Chapter 41: Christmas

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Orli had been looking forward to Christmas for a long time.

For the first nine years of her life, she could only exchange gifts with Boki, the house-elf who raised her. And their gift options were very limited—a piece of old tea towel, a wild rabbit, or even a few pinecones. Even so, Christmas was still the happiest day of the year. But after Boki passed away, even Christmas became a solitary day for her.

So, when the morning of her first Christmas at Hogwarts arrived, Orli could hardly wait. She jumped out of bed barefoot and immediately spotted the pile of gift-wrapped packages at the foot of her bed.

The now-empty dormitory belonged solely to her. She wished herself a merry Christmas, then sat down excitedly to open her presents.

The first package, wrapped in thick brown paper, had "Hagrid to Orli" scrawled on it in thick charcoal. She tore it open to find some freshly baked rock cakes, with extra hazelnuts added. She guessed Hermione and Ron probably received the same. Orli chuckled and set them aside—she definitely didn't want to spend Christmas visiting Madam Pomfrey for a toothache.

Fortunately, she hadn't forgotten Hagrid when preparing her gifts. She had given him the largest pair of gardening shears she could find, hoping he'd find them useful in the pumpkin patch.

The second gift was a delicate red box containing a meticulously written collection of Charms class notes, signed by Hermione.

Was this a meeting of minds? Orli placed the notebook carefully on her bookshelf.

For Hermione, Orli had prepared a compilation of Waters family potion tips, hoping she would enjoy it.

The third gift was from Harry, and inside was a box of Chocolate Frogs. His card was amusing: "To Orli the Chocolate Frog Detective, perhaps you've heard of Sherlock Holmes? He's a Muggle detective, much like you—sharp at spotting clues."

She had given Harry a quill with alternating red and gold feathers.

The fourth package was wrapped in colorful paper. The moment Orli opened the lid, a goblin head popped out, startling her into a scream. She nearly threw the box out the window, but upon closer inspection, she realized the goblin head was made of icing. Still, she had no intention of licking it.

Inside the box was a small note: "Fred & George to Orli, Christmas surprise!"

Orli had given them some Burping Sweets from Zonko's Joke Shop, but she had disguised them in regular mint candy wrappers. She had worried she might be going too far, but now she felt she could've gone even further.

The last gift was a bulging, dark-colored package. Orli gave it a squeeze and found it soft.

Who could it be from? Ron, perhaps? But as far as she knew, Ron didn't have much spare money for gifts—his Potions work was currently a disaster, and he couldn't even complete the simplest tasks, let alone earn money. Still, she had given Ron a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.

Could it be… Snape?

Orli bit her lip, finding the idea rather unlikely.

She had hesitated for a long time before Christmas, unsure whether she should give Snape a gift.

Over the past six months, his guidance had benefited her greatly, and they had spent almost every Sunday afternoon together. It made her feel that perhaps they were "familiar" with each other.

If he were a kind and gentle mentor, there would be no doubt—she should give him a gift to express her respect and gratitude.

But the problem was, he was Snape...

In the end, she decided to follow basic etiquette and send him a gift. She had copied a book she found in her family library, "Research on Werewolf-related Potions: The Effect of Full Moon on Wood Sorrel Properties," and sent it via owl.

She didn't even expect a return gift—she only hoped she wouldn't get scolded for it.