Chapter 901: Christmas Gifts
Chapter 901: Christmas Gifts
"Are you heading back to school today?"
"Yeah, it's almost Christmas, so I figured I'd better get back early." Albert nodded.
Nia picked up the remote control from the table, flipping through TV channels absentmindedly as she spoke. "You didn't forget my Christmas present, did you? You know I've been looking forward to it."
"It's all taken care of." Albert smiled, reminding her, "And you like it, don't you?"
"The photo album and the dragon?" Nia's eyes widened in realization, and she pouted, "So, those bottles of beauty potions that Isabelle brought were also part of my Christmas gift?"
"You could say that." Albert tore open a packet of dried fish snacks for the family cat. This was his Christmas gift to the feline members of the family—a large bag of their favorite treats.
"I feel like Christmas gifts should be opened on Christmas day itself to really feel like a present." Nia grumbled.
"After Christmas, I plan to stay here for a while." Albert intended to spend more time with his family.
"It's like we won't be seeing each other for ages." Nia fell silent after her statement, knowing that if they went to the Far East, it would indeed be a long time before they met again.
"Don't worry. In a few years, when things have settled down in Britain, you can always move back." Albert had lost count of how many times he'd said this.
"I'm worried about you." Nia turned her head and said earnestly to Isabelle, "Take care of my unreliable brother for me. Don't let him do anything reckless."
"I'll keep a close eye on him." Isabelle smiled reassuringly.
After bidding farewell to everyone in the afternoon, the two of them left one after the other and returned to their home in Hogsmeade.
"I still don't understand why you didn't just apparate directly here with me." Isabelle handed the box and the shrimp dumplings from the house-elf to Albert, who had just walked into the hallway. "I thought the trace on adult wizards disappears automatically."
"It's always better to be cautious, especially now that I'm not very popular. It's best not to give anyone a chance to catch me off guard." Albert walked up to Isabelle and gave her a hug, whispering in her ear, "Any regrets about giving up being my dance partner?"
"A little." Isabelle didn't deny it. Being Albert's dance partner at the Christmas ball would undoubtedly attract everyone's attention, making them the most dazzling couple at the ball. Most girls wouldn't be able to resist such a moment, and she could also announce to the other girls that Albert was taken.
"But I feel it's unfair to Katrina, and I don't want..."
"I understand what you mean." Albert gazed out the window at the falling snowflakes and murmured, "After all, I have a sister who's always a cause for concern too."
"Yes, a sister who's always a worry." Isabelle echoed softly.
"How about we hold a little dance of our own tonight? I'll dance with you for as long as you like." Albert gently stroked the girl's long hair.
"Are you sure you can handle me dragging you around the dance floor all day? You might be too sore to dance tomorrow." Isabelle covered her mouth and laughed softly. She loved leaning on Albert's shoulder and watching the snow together.
"We can always use the Time-Turner after the ball tomorrow night. I was planning to do that anyway." Albert agreed, "And I think the Christmas dinner should be held on Christmas day itself to really feel the spirit of the occasion."
"Okay, but you have to be careful. Even Nia has noticed that you're up to something dangerous." Isabelle suddenly changed the subject.
"I've always been careful about my life." Albert was a little surprised by Isabelle's sudden shift in topic.
"Yes, you are, and you're prepared, but I'm still worried. Just like with the Triwizard Tournament." Isabelle muttered, "I have a feeling you're getting entangled in some kind of trouble again."
"Don't worry." Albert hugged Isabelle tighter and muttered, "After finally finding such a beautiful wife and having such a wonderful life, I don't want to lose it all for no reason."
In this life, he had achieved a perfect life that many people envied. It would be a huge loss if he died suddenly.
"Do you think we'll live like this after we're married?" Isabelle asked, her cheeks reddening slightly.
"Maybe... Actually, I'm not sure." Albert thought about it and said, "But we can live the life we want. You can talk to Mrs. Perenelle about it and listen to their stories and life experiences. Didn't you send your 'Ancient Magic Text Guide' to the publisher? Why not write a biography about the Lames?"
"I feel like you're always finding things for me to do." Isabelle looked seriously into Albert's eyes.
