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Hogwarts, Great Hall.
The Great Hall overflowed with Christmas atmosphere, transformed into a winter wonderland of festive cheer.
More than a hundred big turkeys covered the tables alongside mountains of roast meat and boiled potatoes.
Large platters of sausages sat beside bowls of rich gravy and various vegetable salads that added splashes of color to the feast.
Clearly, the house-elves at Hogwarts had outdone themselves this time.
After nearly four months at Hogwarts, Erwin believed only the Sorting Ceremony feast could match this magnificent spread.
Wizard fireworks surrounded the four long tables, adding their own peculiar magic to the celebration.
Fred and George had given Erwin some of these before; with a gentle pull of the match string, all sorts of strange effects would appear.
The ones the twins had gifted him previously left behind Dungbombs after exploding, filling the air with their notorious stench.
However, Erwin had taught Fred and George a valuable lesson about that particular prank.
Erwin gently picked up a wizard cracker and pulled it with care.
BANG!
A cannon-like roar erupted from the top of the cracker, releasing a large plume of blue smoke.
A bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans and several chocolate frogs popped out from within.
The professors at the High Table looked remarkably different from their usual selves.
Dumbledore smiled like the hundred-year-old child he was, wearing a ridiculous pointed hat that made Professor McGonagall laugh despite herself.
Professor Flitwick kept conjuring legendary fairies with casual flicks of his wand.
Each pixie radiated light in different colors as they fluttered through the air, adding a touch of ethereal romance to the Great Hall.
Erwin knew these fairies were merely magical constructs that would disappear after a certain period, but their beauty remained enchanting nonetheless.
Not many students had stayed at school for the holidays.
Erwin didn't continue eating at Ravenclaw's table; the twins had dragged him directly to the Gryffindor table instead.
"Hi, my name's Percy."
A red-haired boy with a prefect badge greeted Erwin with formal politeness.
Erwin smiled and returned the greeting.
This was the twins' older brother, Gryffindor's prefect.
The other Gryffindors welcomed him warmly as well.
Erwin was naturally sociable, and most students liked him considerably.
Only certain Slytherin students, particularly some of the girls, had mixed feelings about him.
Soon, everyone was talking and laughing together.
Ron pulled out his wizard chess set again, preparing to challenge Harry to another game.
But Harry had learned his lesson.
He hurriedly positioned himself next to Seamus instead, examining the model of the Chudley Cannons team with obvious interest.
Erwin couldn't help sighing at how limited entertainment options were in the wizarding world.
'When I master alchemy properly, I'll have to create something more engaging,' he thought to himself.
Eventually, Fred snatched Percy's prefect badge while the older brother was lecturing Erwin about prefectorial responsibilities.
Percy immediately chased the twins around the Great Hall in outraged pursuit.
By that point, everyone had grown tired and prepared to return to their dormitories, planning to sleep well before waking early the next morning to open presents.
****
Early the next morning, Erwin woke up, rubbing his sleepy eyes.
When he'd cleared the sleep from his vision, he spotted the pile of packages stacked before his bed.
He'd expected to receive quite a few gifts, but looking at the actual quantity exceeded even his optimistic predictions.
The entire bedroom was nearly full.
And so Erwin began his happy unwrapping journey.
Opening gifts was like opening mystery boxes; you never knew what treasures lay inside.
Despite spending the entire morning on this task, he enjoyed every moment.
Cho's gift came first.
She'd given him a scarf, and looking at the slightly uneven stitching pattern, Erwin knew immediately that she'd knitted it herself.
He decided to wear this scarf when meeting her at the station once the term resumed.
The twins had created their own candy; after eating it, the consumer's voice would change briefly, switching from male to female or female to male.
Quite amusing, though Erwin decided against creating any gender-transformation potions to accompany it.
That seemed unnecessarily complicated.
Hermione had sent a manuscript copy of her History of Magic notes, knowing full well that Erwin never paid attention during Professor Binns's lectures.
The gift suited him perfectly.
Harry gave him a broomstick care kit, while Lee Jordan sent a copy of A History of Irish Quidditch.
Various other students had sent candy, notebooks, and similar tokens of friendship.
But what surprised Erwin most was discovering that the heads of all four houses had each given him gifts.
Professor McGonagall sent a copy of Transfiguration Today magazine, the most authoritative academic publication on Transfiguration in the magical world. Most people weren't even qualified to purchase it.
Professor Sprout gave a potted Star Sunflower, which closed during the day and grew at night by absorbing starlight. It made an excellent ornamental plant.
His own Head of House sent notes on spell theory, though merely a copy, they remained tremendously valuable.
The most surprising gift came from Snape, who'd actually given him a bottle of Felix Felicis.
Although Erwin had obtained Felix Felicis through his system draws, that didn't diminish the potion's value in the magical world.
A single small bottle of Felix Felicis could probably purchase the entire Weasley household.
Erwin felt fortunate that when distributing his own gifts, he hadn't forgotten these professors.
He'd even given Dumbledore several pairs of wool socks, knowing the Headmaster's peculiar fondness for them.
This Christmas, the gift Erwin had spent the most gold Galleons on was Cho's broomstick, a Nimbus 2001.
That's right, 2001, not the current model.
Through Professor Flitwick's connections, Erwin had spent considerable money to purchase a Nimbus 2001 six months before its official release next year, having it delivered directly to Cho.
For Hermione, he'd purchased the entire series of Gilderoy Lockhart's books.
Lockhart would be teaching at Hogwarts next year, and although the man himself was questionable, the authenticity of the stories he'd stolen, and their educational content, remained solid.
Muggle families had limited annual exchanges for Galleons, and Erwin wanted to spare Hermione from financial hardship when buying these required texts next year.
For the twins and Harry, Erwin had given them spells.
He'd taught the twins [Protego], while giving Harry his signature defensive spell, [Expelliarmus].
But the most precious gift was the spell he'd given Snape, Eden's Memory Sanctuary.
Erwin had drawn this magic from his daily lottery several days ago.
This spell could extract memories from one's mind and form a spiritual space, then project one's spiritual body into it.
It resembled a Pensieve, but the spiritual body cast within could actually communicate with people in the memory space.
How those people reacted would be generated by the caster's impression and memories of them.
"I believe Professor Snape will appreciate this magic," Erwin thought with a slight smile.
"I wonder how he'll use it in the memory space."
Smiling like a particularly satisfied fox, Erwin indulged in rather gossipy speculation about what Snape might do with such a gift.