After coming to terms with Loren, the three Heads hurried to fetch their private research notes as fast as possible, afraid he might change his mind.
As for joining the Scotland National Quidditch Team, Loren asked the relevant professors to keep it strictly confidential—he didn't want the extra attention.
When Oliver Wood learned that Loren would serve as Gryffindor's substitute going forward—and that Loren wouldn't take the field unless the team ran into trouble—he wasn't disappointed at all; he was delighted. Loren's performance was far too monstrous even with the brakes on. Though Loren had only played one match, he'd helped Gryffindor stockpile enough points that, even with Loren benched, Wood felt confident this lineup could win the House Cup.
Loren would sit on the bench, but the other three captains aren't fools: the prospect of Loren stepping in again is almost unthinkable. Just his presence as a substitute is enough to make them behave.
Loren himself had a full slate. First he received Professor Flitwick's private research notes, then Professors Sprout and McGonagall took him to the Scotland National Quidditch Team for a trial.
Within ten minutes on the pitch, Loren wrecked a goal and put every reserve out of commission. The head coach accepted him on the spot and promised Loren would be the team's secret weapon—no practices required; he'd only appear in key matches.
After wrapping things up with Scotland, Loren rushed back to Hogwarts to resume his regular, busy routine. He threw himself into sorting several troves at once: private notes from top-notch wizards, a portion of Dumbledore's personal collection, and the half-finished magical intelligent assistant Rowena Ravenclaw left behind.
Fortunately, before Christmas, Loren finished the magical version of the assistant. It wasn't exactly what he'd envisioned at first, but it worked. He named it Rona, taking one character each from Rowena Ravenclaw and Helena Ravenclaw to form a new name.
The "magical" part differed from the plan in a big way: Rona had a body of her own. It was only a ghostly body, but she could move around Hogwarts, which made the castle's ghosts very happy—the last new ghost to arrive had been Moaning Myrtle, decades ago.
With a body, Rona could handle more tasks; for starters, copying books from the Restricted Section was now her job.
With the Christmas holiday approaching, Loren and Hermione both applied to go home—they'd been away for months and missed the feeling of home. But right now, the most pressing issue was Christmas gifts.
In past years, Loren only had to prepare presents for family. This year he needed gifts for many more people.
For acquaintances—classmates from various Houses who'd merely shared lessons—Loren prepared magical alarm clocks that could record custom chimes. Since the recipients were Hogwarts students, an alarm clock would help them manage their time. It was one of Loren's early inventions; he dug it out of storage in his alchemy workshop, brought the sample and materials to the twins, and—with their machine—had the batch done in under an hour.
The only hassle was labeling each clock with the recipient's name in decorative script—sending a dozen identical gifts looks insincere. That fiddly job fell to Tool No. 1: Peter Pettigrew. After Loren's careful instructions, Pettigrew cross-checked the list and hand-engraved every name on the back of each magical alarm clock.
For people he knew well, he wouldn't be perfunctory.
First came the close circle. For Harry, Loren prepared an alchemical spectacle frame that auto-adjusted its shape to match his current form—so whenever Harry became Harrie, he wouldn't be stuck in the same old black frames, and everything would look more coordinated.
For Ron, a boy with a bit of pride, Loren made a Metamorphic Dress Robe—so he'd never worry about formal wear again. The threadbare robe in the books had left a lasting wound on young Ron. This robe was one of Loren's earlier alchemy works from before he formally studied magic-side enchanting, so it had a flaw: no magic should be cast on it—not even Cleaning Charms—or it would warp into a bizarre shape. Loren wrote a user manual for the robe; he was sure Ron would like it.
For Neville, Loren prepared a manual titled Notes of the White-Robed Mage, compiled from his own martial-alchemy training to pave the way for Neville's path as a sword saint.
For Seamus, he prepared The Detonation Manual. As a demolition prodigy, Seamus dealt with explosions day in and day out; this book ought to help.
Next were the members of the Gryffindor team. Loren treated everyone the same: each got a set of his self-developed Broom Upgrade Toolkit and a copy of the Broom Modification Guide. It was the only way he could support Gryffindor's team across the board.
Beyond classmates came the professors. Gift-giving to teachers is an art.
For the Headmaster, Loren didn't even need to think; he presented the long-prepared gender-changing ring—the kind that truly turns a man into a woman when worn. Grindelwald would be thrilled, he thought wryly.
For Professor McGonagall, he sent a bottle of catnip extract (physically extracted), not the refined powder—this way she could enjoy it all to herself.
For Professor Snape, he sent a special batch of Polyjuice Potion—standard potion, with one twist: a strand of Harrie's hair inside. Drink it and you become Harrie. Professor Snape might be moved to tears.
For Professor Sprout, a full cookbook of magical plants—every edible preparation Loren had developed—doubling as a progress report on his research.
As for Professor Flitwick's height problem, Loren had first considered gifting a mechanical exoskeleton, but thought better of it—he didn't want to imply disability. He changed it to a pair of alchemical shoes that let the wearer float freely above the floor, so Professor Flitwick could finally give lectures without stacking a pile of books.
With the Heads' presents settled, he moved on to the rest of his instructors—any professor who had taught him would receive a gift.
For Professor Binns, he made a handsome hat. Though Binns was a ghost, Loren's recent research had broken through; he could now craft objects ghosts could actually wear. The hat also nourished the soul, a fresh attempt to see whether it could ease the emotional numbness common to spirits.
For Madam Hooch, he crafted a broom whose top speed could easily break the sound barrier. The only drawback was the extreme demand it placed on a rider's magical control; mishandled magic would send it into supersonic flight at once. With Madam Hooch's skill, she'd manage fine.
For Professor Aurora Sinistra of Astronomy, he prepared a techno-magical telescope with greatly increased viewing range, hoping it might spur progress in the field.
Finally, Professor Quirrell. Though Loren disliked him, he was even-handed in gift-giving. For Quirrell he made a magical amulet—whenever it detected Dark Magic, it would flare with strong positive energy to drive it off. If the Dark Magic was too powerful, the amulet would detonate and release a surge of positive energy. Loren hadn't tested how strong that would be.
For the staff he'd interacted with, he prepared simpler gifts. Madam Pomfrey received a set of Muggle medical journals for fresh inspiration. Filch received a book titled How to Care for Cats—truth be told, every time Loren saw the scrawny Mrs. Norris, he suspected Filch wasn't feeding her right.
And for Hagrid—an assistant Loren valued highly—he prepared a suitcase, the same type Newt carried. The case didn't come with habitats or plants; Hagrid would have to arrange those himself.
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