"People should always find things to do and set goals for themselves. It's not good to just laze around and do nothing." Albert said self-deprecatingly, "Although that has always been my goal, I feel like I should still find something to do so that life isn't so confusing."
"If this is your idea of lazing around and doing nothing, many people would be ashamed to bury their heads in the snow." Isabelle found it a little funny. Albert was the hardest-working person she knew.
"Actually, I just feel that if you work hard when you're young, you can enjoy the comforts of old age." Albert placed Isabelle on his lap and said, "...and slowly enjoy growing old together, like this."
"So, by old age, you mean after we come of age?"
"No, I was thinking more like after thirty." Albert had planned to start his retirement at thirty in his previous life, but unfortunately, he had failed.
"For many people, life truly begins at thirty."
"After losing the Philosopher's Stone, the Lames don't have much time left." Albert sighed, "We should spend more time with them and chat. Although they left behind many legends, I still want to record their stories ourselves instead of letting some money-grubbing people make up nonsense. I know Nic isn't too concerned about it, but even someone like Dumbledore is quite happy to appear on Chocolate Frog Cards."
"You're still so thoughtful." Isabelle agreed. After finishing the 'Ancient Magic Text Guide', she hadn't decided what to do next. Chatting with the Lames through the two-way mirror about their past sounded like a good idea. Many elderly people liked to reminisce about their past, and she was curious about how they had managed to stay together for so long and maintain such a loving relationship.
The house-elf prepared a sumptuous dinner, and after the two of them finished eating, they sat on the sofa, listening to the Wizarding Wireless Network and chatting about the authorship of the 'Ancient Magic Text Guide'. In the end, they decided to publish it under both of their names.
"Winter is actually a great time for hot springs." Albert stretched and held out his hand to Isabelle. "How about we go for a soak together?"
Isabelle's cheeks reddened, and she nodded gently. "Okay..."
...
...
On Christmas morning, Albert woke up to the rustling sounds of his roommates unwrapping gifts. He opened his eyes to see Fred, George, and Lee already dressed in their sweaters, handmade by Mrs. Weasley, a Christmas tradition for the Weasley family.
"Ugh, so tired." Albert had only returned to bed at 5 in the morning and was still feeling drowsy.
"When did you get back?" The trio pretended not to hear Albert's grumbling and asked with mischievous smiles.
"Around 5 in the morning." Albert closed his eyes, turned over, and buried his head in the blanket. He had just closed his eyes a short while ago and needed to catch some more sleep to prepare for tonight's ball.
"We thought you'd only be coming back this afternoon. By the way, how did you get in? I thought the password changed," one of them asked.
"A house-elf opened the door for me," Albert replied.
"Hey, where have you been these past few days? A lot of girls have been looking for you," Lee Jordan chimed in with a playful grin.
"I went home. Don't go spreading it around," Albert said, yawning.
"How did you get there?" George inquired, his curiosity piqued.
"It's simple. Once a wizard comes of age, they no longer leave traces when they apparate. So, I just used Apparition to go wherever I wanted, as long as the Ministry doesn't find out," Albert explained, his voice lacking energy. "By the way, don't disturb me. I need to catch some more sleep... Also, help me feed the cat. Oh, and you can open those piles of packages by my bed... Just do it somewhere else, and whatever you do, don't disturb my sleep."
"We almost forgot that you're an adult now. Even if you use magic outside, the Ministry won't know," Fred, George, and Lee Jordan said enviously. They weren't sure if they were more envious of Albert's apparent mastery of Apparition or the pile of Christmas gifts by his bed, some of which had already been stepped on.
After exchanging glances, the trio worked together seamlessly. Fred took the initiative to prepare breakfast for Tom, George helped to tidy up the gifts by the bed and placed them into several large boxes, and Lee Jordan took out a metal book from his bag, unfolding it in the dormitory before they carried the mountain of gifts into the wizard card club's activity room to start unwrapping them.
Unwrapping Albert's gifts had become an annual tradition for them during Christmas.
