Chapter 71: Christmas Gifts
Chapter 71: Christmas Gifts
"The idea is feasible." Felix saw more possibilities from this simple attempt. He believed that with some effort, he could achieve a level similar to the sleeping guardian statues in the castle.
However, he did not think he could create something like the Sorting Hat or the diary.
The latter was understandable, as it was a Horcrux containing a piece of Voldemort's soul. But the Sorting Hat? Its predecessor was just a hat belonging to Gryffindor, not a specialized creation for sorting students.
In Felix's imagination, it was possible that the four founders, during a shared afternoon tea, questioned each other's "talent selection methods." To resolve their differences, they decided to use an "intelligent magical artifact" for sorting students.
Thus, the Sorting Hat was born. Over the centuries, it has remained, capable of communicating with people, possessing its own memory and personality. In a sense, it could be considered a true life form.
This made him think of the magical portraits that can also communicate with people.
Some simple portraits, like Sir Cadogan in the castle, have extremely limited intelligence and cannot engage in complex, coherent conversations.
When Felix tested this during his school days, he found that the boastful knight could only provide seven effective responses, such as bragging about his glorious battles or issuing a duel challenge.
However, some portraits were much more magical—capable of complex interactions with the outside world and retaining a significant amount of memory.
As far as he knew, the portraits of former headmasters in the Hogwarts headmaster's office, as well as the ancestral portraits of some pure-blood families, fell into this category.
This was because the subjects of these portraits had infused them with a great deal of memory and magic, allowing the portraits to retain personalities similar to their original owners, though only similar. They were not true life forms.
The biggest difference was that the personalities of the portraits did not change over time, remaining fixed at the moment they were created, much like a complex interactive program.
This was fundamentally different from the Sorting Hat...
"The Sorting Hat must be hiding greater secrets!"
...
The dawn of Christmas arrived, and Felix dressed neatly, emerging from his bedroom. Under the small Christmas tree in the corner of his office, a large pile of various Christmas gifts awaited.
A quick count revealed there were about a hundred.
Moreover, more packages were on their way. While he was making tea, three owls flew into the room through the window he had left open last night. One of them, clearly having flown a considerable distance, carried a palm-sized, intricately wrapped gift box and collapsed on the table in front of him.
Felix had to give it a few drops of potion to improve its condition.
After eating a few small cookies, the brown owl hopped over to him and gently pecked his finger with its sharp beak. "Are you asking me to open the package?"
The owl tilted its head and looked at him, extending a claw where a small metal cylinder was tied.
Felix opened the cylinder and pulled out a rolled-up note—
"Dear Mr. Felix Heap, my Wolfsbane Potion has been finalized. As 'Fawkes' reaches you, I have already submitted the official formula to the Ministry of Magic. If all goes well, I will soon be awarded an Order of Merlin—at least Second Class! I hope you will attend the ceremony. Enclosed is a bottle of the latest Wolfsbane Potion for your review."
The note was signed by Damocles Belby.
Felix quickly wrote a reply, "It would be an honor. Please notify me of the date as soon as possible, and I will attend on time. Additionally, your Order of Merlin is well-deserved."
He placed the note back in the metal cylinder. "Thank you, Fawkes." The owl drank some water and took off.
Felix opened the intricate gift box to find a vial of potion. He unscrewed the cap and took a gentle whiff. "Hmm, still so unpleasant. Can't he consider adding some sugar? Or is making potions taste terrible a quirk of all magical masters?"
He placed the potion in a ring on his left hand, which was set with a green gemstone, and then began to enthusiastically unwrap the gifts.
A significant portion came from his book fans and pen pals, mostly greeting cards. Felix sorted through them and set them aside. The remaining gifts were from the professors and students of Hogwarts.
Albus Dumbledore sent a private alchemical manuscript, containing his personal insights into the art of alchemy. Felix, on the other hand, gifted the headmaster a Muggle book titled 99 Inventions That Changed the World, along with a pair of woolen socks embroidered with a red lion.
Professor Mcgonagall sent a book called Quidditch Teams of Britain and Ireland, which introduced the Quidditch teams of the British Isles and their various accolades. It included numerous illustrations of Quidditch maneuvers.
It seemed that she wanted to draw Felix into the circle of Quidditch enthusiasts.
Hagrid gave him a handmade short dagger, which, though quite crude in craftsmanship, was made of a particularly special material—Unicorn Horn.
"Tsk", Felix clicked his tongue, unsure of what to say.
Professor Flitwick sent a collection of ancient magic texts and invited Felix to discuss them at a convenient time. Felix replied happily.
Professor Snape's gift was a thumb-sized transparent bottle containing about a milliliter of clear liquid.
"It's Veritaserum, well done, Professor", he said with delight. "I hope you'll enjoy my gift as well." He had given Snape a set of Muggle school science equipment, including beakers, a balance, and a dropper.
He also included a Children's Guide to Chemical Experimentation, which had plenty of illustrations to ensure the professor wouldn't have any trouble understanding it.
Many young wizards at Hogwarts also sent him gifts. His assistant, Miss Granger, gave him a deep green knitted scarf. Potter sent a large bag of chocolate, and Ron Weasley gave him a box of Fizzing Whizbees.
The most interesting gift came from the twins, who sent a pair of wooden couple dolls. They looked even more crude than Hagrid's short dagger—their facial features were painted on. Following the instructions, Felix tapped the male doll's head, and it let out a pained cry. Then, the two dolls wobbled and began to dance a zombie waltz.
Although the twins introduced it as an African country's 'waltz,' Felix ignored that detail.
Additionally, some young wizards he hadn't seen much of also sent gifts. For example, Justin Finch-Fletchley sent an elaborate quill pen with multiple functions.
Felix spent an hour writing thank-you letters and sending return gifts.
He entered the Great Hall, where long tables were sparsely populated by young wizards.
A dozen frosted Christmas trees were adorned with various novel and interesting trinkets. The ceiling was draped with mistletoe and holly garlands, and enchanted snowflakes drifted down gently.
Professor Mcgonagall and a few other professors were busy decorating the Great Hall.
"Need any help?" he asked.
Professor Mcgonagall straightened up. "Oh, no, we're almost done", she said, waving her wand to hang a long colored ribbon on a Christmas tree. She turned to him and said, "I really enjoyed your gift, Felix."
Felix smiled. He had given Professor Mcgonagall a magical puppet about half a person's height, equipped with over a dozen complex circuits. This allowed it to transform into two forms—its human shape and a majestic lion.
(End of Chapter)
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