Christmas market? Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them?

What on earth could I give that idiot Potter to make him happy!!!

In the Slytherin Common Room, Draco sat beside the fireplace, several more items already crossed out on the parchment before her.

Magic books, flying equipment, sweets, magical accessories...

The girl propped up her chin and looked over the items again.

That idiot might not have any use for ordinary magic books.

He's been improving so quickly lately, and the two volumes of notes Dad just sent are enough to keep him studying for a while.

Flying equipment would be nice.

Of course the Malfoy family could find something good, but I don't want Potter thinking all I can do is pick expensive presents.

As for sweets...

Draco wrinkled her nose and decisively crossed them out.

He's not Weasley! A bag of sweets could keep that fellow happy for hours. Does he have no aspirations at all?!

But once she had crossed that out, few options remained on the paper.

The girl stared at the crooked ink marks, finding them more displeasing by the moment.

Usually, that idiot's happy when he gets a new book, and happy when he learns a new spell. Even going to the garden to fix things for Pip can make him smile so brightly.

Why does nothing seem right when it's my turn to choose a present?!

"Damn it!" She slapped the quill down on the table. "What does Potter actually like?!"

Beside her, Goyle and Crabbe looked up at the same time.

"Miss, what are you thinking about?"

"I'm considering something extremely important!"

Crabbe glanced at the tabletop.

"A Christmas present for Potter?"

Draco's fingers froze.

"How did you know?!"

Crabbe reached out and pointed to the top of the parchment.

Harry Potter-Christmas present. The words were perfectly clear.

The girl's cheeks instantly grew hot.

"Th-that's because I need to consider presents for my Gryffindor friends!"

"I see." Goyle nodded.

Crabbe nodded along. "Friends."

Draco looked at them, feeling that there was something rather off about their tone.

"I've already decided on Granger's present," she immediately added. "As for Weasley..."

The girl gave a soft snort.

"A potato will do for him!"

"The Weasley family have nothing but mashed potatoes in their heads anyway!"

Her two followers burst out laughing. This was the Miss Malfoy they knew!

After laughing, however, they exchanged another glance.

Granger's present is decided, and Weasley's is sorted too.

So Miss is only fretting over Potter now, isn't she?

"Oh, Miss." Goyle suddenly remembered something. "Apparently there's a little Christmas market in the courtyard tomorrow afternoon."

Draco looked up.

"What market?"

"Wizarding craftspeople are coming from outside to set up stalls," Crabbe added. "Magical accessories, lucky charms, and little things you can't normally buy. There's already a notice up in the Entrance Hall."

The girl's eyes brightened slightly.

Of course.

If I can't find anything in the mail-order catalogues, why not go and look in person?

She immediately put away the parchment and stood up.

"Come on."

"Where are we going, Miss?"

"To read the notice!" Draco lifted her chin. "I need to know what that idiot has that's worth putting thought into-"

She suddenly stopped halfway through. Goyle and Crabbe looked at her.

The girl gave a light cough.

"I mean, what they have there that would make a suitable present!"

"We understand perfectly, Miss!"

Draco: "..."

Have these two been getting more and more ill-mannered lately?

Meanwhile, Harry left the castle with the presents he had prepared.

Today's destination was clear: Hagrid's Hut.

Ever since he had received his Hogwarts acceptance letter, the big man had helped him a great deal. Naturally, he could not leave Hagrid out at Christmas.

The presents, meanwhile, had been easy to choose.

An extra-large temperature-maintaining teapot, a packet of tea, and several boxes of treats to go with it.

When choosing the teapot, Harry had specifically checked its capacity.

An ordinary model probably would not even be as big as Hagrid's cup in his hands. If Harry actually bought him one, would he be drinking tea or practising endlessly topping it up?

There were presents for Fang too: a bag of dog treats and a sturdy magical toy ball.

Before Harry reached the door, barking came from inside.

The next moment, a huge black shape charged out, its tail wagging furiously.

"Easy, Fang!"

Harry reached out and held its head, but the impact still knocked him half a step back.

Good.

Looks like all the exercise I've been doing lately is still very necessary.

Hagrid came out right behind it.

"Harry! It's freezing out here. Come in!"

His gaze fell on the cloth bag, and he paused.

"What have you brought?"

"Christmas presents." Harry smiled and handed over the bag. "For you and Fang."

Hagrid opened his mouth, suddenly seeming unsure where to put his hands.

"Oh, you really didn't have to..."

