Before Christmas (I)

Hogwarts Castle was blanketed in several feet of snow, and the frozen lake had hardened like steel. Christmas was just around the corner, and December grew colder by the day. Early one morning, when Su Yu woke in his dormitory in the Slytherin dungeons, he could see through the huge window that Black Lake had frozen into a dark green sheet of ice. Creatures swam beneath it, and occasionally a fish would press against the underside, leaving a blurry shadow on the other side of the ice.

The world beyond the castle had become a silver-white canvas. The trees of the Forbidden Forest wore thick coats of snow. Distant peaks glimmered pale blue in the morning light, their snowy ridges carved into sweeping arcs by the wind. Snow had piled half a person's height atop the owlery spires. Several owls huddled beneath the eaves with their necks tucked in, their feathers fluffed into little balls. Qingluan was different. She stayed in Su Yu's dormitory now and refused to go anywhere, not even to deliver letters. With no other choice, Su Yu had bought another owl.

Every morning, it took Su Yu a long while to crawl out of bed—not because he could not get up, but because the blankets had kidnapped him. Kurama resisted even more. Every morning, Su Yu had to fish her out from under the blankets, and she would kick her four legs in the air several times before she was willing to open her eyes. Her fur had grown thicker in winter, soft and warm like a hot-water bottle. Sometimes Su Yu would slip his hands into her fur to warm them, and Kurama would glare at him but never move away.

The stone floors in the corridors were cold as ice. Every step Su Yu took sent a chill creeping up from the soles of his feet. The silver-and-green scarf Daphne had knitted for him was long and thick enough to wrap twice around his neck, with the ends hanging to his chest. He buried half his face in it, and his warm breath formed a thin layer of frost over the fabric. Fa-jie had gotten him a pair of dragon-hide gloves, supposedly brought back from Romania by her father. Su Yu's hands stayed warm in them, but holding his wand never felt quite right.

The Weasley twins had been punished for fooling around while building snowmen, so they had no choice but to trail after Professor Quirrell all day. Su Yu had seen them once in the corridor—both following behind Professor Quirrell with expressions more miserable than during Potions class. A corridor window stood open, and cold wind rushed in, nearly blowing Professor Quirrell's turban away. He hurriedly held it down. The garlic smell could not disperse in the snowbound classroom; it was so thick that it felt as though someone had overturned an entire jar of crushed garlic.

Several messenger owls struggled through the blizzard, snowflakes battering their wings and quickly soaking their feathers. They flew crookedly, as though the wind might snatch them away at any moment. Hagrid stood at the castle entrance wrapped in his moleskin coat, carefully tending every owl that flew in. With his thick fingers, he gently brushed snow from their bodies, set them beside the braziers in the entrance hall to warm up, and fed them biscuits from his pocket. One owl sat trembling on his shoulder. Hagrid cupped it in his enormous palm and muttered something under his breath.

The young wizards eagerly awaited the holiday. Whispers in the corridors changed from "Have you finished your homework?" to "Are you going home for Christmas?" Several younger Gryffindor girls discussed what gifts to buy. Someone from Hufflepuff bragged about the Christmas biscuits sent from home. A Ravenclaw boy opened a parcel in the corridor and found a hand-knitted scarf in his house colors. After putting it on, he practically strutted down the hall.

The open-air corridors had become freezing, and the biting wind made the classroom windows rattle. Every time Su Yu passed through one, he pulled his scarf higher and buried his whole face in it, leaving only his eyes exposed. Sometimes Kurama burrowed into the scarf as well, showing only the tip of her nose. Her warm breath tickled Su Yu's chin. Fa-jie walked ahead, the hem of her robes billowing in the wind. She did not seem afraid of the cold—or perhaps she simply did not show it. Ka-jie followed behind with her hands in her pockets, her pale blond hair tossed into a complete mess by the wind. She did not bother fixing it and simply let it fly.

