Wine-Red Hair, Emerald Almond Eyes

After the holidays began, Harley felt quite comfortable. Most of the people at school had left, and those who remained were mostly students who didn't want to go home and listen to their parents nagging.

In other words, they weren't exactly fond of studying.

Therefore, there were very few people in the entire library, and certainly none of those chattering little wizards who liked to gawk at her.

What made Harley even happier was that Professor Snape and Hagrid had not left the school during this break.

So, Harley could continue to get free materials from Hagrid and, incidentally, receive private tutoring from Professor Snape.

The only thing Harley regretted was that because there were so few people in the library, Madam Pince loved to sit next to her, and the two would read together.

Although this was a good thing—after all, Madam Pince was also very passionate about reading and knew a lot of obscure magical knowledge—it meant Harley had no way to scout around the Restricted Section to prepare for her intrusion.

This life continued until Christmas Eve. On the night of Christmas Eve, Harley performed a simple divination for herself and decided to break into the library's Restricted Section the following night.

After all, once everyone had finished enjoying their Christmas feast, they surely wouldn't have much energy left to stay on guard!

The next day, Harley was woken up by the sound of owls hooting.

She pulled back her curtains, bleary-eyed, only to discover a huge crowd of owls squeezed outside her window.

Although she didn't know what was happening, Harley subconsciously opened the window.

The owls immediately squeezed in, and after dropping off their respective parcels, they angrily tried to peck at Harley a couple of times.

However, Harley was agile and didn't give them much of a chance.

In the end, Harley contributed a large bag of nuts to appease these owls. At the same time, she figured out what had happened.

Wizards always used owls to deliver Christmas gifts, and she had forgotten to leave a gap in the window the night before to let the owls in!

Actually, it couldn't really be blamed on Harley; after all, she didn't know about this wizarding habit and had assumed those gifts would be delivered at breakfast, just like regular mail.

After a quick wash, Harley began to unwrap her Christmas gifts.

Although Harley had anticipated receiving quite a few gifts, she really hadn't expected there to be so many.

Lavender sent Harley a pair of exquisite hairpins and matching earrings, while Parvati sent a bottle of Potion.

In her words, that bottle of Potion was made with water from the Ganges and could cure all illnesses.

However, looking at the murky, earthy-yellow liquid in the glass bottle, Harley felt it was better not to use it.

Hagrid sent Harley quite a few Potion ingredients, including unicorn hair, which moved Harley deeply.

Of course, this also made Harley determined to teach Hagrid some simple Herbology knowledge, because the spirituality in many of his materials had already leaked away.

Hermione sent Harley a beautifully wrapped box containing a bottle of perfume.

However, Harley didn't recognize the brand of the perfume; she just felt intuitively that it must be quite expensive.

The scent of the perfume wasn't heavy; it was a faint, clean fragrance that reminded Harley of the scent on Hermione herself.

There were many other classmates, such as Hannah and Susan from Hufflepuff, who had all sent Harley gifts.

Among them were a few classmates for whom Harley hadn't prepared gifts, which made her feel a bit awkward, and she decided to make up for it as soon as possible.

At the very bottom of all the gifts lay a paper parcel and a large box.

Harley first opened the large box, which contained a bottle and a note.

Harley picked up the note and read it, a strange expression appearing on her face.

Professor Snape had sent Harley a specially made cosmetic Potion; anyone who drank it could change the color of their hair at will for a week.

Professor Snape also suggested that Harley should change her hair to a wine-red color.

"It matches Christmas better!" Professor Snape wrote in the note.

While muttering about how surprisingly attentive Professor Snape was, Harley opened the last paper parcel.

The parcel was very light and contained a silver-gray fabric that felt like liquid.

Harley held it in her hand and it felt strange, as if it were woven from water.

After studying it for a while, Harley figured out exactly what she was holding.

It was an Invisibility Cloak, a very precious magical item that could make the wearer invisible.

However, Harley always felt that something was wrong with this Invisibility Cloak, though she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

It was just that Harley's spirituality kept warning her to be careful with this strange garment.

Accompanying the cloak was a note written in a long, spindly, looping script.

"Your father left this in my possession before he died.

It is time it was returned to you.

Use it well.

Wishing you a very happy Christmas."

"My father's keepsake?" Harley whispered, then tucked the Invisibility Cloak away, burying it at the very bottom of her trunk.

She decided to use this Invisibility Cloak sparingly; after all, it was her father's legacy and should be well-preserved, and Harley always felt that something bad would happen if she wore it too often.

Anyway, the Sequence 7 Witch path already grants invisibility, which overlaps with the capabilities of this Invisibility Cloak.

Furthermore, Harley's own invisibility is more stable and can be activated at any time, making it superior in terms of convenience.

After organizing all the gifts she had received, Harley picked up the bottle of Potion and examined it carefully.

Through a simple divination, Harley confirmed that the Potion posed no harm to her, so she pulled out the stopper and drank it in one gulp.

The Potion was cold, but once swallowed, it felt like a ball of fire roasting her stomach, leaving her feeling warm and cozy.

After a while, Harley suddenly felt as if she could change the color of her hair.

She stood in front of the full-length mirror she had bought, continuously changing her hair color until it finally settled on a wine-red.

Harley nodded in satisfaction and began to get dressed.

After spraying on some perfume and changing into her Gryffindor school uniform, Harley walked with a cheerful gait, ready to head to the Great Hall to enjoy the Christmas feast.

The Great Hall was already piled high with all kinds of delicacies, and with so few people staying at school, it seemed even more extravagant.

Professor Snape was sitting at the teachers' table.

However, he was not eating, nor was he participating in the discussion between Professor Flitwick and Dumbledore regarding the impact that the split of the Soviet AI magic component would have on the wizarding world.

Professor Snape's gaze was fixed intently on the side door of the Great Hall, the door behind which lay the staircase closest to the Gryffindor dormitory.

Finally, he waited for the person he wanted to see. Harley pushed the door open and entered, her wine-red hair swaying with the girl's cheerful steps.

That Gryffindor robe, those emerald almond-shaped eyes, that exquisite face...

Tears streamed from the corners of Professor Snape's eyes...

Dumbledore clearly noticed this scene as well and instinctively patted Professor Snape on the shoulder.

"Severus!" Dumbledore said in a serious voice, "I hope you haven't forgotten the promise you made to me before the start of the term."

"No, I haven't..." Professor Snape replied softly, though his voice sounded anything but confident.

Dumbledore sighed and shook his head, saying nothing more.

After all, in a sense, he could understand the bitterness in Professor Snape's heart.