Fang had already stuck its nose over. Clearly, it had no intention of standing on such ceremony.

A few minutes later, Hagrid stood beside the table, holding the unwrapped teapot and turning it over to examine it several times.

"Merlin, this is just the right size!" He tried gripping the handle, then opened the lid, his smile growing ever more pronounced. "Harry, how did you know I needed this?"

Harry looked at the enormous teacup beside him.

"Guessed."

Hagrid followed his gaze and burst out laughing.

Fang received its presents too.

The toy ball landed and bounced lightly twice. The big black dog immediately chased it, brought it back in its mouth, and solemnly set it beside Harry's feet.

Harry bent down, picked it up, and rolled it toward the door again.

Fang chased it happily, nearly knocking a wooden bucket askew.

"Easy, Fang!" Hagrid called with a laugh. "It's not going to run off into the Forbidden Forest!"

The hut grew lively.

Harry took off his coat and sat at the table. Watching Hagrid begin making tea with his new teapot, he felt his spirits lift considerably too.

At least this present had gone over quite smoothly.

Once Hagrid started talking about fantastic beasts, it was hard for him to stop.

Footprints recently discovered at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, little creatures that needed extra care once the weather turned cold, and the Niffler that still could not break its habit of stealing things.

By the end, Harry could not help laughing.

"It escaped again?"

"No, the case was properly fastened this time," Hagrid hurriedly explained. "It just tried to take the copper coins out of my pocket when I checked on it."

It certainly is a little creature devoted to its hobby.

Harry took a sip of tea and was about to ask a few more questions when Hagrid suddenly mentioned someone else.

"Speaking of which, Professor Quirrell asked me about these things a little while ago too."

The teacup paused briefly in Harry's hand.

Quirrell? He looked up, his tone still natural.

"He's interested in fantastic beasts too?"

"Seems so. Asked quite a few things." Hagrid scratched his beard. "Even asked about three-headed dogs, whether great big creatures like that were especially hard to handle."

A three-headed dog.

Harry slowly set down his cup.

This topic was not quite so suitable for continuing over treats.

The Philosopher's Stone, the three-headed dog guarding the door, and that fellow behind Quirrell's turban.

In the original story, it was precisely Hagrid's love of fantastic beasts that had given someone the opening to coax information out of him that he should never have revealed.

Had they already started asking questions?

"Hagrid." Harry considered his words. "If he asks about three-headed dogs again, you'd better be on your guard."

Hagrid looked a little surprised. "Quirrell? But he's a professor here."

"I know." Harry looked at him earnestly. "But even professors don't necessarily need to know everything in the school."

Hagrid did not speak immediately.

Harry moved his teacup a little to one side.

"Especially things that need to be kept secret. If Headmaster Dumbledore gave you instructions in private, then if anyone else asks, it's best to check with the Headmaster first."

"Even if he's only curious, you can have him go straight to Dumbledore, right?"

Hagrid held his cup by the handle. After a while, he suddenly sighed.

"Why are you saying that too?"

Harry paused in surprise. "Too?"

"Dumbledore already warned me." Hagrid scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed. "Not to talk to other people about the three-headed dog, and definitely not to mention those... well, anyway, I mustn't say."

He stopped himself in time, then added, "Professor Flitwick came to see me too. Told me to be more careful lately. If people ask about things, think first, then speak."

Watching him, Harry finally felt a little more at ease. It seemed the professors really were handling things.

Hagrid looked down at his teacup, his voice turning serious too.

"I know sometimes when I start talking about these things, I tend to forget everything else."

"But I've remembered this time."

He looked up.

"If Quirrell asks again, I'll tell him to go to Dumbledore."

"Good." Harry nodded. "That way, you won't be put in a difficult position either."

Hagrid's shoulders relaxed, and he picked up the teapot again.

"More tea?"

"Thank you."

Hot tea poured into the cup, but those few words had not put Harry entirely at ease.

Hagrid being more vigilant was a good thing, of course.

But he could hardly assume that just because the professors had started paying attention, he could sit back and wait to clear this hurdle.

"Speaking of which," Hagrid suddenly looked toward the wall, "if you like hearing about these things, I've got a few books here too."

Harry followed his gaze.

Several old books of varying thickness were crammed onto the bookshelf beside an empty flowerpot.

His attention soon settled on one of them.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

Hmm?

Now that's quite an appealing title!

Harry reached out, took it down, and opened the cover. On the yellowed title page, beneath the title, was another line in slightly smaller print.

