Chapter 311: Fox's Gift
Chapter 311: Fox's Gift
"So it turns out to be a good thing after all," Ron said.
George blinked, "Who knows, you might even get a decent report card by the end of the year."
"Don't rub it in," Ron yawned.
"What are you two on about?"
Harry emerged from the dormitory at that moment, and Fred and George quickly changed the subject.
It was fine to joke with Ron, but they wouldn't say such things in front of Harry.
Harry walked over to Ron and greeted everyone, "Merry Christmas, Fred, George, Cay... Cayle? What are you doing here?"
He was surprised to see Cayle in the Gryffindor common room.
"I arrived a few minutes ago," Cayle smiled.
Ron suddenly realized there was an extra person around, "Sorry, I didn't see you before... Thanks for the gift, I love the wizard chess set."
"And the Quidditch ball model you sent me," Harry said, "it's brilliant."
"I'm glad you like them," Cayle said with a smile.
After being brought to the Gryffindor common room by Fred and George, Cayle had forgotten all about the Room of Requirement. He spent the entire morning playing wizard chess and Exploding Snap with them.
Ginny and Percy were there too, and everyone welcomed Cayle warmly.
Percy, however, was a bit too formal, shaking Cayle's hand solemnly as if he were receiving a Hufflepuff delegation.
Cayle even felt that his attire might have been too casual... If he had known, he would have worn his phoenix socks.
In the afternoon, Harry and Ron were dragged to the library by Hermione to work on their assignments, so Cayle, Fred, and George headed to Hogsmeade via the secret passage.
Every shop in Hogsmeade was beautifully decorated, and they all offered Christmas gifts to their customers—Zonko's Joke Shop had color-changing fireworks, Honeydukes had candy canes...
These gifts were hung on Christmas trees by the entrances, easily within reach, and if you forgot, the shop owners would remind you.
The only downside was that they didn't provide a service to prevent Hogwarts students from being discovered while sneaking out.
At the Three Broomsticks, Cayle had only taken a few sips of butterbeer when the door was suddenly pushed open from the outside.
The next second, Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, Hagrid... and even Professor Sinistra from Astronomy, a total of seven or eight professors, walked in one after another.
They also spotted Cayle and the others.
Professor McGonagall paused for a moment, then continued on as if she hadn't seen anything, calmly walking past them.
"Rosmerta, three pints of mead, cherry soda..."
Unconsciously, Cayle and his companions quickened their drinking, eager to leave as soon as possible.
However, just as they were about to pay, Madam Rosmerta, the bar owner, shook her head,
"No need, Miss Granger has already taken care of it. Would you like anything else?"
"No, that won't be necessary!"
The three of them lowered their heads and hurried out of the Three Broomsticks.
Not only had they been caught sneaking out of school, but they had also been treated by the professors... It was quite embarrassing, to say the least.
They lost their enthusiasm for continuing their outing and quickly returned to the castle.
"I forgot, it's Christmas today."
As they exited the secret passage, Fred pulled at his hair, "The professors obviously aren't staying in their offices to grade papers."
"We shouldn't have gone to the Three Broomsticks!"
"Good thing Professor McGonagall didn't say anything..."
Cayle also felt a bit disappointed. If he had known the professors were treating them, he would have ordered something more expensive.
For instance, he had always wanted to try Ogden's Old Firewhisky, the signature drink at the Three Broomsticks, which cost ten Galleons a cup.
Dumbledore led everyone in singing his favorite Christmas carols. Hagrid, after downing cup after cup of eggnog, joined in with an increasingly loud voice until his was the only one echoing through the Great Hall.
Fred, seated next to Cayle, couldn't help but snicker at Percy's Head Boy badge, on which the words had mysteriously changed to "Dunce," though Percy himself seemed oblivious, continually asking those around him what was so funny.
Draco Malfoy, who also hadn't gone home for the holidays, sat across from Harry, loudly mocking his new sweater. Strangely, Harry didn't retort.
The feast was sumptuous, especially the Christmas pudding specially made by the house-elves.
It was like eating Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, with each bite offering a different taste sensation, a truly unique experience.
After finishing the pudding, Professor McGonagall was the first to leave the table, followed by Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
Cayle was about to depart as well, but Dumbledore called him back.
"If you have the time, would you mind accompanying me to my office?"
"Of course, Professor," Cayle agreed, though he was a bit puzzled.
The two of them left the Great Hall together, chatting as they made their way to the headmaster's office.
This year, Cayle hadn't managed to get his hands on the latest edition of '500 Ways to Knit Your Woolen Socks,' so he'd gifted Dumbledore a large bundle of wool instead.
However, Dumbledore seemed delighted and even inquired about where Cayle had purchased such high-quality wool.
"It's from a Snow Fleece sheep, Professor," Cayle explained. "There was a flock of them in Mr. Scamander's case, and I collected some of the wool when I visited him last August."
"You got it from Newt?" Dumbledore asked excitedly. "Was there a large quantity?"
"Around thirty or so," Cayle replied.
Dumbledore's eyes lit up even more at this news.
When they reached the seventh floor, the stone gargoyle leaped aside, and Dumbledore led Cayle into his office.
The room's furnishings were much the same as before, except for a large ball of yarn on the desk and several knitted sweaters and a half-finished scarf hanging from the corner of the Mirror of Erised.
The headmaster of Hogwarts seemed to have developed a passion for knitting, and he was no longer limiting himself to socks and gloves.
Cayle guessed that the sweater under Dumbledore's robe was also self-knitted.
"Professor, why did you ask me here?" Cayle inquired.
"It wasn't me; it was Fawkes," Dumbledore sighed softly. "He really liked the gift you gave him—the wormwood and birthwort."
"Fawkes?" Cayle looked instinctively at the perch by the door.
Perched there was a wrinkled little bird with downy, pale red feathers... It was hideous.
"Did you molt?"
Cayle walked over to the perch.
The little Fawkes nodded and then picked up a small bottle, placing it in Cayle's hand.
"What is this...?" Cayle picked up the bottle and saw that it contained a small pile of black powder.
"It's the ashes left after a phoenix's rebirth, a Christmas gift from Fawkes to you," Dumbledore said, his voice tinged with a hint of reluctance.
He hadn't expected Fawkes to hold a grudge over not being taken out during the holidays. As a result, Fawkes had kept all the ashes from his rebirth and hadn't left any for Dumbledore.
It was one thing for Snape to take some, but for this precious substance to go to Cayle, who was only thirteen, was a waste in Dumbledore's opinion.
A thirteen-year-old wouldn't be able to make proper use of such an advanced ingredient.
Dumbledore sighed once more.
...
(End of Chapter)
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