70. Good day.

After putting away all of our gifts and throwing away the mountain of wrapping paper, we headed out of the common room for breakfast.

Like the previous year, not many people had stayed behind, and there was only one large table in the Great Hall.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were already sitting at the table. Sirius had joined them, and Harry was holding a brand-new Firebolt broom with wrapping paper scattered in front of him. Sirius was passing him more presents from a small pile he had. It seemed the man was trying to make up for ten-plus years of missed birthdays and Christmas holidays.

"Ryan!" I was hit mid-chest by a bushy-haired missile. Hermione had chosen to stay at Hogwarts this year for Christmas to experience it properly. "Thank you for the trunks and the books! But they must have been so expensive! I saw a copy of a first edition of Hogwarts: A History, and—"

She continued to jabber on excitedly before planting a kiss on my cheek, her face turning red before she ran off to scold Yue about pictures.

"Oh? Are we giving kisses as presents?" Before I could respond, another pair of lips landed on mine. Luna gave me her gift. It was quick, and she looked quite pleased with herself, even licking her lips. "Much better than kissing Ginny when we played house and I had to pretend to be Harry Potter."

"Luna!" A red-faced and red-eared Ginny Weasley stormed over before dragging Luna away.

Luna, of course, didn't forget to send a slight smirk toward Hermione that simply said, I win.

"You!" Hermione fumed and stomped her foot. She stormed right back over to me, grabbed my shirt, and planted a fierce kiss right on my lips.

It took a second, but eventually, she pulled back, looking quite smugly at Luna, who just grinned and had that same I still won look on her face. Hermione didn't understand why until it clicked in her mind what she had just done.

Yue let out a wolf whistle. "How bold, right here in the Great Hall in front of the teachers."

Hermione's head snapped around to Sirius, who was looking at her with a slight grin.

"Miss Granger, if you could please refrain from snogging your little boyfriend in the Great Hall. Same for you, Miss Lovegood," Sirius said in a joking tone.

"No promises," Luna said, digging into her pudding.

As for Hermione, she simply turned red and hid her face in my chest like a little ostrich due to embarrassment.

I just shook my head. "Alright, let's have some breakfast." I snatched up a couple of the Christmas Crackers off the table. These were my second favorite part of Christmas aside from the mind-blowing sex.

"Mm." Hermione nodded and quickly found a seat.

---

Later that evening, as the festivities died down, I leaned back in my chair, tossing a look at Hermione, who was nervously chewing her lip. Yue, Rachel, and even Luna looked far too relaxed, but Hermione's nervousness was amusing.

"Are we really doing this?" she whispered, glancing at the others.

I grinned, gesturing toward the Vanishing Cabinet tucked away in a corner. "Relax, Hermione. We're not breaking any rules. Just a quick trip."

She crossed her arms. "This still feels like sneaking out."

"Technically, we're just using convenient transportation. I also have permission from Sirius—he's a professor and all," I said with a smirk, not really having permission. "Now come on. We don't want to miss Pluto Nash in 3D."

Rachel raised a brow. "That's the reason?"

"It's going to be terrible," Yue said with a smile.

Hermione still looked hesitant but eventually sighed. "Fine. But if we get in trouble, I am blaming you."

I laughed. "Deal. Now let's go before someone notices us missing."

With that, the entire group snuck out of Hogwarts. Serenity was already there waiting for us, and we headed off toward the theatre.

Of course, I had snacks stored in my Gate of Babylon—because theatre snacks are just too expensive.

We made our way to the ticket counter, where a bored-looking guy named Tyler was standing. His name tag was pinned slightly crookedly to his uniform.

"What do you need?"

"One, two, three… six tickets to see Pluto Nash in 3D!" I pulled out the money as Tyler glanced at the nearby poster, squinting at it.

"You want to see that… in 3D?" He shrugged. "Must be new. Enjoy the show."

We grabbed our tickets and headed inside.

---

The movie was something, to say the least. We spent most of it either laughing at how bad it was or throwing popcorn at each other. Afterward, we stopped by the only place open for lunch—Chinese food. It was surprisingly good, or maybe we were just hungry. Either way, we enjoyed it.

Once we finished eating, we made our way to Diagon Alley to check out the Christmas sales.

The alley was beautifully decorated with enchanted lights, wreaths, and towering Christmas trees. Shops had displays of holiday deals, and the scent of warm cider and roasted nuts filled the air. We had plenty of time before heading back to Hogwarts—unless Hermione and Rachel got lost in Flourish and Blotts, where they were already buried under a mountain of books.

"If we don't drag them out now, we'll be here all night," I muttered to Yue.

The funny part was, as we were leaving, we spotted Harry, Sirius, and… well, another professor in the alley. They froze mid-step. Seems like we weren't the only ones who had snuck out. Harry was wearing brand-new clothes, and his glasses were gone, so they must have been out shopping.

I waved my wand, and fake mustaches appeared on all of our faces. "Good day to you, sirs." With that, we pretended not to notice them and continued on our way.

Sirius chuckled, waving his own wand to give himself and Harry mustaches as well. Remus just sighed, shaking his head but smiling nonetheless.

Mission accomplished.