposite sex.

Of course, Professor Slughorn also respects those who are different, and they are not required to invite members of the opposite sex.

But this was somewhat insincere. Harry felt that Professor Slughorn must have added that sentence because of the orientation of some unnamed Headmaster.

After all, when you're under someone else's roof, you have to bow your head.

This has led to Harry receiving too many flirtatious glances lately.

Hagrid had brought all twelve Christmas trees that were a staple of the Great Hall every year; the stair railings were wrapped with holly and metal foil; everlasting candles flickered inside the helmets of his armor, and large bunches of parasitic plants hung every so often in the corridors.

Every time Harry walks down the corridor, groups of girls gather under the parasite, causing a traffic jam.

They all had the idea of kissing while they were parasitic, but Harry walked through the flower garden unscathed.

"You're really popular, buddy," Ron remarked. "Sometimes I think, 'If only I were this popular!'"

However, no sooner had he finished speaking than Hermione punched him in the shoulder.

"I hope you can focus this energy on your studies instead of thinking about these trivial things!" Hermione said angrily.

After saying that, Hermione turned and ran away.

"What's wrong with her?" Ron asked, scratching his head.

"It's obvious she's angry," Harry said helplessly. He felt that his good brother was hopeless—how could he be even more dense than he used to be?

Clearly, Seamus and Neville felt the same way.

The two looked at Ron with schadenfreude, but they didn't intend to make their point clear.

"I don't think he's as good as you," Neville whispered to Seamus. "Look at you, you're dating Lavender now. I thought Ron would be next, but it seems—"

"I don't think he'll get together with Hermione until you find a girlfriend," Seamus commented sharply, looking down. "Speaking of which, how's your preparation going? Haven't you always liked Luna? When are you planning to confess to her?"

"Let's do it in the next couple of days, around Christmas," Neville said softly. "Whether it works out or not, I feel like I have to let Luna know that I like her. Otherwise, I feel like my youth will never have a proper ending."

No, buddy?

Neville looked up, staring at Neville in surprise. "When did you become so artistic? Holy crap?"

"What are you talking about?" Ron turned to look at Neville and Seamus.

"They're talking about Neville's feelings." Seamus betrayed Neville without hesitation.

"Oh?" Ron immediately became interested. "Who does Neville like? Tell me quickly—maybe I can even give you some advice?"

Neville shook his head, his face ashen, and repeatedly refused, "No, no, Ron, I don't need your advice, I don't need anyone's advice. I think I can handle my own affairs."

"Are you sure you don't need it?" Ron asked with a hint of regret. "Honestly, someone like me, the number one Casanova at Hogwarts, is an expert on matters of the heart. I could definitely help you win over your sweetheart."

As soon as he finished speaking, Harry spat out the water he had just drunk, sending it flying several meters away.

Are you a Casanova?

I have never seen such a shameless person!

After they returned to the common room, Seamus and Neville sat together and began planning their operation against Luna, while Ron and Harry started playing Wizard Chess.

A moment later, Hermione came over.

She glared at Ron fiercely, as if he had offended her—in fact, he had.

"What's wrong with you?" Ron asked, utterly puzzled. "Did I do something to you?"

"Heh," Hermione chuckled back, then turned to Harry and said, "You'd better watch out, Harry."

"Huh?" Harry asked, puzzled. "What's wrong with me?"

"I mean, just now, before I got here, I went to the restroom, and there was a dozen girls there, including Romilda Vannie, all talking about how to get you to drink Love Potion. They all want you to take them to Slughorn's party, and it seems they all bought Fred and George's Love Potion. I'm saying this stuff might actually make one—"

"Why didn't you confiscate those things?" Harry asked, seemingly incredulous that Hermione's obsession with upholding rules and regulations had relaxed at this crucial moment.

"They didn't bring the potion into the bathroom," Hermione said dismissively. "It's just a plan, not something they've actually done yet. Even Muggle law doesn't convict people beforehand."

"But unfortunately, I've already decided to take Anne with me," Harry said with a shrug. "They probably know about Anne and me, right?"

"I know, but it's no use, Harry." Hermione shook her head helplessly. "You should know that although Anne is Slytherin, she has a gentle personality and rarely gets into conflicts with people. This is completely different from Cassandra and Veratia. Cassandra is a haughty young lady who keeps strangers at bay, while Veratia— "

"What is Veratia?" Harry asked with interest.

