"Hogwarts in four seasons—autumn fades, winter comes anew. Christmas winds bring swirling snow, the Black Lake shines like glass below, where even footsteps pass—oh, where even footsteps pass!"
As winter deepened and the cold grew sharper, a heavy snowfall had left the grounds blanketed in white. Christmas was now just around the corner.
At Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the long-awaited Christmas holidays were about to begin.
For Qin Yu, life had been rather leisurely of late. Inspired by the swirling snow and the frozen Black Lake, he'd even penned a little poem. But when he translated it into English and recited it for Hermione, the girl barely looked up from her book, gave a distracted "Wow, amazing!" and went right back to reading.
Talk about perfunctory praise!
Qin Yu felt a bit wounded by her lack of enthusiasm, but he couldn't really stay annoyed. After all, Hermione was sitting right beside him, nose buried in a hefty tome titled Important Magical Events of the Twentieth Century.
She was so absorbed because she was searching for a name—Nicolas Flamel—all thanks to the "puzzle" Qin Yu had set for her and the others.
Ever since that day at Hagrid's hut, when the big man had let slip a bit too much, Qin Yu had nudged them to figure out who Nicolas Flamel was on their own. Since then, Hermione had spent all her spare time in the library, combing through book after book for any clue. She'd already read this one before, but she was giving it another go, just in case she'd missed something.
Once Hermione started reading, she was lost to the world. Forget Qin Yu—even her own father wouldn't get a response. The fact that she'd bothered to praise Qin Yu at all was already giving him a lot of face.
He could hardly complain—he was the one who'd set her on this quest, after all.
"Ah, the woes of unappreciated genius!" he sighed theatrically, mourning his unadmired poetry.
Of course, it wasn't as if he had nothing else to do. He was just taking a break from his own reading.
Besides, this was the library, and Madam Pince could appear at any moment. He couldn't exactly start chatting away.
Still, before returning to his book, Qin Yu couldn't resist reaching out to ruffle Hermione's hair—her studious look was just too tempting.
Predictably, his mischief earned him a sharp stomp from a small shoe and a glare fierce enough to rival a cornered kneazle.
What? "Getting what he deserved" isn't the right phrase? Oh well, not important.
Right on cue, Madam Pince materialized nearby, her hawk-like gaze sweeping the room for unruly students.
You might wonder—with such a strict librarian, how do students like Qin Yu still manage to make trouble in the library? Simple: rules only matter when there's someone to enforce them. That's why Madam Pince had to keep making her rounds. If everyone behaved, she'd be out of a job. Mischievous students were, in a way, her job security!
So, as one of these "troublemakers," Qin Yu quickly straightened up and buried himself in his book.
Hermione noticed the librarian too, and after giving Qin Yu a soft huff, turned her focus back to Important Magical Events of the Twentieth Century, searching for that elusive name.
That didn't mean she let him off the hook, though. Her shoe pressed down hard on his foot several more times under the table.
But Qin Yu was made of sterner stuff—he was a big name at Hogwarts, after all. He could lose anything, but never his composure! Even after being stomped repeatedly, he kept his cool, eyes fixed on his alchemy treatise, the very picture of calm and collected.
After a few more stomps, Hermione felt her anger subside. She knew better than to push her luck—any more, and she might face some creative payback later. She withdrew her foot, thinking, Hmph, maybe I'll just help him polish his shoes later. That should keep him from getting too vengeful… right? Probably.
Lost in these thoughts, Hermione realized she'd absentmindedly flipped through several pages without reading a word. Annoyed, she quickly doubled back, banishing her wandering thoughts. Her slender fingers traced each line, searching intently for the name—or anything close to it.
But by the time she finished the entire book, she'd found nothing.
…
The next day—Friday—was the last day of classes before the Christmas break.
As always, the whole castle buzzed with excitement, like a flock of caged birds eager for the doors to fly open.
Harry was just as excited as any other young witch or wizard, though not because he wanted to leave Hogwarts. In fact, he had no intention of going anywhere—he'd be spending the entire holiday at school, not returning to that house on Privet Drive in Surrey.
No, that wasn't his home—just a place he was forced to stay.
Compared to facing his sharp-tongued aunt, uncle, and his oafish cousin Dudley, he far preferred Hogwarts. Here, it actually felt like home.
"Brilliant! Ron's not going home either—we can keep looking for clues together!" Harry said, a little thrill in his voice.
They were having breakfast in the Great Hall. Ron had just received a letter from home: his mum and dad were off to Romania to visit Charlie at the dragon sanctuary—apparently, Charlie hadn't been doing too well lately, so they were taking the opportunity to check on their second son.
That meant Ron, along with Percy, Fred, and George, wouldn't be going home either—not that they could get in, with the house empty.
Ron was delighted. School was great—friends to play with, plenty to eat.
"I can't take library books home, so I won't be able to help with the research over the break—it's up to you two," Hermione said, spreading her hands in helplessness.
"Don't get too obsessed with this, all right? Enjoy your holiday. You're only kids once—make the most of it. After all, Hogwarts is all about a well-rounded education," Qin Yu said breezily.
Hermione didn't really get what "well-rounded education" meant, but honestly, studying every day hadn't stopped her from having a happy childhood—at least, not since Qin Yu had shown up.
"Qin, are you really going home?" Harry asked, sounding reluctant.
Seeing his "Wouldn't it be great if we could all spend Christmas together?" face, Qin Yu rolled his eyes. "It's only a few days, mate. Don't act like we're parting for years."
That kind of long separation was more Swinton's style.
Merlin knows what that old guy is up to out there, Qin Yu added silently.
"Heh, I just thought it'd be fun if we all spent Christmas together. Hagrid said you promised him last year you'd stay for the holidays," Harry admitted, a little sheepishly.
"Next time, definitely next time…" Qin Yu replied, making a promise he knew he probably wouldn't keep.
He vaguely remembered saying last year that he'd spend Christmas at Hogwarts in a couple of years. But now that Hermione was here and hadn't been home in months, he figured he ought to go back with her to see her parents.
Besides, he saw Harry, Hagrid, and the rest all the time. Missing one Christmas wouldn't change much.
As they chatted, Qin Yu remembered Charlie and said offhand, "You should have Aunt Molly keep an eye on Charlie's love life. Last time he wrote, he said something about a friend of his offending a girl and not knowing how to apologize. That's pretty suspicious, don't you think?"
"Yeah! I'll write to Mum today—let her know before she leaves!" Ron was clearly thrilled by the prospect of a new bit of family gossip.
Elsewhere in the Great Hall, the holiday buzz was in full swing—nearly every table was filled with excited chatter about Christmas plans.
Draco Malfoy finished his breakfast, made a point of walking past Harry's table, and sneered, "Some people are just so pathetic—can't even go home for Christmas."
Of course, cowed by Qin Yu's reputation, he didn't dare push it further. He hurried off with his cronies right after.
Harry didn't care about Malfoy's jibes. As he'd said before, he had no desire to return to that so-called home.
And so, with hearts full of anticipation, they finished breakfast and headed to class—though nobody expected much learning to get done that day.
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