It was amazing how quickly time could pass when you were busy. Without realizing it, thanks to each and every one of their activities, Christmas arrived almost without noticing it and very soon you could see how the hallways and the dining room were being decorated. Most of the professors were clearly caught up in the Christmas spirit and allowed things that they would have previously strictly prohibited.
The students forgot where they were for a few moments and fantasized about what they would do once the holidays began, without taking into account, of course, the obvious Christmas homework. Harry, for his part, had other things to worry about... like the professors testing him on fourth-year material, as he had previously been informed. Thus, the boy found himself locked in different classrooms, taking exams that would have made more than one person pale, while his classmates had fun on the patio or grounds making snowball fights or enchanted figures.
Of course, he didn't care, because although he liked to have fun, it was also true that he enjoyed learning, and doing the courses in such a compact way allowed him to learn more than if he did them normally. So he enjoyed the free period as much as he could and tried his best in everything else. In this way, Harry found himself just two days before the vacation began, completely free of any type of task to do and without prospects for the period that included the vacation.
It wasn't a surprise when they called him to his head of House's office... at that point, he was already known quite well for all the times he had had to go for whatever reason. After saying goodbye to his friends who were planning a new snowball fight, he went to Professor Sprout's office.
He had always liked that office. From his point of view, it showed perfectly what the herbology professor was like. The first thing you would see would be a great variety of magical and muggle plants, all well cared for and full of life, then you could see several (if not many) photos of students, all of them smiling and proudly showing their Hufflepuff badge. Furthermore, you saw a certain disorder, or at least it was for anyone who did not know it well, because if you looked within all that disorder there was a pattern, a practically natural way in the way they were found and therefore there was such an order.
When he entered, he was not surprised to find the witch tending to one of her countless plants, and even talking to them. He smiled when he saw it.
"Did you call me, professor?"
"Ahh! Mr. Potter... I didn't expect you so soon" The professor apologized when she saw him, at the same time she smiled embarrassedly "But please sit down."
"Thank you"
"Do you want some cookies? They're very good," the woman offered, but Harry didn't accept. "Well, I don't have to tell you why I called you, do I?"
"My grades"
"Exactly. This is a pretty repetitive situation in itself in some ways, but here you go."
The witch gave him an envelope containing the parchment where his grades were, and Harry took it and began to put it in his backpack, after all, it was insubstantial, the valid results would be sent to his parents.
"Aren't you going to open it? "The professor asked curiously.
The boy looked at her for a few moments, before tearing open the envelope and beginning to go over his results. Honestly, he didn't care what grades he had gotten, but convinced that his friends would have been nagging until he told them his grades, he looked at them. They were excellent, like all the ones he had obtained so far, all Outstanding.
"You must be very proud, Mr. Potter... your grades are magnificent. There has never been a student like you in the entire history of this school." Said the professor full of pride. "The next course will be really important, so I hope you try as hard as the ones you have done so far."
"Yes, professor."
After that conversation the boy left the office and headed to his secret room... Very soon it would be a full moon (New Year's Eve) and Remus would have to have his dose of Wolfbane potion, so he would have to have it ready as quickly as possible, and send it to him by owl... he had the holidays ahead of him to be able to do it.
When Professor Sprout had left the list for the students who would stay for Christmas to sign up, Harry had decided to sign up for it. He had thought about it a lot, and despite his desire to see Remus, he knew that if he returned home he would only have a bad time, so his name became part of the total list. Despite what he might have thought, he wasn't left completely alone, as Draco was also left, something to do with his parents going on a trip or something, so it wouldn't be too strange if they spent a lot of time together.
When the young Hufflepuff woke up on the first day of vacation, he felt a strange feeling of freedom, all his yearmates had gone on vacation so he had the entire dorm to himself. He knew that he had stayed with one first year and two or three sixth and seventh years, but otherwise, the house was deserted, so he could perfectly experience peace in his bedroom if he wanted to, although that wasn't going to be the case. .. there was always the possibility that someone would decide to come in to tell him something.