"Veratia is the kind of person who'll kick you out at the drop of a hat," Hermione said, offering a very apt assessment.

"Indeed." Harry nodded in agreement with Hermione. "So they don't know that I'm already planning to bring Anne to the party, do they?"

"I don't really know, but even if I did, I think they all think they have a chance," Hermione said, adding, "I suggest you be more careful when you drink lately, so you don't fall into their trap—I think they are serious, especially that Romilda Vannie."

"Wait a minute," Harry suddenly looked puzzled. "Didn't Filch ban everything bought from the Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes?"

"Who cares what Filch forbids?" Hermione scoffed. "After all these years, don't you realize that the rules Filch sets are tantamount to abandoning the rule?"

Her lips moved, but she ultimately didn't utter the unladylike word.

"Aren't all owls checked? How can those girls bring Love Potion into school?" Harry asked again.

"Fred and George delivered them as perfume and cough syrup; it was part of the owl order service."

Hermione replied.

"You know a lot," Ron said dryly from the side.

He waited for a long time before finally getting a chance to interject.

Hermione glared at him fiercely, as if he were a goblin.

Ron was deeply hurt.

"These were written on the back of the bottles they showed me and Ginny during summer vacation," she said coldly. "I would never drug or pretend to drug someone's drink, that would be just as bad—"

Don't say it, you really shouldn't say it.

"Hermione," Harry suddenly stood up and said to Hermione, "Come with me for a moment."

Hermione, confused, followed. Ron wanted to follow too, but Hermione glared at him and stopped him.

They stood in the corner, Harry spoke up, "So, you really aren't planning on using this stuff? I think Ron's got a screw loose; unless we drug him, I don't think he'll ever get it."

Actually, he had originally planned not to get involved, but out of a sense of responsibility to his friend, Harry felt he had to help Ron. He couldn't just let him stay single forever, could he?

That's just too... too sad.

"Then let him stay single for life," Hermione said angrily.

Harry shrugged.

"Unfortunately, Filch can't tell the difference between cough syrup and love potion," he said. "I think we should have Mr. LeMay research something that can distinguish love potion from cough syrup. What do you think?"

"Instead of doing this, you might as well just announce that Anne is your date," Hermione said, rolling her eyes at him.

Just then, Romilda walked over.

"Hi, Harry." She winked at Harry, not caring that Hermione was there.

Everyone knows that Hermione and Harry's best friend Ron are having an affair, so Romilda isn't worried that Hermione will be a stumbling block for her.

Hermione gave Harry a look that said, "What did I tell you?"

"Thank you, but no thanks," Harry said politely, "I don't really like drinking it."

"Here, take this," Romilda said, shoving a box into his hand. "Chocolate Cauldron with Firewhisky inside—my grandma sent it to me, but I don't like it—"

"I'm sorry, Romilda," Harry said bluntly, "I've already invited Anne — Anne of Slytherin."

Saru.

Romilda immediately became dejected.

"Well, Slytherin, Slytherin again." She shook her head and sighed. "I thought I might have a chance to attend the party with you after Miss Grindelwald and Miss Malfoy graduated, but it seems that's out of the question now—"

It was clear that she didn't actually want Harry's body; she simply wanted to attend a party with Harry.

"You should keep this Chocolate Cauldron," Romilda said with a smile to Harry. "Don't worry, I didn't mean anything by it. It's just a Christmas present from an admirer to his idol wizard."

"Thank you, Romilda." Harry smiled and nodded at her.

Romilda left, while Hermione looked Harry up and down.

"I never expected you'd dare accept this gift," Hermione said, suppressing a laugh. "Aren't you afraid your vinegar king will cause a huge scene at Hogwarts if he finds out?"

"Not at all." Harry shrugged. "Veratia knows I'm not the kind of person who falls in love with every girl I meet. As Romilda said, this is just a gift from an admirer to his idol wizard. I've received similar gifts before. Actually, Veratia is a very understanding witch."

"Hmm." Hermione glanced at something not far away.

"So, who are you planning to invite?" Harry asked Hermione. "Ron to the party?"