Chapter 57 Christmas gift

Chapter 57.

In the Slytherin House Prefect's exclusive lounge.

Sitting in a tall armchair that looked very classical, carved with two giant snakes intertwined, was a tall female prefect with straight light brown hair.

Her face was as delicately sculpted as a statue, yet the coldness about her made the air in the hidden room seem to frost over. If Daphne were here, she would recognize this student—the new fifth-year prefect, the legitimate daughter of the Selwyn family, Irina Selwyn.

In the hidden room, there were also two boys, whose faces looked quite grim under the immense pressure of Irina's formidable aura. One was Gellert Lestrange, who had previously been defeated by a student named Soren, and the other was Miles Bletchley, the goalkeeper of the Quidditch team; both were also fifth-year students.

Irina spoke, "That Malfoy kid seems to be gaining more influence—today's performance on the field, you all saw it; his supporters are no longer just from Slytherin, but even a considerable number from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw have rallied behind him. What do you think about this?"

Gellert spoke with difficulty, "Although the Malfoy family has been somewhat weakened in recent years, they remain one of the most powerful families. And young Malfoy's strength is quite unfathomable. The last time we initiated a duel, trying to suppress the Malfoy family's arrogance, it backfired, only allowing him to consolidate his influence within Slytherin. We can't defeat him, and using power to pressure him probably wouldn't work either. If we resort to extreme measures, with Snape's and old Malfoy's connections, he certainly won't stand by and do nothing. I really can't think of any other way..."

Miles Bletchley nodded in agreement, saying, "I have to admit, that kid is pretty impressive. His series of close-planned moves have made his reputation grow faster than a fire dragon. Just look at what he has done over the past three terms—defeating a troll, killing a Basilisk, competing for Merlin's exam, and that savior of ours even came to his door to give him two opportunities to reinforce his status. Recently he hosted a magic exchange meeting, wrote a bestselling book, and even fought off over a hundred Dementors in front of everyone at the Quidditch field—"

Sighing at this point, he added, "This kid has built up a tremendous force, now at the height of his power. I suggest we temporarily avoid confrontation and wait for a better opportunity."

A trace of barely discernible disdain flickered in Irina's eyes, "Is this the extent of your ambition and resolve? I can't help but doubt whether the family made a mistake in taking you in as dependents..."

Gellert frowned, "Irina, what do you mean by that?" Although the Lestrange family's situation isn't great right now, they hadn't yet fallen to the point of being humiliated; his two uncles were still alive, and who knows if one day they might successfully escape Azkaban like the Black.

Irina replied calmly, "I mean nothing else, just that you seem to have lost your courage to face Malfoy. Moreover, your information seems outdated; you may not even know—that the Higgs family has got close to the Malfoy family through Terence Higgs, along with his close friend, Deleon Puse (a Chaser on the Slytherin Quidditch team). These two hold considerable sway among the fourth-year students in Slytherin."

She paused to give the two some time to digest this information before continuing, "In our fifth year, Cassius Warrington and Graham Montague have also subtly indicated a desire to align with the Malfoy family. Cassius, a mixed-blood with little background, was chosen to participate in Merlin's trial and then took the prefect position that should have been yours—Gellert; this alone indicates many issues..."

"If we also consider that Quidditch captain Marcus Flint has accepted a broomstick from the Malfoy family, his stance is at best neutral towards us. Thus, it appears that among the seven team members, at least five are leaning towards Malfoy, leaving us with only Miles, who is isolated..."

"If we choose to bury our heads in the sand as you suggested and take no action, I can confidently say that soon, not just Quidditch, but the prefect position and other resources will gradually be corroded away by them; by then, it will be too late!"

Miles frowned, "Even if what you say makes sense, what specifically should we do? Right now, in terms of momentum, strength, and background, the opponent seems to have the upper hand..."

Irina's lips, as red as a rose, curled slightly, "While there are still 4 of our side among the 6 class leaders, we still have quite a chance. Moreover, I think... it's time to drag the Ghost Society into this muddy water..."

The secret conversation in the class leader's lounge was unknown to Soren, who only knew that there were only two weeks left until the end of the first semester.

The castle was already filled with the atmosphere of Christmas, as almost all the students joyfully discussed their holiday plans. Due to Sirius Black, most students were preparing to go home for Christmas.

Draco, Daphne, Astoria, and Meredith all decided to go home for the holidays, but Soren chose to stay at the school. Initially, Narcissa was somewhat dissatisfied, but Soren deflected by saying that the professors wanted to give him private lessons, which calmed his mother. It's tough when you're just too talented.

He had contacted Nicholas and successfully exchanged three vials of eight-eyed spider venom for a piece of illusory scent Grass. He also had Dobby help him sell some Jumping Mushroom on the black market, earning 60 Galleons.

With Basilisk venom, illusory scent Grass, and the rest of the materials collected by Dobby from various apothecaries, the ingredients for brewing the Enhancement Potion were complete. Soren planned to use the two-week holiday to brew the Enhancement Potion at the school.

