The group pondered William's words carefully.
After a moment, Fred, whose swollen lips had finally subsided, slapped William on the leg with a grin and said, "Why overthink it? Let's just ask the Marauder's Map directly!"
"Show the map," Fred said, tapping his wand on the parchment again.
"Misters Marauders, did you notice that the four of us have disappeared from the map?"
Soon, new text began to appear on the Marauder's Map:
Prongs is quite curious about this unknown place and believes it is worth investigating.
More lines quickly followed:
Padfoot approves of this magic.
Moony agrees.
Wormtail has no objections.
Fred was still marveling at this when the map's writing suddenly vanished. In its place, new green lettering appeared on the parchment:
To activate the Marauder's Map: I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.
To close the map: Mischief managed.
The group stared at the parchment, a little amused. They hadn't expected the activation and closing phrases to be so simple.
George's excitement was palpable. "Looks like we've got a lot to keep us busy for a while."
By "busy," of course, he meant misconduct and nighttime adventures.
…
As time passed, Christmas quickly approached.
One morning in mid-December, everyone woke up to find several feet of snow covering the ground, and the lake had frozen over with thick ice.
George and Fred, after attempting to break into Snape's potion storage again, got caught in one of Dumbledore's protective enchantments and were immediately apprehended by Professor McGonagall.
Their punishment was to shovel the snow at the entrance of the castle by hand.
The ground was slippery, and many students had already taken tumbles on the icy paths.
As they worked, the twins built a snowman in the shape of a troll, complete with a large club in its hand.
The students gathered around them applauded enthusiastically—the troll looked quite lifelike.
Soon, students from all four houses joined in the fun, creating all sorts of snow creatures: giant Scottish round-faced chickens, Grindylows, dragons, and even Boba Tea.
With Snape still absent, the prevailing rumor was that he had been sent to Azkaban and would be spending Christmas there.
Madam Pomfrey, meanwhile, was still overseeing the potions classes, though she had finally agreed to teach students how to brew actual potions—due to the recent flu outbreak at Hogwarts.
The students were hesitant to trust their own potions, so everyone paid very close attention during her lessons, which left Madam Pomfrey quite pleased.
Owls flew through the snowy sky, delivering letters and packages despite the difficult conditions. After each journey, they needed time to recover under Hagrid's care before taking flight again.
The cold grew more biting each day, and the students eagerly anticipated the holiday break. While the common rooms and Great Hall blazed with warm fires, the drafty corridors were bitterly cold, and the windows rattled loudly in the winter wind.
William, Cho, and Cedric were all planning to go home for Christmas.
Charlie and the Weasley twins, on the other hand, would be staying at Hogwarts. Mrs. Weasley was taking Ron and Ginny to Egypt to visit Bill, so Charlie was staying behind to look after Fluffy.
As for the twins, they were planning more adventures at the school, including checking the safety of the other secret passages and keeping an eye out for whoever had raided Snape's potion storage.
They were convinced the culprit would make another move during the Christmas break.
After potions class, William and Cho left the underground classroom and found the hallway ahead completely blocked by a large fir tree.
Peeking out from under the tree were two large feet, and a familiar loud puffing sound could be heard from behind it. They knew immediately that Hagrid was nearby.
"Need a hand, Hagrid?" Cho asked, poking her head through the branches.
"No, I've got it," Hagrid replied, his voice muffled behind the tree. "C'mon, we're taking it to the Great Hall."
William and Cho followed Hagrid, helping to carry the massive tree into the hall, where Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick were already busy decorating for Christmas.
"Ah, Hagrid, the last tree!" McGonagall called out. "Just over in the corner, if you don't mind."
William glanced around the hall and couldn't help but admire how beautifully decorated it was.
The walls were draped with garlands of holly and mistletoe, and the room was filled with twelve towering Christmas trees. Some were adorned with glittering icicles, while others were covered in hundreds of twinkling candles.
William was struck by the festive atmosphere at Hogwarts. It was far more vibrant than the Lunar New Year celebrations back in his previous life in China, where the holiday spirit had dwindled over time.
By the time he had left, even firecrackers had been banned, and it felt like the holiday had lost its magic.
In comparison, Hogwarts truly knew how to celebrate.
One thing that puzzled William, though, was why wizards celebrated Christmas at all. It seemed odd, but no matter how much he pondered, he couldn't figure it out.
Two days later, the term finally ended, and the next day, students boarded the Hogwarts Express to return to London.
At Platform 9¾, Cho's father, a friendly man with a square face, greeted her with a warm smile and spoke to her in his heavily accented English.
William found it comforting—it reminded him of how bad his own English had been in his past life.
Cedric, on the other hand, found it a bit awkward.
Nevertheless, he tried to strike up a conversation with Cho's father in the clumsy Chinese phrases William had taught him.
Cho's father, in turn, spoke to Cedric in equally awkward but well-meaning Chinese, and the two of them ended up chatting away quite enthusiastically.
As for William, no one seemed surprised that he spoke fluent Chinese—after all, geniuses didn't need explanations.
Cedric's father, a jolly wizard with a red face and a brown mustache, was shaking hands with Cho's father.
"I've heard a lot about your William from Cedric. Fine young lad—shame he's not in Hufflepuff, but no matter. Cedric, as his senior, can teach him plenty of things, eh?" Mr. Diggory said with a hearty laugh.
"I hear Cedric made the Hufflepuff Quidditch team as Seeker, just like I did when I was young…"
Cedric looked a bit embarrassed.
Having a father who bragged about him constantly was something Cedric had learned to live with, though not without some struggle.
After exchanging farewells, William and his family set off in their car, heading home.
Boba Tea sat contentedly on Annie's lap, purring loudly as it rubbed its head against her hand. Annie, meanwhile, was delightedly pulling snacks out of William's pockets.
As they drove, William regaled his family with tales from Hogwarts.
Family, he realized, was a different kind of connection—something that couldn't be replaced, even by his experiences at Hogwarts.
His family was fascinated by the magical world, and even his father, who had once opposed him attending the school, now laughed heartily at William's stories.
William cherished this life and the warmth it brought.
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