Christmas Gifts

November's cold wind swept past Hogwarts' towers, but the atmosphere in the castle was gradually replaced by warm, excited anticipation—Christmas was approaching. Garlands of holly and mistletoe began to hang in the corridors, and the suits of armor had been enchanted to occasionally hum off-key Christmas carols. For most students, this was a time to reunite with their families, and lively groups discussing holiday plans began to appear in the Great Hall.

Yet this atmosphere was like an invisible needle, piercing through the calm facade Tom Riddle had carefully maintained. Whenever Abraxas Malfoy casually mentioned returning to his family estate in Wiltshire for a Christmas dinner attended by senior officials from the Ministry of Magic, or whenever Billius Black excitedly talked about the Christmas tree in Black Manor decorated with real fairy lights, Tom's hand beneath his robes quietly clenched.

He had nowhere to go. Wool's Orphanage? That had never been home, only a mire he needed to escape. Hogwarts was wonderful, but during the holidays, it would become empty and deserted, reminding him of his deep-rooted alienation from this world. The feeling of having "nowhere to belong" scorched his proud heart more fiercely than any spell.

Ares noticed Tom's growing gloom. Whenever no one was around, Tom's gaze would turn hollow and cold, while the magical fluctuations around him carried a sharp, restless edge. Ares knew he had to do something, or Tom might well be driven by this loneliness and jealousy into becoming even more paranoid.

At the same time, Ares faced a problem of his own. A new quest glimmered on the system's task list:

[Special Holiday Quest: Gifts and Bonds]

[Quest Requirement: Give the target person a unique Christmas gift capable of touching his heart.]

[Quest Reward: Bond Value greatly increased, Mysterious Gift Box (Blood Pact-related) x1.]

A gift that could touch Tom Riddle's heart? That was harder than unraveling an Ancient Runes puzzle. Money and flashy ornaments could never reach the depths of his soul.

Time passed amid busy revision and Tom's increasingly obvious low-pressure mood. On the last day before the Christmas holiday, most students had already left the school, leaving the Great Hall empty and desolate. Even the teachers' table had quite a few vacant seats during dinner.

That evening, only a handful of people remained in the Slytherin Common Room. The pale green flames in the fireplace crackled, casting the shadows of creatures swimming beneath the lake onto the stone walls, where they writhed and bared their fangs. Tom sat alone in an armchair far from the others, with a copy of Advanced Spell Principles spread open before him. Yet he was clearly not reading. His eyes rested on empty space, and his jaw was tightly set.

Ares walked over and sat in the chair opposite him.

Tom lifted his eyelids and gave him a cold glance. "What is it?" His voice was more detached than usual.

Ares did not answer. He simply took a flat rectangular parcel, carefully wrapped in dark green silk with silver trim, from the inner pocket of his robe and placed it on the low table between them.

Tom's gaze fell on the parcel, and his brow furrowed slightly. "What is this?"

"A Christmas gift," Ares said calmly.

Tom froze. He clearly had not expected to receive a gift, especially one from Ares. He stared at the parcel, his eyes filled with suspicion and scrutiny, as though it were a cursed box that needed to be deciphered.

"Open it," Ares prompted.

Tom hesitated, but eventually reached out. His movements were deliberately slow and cautious. He carefully untied the silk, revealing not some expensive magical item as he had imagined, but a thick, hand-bound notebook with a cover of black dragonhide. Its texture was rough, clearly not of the finest quality.

There was no title on the cover. Instead, silver ink traced a complex symbol he had never seen before, yet somehow found familiar, like chains intertwined with stars. Ares had imitated part of the pattern on the Twin Soul Key and combined it with Runic script to create it, symbolizing "connection" and "secrets."

Tom opened the notebook with a puzzled expression.

What he found inside made his breath catch.

The first half of the notebook contained extraordinarily detailed notes about Hogwarts Castle. There were not only maps—though there were several hand-drawn sketches marked with secret passages and suspicious areas—but also records of observations. Which portraits napped at certain times, the movement patterns of particular staircases, Pringer and Filch's patrol routes and preferred hours, which abandoned classrooms or empty rooms were rarely visited... every detail was recorded, as though a ghost had wandered the castle for years to gather this intelligence. To Tom, who longed to explore the castle's secrets and conduct private activities, this information was priceless.

