The two of them returned to the Slytherin common room with hearts pounding like startled deer. Even after they went back to their dormitory, the excitement in their chests refused to settle.
"This is unbelievable, isn't it?" Daphne said, her voice trembling. It was the pinnacle of magic—something most wizards wouldn't even dare to dream of.
If she could awaken a domain herself… that would be so cool!
Thinking of this, Daphne couldn't help sighing again. She had no idea how Rhys managed such a thing—worthy of Slytherin's heir indeed.
"Let's finish opening the rest of the presents," Astoria said, calming down faster than her sister. She understood that high-level magic like domains wasn't something you could force out just by wanting it badly.
Some things simply couldn't be solved by impatience—like math problems, or magic domains.
She walked back to the little "hill" of gift parcels and resumed rummaging through them. After setting aside several "courtesy gifts," Astoria's hand suddenly froze.
She rubbed her eyes.
Was she seeing things?
Why would Professor White send her a Christmas present? She wasn't close with the woman at all.
Out of the three of them, the only one who had any real connection with Professor White was Rhys.
Driven by curiosity, Astoria tore open Professor White's parcel—and was instantly stunned by what was inside.
"Daphne! Professor White sent me so many clothes!" Astoria's voice was filled with shock as she hurriedly called her sister over, eager to know whether Daphne had also received a Christmas gift from Professor White.
Sure enough, after searching through the pile for a moment, Daphne found a large parcel from White.
When she opened it, she discovered—just like Astoria—that she too had received a huge assortment of clothing.
The Greengrass sisters were not lacking in clothes, which also meant they could instantly recognize the quality before them.
Every piece in the parcel—robes, hats, underlayers, socks, shoes—was high-end, the kind of luxury apparel that required custom orders from Exquisite Enchanted Tailor Shops.
Professor White had even commissioned a formal gown for each of them.
With a quick estimate, the girls realized that the value of everything in just this one parcel was no less than five hundred Galleons.
"Why would Professor White do this?" Daphne was completely bewildered, and Astoria wasn't any better.
The only explanation they could think of was that Professor White must have gotten her hands on a massive fortune and begun spending freely.
"Think about it—just the installment payments from all those families and the Ministry will bring her several thousand Galleons every month. Maybe, to her, this kind of gift is nothing at all."
Daphne fell silent.
For the first time in her life, she felt a sense of defeat involving money.
The Greengrass family wasn't poor by any means—but they definitely didn't spend money like this.
Pure-blood families weren't strangers to the dangers of squandering wealth. The Gaunt family, who claimed descent from Salazar Slytherin himself, had ruined their entire bloodline by obsessing over appearances, ending up impoverished with nothing but a collapsing shack.
Because of that, most ancient wizarding families were extremely strict about teaching their children financial responsibility.
Which made Professor White's extravagant "money-throwing" absolutely shocking to the sisters.
"Since Professor White already sent them, we can't exactly return the gifts. Why don't we try them on?" Daphne said, unable to resist the beautiful clothing laid out before her.
Astoria also couldn't withstand Helga's sugar-coated bombardment. The moment her sister took the lead, she immediately stripped off her own clothes and began putting on the outfits White had sent her.
While the two girls excitedly changed into their new clothes, Rhys had already left his dormitory and headed to the common room.
During Christmas, the Slytherin common room was unusually quiet—aside from himself and the Greengrass sisters, it seemed every other little snake had gone home.
Rhys didn't mind the emptiness at all—in fact, it suited him perfectly.
He claimed the spot closest to the fireplace, propped a string of German-style smoked sausages over the strong flames, and set a kettle of water to boil for tea.
He even had the leisure to bury a few potatoes in the warm ashes beside the fire; once they were cooked through, he planned to slice them open and slather them with a thick layer of salted butter.
When they were ready, the whole room would smell heavenly.
As for why he didn't go to the Great Hall for breakfast—of course it was because he was too lazy to leave.
In December's biting cold, no sane person would willingly step out of a cozy room with a blazing fireplace. The walk from the Slytherin common room to the Great Hall was not a short one. Rather than bundle himself in heavy robes or use his magic to keep himself warm and walk a lot just to eat a lonely breakfast in an empty hall, Rhys much preferred to fend for himself right here.
After all, it's in a man's nature that sometimes he has an urge to cook, and this cozy environment was so appealing!
The house-elves kept the fireplace burning hot, so the kettle boiled quickly. Rhys tossed in a large handful of tea leaves and enchanted the sausage rack to rotate on its own.
Bathed in the aroma of cooking food and steeping tea, Rhys felt like life had never been better—
Just as the sausages began sizzling with fat, Rhys glanced casually toward the coals—
and even he, with all his experience, nearly jumped.
"What the fuck?!"
A human face was forming in the burning embers!
Judging by the features, who else could it be but Helga Hufflepuff?
"Smith White!!! This is the Slytherin common room—what do you think you're doing?! And moreover, Hogwarts fireplaces are strictly forbidden from connecting to the outside Floo Network!"
For once, Rhys was genuinely irritated.
"Nothing much. Merry Christmas, Rhys Lint. And by the way, I only connected my office fireplace to this one—there's no link to the outside world, so this doesn't count as violating school rules."
Helga's expression was calm and breezy, the face formed by glowing embers curling into a smile.
"I hope you liked the Christmas present I sent you."
That sentence hit Rhys like a bucket of ice water thrown over roaring flames—his irritation vanished instantly.
In an awkward tone, he replied, "I liked it very much. It's fantastic."
This was the classic truth of "one cannot be harsh to someone who's just given them a gift."
Helga, as the gift-giver who hadn't yet received anything in return, held overwhelming moral advantage.
"I also bought two sets of beautiful clothes for your two students. Want to go take a look?"
Rhys: ???
Fortunately, he had prepared for this. The moment she brought it up, he immediately pulled a small box from inside his robes and waved it in front of Helga's fiery face.
"I also prepared a gift for Diggory. Do you want to deliver it for me, or should I send it anonymously myself?" Rhys asked, looking at the Helga-shaped embers.
"Oh?"
Now, Helga was the curious one. She wanted to know what Salazar had prepared for his student.
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