Chapter 66: Going Home for the Holidays
Ethan, tearing off a piece of bread, asked, "By the way, Draco, are you going home tomorrow too? You said at the start of the term you'd help me look into my bloodline. Is there still no news?"
Draco's face turned slightly red. In fact, Lucius had written to him long ago, saying that the Malfoy family didn't have a magical artifact. But to save face, he kept putting it off. Now that Ethan asked again, he had to bite the bullet and maintain the lie.
He hesitated. "Well, I'll ask my father again when I go home for Christmas. The letter wasn't very clear."
But he couldn't keep this up forever. He'd already planned it out. When he returned to school, he would claim that his family's artifact had been accidentally destroyed and couldn't be brought to school.
Besides, Ethan had mentioned that Dumbledore was helping too. Presumably, his family's contribution wasn't essential anyway, which made him feel less guilty about lying.
"Okay." Ethan didn't push the issue. He'd brought it up only because the look Draco gave him earlier felt off, as if there was an inexplicable sense of superiority behind it, a hint of disdain.
Early the next morning, Ethan hauled a trunk full of candy he'd bought with Hagrid's help and left Hogwarts with Hermione.
The weather was already freezing, but due to the ban, Hermione's hand warmer had to stay in the dormitory; the flame couldn't be refilled.
As he waded through the thick snow, his face was red from the cold.
He blew on his hands to warm them while walking with her. "Hermione, when will you be able to use alchemy to cast the Warming Charm on clothes?"
Hermione was frustrated too. "I'll study it more when we get back. There are still some minor flaws."
The Warming Charm was a spell they'd found in the library specifically to combat the winter cold.
Once applied, it allowed clothes to retain heat, letting them wear fewer layers and move more freely.
But the drawback was obvious: the duration was very short, only about an hour. For a long class like Potions, they'd have to secretly renew it halfway through.
Hermione's alchemical studies weren't progressing smoothly. Her research interests didn't overlap much with the Weasley twins', so even with their help, she hadn't made much progress.
The clothes she'd planned to enchant with the Levitation Charm as a surprise for Ethan still weren't ready, and the ones with the Warming Charm were stuck at the same stage.
"It's too bad Hogwarts doesn't have electricity. Otherwise I could get a small electric heater." Hermione shared the sentiment. After more than four months, she knew Hogwarts well enough to understand its quirks. "It's a shame. Hogwarts rejects all Muggle technology."
The two crossed the Black Lake to the platform at the school gates and boarded the Hogwarts Express.
There were plenty of empty seats on the train this time because many students had stayed behind, including Harry, Ron, and the Weasley twins.
Harry didn't want to return to his aunt's house. The Weasley brothers were staying because their parents had gone to Romania to visit their brother Charlie.
After stowing their luggage, he slid the compartment door shut. "Do you want to go to Diagon Alley over the holidays to pick up a few things?"
"You're going to Diagon Alley?"
He nodded. "Yeah. I worked out a deal with the Weasley brothers to withdraw some Galleons as a deposit for them. Also, I want to pick up some beauty potions for my mom. She mentioned last time that she'd underestimated how much she'd use them and hadn't bought enough."
He asked again, "What do you say? Want to go together?"
Hermione considered it for a moment. "Hard to say. I don't know how my parents plan to spend Christmas. If they're planning a trip, I probably won't be able to go."
"All right." Ethan regretted the prospect of shopping alone.
They napped on the train, and before long they arrived at the station.
When they disembarked, their parents were waiting for them.
The four adults, having met over the summer, stood chatting as they waited.
The pair dragged their trunks over. "Mom, Dad."
"You look taller, but thinner," his mother said, cupping his face.
"I'm not thinner. The food at school is great. I probably just look thinner because I've grown taller." Ethan knew exactly how thin he was, yet offered explanations anyway.
Sofia hadn't seen him in over four months. "Really? I still think you look thinner. I need to take you out for some good food while you're home."
Albert watched Sofia fuss, a helpless expression on his face, and exchanged a look with Ethan.
Across from them, Hermione was facing much the same situation.
After a lengthy farewell, they headed home.
The first thing Ethan did upon arriving home was let Edward out.
After being cooped up in his cage for half a day, Edward flew straight to the shelf where Ethan kept the dried fish, owl treats, and other food. It was the first thing he did after returning to the room where he'd lived for more than two months.
After putting his luggage away, Ethan took out a large pile of candy and went downstairs.
He set the package on the table. "The candy you wanted should last you a while. If it's not enough, I'll send more after I return to school."
"Great. Your mom loves these candies, especially the Peppermint Toads. She gets a kick out of them."
"You say that like you don't like them." Sofia rolled her eyes at Albert.
"Hey, of course I like them." He laughed it off.
Ethan loved this family atmosphere. Watching his parents banter affectionately, he smiled.
He spent the Christmas holidays in complete comfort.
He slept in every morning, enjoying the luxury of being waited on hand and foot for the first time in ages.
On Christmas Eve, he went to Diagon Alley alone.
This time, he brought not only two hundred ounces of gold but also the Daily Prophet clipping Hagrid had given him, using it to prove that Gringotts wasn't as safe as the goblin had claimed when he opened his account.
The goblins argued fiercely, but they finally waived his annual vault fee.
Ethan wasn't entirely satisfied with this compensation, but when he saw the goblins turning hostile, he finally backed down.
He deposited 1,800 Galleons this time, a thousand of which were the investment he'd promised the twins, and the rest was for gifts and his mom's beauty potions.
Ethan had been extremely busy that day. Aside from Hermione's gift, which he delivered personally, he handled all the other deliveries, flying back and forth.
Harry received a bag of candy from Diagon Alley. Ron got the same, but a different flavor. The three roommates received identical gifts as well.
Snape received a silver cauldron, and Professor McGonagall got a green handbag. He also bought gifts for several other professors.
He especially bought a gift for Dumbledore.
Ethan remembered that the headmaster needed wool socks. Though he couldn't fathom why anyone would want such a gift, he still bought him a pair of thick purple wool socks.