Christmas Gifts

The Hogwarts Express departs at 6 p. m. and arrives at King's Cross Station at midnight.

The train's departure time wasn't ideal, because the young wizards didn't have time to eat a proper dinner at school, and were often tired and hungry when they arrived at their destination.

However, this arrangement has historical reasons.

It is said that the Hogwarts Express used to depart at 11:00 AM on December 24th, the day before Christmas, just like the train that ran at the start of the school year.

However, the train takes about six or seven hours to reach King's Cross Station in London, and by the time it arrives, it is already evening.

With the young wizards' families scattered across the globe, many Muggle families, and those not skilled in Apparition, have to rely on Muggle methods to get home. Therefore, many families living far from London may miss the Christmas Eve dinner.

Therefore, many parents raised their concerns with Hogwarts, and as a result, the train's departure time was moved to the evening of the previous day. This way, even though the arrival time at the station was late, it gave the young wizards a whole day to travel home, ensuring they wouldn't miss the Christmas Eve dinner.

The night sky was exceptionally clear after the heavy snowfall, Hogwarts Express arrived at King's Cross Station under a sky full of stars.

Xiwen said goodbye to his three roommates and left the carriage.

Because he had no luggage to carry, he easily jumped off the train and walked onto the platform.

Through the distinctive brick wall bearing the inscription "Platform Nine and Three-Quarters," Xiwen finally arrived inside King's Cross Station.

It's safe to say that King's Cross Station truly lives up to its reputation as one of the busiest train stations in the England, bustling with people even in the middle of the night.

Xiwen searched through the crowd and soon spotted Sandrine.

It must be said that Sandrine was far too easy to spot in the crowd. She stood elegantly against a wall in a crimson trench coat, her gaze fixed straight ahead. Her aristocratic demeanor was unmistakable, and even though her attire was Muggle World clothing, she still seemed somewhat out of place with her surroundings.

Passersby could hardly resist noticing her, which made her frown impatiently.

Xiwen strode forward, smiling and waving.

Sandrine then relaxed her eyebrows and came over to hug Xiwen.

"Why are you dressed so lightly? Aren't you cold?" Sandrine asked, immediately showing concern for him upon their first meeting.

"I'm not cold." Xiwen looked at his thick sweater and cotton coat, not feeling that his clothes were thin at all.

"Wearing such thin clothes, you'll easily catch a cold." Sandrine, however, completely disbelieved his claim that he wasn't cold, and continued, "Let's hurry home. You're still young; don't let yourself get chilled!"

Reluctantly, Xiwen was pulled away from the station by Sandrine and led to a secluded alley.

In the deserted alley, the House-Elf Millie appeared and said respectfully in a high-pitched voice, "Respected Xiwen, it's a pleasure to see you again!"

Because of her young age and the House-Elf of Xiwen and Sandrine, Millie's skin wasn't as rough and wrinkled as most House-Elf; instead, it was quite smooth. Combined with her clever appearance, she had a rather adorable look.

"Hello, Millie!" Xiwen smiled and nodded, making Millie incredibly excited.

"Alright, Millie, let's hurry and take us home," Sandrine said quickly, worried that Xiwen might catch a cold.

"Millie obeys your command, madam!" Millie replied immediately.

Then she grabbed one of Xiwen's and Sandrine's hands with each of hers, and with a "bang," the three of them disappeared from the spot.

Like other Pure-blood, the Rosier family manor was protected by Anti-Apparition Charm for security. Therefore, Sandrine couldn't Apparition back home with Xiwen herself and had to ask the House-Elf Millie to do it for her.

As soon as he got home, Xiwen relaxed and collapsed onto the soft wool carpet, feeling lazy and comfortable all over, so much so that he didn't want to get up.

Indeed, no matter how good the living conditions are outside, coming home always feels like all the burdens are lifted, leaving you feeling incredibly relaxed!

Have a good night's sleep.

The next day, Xiwen spent several more hours finishing the unfinished alchemical products and then stuffed them into different gift boxes.

Since he hadn't studied alchemy for very long, the gifts he made were mostly simple alchemical products. He would add some Ancient Runes to the items he bought to create simple magic circuits, thus giving them some of the characteristics of alchemical products.

He originally wanted to make an Undetectable Extension Charm space container for each of his roommates, but after thinking about it, he realized that using the Undetectable Extension Charm authorization was illegal, and he also realized that his abilities were limited and he wouldn't be able to control such a container, so he gave up the idea.

After careful consideration, he prepared an exquisite silver wristband for each of his three roommates, engraved with the same Runic Circuits. When activated with magic, it would emit a green light, which was quite beautiful.

Imagine several young wizards from the same dormitory activating their wristbands and emitting green light simultaneously when they go out at night. Only when they're all in the same dormitory can they be considered true roommates!... Of course, Xiwen wouldn't admit that he was simply too lazy to come up with more gift ideas.

Elshiona's gift was a custom-made landscape sphere. The transparent glass sphere was filled with a crystal-clear liquid, in which a miniature Hogwarts Castle stood.

Xiwen personally inscribed a Runic Circuits on this gift. When the magic is activated, countless points of light will fall from the top of the glass ball until they disappear above the castle.

In addition, Xiwen gave Miranda a pair of exquisite and beautiful metal glasses with a playful expression, thinking that Miranda could completely get rid of the black-rimmed glasses that made her look dull.

As for the gift for Dumbledore, Xiwen hesitated for a long time between books and sweets before coming up with a creative idea—a sweets blind box! You put different flavored candies inside, shake it, and open the box to randomly get a candy. Xiwen thought this would be perfect for Dumbledore!

As for Professor Slughorn's gift, Xiwen didn't bother to think much about it. He simply asked Sandrine to help him get a certificate for a 50% discount on a family-owned store, and then had Owl mail it out.

To deliver the numerous Christmas presents, Jabi and the other owls in the house were extremely busy, making another trip as soon as they got home. This made them cluck in dissatisfaction.

Xiwen chatted comfortably with Sandrine, a calm smile on his face.

Christmas is just around the corner!