A Man's Clothes Are His Face

"Chudley Cannons uniforms! Are these Chudley Cannons uniforms?!"

"That's right, Fred, they're Chudley Cannons uniforms!"

The Weasley Twins shouted excitedly. No one who loved Quidditch could dislike such a gift, especially not active Gryffindor Quidditch players like them.

The Chudley Cannons Ron talked about every day?

Harry was somewhat surprised that Damon had given him such a gift—it was far too valuable. And Ron was currently staring at him with the hungry gaze of a wolf, which made Harry rather uncomfortable.

"Do you want to look?"

He lifted the uniform from the box as gently as if he were taking out some priceless treasure, then handed it to Ron, whose expression was close to vacant.

The Chudley Cannons had won the League Cup twenty-one times. Though they had not performed particularly well in recent years, they were still Ron's most beloved team. The posters on his bedroom ceiling were all of the Chudley Cannons.

"Can I?"

Ron took the bright orange uniform in a daze, staring at the two black letters, "C," and the racing cannonball printed on it, nearly dumbstruck.

A sour feeling suddenly rose in his heart—Damon had actually given Harry such an expensive gift? This uniform alone probably cost more than fifty Galleons!

"Wait, there's more underneath!"

Fred suddenly cried out.

Harry looked carefully. Beneath the orange Cannons uniform lay a magpie—the uniform of the Montrose Magpies!

This was the team that had won the most League Cups to date!

And that wasn't all—when Harry picked up the uniform, there were indeed more beneath it: the Holyhead Harpies, the Wimbourne Wasps. The uniforms of all four famous teams were here!

"This is really—"

Harry picked up one uniform, admired it, carefully folded it and set it aside, then picked up the next, examining it from every angle before carefully putting it away again. Only after looking through all three uniforms did he finally let out a long breath.

After getting his permission, the three Weasley brothers beside him also began admiring them one by one.

"What's all this noise about?"

Percy Weasley poked his head through the crack in the door, his face full of displeasure.

He was the three brothers' older brother, as well as a Gryffindor prefect.

"Bloody hell! Where did you get these?!"

"Oh, Percy, if you stop lecturing us now, our great and merciful savior, Lord Harry, might consider letting you touch the uniform of your favorite team."

While George teased Percy, Fred quietly closed the door.

For the next half hour, the four of them completely forgot their original purpose. They devoted all their energy to the Quidditch uniforms, praising them without end.

Watching the delighted expressions on the three brothers' faces, Harry suddenly said:

"If Damon agrees later, I can give each of you one."

The way the three of them looked at Harry changed completely—there was a world of difference between the meaning of collecting four uniforms together and owning just one.

But that was Harry. He was never stingy about sharing, nor did he feel jealous of his friends' accomplishments. If Damon had known Harry's former assessment of him, he probably would have smiled and said:

"Mate, you're the one with a truly great character."

The four chatted animatedly for a long while, discussing just what kind of background Damon had to be so extravagantly wealthy.

Then Ron suddenly remembered something and leapt up from his seat.

"Damon definitely gave me a present too. How did I forget?!"

He eagerly unwrapped all his presents, leaving the three gifts he thought most likely to be from Damon until the end before opening them.

Even Percy was curious to see what the deep-pocketed Damon would give.

All three gift boxes were of the same style—square boxes with elaborate wrapping. Clothes lay inside them as well, only—

"Oh."

Ron let out a blank little sound, looking somewhat dazed.

Fred and George exchanged a glance, each seeing the fleeting apology in the other's eyes. Percy fell silent as well.

Ron picked up the card from the floor and read it silently.

I noticed that some of your clothes did not fit very well. Please forgive my presumption, but I believe that respectable clothes are a man's face. And in my eyes, you are certainly a true man. Merry Christmas, Ron. —Damon White

His eyes instantly welled up.

The tears came so quickly and so fully that Ron could not hide them or pretend not to care. He wiped away the hot tears with the back of his hand and spoke before his three brothers could say anything.

"Can you let me be alone for a while? I'll find you at the feast in ten minutes."

The Weasley Twins did not mock him, and Percy did not lecture him either—because their family was poor, Ron had always worn their old clothes. No matter how much he protested that he did not like them, it was useless.

But now, that problem had been solved by his classmate.

Harry was the last to leave the room.

Before closing the door, he looked at Ron once more—Ron knelt before the three gift boxes, his back lonely and desolate.

Harry had always understood Ron's family circumstances, but he did not know what he could do without hurting Ron's pride.

Damon really was the most suitable person to do this.

Click. The door closed softly.

Ron quietly opened the three gift boxes, letting his tears fall.

Only he knew that the moment he saw Damon's gift to Harry, he had actually felt uncomfortable—he was the one who loved the Chudley Cannons most. Damon clearly knew that, yet he had given such a gift to Harry.

But now—he could not even tell whether he wanted the three gifts before him or the ones Harry had received.

After all, Quidditch uniforms could only be collected, while the three boxes before him were closely tied to his daily life.

For the first time, Ron felt ashamed of his own petty thoughts.

With guilt and gratitude in his heart, he opened the first gift box.

This box was quite large, and it contained two complete sets of casual clothes.

One set consisted of a white shirt paired with slim-fitting dark gray trousers, along with a simple dark green turtleneck sweater. A pair of black leather boots had even been placed upside down in the corner, looking exceptionally elegant.

The other set was an orange checkered shirt paired with khaki trousers of the same color, along with two ties, one purple and one orange.

He opened the second box.

Inside lay three brand-new plain work robes, a pointed hat, a pair of Dragon Hide Gloves, and a winter cloak.

They were all brand-new, and—at a glance—far more fitted than the clothes he was wearing.

Casual clothes, wizard robes, then what was in the third box?

Ron opened it and saw an exquisitely made dress robe. It was a deep burgundy, made of delicate velvet, with a classic V-neck design. An intricate line of silver embroidery extended from the collar to the chest, while the long sleeves narrowed slightly at the cuffs.

The trousers were tailored to fit, their color matching the top. Their slim cut gave them clean, flowing lines.

Not even in his dreams had Ron imagined that he would own such a set of dress robes.

And dress robes were not needed until second year, yet Damon had already prepared them for him. Ron carefully changed into the new casual clothes and wizard robes, put the gifts back into their boxes, and stored them away with great care.

After doing all that, he washed away the dried tear tracks on his face and took a deep breath.

Remembering Damon's words, "Respectable clothes are a man's face," he silently tied his loose tie properly and walked out the door.

Outside the window, snow still drifted down, covering the earth.

Then the snow piled on the branches suddenly fell.