Hermione awkwardly changed the subject. "Harry, when are you planning to do it?"
"Christmas." Harry thought for a moment and quickly came to an answer. "There won't be many people at school then, so it'll be safer for me to look through the Restricted Section."
Hermione sounded a little disappointed. "All right. I'm going home for Christmas, so I guess I can't help you."
Christmas was a grand celebration.
It meant that the first half of the school year was finally over, and the little witches and wizards would get a two-week holiday before returning to school after New Year's Day.
The professors had asked them to sign up well in advance.
Most of the little witches and wizards chose to go home. Hogwarts was fun, but after six months, they missed home.
In the entire dormitory, only Harry and Ron stayed behind.
They didn't make a move on Christmas Eve.
Harry was dragged off to celebrate by the Weasley brothers. They stole Wood's vodka and got completely drunk in the dormitory.
The next day.
Harry was woken by Hedwig pecking at him.
She stood on his pillow, hooting noisily. They hadn't seen each other for six months, and the moment they were reunited, he'd kept her busy all night. She was very unhappy about it.
Harry's Witcher constitution spared him the pain of a hangover. He was about to get up and continue his training—but as soon as he threw off the covers, he noticed a mountain of presents piled at the foot of his bed.
Christmas presents.
Harry just hadn't expected there to be so many.
Ron woke with a groggy start and yawned, waving at Harry. "Merry Christmas, Harry. Oh, and you too, Hedwig."
"Why are you up so early?"
Harry got dressed. "I was going to work out, but it looks like... I'll have to spend the morning opening presents instead."
"Work out, oh, right..." Ron shuddered and became a little more alert. "You drank so much last night, and you're still going to work out?"
He stared at Harry in amazement.
George and Fred had stolen two bottles of vodka the night before. Harry had drunk more than a bottle by himself, then passed out completely. He'd grabbed George, pulled his trousers off, and made him dance the Four Little Swans.
After ending up in that state, how could he be fine the next morning?
Harry nodded and picked up the present at the very top. It was wrapped in brown paper and was from Hagrid: a crude bone flute. It reminded Harry of his horse, and he liked the gift very much.
Aunt Petunia's family had sent him a present too: a fifty-pence coin. Ron was very interested in it.
There was also a bright green, hand-knitted sweater from Ron's mother, along with a box of lactose sweets.
He liked the sweater, but the color...
"It would've been even better in red." Harry set the sweater aside. "Green always reminds me of bad things."
Ron nodded in agreement. He was thinking of Slytherin.
Hermione had sent him some chocolate, along with various magical sweets from the other Little Lions in Gryffindor.
The professors had sent Harry presents too.
Professor McGonagall had sent two sets of Transfiguration Notes—one of her own, and one belonging to Harry's father.
Professor Sprout had sent him a few plant seeds, along with instructions for growing them, and Professor Flitwick had sent him a Wand Maintenance Kit.
And then there was Professor Snape—
Ron looked at the brown-paper wrapping and the handwriting on it. Just looking at them gave off a gloomy air. Then there was the most eye-catching part of all: the signature. "Professor Snape actually sent you a present?"
Harry weighed it in his hand. It wasn't heavy. "Take a guess what it is."
"Poison that'll make you blind?" Ron shuddered. "Or a potion that'll disfigure you?"
"Didn't you say Professor Snape always wanted that to happen to you?"
Harry didn't reply. He tore off the wrapping to reveal a box with a price tag still stuck to it: "£9.15".
"What's this?" Ron asked, bewildered.
Harry opened the box. Inside was a brand-new pair of sunglasses. He hadn't worn glasses at all since returning to this world.
"Sunglasses," Harry explained. "An accessory from the Muggle world."
"Why would he send you something like that?" Ron asked, still confused.
Harry put them on. "They can hide my eyes, and they can hide my face too."
Snape had chosen the largest frames available, bigger than a fist. They covered nearly half of Harry's face.
"You really are harder to recognize," Ron said with a nod.
Harry tossed them aside.
He didn't like things like that. The Witcher's eyesight was excellent, and he could see in the dark, but that didn't mean he needed to go out of his way to make things difficult for himself.
He spent the whole morning opening presents.
Until noon.
The dormitory door swung open, and George and Fred staggered in, supporting each other. Their faces were deathly pale, and their limbs looked weak. "Harry, Harry, are you all right?"
Their greeting trailed off when they saw Harry, rosy-cheeked and standing in front of the mirror, trying on his new sweater. They froze, stopping in the doorway.
George rubbed his eyes.
"I'm fine. What's wrong?" Harry turned to look at them. "Thank Mrs. Weasley for me. She's very talented. It's really comfortable to wear."
