A Quiet Christmas

Christmas is approaching, but the atmosphere in the castle isn't as cheerful as it used to be.

Nearly Headless Nick, and Bloody Baron, were both attacked, which turned the already tense atmosphere into a real panic.

Even ghosts can't escape it... What terrifying power could possibly harm the dead?

The students didn't want to stay on campus for another second, and those who had previously decided to stay changed their plans with their professors.

People rushed to book seats on the Hogwarts Express, hoping to go home for Christmas.

In the days leading up to his departure from school, Harry was completely isolated. Wherever he went, someone kept a close watch on him, neither getting close nor letting him out of sight.

Everyone was afraid that he would release the monster from the Chamber of Secrets again.

"Ignore them, Harry."

During a meal, Ron packed a few chicken legs into his bag and said, "Those people know nothing. You have Invisibility Cloak. If you really want to sneak around doing something, they can only stand there dumbfounded."

"Yeah, maybe I can scare them with the Invisibility Cloak." Harry forced a smile.

"That's a good idea," Ron said. "Especially for Macmillan; if you suddenly appear behind him, he probably won't dare follow you anymore."

"Don't give me bad ideas, Ron. Harry's already in enough trouble." Hermione placed a plate of pudding in front of Harry.

"In a few more days, the Polyjuice Potion will be ready, and we can get information out of Malfoy at any time, then the truth will come out."

"I hope so." Harry took a bite of pudding.

The sweet and sour orange flavor did indeed improve his mood.

Beside him, Ron put another piece of toast into the bag.

"I was just about to ask you, what are you going to do with all this food?" Harry asked, puzzled. "If you're short on snacks, I have some candy here..."

"It wasn't me, it was Scabbers."

Ron sighed. "It's lost a lot of weight these past few days. I'd like to give it some nourishment."

"Don't you have rat poison?"

"We used it all up yesterday." Ron took out an empty bottle.

"Isn't this a year's supply?" Hermione frowned. "Are you sure it's okay for you to use it all up now?"

"Not only is it fine, it's not enough," Ron said. "It's probably because Scabbers is getting older; the tonic is much less effective than last year."

He looked at Hermione and asked, "By the way, does that book, <Moste Potente Potions>, have a recipe for rat tonic?"

"No!" Hermione's face stiffened.

She really wanted to see what Ron's brain was like... What kind of person would think that the "Moste Potente Potions" locked in the Restricted Section taught people how to make rat tonics?

However, Ron didn't notice Hermione's gaze at all. He lowered his head and whispered, "Perhaps we can go and take a look at that room on the Seventh Floor... it has everything."

"Good luck..." Hermione replied perfunctorily.

Finally, the semester ended, and the castle became much quieter.

On Christmas Day, Kyle got up early and started unwrapping a pile of presents at his feet.

This year, there have been many more people giving away books; the number of books is almost on par with the number of candy and snacks.

Fleur Delacour sent me a crystal music box from France, containing all the songs by the Unicorn Band.

This is a band from France, and they are quite famous in the Wizarding World.

Dumbledore and Kanna gave him gloves.

The principal continued last year's style, adding some Fawkes feathers as embellishments, which perfectly complemented the socks to form a matching set.

Kyle only glanced at it before placing it with the pair of socks he had never worn.

It's too eye-catching...

Kanna's skills have improved a lot; the gloves are very comfortable to wear.

After unwrapping the gifts, Kyle left the dorm.

The entire common room was empty; there wasn't a single person in it.

This year, Kanna was also taken back by Snape, leaving Kyle alone in Hufflepuff.

Cedric had intended to stay with him, but Mr. Diggory sent him five letters in one day, forcing him to abandon the idea.

But this is for the best.

He stayed behind to investigate the diary; fewer people would make things easier.

However, things were much more lively in Gryffindor.

The Weasley all chose to stay at school, including Ginny and Percy.

The Mr. and Mrs. Weasley went to visit Bill; they didn't want to travel that far.

It is worth mentioning that Mr. Weasley was promoted because of his excellent performance during the surprise inspection.

So, a week before Christmas, he officially took office as the head of the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office... Although his job remained exactly the same, his monthly salary increased by ten Galleon.

Kyle ate a quick sandwich in the common room and then headed to the Room of Requirement on the Seventh Floor.

But strangely, today the door seemed to be welded shut, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't open it.

Ten minutes later, Hermione came out.

Upon seeing Kyle at the door, she suddenly became nervous.

"Kyle, you, what are you doing here?"

"Of course I'm going to use this Room of Requirement," Kyle said. "Aren't you the same?"

"So it's called the Room of Requirement?" Hermione breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing it wasn't related to Polyjuice Potion. "A very fitting name."

"You don't know?" Kyle chuckled, "It transforms into a room to correspond to different needs, hence the name."

"We found it by accident," Hermione explained. "We were looking for a place to brew...practice Potions, and then suddenly a door appeared in this place, filled with cauldrons and Potions books."

But none of the books or maps about castles mention this place... It took us a long time to find the pattern of its appearance."

"This is a hidden room at Hogwarts, protected by special magic, and cannot be marked on a map," Kyle said. "You definitely won't find it on a map."

"No wonder..." Hermione nodded, but then she seemed to realize something and became nervous again. "But why were you waiting outside?"

"So you also want to practice Potions, and you can't get in because I'm there?"

She couldn't help but be nervous. The Polyjuice Potion was still not fully brewed. If Kyle happened to need the Potions Room, wouldn't he be able to see it immediately upon entering?

"No, it has nothing to do with that. I'm not planning to brew Potions here anyway." Kyle shook his head. "But because it only has one door, it can only correspond to one room. If someone is inside, others naturally can't use it."