Worst of all was Snape's classroom in the dungeons. The moment they entered, cold air pressed in from every direction as though they had walked into an ice cellar. The students' breaths formed clouds of mist before them, and they crowded as close to the large cauldrons as possible for warmth.

Su Yu held Kurama to keep warm. Her nine tails hung between his arms and swayed gently in the air, their tips slightly curled. Daphne was weighing powdered lionfish bone. Her fingers had turned a little red from the cold, but she did not complain. She only held them above the cauldron from time to time to warm them before continuing to measure the powder with her scales.

Malfoy seemed even more sullen than usual.

He was furious over Slytherin's defeat in the match. But this time, he was not angry because he wanted to play a prank—he felt that those people had disgraced Slytherin's honor! Cassandra had commanded them so well, yet they had lost because of their own incompetence. That was unforgivable. It was a betrayal of Su Yu, their prefect!

Slytherin did not need trash! Just as Prefect Su Yu said, only bringing me benefits counts as ability.

Since the previous week, McGonagall's classroom had been busy registering students who planned to remain at school for the holidays.

Su Yu had signed up. He did not know where else he could go during the break. There was no way he could find his parents. Return to Foley Manor? He could see Butler Carson there. But after thinking about how troublesome it would be to go home, Su Yu decided he would visit Carson after the first year ended and summer vacation began.

After Fa-jie learned that Su Yu was not returning home, she decided not to go back either. She said there was nothing going on at home, and she would only end up sitting alone in her room anyway.

Ka-jie and Daphne were still going home. Ka-jie said her mother missed her, and if she did not return soon, her mother would come to Hogwarts to pick her up herself. Daphne said she was going home to help her younger sister choose a Christmas gift. She also said she would bring Su Yu some biscuits made by her mother when she returned. "My mum's chocolate cookies are the best in the world," Daphne said, her eyes sparkling. "You'll definitely like them."

Hermione was going home too. She said her parents had not seen her for months.

After Potions class ended, the students left the dungeons.

Su Yu held Daphne's hand. They had just reached the door when he found that a huge fir tree blocked the corridor ahead.

The fir was enormous, its branches spread wide enough to occupy nearly the entire corridor. Snow still clung to the branches, dusting the floor with a thin white layer. Its trunk was thicker than Hagrid's arm, and a huge clump of frozen earth still clung to its roots. It looked as though it had just been dug up from the Forbidden Forest.

Harry and Ron were helping Hagrid carry it.

But it blocked Malfoy's way, and Malfoy had been in a bad mood these past few days, so he was particularly rude.

"Could you move aside?" Malfoy's voice was cold. His chin lifted slightly as his gray eyes swept from Hagrid to Harry, then from Harry to Ron. "Talking to you makes me sick."

"Weasley, are you looking to earn some pocket money?" A mocking curve appeared at the corner of Malfoy's mouth. "Planning to become a gamekeeper after leaving Hogwarts? Hagrid's hut is practically a little palace compared to your home."

Ron's face immediately flushed red. He released the fir branch, turned around, and strode toward Malfoy.

"Say that again if you've got the guts."

Malfoy did not move. His hands remained in his pockets, his chin still raised, and his expression clearly said, I said it. What are you going to do about it?

Ron lunged at him.

He grabbed Malfoy by the front of his robes and shoved him back several steps. Malfoy's shoes slipped on the stone floor, but he did not lose his balance—his knees bent slightly and his center of gravity lowered, as though he had expected the shove all along.

"Weasley!"

Professor Snape's voice came from above the stairs. He stood on the steps, his black robes billowing through the open corridor like a huge bat. His black eyes looked coldly upon the scene below, his face utterly expressionless—but that lack of expression was more frightening than any expression could have been.

Ron let go, though his fists remained clenched.

"Professor Snape, he was provoked," Hagrid said, poking his hairy face out from behind the tree. His face was red from carrying it, and tiny bits of ice clung to his thick beard. "Malfoy's insulting Ron's family."