The second half was even more astonishing. It was magical knowledge Ares had organized through the system and his own understanding, far beyond first-year textbooks. There were deeper analyses of the energy structures of existing spells and notes on casting techniques, as well as thoughts and conjectures about the nature of magic that he had found in ancient scrolls and books from the vaults. There were even several Ancient Runes marked "high risk, proceed with caution," along with speculations about their possible effects. One page also held a dried leaf with an unusual shape, annotated: "Speculation on the Whomping Willow's periodic quiet intervals."

This was not merely a notebook. It was the culmination of all Ares's observations, thoughts, and secret research over the past few months. It was the most precious gift he could offer—sharing his "kingdom," sharing the "wisdom" on which he relied to survive and move forward.

Tom turned the pages one by one, his fingers trembling slightly from the force of his grip. Shock appeared on his face first, then disbelief. In the end, every emotion settled into something deeply complex and profoundly moving. He looked up at Ares, and unprecedented turmoil surged in his black eyes. There were no false pleasantries, no calculating appraisal—only the shock of having his soul truly touched.

He understood the weight of this gift. It was more precious than any expensive broomstick or magical tool. It was understanding, trust, and an unreserved declaration of alliance.

"...Why?" Tom's voice was slightly hoarse. He almost never asked such direct questions.

Ares looked at him. His mismatched eyes were crystal clear in the firelight. "We promised. Together."

Three simple words, yet they contained every answer. From the rainy night at Wool's Orphanage, to the bustle of Diagon Alley, and then to this Common Room beneath the Black Lake, they had always been together.

Tom remained silent for a long time. He closed the notebook and gripped it tightly in his hand, his knuckles turning white. Then he did something that even surprised Ares. He took something from his own robes and placed it beside the notebook.

It was a small box carved from smooth dark wood. The workmanship was not exquisite, even somewhat rough, but the carver's care was obvious. There were no decorations on its surface, only a tiny serpentine mark carved along the edge, resembling the grain of Tom's Yew Wand.

"For you." Tom's voice was still somewhat stiff. He looked away, seeming unaccustomed to giving gifts.

Ares picked up the little wooden box and opened it. Black velvet lined the inside, and resting quietly upon it was a brooch. Its design was remarkably unique—not a Hogwarts house crest, but an abstract bird woven from silver metal and dark enamel. Half its wings were bright silver, spread open as though ready to embrace the light; the other half were a deep, dark shade, folded inward and speckled with tiny star-like points, concealing mystery. The bird's head was slightly tilted, and its two eyes were set with tiny gemstones—one azure, one gray-black.

It clearly symbolized Ares himself—a symbiotic being of light and darkness.

A faint magical fluctuation clung to the brooch. It was a protective spell, not yet particularly powerful, but extraordinarily refined. Tom had clearly practiced it countless times in secret.

This gift, too, was infused with observation, understanding, and... heartfelt intention.

Ares looked at the brooch, warmth rising in his heart. He carefully pinned it to the collar of his school robe. The silver-and-dark bird stood out strikingly yet harmoniously against the dark green fabric.

[Ding! Special Holiday Quest: Gifts and Bonds completed!]

[Bond Value greatly increased! Current level: Unbreakable Symbiosis.]

[Reward: Mysterious Gift Box (Blood Pact-related) x1 has been delivered to system storage.]

Tom watched the brooch gleam on Ares's robe. The corner of his mouth lifted almost imperceptibly before quickly flattening again. He did not say "thank you," and Ares did not need him to. Between them, things had long surpassed words.

The flames in the fireplace burned quietly as the enormous squid beneath the lake swam slowly past, casting a vast shadow. In the empty Common Room, two boys with nowhere to go exchanged their most precious "kingdoms" and "understanding." This Christmas, there was no family reunion by the hearth and no gift-laden Christmas tree, but beneath the interwoven silver and green shadows of the Slytherin Common Room, a stronger, deeper bond was quietly born.

Could this bond withstand the greater storms and darkness to come? No one knew. But at least in that moment, it was real and warm, like a faint ray of light piercing the deep waters of the Black Lake to shine upon the Eternal Cycle wand.