Suspicious Christmas Gifts

On Christmas Day, the sky did not clear up, and it had been snowing all night, leaving a thick layer of snow on the ground.

The room was very dark, with heavy curtains blocking the cold air seeping in through the cracks in the window and blocking out the light. On the desk were the books that Albert had stayed up all night reading, and Albert was still asleep.

Not long after, hurried footsteps came from outside the corridor. Nia, wearing her pajamas, came to confront Albert early in the morning because she hadn't received a Christmas present from Albert this year. This made Nia very unhappy, and she had been wearing a long face since she woke up.

The fat cat named Tom scurried in the moment the door opened, and as if sensing something, looked up at the birdcage hanging by the window.

Inside the birdcage, Shera shook her head, staring at the uninvited fat cat. She raised a paw, smacked her beak, and stared at Tom with malice in her eyes.

"Tom, go!"

Nia pointed at Albert's bed, as if to close the door and let Tom out.

Fat Cat charged forward, lunging toward Albert on the bed. Whether it was because he was too fat or for some other reason, he failed to jump onto the bed and almost crashed into the edge.

Shera, who witnessed this scene, made a cooing sound, as if mocking Tom.

"Stupid Tom!"

Nia bent down, picked up Tom, and placed him beside Albert's bed. Tom then began to rub his tail against Albert's face, quickly waking him up.

"Stop messing around, Tom," Albert said sleepily. When he opened his eyes, he saw Nia with her hands on her hips, looking down at him with a stern face.

"Christmas present?"

"I thought you had forgotten!" the girl couldn't help but complain.

"How could I forget? Also, put on your coat first, it wouldn't be good if you caught a cold!"

Albert casually took a coat from the hanger and draped it over Nia's shoulders. As he did so, he looked up and ruffled her hair. Under Nia's displeased gaze, he opened a box, took out a wool scarf, and handed it to Nia.

"How many scarves did you buy?" Nia noticed that the scarves were quite nice, but she was a little annoyed that there were several other scarves in the box.

"I bought them for the whole family," Albert said with a smile. "Grandpa Luke and Grandma Shana had Shera send them over yesterday."

"Oh!"

Although it was a little different from what she expected, the girl's mood improved considerably after receiving the Christmas gift.

"Don't fight, or I'll take away your snacks."

Albert turned to the two pets on the table, who were about to start their train.

Upon hearing that his snacks would be taken away, Tom jumped off the table in a flash and started rubbing against Albert's feet, begging for snacks. Shera, on the other hand, looked at the fat cat with disdain and made a clucking sound again.

"Okay, I'll give it to you in a bit."

Albert bent down and picked up Tom, then looked at Nia with a smile and asked, "Have you prepared a Christmas present for me?"

"Of course," the girl said proudly, puffing out her chest. "I'll get it for you in a bit."

"Go back and change your clothes, it wouldn't be good if you caught a cold." Albert reached out to ruffle Nia's hair again, but she successfully avoided it.

"Ugh, don't mess up my hair."

Nia disappeared in a flash.

When Albert got dressed and went downstairs, he was stunned to find a mountain of gifts piled up next to the Christmas tree.

"Son, I just realized how popular you are at school." Herb smiled as he wrapped the scarf Albert had just given him around his neck. "When I woke up this morning, I found a bunch of Christmas presents that were sent to you."

"Um."

Albert casually agreed, and found the gift Daisy and Herb had given him in the pile of packages: a beautiful brown Wool sweater and brown Wool Socks.

He took off his coat and gestured as he put it on.

"It looks pretty good."

Daisy said with satisfaction.

"That doesn't even consider who picked out the gift," Herb said smugly.

"You picked out Wool Socks," Daisy reminded her.

"You are my wife."

Herb wasn't embarrassed. He kissed Daisy's cheek, smiled, and tied the scarf around her neck, saying, "Albert picked out a nice scarf. I bet he bought the same style for the whole family."

Albert ignored the couple who were showing affection early in the morning and buried himself in unwrapping his Christmas presents.

Grandpa Luke and Grandma Shana gave him a newly published copy of "Economic Theory" and the best-selling novel "Freak Fonod".

Isobel gave him a pair of wool gloves.

Yes, those were gifts they bought in Hogsmeade before the Christmas holidays; they exchanged matching wool gloves.