The first thing Harry decided to make such a good point was to get out of bed and do his vacation homework so that he could enjoy the rest of the holidays in peace. After giving Night a little pat behind the ears, he grabbed his backpack and made his way to the dining room and then to the library... for once he would do his assignment there. Obviously, Draco wasn't thrilled at the idea of spending the rest of the day (that is, all of it) locked up in Mrs. Price's domain, surrounded by books and doing his homework like a good wizard... but since it was Harry who was in charge he had no choice.
While the young Slytherin struggled with his own homework, Harry was completing his with a speed and ease unheard of in any student, even any adult would have serious difficulties being able to do the same work with the same ease as the young Hufflepuff... although very soon his work was interrupted by Draco's whining.
"Do we have to continue? We've just started the holidays! Harry, there's time!
"Okay... we'll leave it for now. "Said the boy with resignation.
He already knew that trying to study with Draco at his side was practically impossible, he should have known beforehand but he had hoped against hope that that wasn't the case. Looking at his Slytherin friend, he knew what the proposal he was going to make was going to be, but he still allowed him to make it, it was better not to let him know how readable he was... not only would he get angry, but he could also use it in the future to find out what he wanted from him.
"Let's fly!" Draco exclaimed excitedly.
"It has snowed, it would be crazy to go out and fly."
"But what are you saying? It would be fantastic... come on... Please."
"Alright..."
Anyone could have seen how the blonde boy's expression changed, since a big smile appeared on his face, and it was no wonder, his father had bought him a 2001 Nimbus, identical to the one Harry's parents had given him for his birthday, and despite his attempts he had not managed to get on the quidditch team and therefore with great difficulty he had barely been able to go flying. Harry, for his part, would have liked more to fly in his phoenix form, but he couldn't risk Dumbledore seeing him and trying to make him bond with Brian, a silly idea because for that the creature has to be completely willing, but that didn't mean he couldn't try.
The sensation of flying, even if it was with a broom, still gave him a strong feeling of freedom and for that reason, despite being completely crazy, he completely enjoyed the experience no matter how much his mind told him that he would see if it was the same. He was enjoying the cold that he was surely going to feel for the next couple of days.
On Christmas morning, Harry woke up earlier than usual, probably due to the feeling of a rough tongue and a cold, wet nose against his cheek. Night had decided to wake him up early. Seeing that it was more or less a normal hour, he decided that he could do useful things like read some of his books, although that idea changed when he saw a whole series of gifts at the foot of his bed, his Christmas gifts. With an excited smile, he sat cross-legged at the end of his bed and prepared to open his presents.
The first one he picked up was from Jonathan... Wondering what he could have given him, he opened the package with great care, only to discover a Muggle pen, white in color but with small green lines. The note indicated that it had been enchanted so that it could be refilled in a normal inkwell by simply dipping the tip, something very practical.
The next one was from Athenea. He smiled, trying to imagine his friend, in a store, trying to buy him a Christmas gift. Knowing that it would be something very well thought out and surely very necessary or very practical, he opened the gift, discovering a blank notebook, covered in white leather and with runes engraved on its entire surface. Next to the notebook, there was a note that told him that it was for him to write about his dreams, since she had seen that the other one was running out. That was a gift, very typical of Athenea...
With a smile from ear to ear, he took the next gift which was from Draco. It wasn't very difficult to imagine that the blonde Slytherin would have chosen something expensive and luxurious... although the previous year he had given him Night, after that he had made it very clear what kind of things he liked to buy for others. He opened the package very carefully, and looked with surprise at what his friend had given him, a bracelet... but not just any bracelet, but an Osiris Bracelet... It was Egyptian, very expensive, and very scarce, they were a very powerful protector against evil magic.
"Merlin, Draco... you went too far." He murmured as he placed it on his wrist.
The next gift made him laugh a lot, it was from the twins and logically he knew what it was... jokes. And he wasn't wrong, there was a whole box full of jokes. Terry, Hermione, and Neville's gifts were very similar, books, all of them on different topics but more or less the same, since they were complicated texts that were more designed for scholars than for students, but he liked them anyway.