By Newt Scamander.

Well, would you look at that. It really is him?

The Newt Scamander who carried a case around the world, searching for and caring for fantastic beasts?

"Oh! That's by Newt Scamander!" Seeing the book in his hand, Hagrid immediately perked up. "He's a real expert on fantastic beasts!"

The big man leaned closer and extended a finger, carefully tapping the page.

"I'm telling you, Harry, if I ever had the chance to talk to him about fantastic beasts, there'd be nothing better!"

Harry could not help smiling.

"You must have lots of questions for him."

"Of course!" Hagrid answered without hesitation. "Just the little creatures in the Forbidden Forest alone would keep me talking with him all afternoon."

His eyes lit up as he spoke.

"And he used to be a Hogwarts student too. A Hufflepuff!"

Harry nodded and kept turning the pages.

The book recorded the habits and habitats of various fantastic beasts, along with things to watch out for when approaching them.

Some sections described particular journeys: where he had stopped, what he had encountered, and how long it had taken him to work out the habits of a certain local magical creature.

Others were simply rumors he had heard from local wizards.

This was much more interesting than simply memorizing the names of a few creatures.

Harry turned a few more pages, growing more interested as he read.

Most of the fantastic beasts he had known about before had come from stories he remembered.

Only after entering Hogwarts had he gradually discovered that he actually knew far less than he had imagined.

Pip's Winter Garden was the best example.

Perhaps those rumors recorded in the book had once been like the Winter Garden too, hidden somewhere not easily discovered.

There might even be more that had never so much as left a name behind.

"Hagrid, could I borrow this to read?"

"Of course!" Hagrid agreed readily, even looking rather pleased. "If you like it, feel free to come see me anytime. I've got a few similar books here that are very good too."

"Thanks." Harry smiled and closed the book. "But I'll finish this one first."

The few passages he had just flipped to were already enough to keep him studying for a while.

He was about to put the book away when he straightened a few old books beside it that had been pulled askew.

A small black notebook was wedged among them.

There was no title on the cover, and its corners were a little worn, but it still looked sturdy.

Harry picked it up and flipped through it. Inside were clean, blank pages.

"Hagrid, is this yours too?"

Hagrid leaned over for a look and thought for a moment.

"Got it with some old books a while back. I meant to use it to jot things down, but then I got busy and forgot."

"Do you still need it? I happen to need a notebook for my practice notes."

"Go ahead and take it, then."

Harry thanked him, put both books into his cloth bag, and sat down again to listen to him talk for a while longer.

Fang ran over with a ball in his mouth and set it beside Harry's shoe.

Harry bent down to pick it up, and his fingers were instantly wet.

Harry looked down at the ball, then at the big black dog's expectant face.

Hagrid, meanwhile, had already smiled and picked up their earlier conversation.

"Of course, once you get to know them, most of them are very sweet."

"..."

By the time he left the hut, it had grown dark outside.

Hagrid walked him to the door, then called back Fang, who was about to follow him out.

"Get back in! Harry still has to make it to dinner!"

The big black dog stopped by the door, his tail still wagging merrily.

Harry waved to them and followed the path toward the castle.

In the distance, lights were already glowing in the tower windows. A breeze blew past the edge of the forest with a hint of chill, and he pulled his scarf up a little, but he was in quite a good mood.

Hagrid had really liked the gift and had remembered the professors' reminders, and Harry had also borrowed a book of Newt's travel accounts.

Once I get back, I can start with that piece I didn't finish just now-

Harry's steps suddenly slowed.

Wait.

There's still Draco's. That young Miss's gift is still nowhere in sight.

Harry couldn't help rubbing his forehead.

"Draco Malfoy." He sighed softly. "You really are a troublesome young Miss."

All right, I'll have to keep thinking.

As he walked into the Entrance Hall, several students were gathered around the noticeboard, discussing something.

"Tomorrow afternoon?"

"Right in the courtyard. I hear quite a few craftspeople will be coming."

Harry stopped and looked past them.

A newly posted notice hung in the center of the noticeboard.

Christmas market.

Tomorrow afternoon, in the courtyard.

Below was a list of things for sale. Festive sweets, magical accessories, handmade gifts, and all sorts of curious little trinkets.

Harry read the notice from the beginning, and his somewhat troubled expression finally eased a little.

Maybe I could take a look there.

Who knows, I might really find a gift that satisfies the young Miss.