Harry, the One Being Planned For
The wizarding world, or rather Britain, has customs similar to those in China.
In Ryan's previous life, when he was still Zhou Yi, he vaguely remembered that his parents would hide coins in dumplings when he was a child, and finding a coin in a dumpling meant good luck.
After Ryan had been gossiping about Professor McGonagall, the banquet had now reached dessert time, and the most eye-catching item was undoubtedly the bright red Christmas pudding.
Percy was lucky enough to get a crescent-shaped silver piece inside the pudding. But he didn't appreciate it, grumbling about how it almost broke his teeth. This evoked homesickness in Ryan, who kept eating the pudding without getting anything else.
The most cost-effective and attractive item at this Christmas party is undoubtedly the colorful firecrackers.
It's not calculated per person; you can open as many as you want, as long as you can carry them.
It was filled with small items worth no more than two Galleons, unlike after Ryan stopped after opening the hamster. Inspired by Ron's frenzied firecracker activity, Harry also put aside his longing for the little white mouse Ron had opened and started opening firecrackers with Ron.
Harry even set up a Wizard's Chess set, but Harry wasn't very happy about it. Now he had no reason to refuse to play chess with Ron.
However, one thing in these firecrackers surprised Ryan: a Doraemon comic book.
"Damn it, I'll go back and raise the price to 3 Galleon," Ryan thought to himself, speechless.
Gryffindor are indeed all bad guys. Harry and Ron were about to go back to the common room to read, but the Weasley Twins and Percy stopped them and had a snowball fight on the playground, playing wildly all afternoon.
Their precious study time was wasted, and even with their clothes soaking wet, they didn't go back to the lounge. Instead, they sat on the floor by the fireplace in the Great Hall, as if they wanted to stay there forever.
Harry was dragged into playing Wizard's Chess by Ron, while Percy offered a barrage of suggestions, but Ron still won.
Just as Ron was about to continue, Harry finally showed his Ravenclaw intelligence by changing the subject and asking Percy about Potion-Making (Ron's least favorite subject), and Percy began to explain with a serious expression.
Time quickly came to dinner, but it was a bit simple compared to lunch, with only some drinks and refreshments consisting of turkey sandwiches, flatbread, rum-soaked jam pudding, and Christmas cake.
After dinner, the Weasley Twins seemed determined to keep their promise that the family would stay together for Christmas. They snatched Percy's Prefect Badge and ran around the Great Hall, Percy could never seem to catch them.
This also stopped Ron and Harry, who were full and wanted to return to the Ravenclaw Tower lounge, from their tracks.
At 10 p. m., Ron and Harry declined the Weasley Twins' invitation—they went to rest in the Gryffindor Tower.
Harry almost accepted, after all, this was the happiest Christmas of Harry life, as if he had real family and brothers, but for some reason he still refused.
Only Ryan knew why.
Sure enough, after Ryan pretended to be asleep and Ron fell asleep the moment he pulled down the bed curtains, there was a commotion coming from Harry Potter's bed.
Unlike the original timeline, this time he didn't put the Invisibility Cloak under the bed; he put it on directly on the bed. The cloak was smoother than silk and lighter than light.
So, from Ryan's perspective, Harry's canopy billowed up out of thin air and then opened, with only the concave pressure points on the bed proving that someone was there.
The invisible figure paused briefly for a few seconds, as if checking something, then the curtains over Harry's bed returned to normal, the shoes beside the bed suddenly disappeared, and with footsteps barely perceptible to ordinary people, the dormitory door opened and closed.
Ryan sat up from the bed, and the man faded into the air like a ghost. Jerry sat obediently on his shoulder, as if glued to him.
Meanwhile, in the Headmaster's Office, Dumbledore, who was still working, smiled slightly, as if he had suddenly discovered something.
The castle came to life, and his magic, filled with a bewitching love, spread like vines throughout the entire castle. Filch suddenly turned his head subconsciously and walked towards the 6th floor. Ryan frowned, then smiled slightly.
One thing kept nagging at Harry's mind all day.
His father's Invisibility Cloak, Deathly Hallows, was given to him by Dumbledore, along with the message "Use it well."
Yes, use it properly, just for yourself.
He wanted to use his father's Invisibility Cloak alone—this time, for the first time—and didn't want to disturb even Ryan, who knew everything, or his best friend Ron.
He quietly slid off the bed, and after a brief check, he looked down at his legs, only to see moonlight and shadows. It was a very strange feeling.
The entire Hogwarts was completely open to him; wearing this Invisibility Cloak, he could go anywhere!
Filch will never know anywhere.
He tiptoed out of the dormitory, went down the stairs, passed through the common lounge, and opened the door to the lounge.
He walked quickly down the corridor.
Where did he go?
He stopped, his heart pounding. Suddenly, he heard footsteps coming from the next hallway. He held his breath and leaned against the wall.
It was Filch! He seemed to have discovered something; his furious, light-colored eyes scanned everywhere, even through Harry's body.
Then, his gaze lingered on the footprints in the corridor for half a second. "Damn brat, I've been patrolling this sixth floor out of boredom several times. There's definitely someone here!"
So Harry had no choice but to run to the common room, but for some reason, Filch, who had just left, reappeared.
"Professor, you said that if anyone is wandering around at night, you should report to me immediately. There was someone on the 6th floor just now, and Mrs. Norris reminded me that there was someone here just now, but I couldn't see them. I suspect it was a Ravenclaw."
"Gryffindor usually just run away or make a damn commotion!" Filch said solicitously to Snape.
"Ravenclaw? Then all we need to do is block the way to the lounge," Snape said in a drawn-out voice to Filch beside him.
Meanwhile, from an angle Harry couldn't see, Snape seemed to recall some unpleasant memory, his lips unconsciously pouting slightly, which, combined with his princess-cut hairstyle, made Ryan find it particularly funny.
Ryan waved his wand and created a photograph on the spot, showing what Snape looked like at that moment.
"Yes, I'll give it to Snape tomorrow as a belated Christmas present," Ryan said with a wicked grin.
Harry's face immediately drained of color.
Wherever he was, Filch knew a shortcut, and his sticky, cloying voice was getting closer and closer, and he had no way out.
He could only retreat step by step, trying his best not to make a sound.
There was a door on the left that was ajar for some reason. He took a deep breath, squeezed in sideways, and carefully tried not to bump the door. Thank goodness, he was finally inside. They didn't notice anything and walked straight past. Harry leaned against the wall, taking a deep breath.
Dumbledore and Ryan both showed smiles they hadn't seen in a long time.