Time seems to go very fast during the holidays, as it always does.
Although there are many more students staying in school this year than in the past, the days when classes are completely unnecessary are still passing by quickly, and this is true for everyone.
As the calendar pages turn over, Christmas, a holiday that has inexplicably become the most important day in the British wizarding world, is finally here.
In the early morning of this day, William woke up very early. After taking a look at the elixir as usual, he began to open the gifts in the office, which was extremely hot and frightening.
After a few trinkets, he opened a letter from the Ministry of Magic - the letter once again happily informed him that his investiture ceremony would be held at the Ministry of Magic tonight, and he hoped he would arrive on time.
'It's like I dare to be late. '
He complained, and then started today's magic practice - the awarding was still in the evening, so there was no rush.
…
"That's all."
In the afternoon, after once again confirming that his elixir was in a very good condition, William relaxed and began to choose the dress he should wear when receiving the award.
He has six outfits, all altered to suit a variety of settings.
There is a set of wand extractions that are particularly handy, but I have to reduce the number of helpful potions I carry with me.
There are enough hidden pouches in one set, but I can't pull out the wand quickly enough.
There is also a set suitable for sneak attacks. The position of the wand is particularly extreme, but once used, the dress will be damaged.
…
"Fortunately, I'm very energetic. Compared with the one I ordered last year, this one fits a little better."
After trying to pull out the wand and put it back again, William nodded with satisfaction and walked out of the office.
The award must be treated carefully. The Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts cooperate very happily. If he is not cautious, there will be some funding problems - of course, more importantly, if he is not cautious enough, he will not be sorry for the hard work of applying for him. Professor Marchban for this medal.
"Okay, now you can leave for the Ministry of Magic. First go to Hogsmeade, and then take the Knight Bus..."
He calculated his itinerary - he had invited many colleagues to this medal ceremony. Although everyone could theoretically apparate there, after all, the Knight Bus was still safe.
——
"Sirius said he might not be able to come." In the Gryffindor lounge, Harry, who had just woken up, opened a gift and read the message inside, his tone a little disappointed.
"He said he was going to attend the Christmas dinner of the Ministry of Magic - I remember that was also the time when the professor was awarded the honors, right?"
Harry asked Ron as if he was remembering something, but Ron got up with a groan, his eyes still a little uncertain, "It seems that, I don't know clearly, none of the students were invited?"
"I don't know about that, but I heard that some of the seventh-year students who got internships at the Ministry of Magic skipped tonight's dance."
Harry wasn't sure, but the sound of the two of them talking woke the others up - and soon everyone was opening presents together.
Breakfast, sharing gifts, playing chess, lunch, playing cards... half a day passed quickly, but as the afternoon approached dusk, the lazy expressions of everyone in the lounge disappeared, as if someone had tightened the clockwork from the air. Likewise, everyone quickly returned to their dormitories and began to change into their clothes.
…
"Harry, what steps are you going to do when you lead the dance later?"
Ron asked as he put on his ceremonial robe.
Harry blushed and responded nonchalantly, "I'm just as prepared..."
He was really embarrassed to admit that he had been secretly practicing dance with Qiu Zhang in the Room of Requirement during this period - almost every day after cracking the secret of the golden egg together, they would sneak to the Room of Requirement to practice.
It was really hard to say that he was practicing dance moves alone just to avoid making a fool of himself when leading the dance - mainly because he couldn't explain to Ron why he didn't inform him about the dance practice.
——
"Lord Dark Lord?"
Bertha finished her two hours of makeup and asked cautiously.
It's not possible to avoid the party. As long as they plan to do business here, they can't refuse everyone's invitation - that will offend all the merchants and make them completely unable to gain a foothold in the local area.
Therefore, Bertha got the Dark Lord's permission, but she accidentally spent too much time dressing herself up.
There was no way, the missing hair on the back of her head really needed enough time to cover up, she had to...
"Done? Bertha?"
Tom's voice was a little unsteady - he just couldn't wait any longer, so he took a break.
God knew Christmas dinner took so much time to prepare!
Fortunately, everything is over. As long as we get through that damn dinner party, everything will be easy to talk about.
Bertha was overjoyed by the Dark Lord's reaction - she was so happy that she even rushed to the tavern where the banquet was held in just ten minutes.
Just like what the old lady selling candy said, there are no outsiders in the tavern today, they are all businessmen doing business nearby.
"welcome!"
The old lady took Bertha's hand and was extremely satisfied with her dress - it was obvious that Bertha attached great importance to this party.
It made her feel that the gift he had suggested for her was not in vain.
"Merry Christmas, kid."
She took Bertha to the large table that was spelled out in the center of the tavern.
"It's Christmas again, and we are honored to meet a child with good character as we welcome the new students."
"She is hard-working, kind-hearted, and has unique craftsmanship. These beautiful qualities are extremely rare nowadays."
"So, I propose to formally accept her as one of us,"
The old lady looked at the other people in the tavern, "I wrote a letter and we jointly recommended her so that she could build a new hut in the corner of the town to serve as a store. The land rent would be doubled for the first five years without having to spend any money. Use big prices to buy houses in other places."
"I agree!"
"Me too!"
There were voices of support from the crowd, and the old lady had always had a high reputation in this town.
"Here's your Christmas present. I hope you like it, kid."
She touched Bertha's head.
——
"Ruined…"
When Bertha woke up from that feeling, she fell into despair.
"Lord Dark Lord!"
"You did well, Bertha."
Tom praised that he never thought Bertha could handle the store so quickly.
"But, Lord Dark Lord..."
Bertha's tone was not at all excited by the praise, "We need to find someone to build a store, which costs a lot of money... and the subsequent land rent will also seriously affect our income..."
And there is no way back - which businessman refuses to set up a stall after having a shop?
Silence, still silence...
…
…
Second book link