章 17: Chapter 17: Christmas is Comming
Christmas was approaching and the whole Hogwarts was filled with a cheerful atmosphere.
The students all had happy expressions on their faces and the hall looked beautiful and magnificent.
The walls were covered with pendant ribbons of holly and mistletoe and there were twelve tall Christmas trees erected throughout the room.
Some of the trees were adorned with shiny small icicles, while others shone with hundreds of candles, adding to the festive atmosphere of the school.
Unlike many of their classmates who were going home for Christmas, Harry and Ron both signed the list of students who were staying at the school for the holiday, as brought by Professor McGonagall.
Harry's decision was normal, but Ron's was because the Weasleys were going to Romania to visit Charlie.
"Hey, Harry, did you notice that? Since we found out who Nicole Flame was that day, Hermione has seemed a bit off," Ron whispered to Harry at the table.
"Yeah," Harry nodded. "I actually saw her distracted in class today."
"I saw it too," Ron added. "After the lesson, she just disappeared."
"I wonder what could have happened," Harry tapped the bowl in front of him with a knife and fork, making a crisp noise.
"We should think of a way," Ron said.
Harry nodded in agreement.
As for Draco, he had also been feeling that something was off lately. He felt that Pansy was avoiding him. It could be explained away as an illusion once or twice, but if it happened frequently, it couldn't be a simple coincidence.
Usually, except for the time Draco spent in the library, Pansy would always sit with him and stick close to him at other times, such as at the dining table and in the classroom.
Draco would even help her with her homework after class and teach her a couple of self-defense spells. However, lately, Draco noticed that Pansy was almost never coming to him. Even when she saw him, she would immediately run away.
Like now.
"Pansy," Draco greeted Pansy.
Pansy, who was sitting on the lounge chair, stood up like a frightened rabbit and quickly gathered some things behind her before stumbling out of the lounge without daring to look at Draco.
"Is this retribution?" Malfoy could only smile helplessly.
In the library, Hermione was flipping through a large book. After learning who Nicole Flame is, she no longer felt the need to focus on the restricted area and was able to access more normal information. It was much easier to find what she was looking for now that she knew the target.
"No, I want to concentrate," Hermione said to herself. It was impossible for her to be distracted when studying, but since that day, she found that she always remembered Draco's in her mind.
The disappointment on the train, the apology and acceptance in the library, the trip to the candy house in Hogsmeade, and the fear of facing the trolls might have added to a final feeling of indifference.
Hermione tried to push Draco out of her mind, but couldn't do it. She was distracted in class and while doing her homework, and even when she went to the library to read a book, she was still distracted.
When she thought of the happy memories before, she would laugh unconsciously, but a happy smile would soon bring a hint of bitterness.
"Hermione, you have to forget him for a while," Hermione told herself as she patted her face.
Finally, Christmas had arrived and the students who were staying at school were preparing to go home. Draco also embarked on a journey home.
Half a day's time is not short or long, and after a sleep, Draco arrived at his destination on the train.
After getting off the train, Draco saw Narcissa waiting for him in front of the platform.
"Oh my god, how come you've lost so much weight," Narcissa said exaggeratedly, pinching Draco's face as she spoke.
"Is school stuff that bad? I want to tell your dad to let him make recommendations about school food on the board."
"This is just your mother's illusion," Draco changed the subject.
"Dad didn't come?"
"He said he has something important that he can't come for. What could be more important than our baby, right?" Narcissa belittled Lucius again.
"Okay, mom, I don't think we need to stand here anymore. Isn't the weather wasn't good?"
"Yes, let's go home quickly. You must be cold. The fireplace at home was warmer than the school," Narcissa said again.
Draco couldn't help but nod in agreement.
Through the Floo network, the two quickly returned to their homes. It has to be said that, aside from the unbearable dizziness, this mode of transportation is indeed satisfactory because it is really fast.
After enjoying a sumptuous dinner, Draco returned to his room.
Narcissa lamented that her son had grown up and no longer whispered to her like he used to, although she had never said much about it.
In his room, Draco was not idle and was worrying about Christmas gifts.
"Even though we don't see each other much at school, I'll order some snacks for them," he thought as he considered a snack gift for Crabbe and Gower.
"Troublesome young lady, I don't know what I did to provoke her again," Draco remembered Pansy's behavior and didn't know what to give her. He ended up going to Hogsmeade again to buy an oversized quill pen because he saw that the feathers on Pansy's quill pen had fallen out, and he included a bottle of rainbow ink as well.
Finally, when it came to Hermione, Draco didn't know how to deal with her.
"Alas, I'll just have to help her," Draco sighed and wrote a few words on a sticky note, attaching it to an owl's feet.
After finishing these tasks, Draco felt a little sleepy and went to bed. The next day there was an important thing waiting for him to do.
Without a word, Draco slept through the night.
When he woke up, he rubbed his sleepy eyes and came to the Christmas tree beside the living room. Below it was a pile of colorful boxes.
In addition to gifts from school friends, there were gifts from other relatives he wasn't familiar with.
"Did you feel abandoned by me and did it make you feel bad?" This was a letter from Pansy.
Draco could almost see Pansy smirking through the letter. "But I still gave you a Christmas surprise. This is the pair of gloves that Miss Ben has meticulous woven for you. How about it, are you very grateful to me now?"
After reading, Draco saw a pair of gloves quietly placed in a beautifully packed box. They were not very well made, with exposed threads in some places and mismatched colors, but they were for Draco and his heart was warm.
"I just wanted to give you a surprise too, I guess it's a bit embarrassing," Malfoy thought of Pansy's behavior before and couldn't help but want to laugh, but the letter said that she was very generous, so he was still very grateful.
Regardless, this gift made him feel happy.
Then there were two large gifts. Well, banana-flavored slug lollipops and orange-flavored chicken lollipops. Draco felt that he should go back and teach them what it means to be all petrochemicals.
Finally, there was a small piece of paper with the words "Thank you."
"This is the best," Malfoy thought.
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