Fred mumbled, "Why are you fine?"
George chimed in. "You drank more than the two of us put together last night!"
"It's not that I drank a lot. You two just can't hold your liquor." Harry walked over and patted their backs. "You hadn't even finished a bottle before you were ready to throw up."
"That was vodka, Polish vodka, forty-five percent!" George clenched his fist, though he barely had the strength to do even that.
Harry looked at them sympathetically. "All right, hurry to the Great Hall now. There's a feast at noon. Remember to fill your stomachs. Drinking on an empty stomach is bad for you."
George and Fred groaned.
They had no appetite at all right now. They just wanted to throw up everything in their stomachs.
There weren't many people staying at Hogwarts for Christmas, but the food was still sumptuous.
Harry had just filled a plate with German and French food when Snape swept over, his robes billowing. He stopped in front of Harry and slapped the table hard. "Potter!"
Harry glanced at him and offered a warm smile. "Merry Christmas, Professor Snape. What can I do for you?"
Snape frowned, clearly disgusted by Harry's expression. "Potter, what do you mean by this?"
"Your Christmas present, my dear professor," Harry said calmly. "It's my most sincere wish for you."
"Is that so?" Snape sneered.
Harry asked in return, "Don't you like it?"
Snape waved a hand. "I hope you like the present I gave you, too."
"To be honest, I don't really like it." Harry made a small gesture. "It gets in the way of my vision."
Snape sneered. "But it hides your face and eyes, so you don't look quite as stupid as a Troll."
"But I'm very happy." Harry abruptly changed tack. His expression remained calm, showing none of the joy he claimed to feel. "You remembered me at Christmas, Professor."
The words caught in Snape's throat, twisting his expression even further. "Is that so? I hope you'll still be this happy when the end of term comes."
Snape gripped his wand, resisting the urge to hex Harry, then turned and left.
Only after he had disappeared from the Great Hall did Ron dare lift his head from his plate. "Harry, what did you do to Professor Snape? Why's he so angry?"
"I don't know. I just sent him a Christmas present." Harry was a little confused too.
He didn't understand why Snape was angry.
He'd chosen the present very carefully.
"Ordinary people don't look like that when they get a decent present." George leaned over, his hangover doing nothing to stop his urge to play a prank. "What did you get him, a toilet seat?"
"No, no, I bet it was bat droppings," Fred immediately objected.
Harry took a bite of steak. "It was a set of hair-washing products. The kind that gets rid of grease really well."
George and Fred stared at him, dumbfounded.
"No wonder Professor Snape was so angry," Ron said, holding his breath. His voice dropped several notches.
George gave him a thumbs-up. "We've never been so impressed by anyone's pranks. You actually dared to give Professor Snape something like that."
Harry shook his head and frowned. "Something like that?"
"Thank goodness the present you gave us was normal," Fred said, making a gesture across his chest.
George immediately slapped his hand down. "Hey, we're wizards."
"But it's Christmas!" Fred argued. "It's all about the spirit of the occasion. There's nothing wrong with it!"
That afternoon, Harry made up for the workout he'd missed that morning.
Ron and George's group started a snowball fight. With his two older brothers feeling under the weather, he had to make them pay for all the bullying they'd put him through over the past few years.
And then...
They turned him into a snowman.
Even with hangovers, George and Fred were still third-year students. They knew how to use magic.
When evening came, Ron grew anxious.
He checked the time every ten minutes or so, waiting for curfew. The moment the eleven o'clock alarm rang, he leapt out of bed. "Harry, hurry, get the Invisibility Cloak."
He'd been looking forward to this moment for ages.
Harry rummaged through his trunk and pulled out the box Dumbledore had given him. He hadn't used it once since receiving the Invisibility Cloak. Hogwarts was so safe that there had been no need.
The cloak was large enough to cover both little wizards with room to spare.
After checking in front of the mirror that they were hidden, they tiptoed out of the common room. The Fat Lady muttered to herself. The strange situation made her feel as if she'd gone back more than ten years.
The library was quiet and empty.
Madam Pince had gone back to rest long ago. They made it all the way to the Restricted Section without meeting any obstacles.
"Lumos." Harry flicked his wand, and a faint light appeared.
They examined the book covers one by one.
Some titles looked so tempting that Ron couldn't help wanting to pull them out and take a look. Powerful Magical Spells, for instance. Maybe learning a powerful spell would let him stand up to his two brothers.
Harry smacked his hand down.
They had only looked through one bookshelf when Harry suddenly looked up, pointed his wand, and turned to look behind them.
Before you continue