Christmas

Linley shook his head. He did not care about the danger he had just faced. Nothing in this world was ever completely foolproof. If he had truly feared the risks involved, he would not have come here in the first place.

Linley looked at Professor Green with burning eyes and said, "Professor, I want to learn the method you used just now—drawing Alchemy Formations out of thin air and fighting with them!"

Professor Green froze at those words. He had not expected Linley to have been watching their battle so early on. He had assumed Linley had only happened to arrive when he was about to lose his footing.

But soon, a hint of gratification appeared in Professor Green's eyes. Given Cassirachi's and his own strength, they should have been fully capable of detecting any movement nearby. Since neither of them had noticed Linley, it meant Linley had truly taken his previous advice to heart and put it into practice.

However, Professor Green shook his head at Linley's request. "Whether it is carving an Alchemy Formation without a carving knife or carving one without any medium at all, both require an enormous amount of magical power as a foundation."

"With your current rate of magical growth, I can probably teach you how to compress your magic and use your Wand in place of a carving knife when you reach fourth year. Around fifth year, I will teach you how to create Alchemy Formations out of thin air without requiring any medium. As for now, what you need to do is improve your alchemy and create a carving knife of your own."

That was what Professor Green told him.

Linley nodded with slight disappointment. His magical power reserves were currently one of his greatest weaknesses. That was simply a fact.

"I should head back, Professor." Linley estimated the time. If he returned immediately, he would make it back to the castle before the Weasley twins reported him to a professor.

Professor Green waved a hand, signaling for Linley to return first.

Thus, Linley retraced his path and returned to the castle through the passage beneath the One-Eyed Witch statue.

"Good thing you came back! If you'd been two more minutes late, we would've gone to report it to Professor Dumbledore!" George let out a long breath of relief when he saw Linley return.

Fred, however, spotted the wounds on Linley's neck. His expression turned grave as he said, "Linley, you're hurt! What danger did you run into?!"

Linley shook his head. "It was nothing. I ran into a dark wizard and defeated him with the alchemical item Professor Green gave me. Unfortunately, I didn't find Professor Green in Hogsmeade Village, so I had to come back the way I came."

Linley did not tell the two of them the truth. The existence of the Mana Suppression Scepter was a secret between him and Professor Green, and it should not be revealed to outsiders at this time. Even if the Weasley twins were his friends, he would not casually expose Professor Green's private affairs.

"That's good." Fred sighed in relief.

Linley forced out a smile and said, "All right, it was just a false alarm. Now it's time to enjoy our Halloween!"

Only then did Fred and George cheer.

Over the next nearly two months, Linley returned to his normal school life. Neither he nor Professor Green mentioned what had happened that Halloween night, and Linley's progress in every subject continued steadily.

In Transfiguration class, he could easily transfigure inanimate objects, as well as turn smaller animals such as cockroaches and mice into inanimate objects like buttons and vases. In practically every class, Linley could earn points for Slytherin House.

In Charms class, he could perform Silent Spellcasting for every spell in the first-year curriculum. After class, he had even learned Silent Spellcasting techniques for some second- and third-year spells from Professor Flitwick. Linley's performance had Professor Flitwick repeatedly calling him a genius.

In Potions class, Linley's talent for Potions seemed to be gradually awakening as well. His partner when brewing potions was often Irvin Fleury, and the two became increasingly proficient at working together. Their partnership in Potions class also made Linley and Irvin fairly good friends.

Of course, there were also subjects Linley was not particularly good at, such as Herbology class and Astronomy. His talent in those two subjects was truly not very high. If final exams came around, Linley estimated that he would only be able to earn an E for "Exceeds Expectations," rather than easily receiving an O for "Outstanding" as he did in Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration class, Charms class, and Potions class.

As for History of Magic...

Professor Binns's teaching style was simply too hypnotic. Even an overachiever like Linley had no choice but to treat it as a chance to catch up on sleep.

Even so, studying the History of Magic textbook on his own was enough for Linley to earn an Outstanding with ease.

Besides the required courses for first- through fifth-year young wizards, there was also Flying lesson, a class only first-year students had to take. Linley was not particularly outstanding in Flying lesson, so he simply took it as it came.

The weather was gradually turning colder, and Merlin himself seemed to have put on thick woolen socks.

In mid-to-late December, Christmas arrived at Hogwarts.

Early in the morning, Hogwarts Castle awoke from its dreams. Several feet of snow blanketed the grounds around the castle, while the surface of the Black Lake had frozen solid.

Several owls delivered mail through the wind and rain. They had endured countless hardships, and only after recovering their strength under Hagrid's care could they take flight again.

The young wizards were all eagerly awaiting the holidays. Though blazing fires burned in the common rooms of every House and in the Great Hall, bringing warmth to the students, the drafty corridors remained bitterly cold, and the classroom windows rattled beneath the fierce winter wind.

Even Linley indulged in sleeping in on Christmas Day.

When he got up, he found seven presents beside the foot of his bed.

Linley opened the first present, a neatly square package sent by his mother, Rowena, through the post office's owls. Inside was a beautifully crafted silver one-handed sword, which Linley had written to ask his mother to send him a week earlier.

Over the past month, Linley's clothes had already been carved full of Alchemy Formations, leaving no room for another one. None of his other belongings were suitable for carving Alchemy Formations either, so the arrival of this one-handed sword came at exactly the right time.

The next three gifts were from Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, and Professor Snape. Perhaps they were rewards from the three professors for Linley's excellent performance in class. Honestly, Linley had never expected that Professor Snape, that poker-faced tsundere, would send him a Christmas present too.

The recent numbers have been pretty poor, and I don't know whether things will improve later. But I'll work hard and do my best to stick with it until the end.