Tom couldn't interfere in the intrigues of London, so he could only wait patiently and then send the Dementors.
He returned to his busy daily life of studying, and the days passed quickly. By late November, Ravenclaw defeated Hufflepuff, and they were getting closer to winning the Quidditch Cup.
At Hogwarts, there are two terms in one school year. The first term runs from September to Christmas, and the second term goes from January to late June.
Now, there were two weeks left until the end of the first term, and the school was filled with a festive atmosphere. Professor Flitwick had decorated the charms classroom with many colorful lights, which turned into fluttering fairies when students approached. Professor Sprout and the students had created a Christmas tree with various magical plants, and Tom would bet that this Christmas tree was the most dangerous in history, it even had Devil's Snare vines wrapped around the trunk!
Even in Professor Trelawney's classroom, there were Christmas elements. Tom saw a crystal ball in which it was snowing internally, and one could vaguely see a flying sleigh inside it.
Probably the only ones who weren't infected by this atmosphere were Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall.
"Tom, where do you want to go for Christmas?" Hermione, as usual, approached Tom excitedly to ask about his plans for the Christmas holidays.
Tom understood her intention; Hermione kept indirectly inviting him to her home to spend Christmas together. Tom wanted to go. Christmas was a time for gatherings, and to Tom, the Granger family was becoming more and more like his own family, so it was natural to spend Christmas at their home!
"I have nowhere to go, so if you don't mind, I'll go to your house for Christmas."
"Agreed! My family will always welcome you."
...
Hogsmeade was open again. This was the last day of Hogsmeade opening before Christmas.
Harry wrapped himself in his cloak and scarf, said goodbye to Ron, and climbed the marble stairs alone, preparing to spend the boring time in the Gryffindor Tower.
There were too many students going to Hogsmeade, so much so that the castle was quiet and still.
Suddenly, Fred and George Weasley grabbed Harry and took him to an empty classroom.
When they left, Harry had a scroll of parchment in his robes; his heart was pounding like he had just completed a strenuous workout, and his cheeks were flushed with excitement.
He could go to Hogsmeade! All thanks to the gift the Weasley twins had given him, the "Marauder's Map," a wonderful thing that marked many secret passages of Hogwarts, including some that would take him to Hogsmeade.
Impatiently, he put on the Invisibility Cloak and entered the passage behind the One-Eyed Witch on the map.
Hogsmeade looked like a Christmas card, with a thin layer of snow on the rooftops of houses and shop signs. Holly wreaths hung on the doors of each house. The Dementors patrolling on the outskirts of the village did not diminish the enthusiasm of the people, who were celebrating joyfully in the village.
When Tom and Hermione arrived in Hogsmeade, they saw a group of owls perched in the bushes along the path. These small creatures were intelligent and knew that there were many visitors that day, so they stayed on the path, hoping to be given some food.
It was a natural business opportunity. A vendor pushed a red and white cart to the side of the street, selling owl treats: some cookies with strange flavors.
When the student in front of them reached the vendor's cart, all the owls that had gathered around turned their heads and silently stared at him.
Owls were strange creatures; they could rotate their heads completely, and sometimes, even when facing away, they could look back. It was unsettling.
No wonder people in the Middle Ages associated owls with wizards and bad news.
"These owls seem a bit threatening..." Hermione looked at the owls perched on the branches, feeling a bit nervous.
"Don't worry, even though they are birds of prey, they have been domesticated by wizards. They just want to get some food," Tom said.
And so it was, when the vendor handed the owl treats to the young wizard, a large group of owls flew towards him and surrounded him. Even though the vendor had many times more food in his box, the owls only had eyes for what the young wizard held in his hands.
They were surrounding the young wizard, occasionally flapping their wings and looking at him with eager eyes.
Under the watchful gaze of so many round eyes, the young wizard gave in and scattered the owl treats from the bag on the ground, attracting numerous owls that came fluttering and ate all the cookies on the ground.
Once the young wizard had exhausted his residual courage, the owls dispersed and stopped paying attention to this "poor man." Of course, if he bought another package of owl treats, he would continue to be the eternal friend of the owls.
"Do you want a package?" Hermione rubbed her hands together, exhaled a white breath, and showed some enthusiasm. Although she had a feeling of being a fooled fool, being surrounded by so many adorable creatures didn't seem so bad.
"Here you go!" Tom bought two bags of owl treats and also enjoyed the feeling of being the center of attention.
"Can I pet them?" Tom tentatively reached out to a silver-gray owl, intending to stroke its fluffy chest, but he was stopped by the owl's gaze.
He was pretty sure that if he advanced further, he would probably be attacked.
"Stingy." Tom commented, but he also didn't feel like arguing with the owls.
Snowflakes began to fall from the sky.
"Follow me." After feeding the owls, Hermione led Tom to a small hill on the edge of the village. Soon, they arrived at a dilapidated fence, where the iron wires were rusted.
Behind the fence, an abandoned house stood lonely in a barren field.
"Shrieking Shack, the scariest haunted house in all of the UK," Hermione said as she looked at the house. "Did I mention it to you before?"
"You mentioned it several times when we were coming here," Tom rummaged through his memory and remembered that Hermione had wanted to come here for a long time.
But Hermione clearly didn't care about that. She looked at Tom and asked softly, "Shall we get a little closer?"
Tom blinked and moved closer to Hermione, practically sticking together.
"I mean the Shrieking Shack." Hermione laughed at him, but instead of pushing him away, she willingly clung to his arm.
She looked at Tom, waiting for his response.