Hermione gave Albert a box of sugar-free chocolates and a greeting card to thank Albert for his help.

Albert certainly knew what Hermione meant by "help".

The Weasley Twins gave Albert a book called "Twelve Fail-Safe Ways to Charm Witches," which was undoubtedly meant to woo a girl. Whether it would actually work was hard to say, since neither of them had found a girlfriend yet.

Lee Jordan's gift was, as always, Cocoa Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, a huge box that could last him a long time.

Truman also sent a book.

In addition, he received a bunch of greeting cards.

The remaining books and notes were mostly gifts from old friends with whom he maintained contact. Albert was surprised to find that he also received a gift from Nicolas Flamel, a Two-Way Mirror.

Why do people like to give you books?

Nia looked at the pile of books and notes, opened her mouth in surprise, and finally couldn't help but ask.

There was no way around it; the books in the opened package were already piled up like a small mountain.

Nia had sharp eyes and immediately noticed "Twelve Fail-Safe Ways to Charm Witches," and her expression immediately turned sour.

"Where is my gift?" Albert asked.

"Give!"

Nia saw the new gloves in Albert's hands and handed him the gift with some displeasure. It was also a pair of gloves, the same style as the ones Nia had, but in a brighter light brown color.

"I love it!" Albert took off his gloves and put them back on.

Seeing this, Nia smiled with satisfaction. Just as she was considering how to destroy the book "Twelve Fail-Safe Ways to Charm Witches," she discovered that Herb was already flipping through the book.

Is it useful?

Daisy placed the steak on the table and looked at Herb, asking him a question.

"That's certainly interesting," Herb said with a smile. "However, I have some doubts that our son will need this."

"Have you found a girlfriend yet?" Daisy asked bluntly. She thought Albert would probably find a witch as a girlfriend.

Upon hearing this, Nia pursed her lips, staring intently at Albert, awaiting his reply.

"I plan to look again in two years," Albert said without hesitation.

"If you see something you like, grab it quickly, don't let someone else beat you to it." Herb said with a smile, "If you don't have money, I'll give you an advance. Also, this book is good, take a look when you have time. I think you'll find one over there, right? There are only so many wizards there, so there definitely won't be many to choose from. Remember to act fast if you see something you like, after all, you're so outstanding, you'll definitely be able to hook up with the other person easily."

Albert was speechless. He hadn't expected Herb and Daisy to react this way. He had indeed hooked up with one of them.

Of course, he didn't plan to tell his family. If he admitted to having a girlfriend, his family would probably explode; Herb and Daisy would definitely ask him for photos or make him invite her over.

"Albert is so outstanding, he doesn't need to worry about this kind of problem at all. And even if we can't find a suitable one, it's fine to pick one from our side," Nia said angrily. "Also, it's best not to watch this kind of messy stuff, it will corrupt people."

Nia confiscated "Twelve Fail-Safe Ways to Charm Witches".

Herb didn't care too much. He had a lot of confidence in his son. If he really wanted to find a girlfriend, it wouldn't be difficult at all. After all, he was so outstanding that there were a lot of people pursuing him.

"I'll go buy you a bookshelf in a couple of days. Judging by the way you're doing it, I reckon your room won't have enough bookshelves before you even graduate," he said, looking at the books piled on the coffee table.

"Yes, we definitely need to buy another one."

Albert sorted through the books and was quite speechless. Although he did enjoy reading, he felt rather helpless when he received a pile of books.

He didn't want to end up like Dumbledore, where "people insisted on giving me books."

After unwrapping a pile of gifts, Albert suddenly stopped, because he discovered that the sender of this package was Snape! Snape actually sent him a Christmas present? Was it like candy was falling from the sky? Many professors at Hogwarts had a good relationship with Albert, and they would also give Albert Christmas presents. For example, Professor McGonagall gave Albert a Transfiguration Notes about the Animagus this year.

But Albert never received any gifts from Snape.

Should we open it?

Albert hesitated for a moment, but ultimately gave up. He felt that it was probably not a good thing. After all, he had made Snape famous just a few days ago. Albert would never believe that the other party did not hold grudges.

In addition, there was a package without a sender's name, which seemed suspicious no matter how you looked at it. Albert eventually gave up on opening the two packages and decided to go back to school to find other people to share the contents of the packages.