Chapter 409: Gift
Chapter 409: Gift
The next morning, Liam woke up very early. As he opened his eyes, he saw Hermione also waking up and looking at him.
"Good morning, Merry Christmas." After exchanging greetings, they both got up to freshen up. Of course, while one was washing up, the other took the opportunity to place their gift among the pile of gifts on the other's bedside table.
Here, we must praise the owls of the Wizarding World. Even though they had closed the windows and doors the night before, the gifts were still there on their bedside tables in the morning. This magical phenomenon could only be explained by magic.
This year, Hermione's Christmas gift to Liam was an ancient-looking men's necklace, similar to those worn by nobility over formal attire. Liam examined it closely and discovered a rune on the necklace that could clear the mind. Unfortunately, the enchantment had worn off over time. However, the degree of magic power loss indicated that the necklace was nearly a thousand years old.
Flipping over the largest red spinel on the necklace, Liam finally found its origin: the golden setting of the gemstone was inscribed with "Richard I." This inscription referred to Richard I, and considering the age of the necklace, its owner was clearly one of the most famous kings of Britain nearly a thousand years ago: Richard the Lionheart.
"Thank you", Liam said, holding the necklace. "This is a truly valuable gift. Even though the alchemical rune has lost its power, it still has significant reference value."
"I'm glad you like it. I found it among the clutter in the Room of Requirement. It took me a lot of effort to clean and repair it after I took it out", Hermione said as she began to unwrap the gift Liam had given her. She quickly opened the gift box and took out a baseball-sized crystal vial filled with golden liquid.
"This is—" Hermione carefully examined the vial. "Euphoria Elixir? But this bottle isn't that bright. It doesn't look like Felix Felicis either, as Felix Felicis isn't this transparent and isn't as viscous."
Seeing Hermione's puzzled expression, Liam revealed the answer: "You don't have to guess. This potion isn't available outside; it's my own invention. I made it using the Rheem Cow Blood we seized from the vampire. Drinking it can permanently enhance the drinker's strength to the maximum. The only drawback is that it can only be used once, and the effects cannot be stacked."
"Rheem Cow Blood? I've seen a description of this creature in 'Where to Find Magical Creatures.' Their blood is highly sought after and extremely expensive, and it's always in short supply."
"For an old vampire family, this isn't something they can't obtain", Liam continued as he unwrapped the gifts. "I suggest you drink this potion quickly. It only has meaning when consumed."
"Okay." Hermione pulled out the stopper and tilted her head back, drinking all the elixir in one go.
"I just feel a slight warmth in my fingertips", Hermione said, sitting on the sofa for a while. She didn't experience the strange sensations she had expected. "I thought it would be like in the movies and comics, where you drink it and then your body starts to hurt, and you struggle as your body changes."
"Do you think this is the Super Soldier Serum from Captain America?" Liam couldn't help but laugh. "Even as wizards, we have to follow basic principles. If you want to avoid strong side effects, such changes can't happen instantly. And why did you drink it so quickly just now?"
"I trusted you not to harm me", Hermione teased, raising her eyebrows. "By the way, why do Harry's gifts this year feel like they were bought in bulk from somewhere? Why are they all Honeydukes Christmas candy packs?" She waved the Christmas gift packs in her hand at Liam.
"I think they might have something going on", Liam said, remembering that in the original story, around this Christmas, Harry had a dream where he connected with the Horcrux in Nagini. He saw the giant snake biting Mr. Weasley. That's why he didn't see Harry and the others when they left the school by train; they were probably already at Number 12, Grimmauld Place.
He had remembered this, but with the recent focus on dealing with Giant, he had temporarily forgotten about it. Due to Liam's influence, Hermione's relationship with Harry was not as close as it was in the original story. To Dumbledore, Hermione and Liam were now more like members of the Order of the Phoenix who had been inspired to join. Therefore, Dumbledore did not inform Hermione about this matter as he did in the original story.
Although they were unsure why the Weasley family members, who were close to them, had not told them about this, it was now clear what had happened, and it would be inappropriate to remain silent.
"Let's write them a letter and ask what happened. After all, they are our friends." Hermione agreed with this suggestion, as she was also worried about what had happened to Ginny and Percy, who usually chatted with her quite a lot.
After writing the letters to the Weasley Twins and Ginny and sealing them in envelopes, the two of them went up to the small garden on the hotel rooftop. Looking at the drained swimming pool and the empty flower pots, Liam knew that this place must be very popular in the summer. But it was winter now, and no one was around.
"Alright, I'll summon an owl now." Liam said, then took out his wand and tapped the wall next to him three times quickly, paused for a few seconds, and then tapped three times again. "This is a method Percy told me. He said you can use this to summon an owl in the wild in Europe, but it costs extra."
Sure enough, not long after Liam put away his wand, the sound of flapping wings came from the distance. Then, seven or eight large, round owls—ah, no, owls—gathered on the railing of the garden.
"I need to send two long-distance letters to Britain. This is an international mail service, and they need to fly a long way." Liam said, holding up the two letters and waving them. "Who can help me with this?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a large owl, about the same size as Hermione's Hermes, squeezed out from the group of owls. It was also a Great Horned Owl, and the most noticeable thing was a small leather pouch attached to its left leg, with the words "Chirp Owl Post, Safe, Fast, Accurate" embossed in gold Russian letters.
"Let me think, right, Percy said the next step is to place some coins in front of the owl." Liam muttered, pulling out a handful of Knuts from his pocket. The owl in front of him indeed moved, gently tapping the coins with its beak.
"Twelve Knuts, not too expensive." After counting the coins the owl had tapped, Liam placed 12 Knuts into the pouch on the owl's leg. After receiving the payment, the owl lifted its other leg to let Liam attach the letters and then flew away.
"Really, why don't wizards just use stamps?" Hermione complained from the side. "What should we do now?"
"International mail like this probably takes a day to arrive. Let's go visit the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts and the Nikulin Circus today. We can't just sit around in the hotel all day. By the time we get back tonight, the letters should have arrived."
The two of them had a great day out. When they returned in the evening and finished dinner, the replies from the Weasley Twins and Ginny arrived. Indeed, their father had been severely injured by a snake attack, but unlike in the original story, Mr. Weasley was only bitten on the arm and became critically ill due to the snake venom. His injuries were less severe this time.
The Weasley Twins also explained why they hadn't written to them: Mrs. Weasley felt that since Mr. Weasley's injuries were not life-threatening, it was better not to involve their friends and ruin their Christmas. Therefore, she forbade the children from writing to their friends about the incident. It was only after Liam and the others asked that they learned the truth.
"Really." Liam shook his head lightly, once again feeling that the Weasley family were good people. Since that was the case, visiting them was a must. They had already completed their mission in Russia, and there was nothing else important left to do. The only regret was that this trip with Hermione had been too short.
(End of Chapter)
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