Christmas Holiday

When Jon returned home wearing glasses, the sky had already been completely swallowed by darkness.

Colored lights twinkled throughout the house. Mr. Smith had finished dinner and was sitting before the television watching international news. He was still somewhat surprised to see Jon's glasses.

"When did you become nearsighted?"

Jon took off his glasses and slipped them into his ring. "They're plain lenses. I only wear them because they look good."

He glanced at the television screen, where reports about Germany's financial troubles were scrolling past. The people writing the news clearly took a little pleasure in its misfortune, and some of the commentary made Jon shake his head inwardly.

They'll have plenty to cry about later.

There was still more than a year before the Economic War, so there was no need to spend too much thought on it. The Magic array that needed to be set up now was far more important.

"Shall we go now?"

Jon looked at the already decorated house and asked for his father's opinion.

Christmas Eve had to be spent with family. If Jon had not delayed them for a while, father and son might have left with Bella already.

"Sure, let's go."

Love turned off the television, locked the door, and walked over to the fireplace.

Jon grabbed a pinch of Floo Powder, spoke a name, and entered the fireplace while holding his father's hand.

An instant later, father and son appeared in the basement of the Smith Family Old Manor.

While Jon had been studying at Hogwarts, the Old Manor's connection to the Floo Network had been approved.

Mrs. Smith had called in a few favors through her connections at the Ministry of Magic. However, since both Smith and Jon had already been taken, their Floo Network address was assigned the name Biro Manor according to the Ministry's registry.

Well, Jon's Biro Manor—Jon Biro Manor for short.

When Jon had first learned that name from a letter, he had not even wanted to complain about it.

He was the only one who got that reference. It was genuinely painful.

Kaledi had been waiting in the basement for some time. After all, Jon was his only true master; everything else had to come afterward.

"Good evening, Kaledi."

"Welcome home, Master."

When Love saw that the House-elf's eyes were fixed firmly on Jon, he took the initiative to leave. House-elves seemed to dislike Squibs a little, something Love had long since confirmed indirectly.

Although the House-elves next door treated him with great respect, it was different from the respect they showed Mrs. Smith.

Love walking away on his own made Jon breathe a sigh of relief.

There was nothing he could do about it. His father, who had remained curious about the wizarding world for years, was always trying to explore things he did not know. But he was a Squib, not someone who truly belonged to the wizarding world, so Jon had to hide everything from him.

Now that his father had this awareness, Jon could not have been happier.

"How are the preparations going?"

With only himself and Kaledi left, Jon felt much more at ease.

"Everything has been ready for a long time. Would you like to inspect the study now?"

Jon considered it, but decided not to go.

"No need. There will be plenty of time to deal with that later. Just make sure no one goes into the study."

He was genuinely a little tired and did not want to keep himself so busy. Taking a short rest would be nice.

Putting everything aside, Jon went upstairs and talked with his mother, whom he had not seen in a long time. Only then did he return to his room and lie down on his long-missed bed.

Although Jon did not have any particular habit of needing his own bed, the attachment to home carried within his soul still let him sleep soundly.

The next morning, Jon finally slept in.

The Christmas decorations in the Old Manor had all been arranged by Kaledi alone. When Jon came downstairs, the first thing he saw was the Christmas tree in the first-floor sitting room, along with a small pile of packages beneath it.

"Oh, I almost forgot. Today's the day for receiving presents."

Jon was still a little groggy from sleep. The warmth indoors was not like the cold winter wind; it could not wake a person up.

But presents could have the same effect, especially when there were a lot of them...

Love's gift was a collector's edition comic book. It was an annual tradition. These gifts were all collections Love had finished reading, which he gave to his son under the noble pretext of cultivating the child's interests.

Jon set the comic book aside and opened another package from the pile.

It was a black wool sweater, somewhat like a uniform from an elite school. Mrs. Smith had knitted it herself. It fit Jon perfectly, looked quite handsome on him, and would not make him look bulky beneath his robes.

The other gifts were rather ordinary. Stephen's gift was a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. Scaly's gift was a somewhat old Magic Notebook; judging by the name, it had probably belonged to his father when he was in school, and it suited Jon's tastes perfectly. Fren had sent a set of CDs by an American female singer. Jon thought for a while before remembering that, one day, he had casually mentioned the singer's name. His heart was instantly filled with emotion.

Fren's gift also came with a note saying that he had not been able to find the other female singer Jon had mentioned, called "mei mei," and asking whether Jon had remembered wrong.

Of course Jon had not remembered wrong. He had simply let it slip naturally at the time and had not said the name.

Ah, he missed Swift.

But at this point, she should still have been just a little girl.

Thinking of Swift, Jon could not help recalling the first time he had heard that singer perform.

He seemed to miss Victoria's Secret even more...

But it seemed that show had not started yet. Once he graduated from Hogwarts, perhaps he could go see it live.

His thoughts drifted around Victoria's Secret for a while before Jon pulled them back and continued opening presents.

Cedric had mailed him a book about Quidditch. Jon suspected that Cedric had sent the wrong thing. Still, it was worth mentioning that Professor Sprout had actually sent him a specimen of fungi as well.

After putting away the gifts one by one and having Kaledi send some of them to the storeroom, Jon straightened his clothes and headed next door.

Bella was wearing a thick coat and building a snowman in the garden with two servants.

Jon stood at the edge of the garden and watched for a moment without going over.

Bella was not as quiet at home as she was at school. Instead, she was as lively as a wild child.

If he went in, Bella would definitely drag him into a snowball fight.

Better not. He had only changed into new clothes that morning, and snowball fights were exhausting—especially when he could not beat Bella.

Taking that into consideration, Jon decisively turned around and quietly headed toward the house.