Chapter 33: Chapter 33
Christmas Eve was approaching quickly, and this day was an important time for shopping in Britain, with huge discounts available in various stores. Naturally, Kreacher went shopping on Regent Street as he had in previous years.
Albert went to Diagon Alley to prepare some gifts for his friends, as Diagon Alley was full of festive atmosphere.
Every shop was decorated with Christmas gifts, and numerous Christmas carols could be heard in the streets.
After buying all the gifts and sending them to his friends via the Owl Post, Albert returned home and searched through a pile of old books in the family library.
After more than an hour, Albert found two books. One was "How to Brew a Hundred Common Potions," an old book published in 1893. It contained many potions Albert had never seen in his textbooks, such as quick hair-dyeing potions, modified versions of age-increasing and age-reducing potions (with a simpler production method and cheaper ingredients but only lasting 15 minutes).
There was also a book resembling class notes from Defense Against the Dark Arts, left by outstanding students. Albert felt that with some of the notes in it, any student could learn the Stunning Spell on their own. (The Stunning Spell is a charm that causes the target to lose consciousness.)
On Christmas Eve, Albert went to bed early because Christmas Day was the most enjoyable, with receiving Christmas gifts and having a big meal at noon.
When he woke up the next morning, Albert found a pile of gifts, delivered to his room by Kreacher.
There was a new set of clothes from Kreacher.
There were also gifts from his classmates: Hermione had given a set of brand-new quills, Harry had sent a box of assorted candies, Ron had given a collection of history books along with notes from his brothers George and Fred about transfiguration, and Neville had provided a box of soothing spiced black tea (which his grandmother must have prepared).
What surprised him the most was that Professor Sprout had given Albert a copy of her herbology notes from her school days, hoping that he would succeed in herbology in the future.
Fortunately, as a matter of courtesy, Albert had sent a box of chocolates to each professor; otherwise, this moment would have been quite embarrassing.
He had also bought Kreacher some new clothes to replace the old shirt he had been wearing for years, making Kreacher feel genuinely happy for the first time, sensing that someone cared about him.
At noon, Albert and Kreacher enjoyed a Christmas dinner of roast goose, pudding, and various dishes. You might wonder what Christmas is like at Hogwarts?
Christmas at Hogwarts differs from the small family gatherings like Albert's, which highlight warmth. He knew this well, having experienced the best Christmas of his life before.
The Great Hall was beautifully decorated. The walls were covered with garlands of ivy, and dozens of towering Christmas trees were set up around the room, some decorated with sparkling snowflakes and others illuminated by hundreds of candles.
The first thing Harry saw when he woke up on Christmas morning was a small pile of packages at the foot of his bed, along with something wrapped in Christmas paper around something long. He was a bit surprised as he hadn't expected to receive any gifts at all.
After exchanging Christmas greetings with Ron, Harry began opening the packages. Ron exclaimed, "Oh my, a Bat-Bogey Hex card! Albert must be incredibly lucky. I haven't seen him eat Chocolate Frogs several times."
Harry also found a gift from Albert: a magnificent pair of flying scissors. "Yes, Albert always thinks of the best gifts. Sometimes he feels like an uncle."
Ron said, "Oh, I'm excited to see what this long thing is." Ron was smiling because the gift was wrapped, and he was eager to find out.
Harry asked, "Huh? Did you also get this gift?"
Ron replied, "Oh, that means this gift was sent to us by the same person. Well, I'm really excited now."
Ron and Harry opened the long gift to discover what was inside, and they were stunned by what they saw.
Both Harry and Ron spoke at the same time, "A Nimbus 2001?"
Harry was thrilled to receive the latest model of the new broomsticks.
Ron was even more shocked than Harry. "Oh my god, it's a Nimbus 2001. I heard from my dad that each Nimbus 2001 costs 500 Galleons."
Ron unwrapped the broomstick to find a small card falling from it.
Harry picked up the small card and read the message: "A gift from Albert Black."
Harry said, "Oh my god, didn't you tell me, Ron, that Albert's family wasn't what it used to be? Where did Albert get all this money? 1000 Galleons is enough to live on for a year!"
Ron said, "Well, I don't know where Albert got all this money either, but I assume he took it from the reserve funds that every noble family keeps."
Ron said, "Well, I'm really sad. I never imagined Albert would give us such a wonderful gift, and I feel quite embarrassed compared to what I gave him."
Harry stepped forward to reassure him, "I feel the same way, Ron. I didn't expect to get a gift at all, but I was really surprised by Albert's gift."
Ron turned to say, "Harry, you forgot the last gift. You haven't opened it yet."
Harry turned to see there was one gift left that he had forgotten about.
Finally, after unwrapping the paper, a liquid-like, silver-gray object slid out and gathered in a shiny pile on the ground. Ron gasped.
Later, a surprised Ron told Harry that it was an extremely valuable Invisibility Cloak. When Harry tried it on, he found a note inside, written in handwriting he had never seen before:
"Your father left this for you before he died. It should be returned to you now. Use it well. I sincerely wish you a Merry Christmas."
Afterwards, with the Weasley twins arriving, Harry donned a sweater knitted by Mrs. Weasley for the Christmas feast, which included at least a hundred roast turkeys and a large amount of roasted potatoes.
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