Christmas Gifts

In the Prefect's lounge of Slytherin House.

Seated on a tall, classical-looking armchair carved with two intertwined giant snakes was a tall female Prefect with straight, light brown hair.

Her exquisitely sculpted face held a coldness that seemed to freeze the air in the Chamber of Secrets. If Daphne were sitting here, she would recognize this student—the new Prefect of the fifth year, the eldest daughter of the House of Selwyn, Irina Selwyn.

Inside the Chamber of Secrets were two other boys, their faces grim as they faced Irina's overwhelming aura and immense pressure. One of them was Gallup Lestrange, who had once been defeated by Skylar, and the other was Miles Bletchley Family, the Quidditch goalie; both were fifth-year students.

Irina spoke up, "That Malfoy family kid, his prestige seems to be growing higher and higher—you all saw his performance on the pitch today. His supporters are no longer limited to Slytherin; there are quite a few Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw too. What are your thoughts on this?"

Gallup began with difficulty, "Although the House of Malfoy has declined somewhat in recent years, it remains one of the most powerful families. Young Malfoy's strength is unfathomable. Last time we initiated a duel to try and suppress the House of Malfoy's arrogance, the result was the opposite; it allowed him to consolidate his prestige within Slytherin. We can't defeat them in a fight, and intimidating them with force probably won't work either. If we use excessive methods, given Snape's relationship with Old Malfoy, he certainly won't stand idly by. I really can't think of any other way..."

Miles Bletchley Family nodded in agreement. "I must say, that kid's something else. A series of meticulously planned events has made his fame grow faster than Fire Dragon's —look at what he's done in the last three semesters: defeating Troll, killing Basilisk, participating in the Merlin tournament, and then that Savior even delivered himself to his doorstep twice to humiliate him and establish his authority. Recently, he's been hosting a spell exchange conference, writing a book that's selling like hotcakes, and even fighting off over a hundred Dementor in front of everyone at the Quidditch arena—"

He sighed, "This kid has built up his strength and is now at the height of his power. I suggest we avoid his advance and wait for a better opportunity."

A barely perceptible sneer flashed in Irina's eyes. "Is this all the ambition and conviction you two have? I can't help but wonder if the family made a mistake in choosing to take you in as vassals..."

Gallup raised his eyebrows. "Irina, what do you mean by that?" Although the House of Lestrange was not in a good situation at the moment, they had not yet fallen to the point of being bullied by others. His two uncles were still alive. Who knew if they would be able to leave Azkaban successfully like Black one day?

Irina said calmly, "It's nothing, I just feel that you've lost the courage to face the Malfoy. And your intelligence seems to be outdated. You may not know— the House of Higgs has already made friends with the Malfoy family through Terence Higgs Family, along with his close friend, Derian Pursey (the Chaser on the Slytherin Quidditch Team). These two are quite prestigious among the fourth-year Slytherin students."

(Note: In the original work, Terence and Derian were the only two Quidditch players who never fouled, so the author thought it was reasonable for them to have a good relationship. In this book, they are portrayed as friends.)

She paused, giving the two time to process the information, and continued, "Even in our fifth-year class, Cassius Warrington and Graham Montague subtly hinted at wanting to befriend the House of Malfoy. Cassius, a Half-blood with little background, was first chosen to participate in Merlin's Trial, and then he stole the Prefect seat that should have been yours— Gallup's. This in itself says a lot..."

"If we add that Quidditch captain, Marcus Flint, who took the House of Malfoy's Broomstick, his stance is at least not biased towards us; so it seems that at least five out of the seven members of the Quidditch team are biased towards the Malfoy, leaving us with only Miles, who is weak and alone..."

"If we continue to bury our heads in the sand and do nothing, as you suggest, I dare say, very soon, not only Quidditch, but also the Prefect and other resources will be slowly devoured by them, and then it will be too late!"

(Note: The position of Prefect is not just a medal or an empty title—it includes a private lounge, a private carriage, and a private restroom; the power to deduct points from ordinary students and impose detention; and most importantly, the right to freely enter the Restricted Section of the library. In the original story, Hermione, as Prefect, could freely search for information about Horcrux in the Restricted Section as if no one else was there.)

Miles frowned. "Even if what you say makes sense, how exactly should we proceed? Right now, in terms of momentum, strength, and resources, they are subtly superior to us..."

Irina's luscious red lips curled slightly. "With four of the six Prefect still on our side, we still have a considerable chance. Besides, I think... it's time to drag the Ghosts Society into this mess too..."

Skylar was unaware of the private conversation in the Prefect's lounge; all he knew was that there were only two weeks left until the end of the first semester.

The castle was already filled with the Christmas spirit, and almost all the students were happily discussing their holiday plans. Because of Sirius Black Black, most of the students were planning to go home for Christmas.

Draco, Daphne, Astoria, and Meredith all decided to go home for vacation, but Skylar decided to stay at the university. Narcissa was initially unhappy, but Skylar managed to appease his mother by saying that the professors wanted to give him private tutoring. There's nothing you can do about it; that's what happens when someone is too outstanding.

He has already made contact with Nicholas and successfully exchanged three vials of Acromantula Venom for a dose of Phantom-Scent Grass. He also had Dobby help him sell the Jumping Toadstool on the black market for 60 Galleon.

With the Basilisk Venom, the Phantom-Scent Grass, and Dobby other materials Dobby collected from various apothecaries, the materials for making the Potions were complete. Skylar planned to use the two-week holiday at school to make the Potions.

This year, both Ron and Hermione decided to stay at Hogwarts. Ron said he couldn't stand spending two weeks with Percy, while Hermione insisted she was going to the library. But Harry knew they were doing it to keep him company, and he was very grateful for that.

