Chapter 76: Unwrapping Christmas Gifts
Chapter 76: Unwrapping Christmas Gifts
The next morning, Kyle woke up to a mountain of presents piled on his bed.
Most of them were chocolates and candies, and there were far more than he had expected.
"A good student is indeed popular," Kyle thought to himself.
He set these aside and continued unwrapping the remaining gifts.
Hagrid's present was the largest, resembling a wooden barrel wrapped in thick brown paper.
"I hope it's not what I think it is..." Kyle nervously opened the packaging.
Thankfully, it wasn't what he had feared. Hagrid had sent him a Cloak Plant, and the barrel was a temporary flowerpot filled with soil.
The leaves of the plant still had dew on them, probably freshly dug up from the Forbidden Forest.
Kyle's gift to Hagrid was a set of dragon models, the kind used in the Triwizard Tournament, which could move, fly at low altitudes, and even breathe fire.
Hagrid would surely love it.
Cedric's gift to Kyle was a copy of 'The Quidditch Book,' signed by the Chudley Cannons team members.
Kyle looked at the signature with disdain and set the book aside... He didn't like that team.
Interestingly, the gift Kyle had sent to Cedric was also Quidditch-related—his cherished Wimbourne Wasps signed bat, which he had specially requested Mrs. Weasley to mail to him. It was a gift filled with sincerity.
Because of this, Mrs. Weasley scolded him for not returning home during the holidays and promised to discipline him thoroughly during the summer break.
However, Kyle wasn't worried at all.
Mrs. Weasley was easy to please; a handmade apron from Kyle, along with a beautiful end-of-term report card, would ensure there were no issues.
Conna's present was a pair of knitted gloves with Kyle's initials embroidered on them.
Surprisingly, the young witch's craftsmanship was unexpectedly good, and Kyle quite liked them.
They fit him perfectly, and he could wear them with the sweater Mrs. Weasley had given him.
The gift he sent to Conna was a handbag with an anti-theft device, which would be very useful for her.
Fred's gift was a bottle of disappearing ink, and George gave him a collection book for Chocolate Frog cards, with transparent card sleeves to store the collected cards, making it very convenient.
Kyle's gift to the twins was a book titled 'Introduction to Alchemy,' which was also the textbook for the alchemy course at Beauxbatons Academy of Magic.
He knew the twins had been inventing some prank items recently, and this book would be very helpful to them.
There were also gifts from his two adorable roommates.
Michael sent a delicate golden brooch, and Ryan gave him a set of Wizard's Chess.
Surprisingly, Kyle even received a gift from Professor Flitwick.
Professor Flitwick gave Kyle his school notes, from first to third year, in two thick notebooks filled with his understanding of charms.
This gift was incredibly precious.
Kyle felt a bit guilty because the gift he had given Professor Flitwick was just a simple yew wood amulet.
In fact, Kyle had sent gifts to all the professors.
A yew wood amulet for Professor Flitwick.
A golden Snitch-shaped accessory for Professor McGonagall.
A tool maintenance kit for Professor Sprout.
A walking stick for Professor Aurene.
A newspaper clipping titled "Top Three European Wizarding Schools: Professor Salaries" for Professor Binns.
A book called "One Hundred Ways to Knit a Pair of Socks" for Headmaster Dumbledore.
And, of course, he had sent a whole box of Potter Brand Speed Wash Shampoo to Professor Snape, who had been taking good care of him recently, as a token of his gratitude.
Kyle carefully put away Professor Flitwick's notes and then opened the last gift, the one from Diana.
It was a silver ring with a crescent moon decoration, accompanied by a short note:
"This is a magical item that can cast the Apparition Charm three times. If you're in danger, infuse it with magic and concentrate on your desired destination, and it will take you there.
Note: It can't be used within Hogwarts Castle, but once you're outside the castle gates, it's fair game. If you don't want to take the train during breaks, you can use it to get home.
(I hope you like this gift, dear.
Merry Christmas.)"
6◇9◇Book◇Bar
An upgraded Portkey? Kyle put the ring on his finger, and it automatically conformed to his skin. He wiggled his fingers, feeling no discomfort.
Kyle loved this gift.
He had always wanted to learn the Apparition Charm, but both Chris and Newt refused to teach him because of his young age.
This ring could be said to be the best gift he had received in eleven years.
It was just a bit limited with only three uses.
If only it had thirty uses instead.
After cleaning his dormitory, Kyle arrived at the common room to find Conna on her tiptoes, digging in a large flowerpot.
"What are you looking for? Do you need help?" Kyle asked.
"No, I've found it," Conna replied, pulling out a dirty cloth from the flowerpot and turning to face Kyle. "Thank you for the Christmas gift. I really needed that."
Kyle watched as she took out two Galleons from the cloth and put them into the bag he had given her. He asked curiously, "Are you still losing Galleons?"
"No," Conna shook her head. "But I lost two Sickles yesterday afternoon."
Wasn't that the same thing?
Kyle frowned. "Where are your roommates? Have they all gone home?"
"Yeah, they've all left. I'm the only one in the dormitory now," Conna said excitedly. "But they sent me gifts—hair clips from the Muggle world, and they're so pretty."
Kyle rubbed his forehead. Just as he was about to say something, Conna dashed back to the dormitory.
When she returned, she was holding a small wooden box.
"Look, isn't it beautiful?" Conna handed the box to Kyle.
Inside were seven or eight colorful hair clips, with designs and styles that were indeed more modern and trendy than those in the wizarding world.
However, Kyle had no interest in them and was about to return the box to Conna after a quick glance.
But at that moment, he noticed a small bottle underneath the hair clips. Out of curiosity, he reached in and removed the clips covering the bottle.
"What is this...Holy cow?"
Kyle's hand trembled slightly, almost dropping the box. He was startled, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead. Quickly, he placed the box on the nearby wooden table.
After calming down a bit, Kyle cautiously reached out and took the bottle out.
(End of Chapter)
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