This year, Ron and Hermione decided to stay at Hogwarts. Ron said he couldn't bear to spend two weeks with Percy, while Hermione insisted she wanted to go to the library. But Harry understood that they did this to keep him company, and he was very grateful.

In the last week of the semester, everyone had the chance to go to Hogsmeade again. Everyone was happy except for Harry.

On the morning they went to Hogsmeade, Fred and George gave Harry an early Christmas gift—the Marauder's Map. This was the happiest day for Harry since the Quidditch match. He successfully slipped into Hogsmeade using the Marauder's Map, found Ron and Hermione, and eavesdropped on the story of how Black betrayed his parents near the Three Broomsticks.

That night, Harry had a terrible night's sleep, his mind consumed by thoughts of revenge against Black. This made Ron and Hermione very worried. Harry had a natural inclination for self-destructive behavior, and as his close friends, Ron and Hermione knew all too well that given the chance, Harry would definitely do something foolish to seek revenge on Black.

Soren overheard that Hagrid was not doing well either—he received a letter from the Board of Governors regarding the incident with Buckbeak attacking Draco.

Although he wouldn't face punishment for this, Hagrid and Buckbeak had to attend a hearing from the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures. From what Hagrid understood, Buckbeak was likely facing dire consequences, as no one other than Hagrid cared about the fate of a Hippogriff.

Hagrid had been growing increasingly despondent over this issue, occasionally drowning his sorrows in alcohol, showing a drunk appearance to others.

On Christmas morning, Soren found himself more popular than last year—he received nearly 100 gifts, more than half from girls he didn't even know, ranging from first-year to seventh-year girls, coming from Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw, most of which were snacks and chocolates.

Dobby once again gifted him a pair of socks, Kreacher gave him a wooden carving, Draco sent him a toy from Zonkos, and Narcissa sent a pair of very practical dueling gloves.

The gloves were engraved with a disarmament charm. When a hand wearing the gloves held a wand, there would be an invisible and tight magical connection between the wand and the gloves, ensuring that unless the owner lost consciousness or died, the wand would never leave the gloves. Perhaps a powerful master wizard like Dumbledore could break the gloves' enchantment, but how many such great wizards exist in this world?

[Dueling Gloves Acquired!]

Daphne, Meredith, and as in previous years, sent a valuable book from their family collection. Astoria imitated her sister and also chose to give a book. Soren treasured them as they were carefully stored in his personal library, which already had more than four hundred volumes.

Moray gifted a scarf that he had knitted by hand; although the style and craftsmanship were quite ordinary, Soren felt the heartfelt intention in the scarf and cherished it. Even Luna gave him a pair of oddly styled glasses, which purportedly allowed the wearer to see pesky insects and blights.

What surprised Soren even more was receiving a Christmas gift from Hermione. In addition to thanking him for his guidance at the Patronus Charm discussion, Hermione thoughtfully included her own notes on exam key points, which would make Soren's preparation for this year's exams much easier.

It's worth mentioning that a week before Christmas, Eberly and the Badmor Flying Broom Company in Germany hadn't forgotten to send Soren, a major shareholder, a Firebolt.

Although the Firebolt was quite valuable, Soren neither had the time nor the interest to participate in Quidditch, so he passed the Firebolt off as a Christmas gift to Draco and advised him in the accompanying Christmas card to keep it a secret, promising that it would be deployed as a secret weapon to defeat Gryffindor.

No matter how precious the Firebolt was, Soren didn't give it much thought since it was given to his brother. What he didn't expect was that Draco wouldn't wait until school started to see Soren; on Christmas morning, his head appeared in the fireplace of the Slytherin common room.

Draco expressed his gratitude to Soren, stating that it was the best Christmas gift he had ever received, and he promised Soren that he would give his all in the upcoming Quidditch match to bring glory to Slytherin and honor to the Malfoy family.

Meanwhile, quite a few things were happening with Harry and his friends.

Harry received a Firebolt as a Christmas gift from an anonymous sender, which excited both him and Ron, while Hermione insisted it should first be examined by the professors. Just as Hermione and Harry were in a heated debate, Hermione's cat Crookshanks attacked Ron, specifically targeting the rat in Ron's pocket, resulting in an unpleasant confrontation between Hermione and Ron.

At noon, Soren initially planned to casually eat some candies and snacks from his Christmas gifts as a makeshift lunch in his room or the common room. However, glancing at the quiet Slytherin common room and listening to the fairy lights on the Christmas tree singing carols, a strange sense of loneliness arose in him. After thinking it over, he decided to head to the Great Hall to participate in the Christmas lunch.

Upon arriving in the Hall, Soren discovered that the house tables had all been moved to the sides, and a table for twelve was placed in the center of the Hall. Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, Sprout, and Professor Flitwick were seated there, along with Filch, who was dressed in a tattered tailcoat.

There were only six students: Harry, Ron, Hermione, two very nervous first-year students, and a sullen fifth-year Slytherin student. Soren didn't know him well, but recognized him as one of Gellert Lestrange's followers, who seemed to have lost all presence after Gellert's downfall.