In fact, much of the morning was spent in the activity room, unwrapping gifts and snacking on the treats found within. Albert had no qualms about them helping themselves to his gifts or his food.
The trio knew that any particularly important packages would be taken care of by the house-elves, who would set them aside separately.
"The number of Christmas gifts Albert received this year is truly astonishing," Fred commented, shaking his head in disbelief.
Including the greeting cards, there were a whopping one hundred and thirty-eight gifts.
"He's probably getting all this attention because he's a Triwizard champion. Most of the girls in school must've sent him something," George remarked as he stuffed the unwrapped books into the bookshelf.
"You guys even used that photo of Albert's Fire Dragon robes, taken by the Witch-style wizarding garment people, to promote him. That must've attracted a lot of attention," Lee Jordan added, waving a greeting card in his hand.
Among this mountain of gifts, only a small portion was from Albert's old acquaintances. A large majority were from the girls at school. Aside from the greeting cards, there were heaps of snacks and sweets. After setting aside the packages from familiar senders, the rest were piled to the side—a total of thirty-one boxes of treats, an impressive amount.
"If the girls knew that we're unwrapping their gifts to Albert, they'd probably want to strangle us," Lee Jordan mused as he eyed the box of treats in front of him. "But how did they even think of sending snacks and sweets to Albert?"
"If I were you, I wouldn't touch those things," George warned as he noticed Lee Jordan about to open one of the packages. "Who knows if they've been laced with Love Potions."
"I remember Albert having some Love Potion antidotes. If I do eat something by mistake, remember to pour some into my mouth," Lee Jordan said as he began sorting through the treats sent by the girls.
"What do you think about selling some high-quality Love Potions in our shop?" Fred suddenly suggested. "Seems like they're quite popular with the girls."
"Can you brew them?" Lee Jordan raised an eyebrow.
"No, but I think George can. He's always been good at Potions," Fred said, passing the question to George.
"Are the instructions in Albert's Potions notes?" George glanced at the other two and asked, "Have you even seen his notes? They're way more reliable than those Potions books. If you follow the steps, brewing potions successfully is a breeze."
"Then we'll leave it to you," Fred said, patting George on the shoulder with a look that said he had full confidence in his friend.
"By the way, what should we do with all this stuff?"
"Why don't we take it to the common room and share it with everyone else?" Fred suggested with a straight face. "After all, it's Christmas, and it's only right to share good things with everyone."
"I think that's a great idea," George agreed, grinning. "Albert has a ton of Love Potion antidotes that he hasn't even used yet."
"Why don't we invite Albert too? After all, these are his Christmas gifts. I think he'd be interested in this sort of thing," Lee Jordan added.
The trio was well aware that the snacks and sweets sent by the girls would likely be considered "suspicious" items.
It would be such a waste to just throw them away.
"I think we should send some anonymously to the Montague brothers," Lee Jordan proposed.
"And let's not forget Ludo Bagman. Send him some too, from his female fans," Fred added, not forgetting how Ludo Bagman had given them fake gold coins.
"Do you think he'll believe that?" Lee Jordan asked, raising an eyebrow.
"We can ask him for an autograph, saying it's for our son," Fred suggested with a mischievous smile.
"Ludo Bagman hasn't played Quidditch for many years now," George pointed out the flaw in the plan. "You can mention that your son is a fan of Krum and would love a signed photo of them together. By the way, do we still have those fake Galleons? Put five of them in the letter, saying that we'll send ten more if he replies."
"Do you think he'll reply?"
"He will," Lee Jordan said confidently. "Bagman is in serious debt right now. He'll probably take the bait. If we're lucky, he might even miss the Christmas ball tonight."
"Then we'll save these treats to share with everyone later. Remember to invite Albert too," Fred decided on how to handle the suspicious treats.
"I think we should send some to Filch as well," Lee Jordan suggested.
"And Snape," George added.
"Let's not include Snape. He's the Potions master, so he probably won't fall for it. And if this gets out, he'll definitely make our lives difficult. It's not worth the trouble," George vetoed the idea of including Snape. If they included him, they wouldn't be able to share the treats with everyone else, which would take away a lot of the fun.
(End of Chapter)
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