During the last week of the term, everyone got to go to Hogsmeade Village again. Everyone was happy except for Harry.

On the morning everyone went to Hogsmeade Village, Fred and George gave Harry an early Christmas present— the Marauder's Map. This was Harry's happiest day since the Quidditch Match. Using the Marauder's Map, Harry successfully sneaked into Hogsmeade Village, found Ron and Hermione, and overheard Black betraying his parents at the Three Broomsticks.

That night, Harry slept very poorly, his mind filled with thoughts of revenge against Black. This worried Ron and Hermione greatly. Harry had a natural tendency to court disaster, and as his close friends, Ron and Hermione knew very well that given the chance, Harry would definitely do something foolish like seeking revenge against Black.

Skylar overheard that Hagrid was also having a hard time; he had received a letter from the Board of Governors about Buckbeak's attack on Blaise.

Although he himself will not be punished for the matter, Hagrid and Buckbeak must attend a hearing before the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures. According to Hagrid, Buckbeak's chances of survival are Dogie, and he is unlikely to escape death, since no one except Hagrid cares about the life or death of Hippogriff.

Hagrid became increasingly depressed because of this incident, and would occasionally drown his sorrows in alcohol, leaving people to see him in a drunken state.

On Christmas morning, Skylar found himself more popular than the previous year—he received nearly 100 gifts, more than half of which were from girls he didn't know, ranging from first to seventh year, from Slytherin, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw. Most of them were snacks and chocolates.

Dobby sent another pair of socks, Kreacher sent a wooden carving, Draco sent a toy from Zonko's Joke Shop, and Narcissa sent a very practical pair of Duelling Gloves.

The gloves are engraved with Anti-Disarming Charm. When the gloved hand holds a wand, an invisible and unbreakable magical connection is formed between the wand and the glove. Unless the wearer loses consciousness or dies, the wand will never leave the glove. Perhaps Expelliarmus cast by Grand Sorcerer of Dumbledore's caliber could break the glove's function, but how many Grand Sorcerer are there in this world?

[Duelling Gloves obtained!]

As in previous years, Daphne and Meredith each gave a precious book from their family collection. Astoria followed her sister's example and also gave a book. Skylar carefully stored them one by one in his personal library, which already contained more than four hundred books (he had the House Elf copy all of the House of Malfoy's collection for him as well).

Morrie gave her a scarf he had knitted himself. Although the style and craftsmanship were quite ordinary, Skylar could feel the heartfelt sentiment behind the scarf and cherished it very much. Even Luna gave her a pair of very strange-looking glasses, which supposedly allowed her to see Wrackspurt and Nargle when she wore them.

What Skylar even more was the Christmas gift he received from Hermione. In addition to thanking her for her guidance at the Patronus Charm exchange meeting, Hermione thoughtfully included her own notes on key points for the exams, which would make Skylar's exam preparation much easier this year.

It's worth mentioning that Ellerby and Spudmore Broomstick Company, located far away in Germany, also sent a Firebolt to Skylar, their major shareholder.

Although the Firebolt was quite valuable, Skylar had neither the time nor the interest to participate in Quidditch, so he gave it to Draco Firebolt a Christmas present, instructing Draco to keep it a secret and use it as a secret weapon to defeat Gryffindor.

Draco was absolutely enamored with the Broomstick and promised Skylar that he would do his utmost in the upcoming Quidditch Match to bring glory to Slytherin and honor to the House of Malfoy.

Meanwhile, a lot of things were also happening on Harry's trio's side.

Harry received a Firebolt as a Christmas present from an anonymous sender, much to the excitement of both Harry and Ron. Hermione, however, insisted that it should be examined by the professors first. While Hermione and Harry were arguing, Hermione's cat, Crookshanks, attacked Ron —or rather, attacked Scabbers in Ron's pocket—resulting in a quarrel Ron Hermione.

That evening, Hermione summoned Professor McGonagall and, under the pretext of needing to inspect it, temporarily confiscated Harry's Firebolt, which led to a cold war between Hermione, Harry, Ron.

Hermione never returned to the Gryffindor Common Room and spent all her time hiding in the library. Whenever Skylar went to the library to look for information on Magic-Boosting Potion, he would see Hermione disheveled and unkempt, sitting in a corner, irritably flipping through books.

The day before school started, in the laboratory within the Suitcase Space, Skylar held a bottle of light green potion, a satisfied smile on his face. Thanks to Skylar's tireless efforts, a Magic-Boosting Potion had been successfully created!

Skylar broke the seal and Magic-Boosting Potion into his mouth. At first, he felt nothing, but after the potion entered his throat, it felt like he had drunk some terrible poison, as if a ball of fire was burning in his throat. Skylar clutched his neck and coughed violently.

Soon, Skylar's body temperature began to rise. He grabbed a bag of ice that he had prepared beforehand and placed it on his forehead to cool his head down. Immediately afterward, his heartbeat quickened noticeably, his blood surged through his veins, and he felt as if he were surrounded by raging flames, with the illusion that he was about to ascend to heaven. Even with Skylar's composure, he couldn't help but let out a roar like a wild beast.

This terrible feeling lasted for about ten minutes before gradually subsiding and eventually returning to normal, but Skylar's body and clothes were completely soaked with sweat.

Skylar slept soundly until he woke up the next day refreshed. The first thing he did was to carefully examine himself with his Magic Eye.

He discovered that his magic had indeed improved significantly, reaching the level of upperclassmen and comparable to elite seventh-year students like Percy and Penelope. Skylar was very satisfied with the potion's effects; now that his biggest problem was solved, he could begin to study more advanced spells.

He had already planned out a series of spells for himself to learn, and he had even mastered the theory. All that was left was to practice them.