Perhaps the one he liked the most, perhaps because of who sent it to him and because of the sentimental value it had, was Remus's. He had made him a photo album, but with photos in which he was happy. He was pleasantly surprised to find that there were many of his early life and that in them, his parents also seemed happy to be with him. He caressed the cover lovingly, before putting most of the things in his trunk, and going down to have breakfast... it was pointless to look for a gift from his parents, they had forgotten about him again.
In the end, by the time he finished putting away his gifts, it was too late to go to breakfast since in a very short time, lunch would be served in the Great Hall. Harry had heard how students who had stayed last Christmas had praised the Hogwarts food during the Christmas holidays and the truth was that the Christmas Eve Dinner had been magnificent, he was sure that lunch would be just as good or maybe better.
The Great Hall was as well decorated as usual, large Christmas trees, floating candles, and branches of mistletoe adorned everywhere. He saw Draco sitting at the Slytherin table eagerly waiting for the banquet to begin, probably because he hadn't had breakfast either, and without thinking much he sat down next to him and immediately began to comment on his morning, as well as thanking him for the bracelet, as well as tell him that he shouldn't have given him something so valuable, to which the blonde shrugged it off with a simple gesture of his hand.
Lunch was as magnificent as he had expected, the food was delicious and there was both quantity and variety, making everyone enjoy it. It was obvious that the house elves had tried as hard as they could to make it seem memorable to everyone.
Despite all the celebrations, Harry had not forgotten how important his duties were on this occasion, since the next year would be when he would have to take his OWLs, and therefore he would have to be as prepared as possible. For this reason, the young Hufflepuff spent much of his time between his room and the school library, looking for all the information possible to complete his different tasks and projects.
It was during one of his stays in the library that he heard a conversation that made him think a lot. He was looking at one of the potions shelves, when he heard Professor Snape enter the hallway behind that shelf, probably to look at something about his field, when he heard his Head of House also enter.
"Ah, Severus, I finally found you."
"Pomona..."
"I wanted to ask you if you need the luparia already. I wanted to know if you could pick it up now or if I should wait a little longer."
"I'll Pick it up now, I need it for a few potions."
"Very well."
He listened as his Head of House was about to leave when she stopped and turned back to the potions master. She obviously had some questions and wanted her colleague to resolve them as soon as possible.
"Tell me something, Severus... Is it true that you have to pay for the Wolfbane potion at 35 galleons per month? It is not too expensive?"
"Unfortunately not... on the contrary, I would say quite cheap."
"That's crazy!"
"Maybe... but you must keep in mind that there are very few potion masters available who know how to make very complicated potions, and even fewer who can make Wolfbane to the required perfection, That, whether you like it or not, makes it more expensive. The Potion Masters know this and they already sell it cheaply to the apothecaries and these, positions that must make a profit, make it even more expensive..."
"You speak as if you were not a potions master..."
"Of course I am... but I don't consider that behavior ethical and for that reason, I don't even do it, unless someone asks me for it as a personal favor. If someone decided to sell it cheaper, believe me, they would take the entire market."
A seemingly unimportant conversation made Harry think about many things. He wanted to help the twins set up their joke shop, but neither they nor he had the cash to get started. For quite some time, the young Hufflepuff had been thinking about what he could do, and now that simple conversation made him realize a way to achieve his goal.
With a smile stretching from ear to ear, he left the library to run to his room, he had several letters to write to different apothecaries in case they were interested in some of his potions.
[T/N: aaagggggHHHHHHHHHHH!!! That chapter had so much dialogue that made no sense that I had to spend an extra 30 minutes just to decipher them and even then I had trouble rewriting them into something understandable. If you guys enjoyed the chapter then drop some stones, leave a review, and write me a comment, I love reading them. If you didn't, stop lying it's been like a month since this thing started you had plenty of time to drop it. If you want to read the rest of the book then check out the P@treon or the Ko-fi for advanced chapters.
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