The Portkey

Hearing Matron's voice, Jerry got up, picked his way through the pile of presents, and went to the door. When he opened it, the sight before him took him slightly by surprise.

Matron stood there holding a large leather suitcase in her right hand and an exquisite, palm-sized gift box in her left.

Jerry took both items and asked, somewhat puzzled, "Matron, are these both for me?"

"Yes, Jerry," Matron replied firmly. "I just found them by the entrance. Both packages have your name on them, so they must be Christmas presents for you!"

"Matron, did you see who delivered them?" Jerry asked.

Matron shook her head at his question, then took two cards from her pocket and handed them to him. "There were only these two cards with your name on them. Nothing else."

After taking everything from Matron, Jerry returned to his room and set the two mysterious gifts aside.

Once he had unwrapped all his other presents, Jerry turned his attention to those two items.

Jerry picked up the suitcase first and gave it a shake. Oddly, it felt as light as an empty case, and he heard nothing rattling or knocking around inside.

"Protego!"

Despite the Trace, Jerry decided to play it safe. He drew his spare ebony wand, cast a Shield Charm on himself, and carefully opened the suitcase.

Nothing happened, but there was more to the suitcase than met the eye: it had been enchanted with an Undetectable Extension Charm.

Looking into the dim space inside, Jerry decided to go in and explore.

"Lumos!"

Holding up his wand, Jerry slowly climbed down the ladder. The moment his feet touched the floor, all the lights in the room inside the suitcase switched on, flooding the entire space with light.

Dazzled by the sudden brightness, Jerry blinked a few times. Once his eyes adjusted, he realized that this was a freaking enormous walk-in wardrobe!

Jerry wandered around and found that the space covered about fifty square meters.

Apart from a full-length mirror hanging on the wall directly opposite him, the rest of the space was divided into numerous little compartments, each filled with all sorts of clothes.

Each compartment bore a different label indicating the season and type of clothing.

From thick winter coats to short-sleeved summer shirts, from hats for his head to shoes and socks for his feet, it had everything—a dazzling array.

What fairy godmother put this together? An enormous walk-in wardrobe inside a space expanded with an Undetectable Extension Charm! Talk about extravagant!

Jerry walked over to a clothes rack, picked out a coat, and carefully tried it on.

Sure enough, it fit perfectly. The cut and size were just right, as though it had been tailor-made for him.

Jerry looked around at the wardrobe full of clothes and marveled again. "All these clothes—I could never wear them all! Never!"

After leaving the luxurious walk-in wardrobe, Jerry found himself with another headache. The Ministry of Magic had strict regulations concerning the Undetectable Extension Charm: it could not be used for private purposes, only in the production of specific items approved by the relevant Ministry departments.

In fact, Hermione's use of the charm to expand the inside of her beaded bag had been illegal too.

Jerry's suitcase might not have been as dangerous as Newt's, but if the Ministry caught him with it, they would probably send him to the Azkaban Talent Center for a couple of years of further education.

Jerry packed up the wardrobe suitcase, locked it, and shoved it under his bed. Then he picked up the other gift beside him, filled with curiosity and anticipation.

The wardrobe suitcase was a wonderful surprise. What could this one be?

Opening the exquisite gift box, Jerry found only a plain, unadorned ring inside.

Jerry picked up the ring and studied it intently.

The ring was a flawless golden yellow, like pure gold. No gemstones adorned its mirror-smooth surface; its design was simple and antique.

Jerry gently turned the ring and discovered a band of inscriptions engraved on the inside. They were not Runes, but another mysterious script he had never seen before. He tried to decipher them, but they seemed to belong to an ancient, long-lost language he could not understand.

Jerry turned his attention back to the ring's exterior and found an engraved symbol resembling that of the Deathly Hallows. It differed from every Deathly Hallows symbol he knew, looking more like a simplified or altered version.

The symbol on this ring included an additional lightning-bolt design, making it look even more mysterious and intricate.

After a long deliberation, Jerry decided that if the sender really wanted him dead, there was no need to go to the trouble of making a ring. An Avada Kedavra would be far more cost-effective.

In the end, Jerry could not resist and decided to try the ring on.

Jerry had just slipped the ring onto his left middle finger and was about to admire the mysterious accessory when something suddenly changed. The ring began shrinking rapidly, tightening around his finger as though some mysterious force were tugging at it.

"Hss!" Jerry sucked in a sharp breath of pain, clutching his middle finger with his right hand as cold sweat streamed down his forehead.

Yet, astonishingly, although the ring had sunk deep into Jerry's finger, not a single drop of blood spilled out. The ring seemed to absorb it all.

As it absorbed the blood, the symbol on the ring's surface gradually grew more vivid. The once ordinary-looking marking began to glow red, as though it had been brought to life.

As time passed, the red glow grew increasingly vivid, as if it had formed some connection with Jerry's life force.

Jerry felt as though his finger and the ring had fallen into a strange harmony, with some mysterious bond forming between them.

As the ring's red glow intensified, the pain in Jerry's left middle finger faded. Just as he breathed a sigh of relief, a tremendous force suddenly surged from the ring.

Powerful and mysterious, the force tried to pull him into an unknown world.

Only then did Jerry realize that this damned ring was also a Portkey.

By the time he realized it, however, it was already too late.

A wave of intense dizziness swept over Jerry, as though the entire world were spinning. His vision blurred, and then, with a whoosh, he was sucked into another space.