"Happy Christmas!" Dumbledore said with a smile, "It's a bit silly having such a small gathering at the house table... Please, sit down!"

Soren looked around and noticed that there were no extra seats at the table, so he walked over to Snape's side and conjured a chair from the air with his wand. It spun for a few seconds and landed with a thump between Snape and McGonagall.

Dumbledore and Snape barely changed their expressions, but McGonagall's eyes sparkled with evident admiration.

"Is that... a Transfiguration spell?" Hermione couldn't help but ask.

Transfiguration was a NEWT-level course, at least three years above Soren's current year. After all, third years were still learning how to turn teapots into tortoises!

"Yes," Soren replied casually, "but I've only just brushed the surface of Transfiguration and can't use it proficiently yet."

"Um..." Hermione didn't know what to say next. From the way Soren performed the spell, he certainly didn't seem "unskilled." But in truth, Soren wasn't being modest on purpose; his Transfiguration skills were sufficient to conjure a chair, but if he were asked to flick his wand like Dumbledore and produce a hundred sleeping bags, he would definitely struggle.

"Firecracker!" Dumbledore said happily, handing a silver firecracker's tail to Snape, who reluctantly pulled it. With a loud bang like a cannon, the firecracker exploded, revealing a large pointed witch's hat adorned with a stuffed vulture.

Snape's lips pressed even thinner as he pushed the hat toward Dumbledore. Dumbledore immediately replaced his own wizard's hat with the new one.

"Dig in and enjoy!" he encouraged, smiling as he looked around the table.

Just as everyone was about to start, Professor of divination opened the door. She was wearing a green dress covered in metallic sequins, looking like a sparkling giant dragonfly.

"Sybil, how delightful!" Dumbledore exclaimed, standing up.

"I was just gazing into my crystal ball, Headmaster," Professor Trelawney said in her most ethereal voice. "To my surprise, I saw myself leaving behind a lonely meal to join your gathering. How could I refuse destiny's prompt? I hurried down from my tower and beg you to forgive my lateness..."

"Of course, of course," Dumbledore said, his eyes glimmering. "I'll get you a chair—"

With a flick of his wand, he conjured a chair from thin air. Unlike the simple one created by Soren, this chair was not only beautifully carved but also adorned with various colorful Christmas decorations hanging from the backrest.

However, faced with such hospitality, Professor Trelawney did not sit down. Her large eyes darted around the table, and suddenly she let out a low shriek.

"How dare you? Don't you all know that thirteen is an unlucky number? Whenever thirteen people dine together, the first to rise will surely be the first to die!"

Soren stood up and graciously pulled out the chair for Trelawney, saying, "Then it's fortunate Professor you joined us, as that makes fourteen, which should break the curse of thirteen, right?"

Professor Trelawney fixed Soren with a stare for a moment before silently sitting in the empty chair. She looked around and said, "But where is dear Professor Lupin?"

"I fear that poor man is ill again," Dumbledore replied. "What unfortunate timing right before Christmas."

"But you must know, Sybil?" Professor McGonagall raised an eyebrow and asked.

Sybil shot a cold glance at Professor McGonagall.

"I certainly know, Minerva," she replied indifferently, "but we don't boast about our all-knowingness. I often pretend as if I lack the Sight to spare others from feeling tense."

The clash between Professor McGonagall, who believed in logic and rules, and the ethereal Professor Trelawney was no secret at Hogwarts; small groups of informed little witches and wizards had long spread the word.

After a few exchanges, Professor Trelawney coldly stated the fact that Lupin wouldn't stay long at Hogwarts, and just as the atmosphere grew awkward, Dumbledore interjected.

"I have my doubts," Dumbledore said, his tone still light and cheerful but slightly louder, which ended the conversation between Professor McGonagall and Professor Trelawney. "I don't believe Professor Lupin is in any imminent danger. Severus, have you brewed him any potions?"

Snape opened his mouth as if intending to say something, but then changed his mind, answering sullenly, "I have, Headmaster." Soren noticed this small detail, which differed from the original story, but thought little of it at the moment.

The two-hour Christmas dinner quickly came to an end. Soren elegantly wiped his mouth, stood up, and politely bid farewell to each professor before returning to the Slytherin common room.

That evening, Hermione called Professor McGonagall to temporarily confiscate Harry's Firebolt under the pretense of an inspection, leading to a cold war between Hermione, Harry, and Ron.

Hermione no longer returned to the Gryffindor common room, hiding in the library all day. Whenever Soren occasionally visited the library to look for information on brewing enhancement potions, he would see Hermione disheveled and unkempt, anxiously searching through books in a corner.

On the day before the new term, in the laboratory of his suitcase space, Soren held a bottle of pale green potion, beaming with satisfaction. After his relentless efforts, a potion enhancing magic was successfully brewed!

Soren directly opened the wax seal and poured the enhancement potion into his mouth. At first, there was no sensation, but once the potion hit his throat, it felt like he had swallowed some horrendous poison, with a flame seemingly blazing fiercely in his throat.

Soren grasped his neck, coughing violently.

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