"Regardless, Hagrid, fighting is a violation of Hogwarts rules," Snape said in his oily voice. "Five points from Gryffindor for Weasley. You should be grateful I did not take more. Now get out, all of you!"

Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy rudely pushed their way through the branches, laughing smugly as they jostled one another and shook fir needles all over the floor. When Crabbe crawled beneath a branch, a broken twig snagged his robe. He tugged once without freeing it, then tugged again and tore a hole in his robe before walking off without looking back.

"Just wait. I'll get that guy sooner or later," Ron said through gritted teeth as he watched Malfoy's retreating back.

Su Yu had watched everything from a distance.

He was happy for Malfoy.

Malfoy was no longer that brainless brute. When Ron had grabbed him by the collar just now, Su Yu had seen Malfoy's wand instantly appear in his hand. But Malfoy had not acted. The moment he noticed Professor Snape approaching, he put his wand away at once and let Ron grab him. His hand returned to his pocket, and that punchable cold smirk returned to his face, as though everything that had just happened had been part of his calculation.

Pansy as well. Su Yu had noticed that her hand had slipped into her robe pocket too. She had moved even a little faster than Malfoy, but before Snape spoke, she had already put her wand away. The fierce look on her face turned back into proud indifference even faster than Malfoy's had.

As for Crabbe and Goyle—one could not expect much from those two. They were simply a little slow to react. Yes, that was all. They had merely failed to react in time. Su Yu made excuses in his heart for those two talents.

The current Malfoy was no longer that little dragon who only knew how to yell for his father. If Ron and Harry provoked him, they were going to suffer badly.

Su Yu led Daphne away from the dungeons.

After eating, Su Yu and the others watched Ron, Harry, and Hagrid carry Christmas trees into the Great Hall.

The fir tree was set upright in one corner of the hall. Hagrid patted the dirt from his hands, stepped back two paces to inspect it with satisfaction, then went forward and adjusted its angle. Once he was finally pleased, he grinned, revealing a mouthful of large yellow teeth, and said, "That's more like it."

Hermione, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Flitwick were also busy putting up Christmas decorations.

Professor McGonagall stood atop a flying ladder, hanging holly wreaths along the walls. Professor Flitwick was too small to reach the high places, so he worked below, passing things up. He used the Levitation Charm to send bunches of mistletoe toward the ceiling. The mistletoe drifted slowly upward, its white berries gleaming softly in the candlelight like tiny pearls.

Hermione was decorating the Christmas tree. She stood on tiptoe to hang little bells on the branches.

The hall looked magnificent.

Holly branches and mistletoe flowers covered all four walls. Their green leaves gleamed richly in the candlelight, their red berries like little jewels and their white berries like tiny pearls. Golden bells among the branches swayed gently in the draft, making faint sounds that were almost too soft to hear.

More than twelve towering Christmas trees had been placed throughout the hall. They stood along both sides and in all four corners, stretching from the floor to the ceiling. Some were hung with glittering icicles, clear and crystalline, while others blazed with hundreds of lit candles.

The enchanted ceiling had been placed under a special Christmas spell. Snowflakes drifted down from above and vanished before touching the ground. They floated down from the dark blue sky, circled once above the candle flames, then silently dissolved. The air was filled with the fresh scent of pine needles and burning candles, mingled with the smoky warmth of firewood from the fireplaces.

Kurama poked her head out from his arms, watched the falling snowflakes, and stretched out a paw to catch them. A snowflake melted on her paw tip and became a tiny drop of water. Her paw was damp. She stared at it for two seconds, then shrank back into Su Yu's arms and wiped the wet paw against his robe.

Su Yu looked down at her.

Kurama buried her face in the crook of his arm and pretended nothing had happened.

After finishing the decorations, Hermione came over and gave Su Yu a hug.

"I'm going to the library this afternoon," Hermione said. "Harry and Ron are waiting for me."

After saying that, she ran off, her curly hair bouncing behind her.

Su Yu watched her receding figure.

Then he took Daphne's hand, turned, and headed toward the common room.