On the morning of Christmas Eve, sunlight spilled through the gaps in the curtains onto Adelaide's bed. Her stomach, awakened by hunger, began frantically sending signals to her brain, forcing Adelaide to roll out of bed.
When she arrived in the living room with a yawn, she was instantly stunned by the sight before her—the entire living room had been transformed into an ocean of presents!
She rubbed her eyes in disbelief and looked closer. Around the Christmas tree that she and Alice had decorated the night before, countless gift boxes were piled up densely.
These gifts were of all colors and shapes; some were exquisitely and luxuriously wrapped with beautiful bows, while others were simple and elegant. By her rough estimate, there were over three hundred presents in the living room!
The House-elf, Blue, walked out of the kitchen carrying breakfast. Seeing Adelaide standing dazed in the living room, he approached her and explained, "Dear little mistress, these are all gifts delivered by Owls last night. Since the living room has limited space, I sent Miss Alice's gifts directly to her room. All of these in the living room are for you."
Hearing this, Adelaide's eyes widened, and she asked back with a face full of surprise, "All of these are mine?"
Ever since she had made up her mind to completely cut off contact with her friends in the Muggle World, she had never expected to receive so many gifts again—after all, she had only been at Hogwarts for half a year and didn't know many people yet.
Great-Granduncle, Dumbledore, Cho Chang, Amandine, Alice, Edward, the Weasley Twins, Charlie, Percy, plus the three seniors from the Human Research Group and some classmates—the total number of gifts she had sent out this year was only about a dozen.
Who could have sent so many gifts... Adelaide crouched down curiously, her gaze locking onto the package closest to her.
She reached out her right hand, but the moment her fingers were about to touch the package, she seemed to think of something and froze her hand in mid-air.
That was close; she had almost forgotten about those loathsome Death Eaters!
At the thought that they might take the opportunity of Christmas to tamper with the gifts sent to her, Adelaide couldn't help but shudder.
After all, even someone as powerful as Dumbledore had inadvertently fallen victim to the vicious curse of the Resurrection Ring, let alone a little weakling like herself—unbeknownst to her, a layer of fine sweat had broken out on Adelaide's forehead.
After some careful consideration, she began to scrutinize the signatures on the packages, not missing a single clue.
At the same time, she summoned the loyal House-elf Blue and ordered him to cast a Curse-Detecting Spell on the packages.
Only when the signature on the package was someone she knew well and it had successfully passed Blue's inspection would Adelaide feel a bit more at ease and carefully open it.
As for those packages with unfamiliar names or no names at all, Adelaide chose to set them aside for now and not touch them lightly.
In this way, after a long and tense process of checking and unwrapping, Adelaide finally opened all the packages sent by people she knew.
The packages from acquaintances mostly contained beautiful clothing or exquisite accessories. For instance, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had sent her a sky-Blue sweater; its soft texture and fresh color brought joy at a single glance.
Amandine had sent a set of custom Wizard's dress robes from a famous old establishment in Paris. When Adelaide opened the package and tried on the robes, her heart was filled with surprise and confusion—it had been a full six months since she last bought school uniforms, and her body had changed quite a bit during her growth spurt, yet these Wizard's robes fit her as perfectly as if they were tailor-made!
She really couldn't understand how Amandine had managed to learn about the subtle changes in her body measurements.
Edward sent her an umbrella that could change colors. The umbrella would automatically adjust to the most suitable color based on the owner's mood or environment, as if it possessed a life of its own, being both spirited and interesting.
Dumbledore sent her rainbow-colored wool socks (?), while her Great-Granduncle sent her a black top hat, along with a small note saying that wearing the hat could prevent Legilimency.
There were also various delicious candies from many other friends (she would never eat the peanut fudge sent by the Weasley Twins). They were carefully wrapped in small, cute gift boxes, emitting an enticing, sweet aroma. There were also exquisitely designed and finely crafted accessories, each shining with a unique light that made it hard to put down.
Among so many gifts, the one that delighted Adelaide the most was the one sent by Cho Chang.
Besides two large bags of handmade dumplings, Cho Chang had also sent her a copy of the "Chinese Magical Plant Cultivation Manual" and 10 rare and precious Chinese Chomping Cabbage seeds!
One must know that Chinese Chomping Cabbage was a Class B Tradeable Material, and even the usually bold Adelaide hadn't dared to ask her senior to keep an eye out for them before.
She truly was her best friend, knowing exactly what she wanted most!
Adelaide looked at the dazzling array of gifts before her with a heart full of joy, her face brimming with a happy and satisfied smile.
She began to sort and organize the gifts simply, placing them into different boxes according to their size and use, then moving the boxes back to her own room.
As for the packages that hadn't been opened yet, Adelaide set them aside temporarily.
She turned to look at Blue, who was standing at the door, and instructed, "Dear Blue, please help me take those unopened packages to the storage room and keep them safe. When Dumbledore returns, we'll discuss how to handle them together."
Blue nodded and replied, "No problem, little mistress. Rest assured, I will ensure these packages are perfectly safe."
With that, he snapped his fingers and vanished.
When Adelaide settled into her room and came downstairs again, the mountain of gifts had already been cleared away by Blue. She went to the dining room, greeted Alice, who had dark circles under her eyes, and began to enjoy her breakfast.
Ever since Adelaide taught Alice how to use the television, the little girl seemed to have been put under a spell, becoming deeply obsessed and unable to pull herself away.
Over the past two days, Alice would sit blankly in front of the TV every day, staring at the screen until the dead of night when sleepiness finally overcame her.
Looking at this scene, Adelaide couldn't help but feel a bit guilty.
If Professor MacFusty, who was receiving treatment in the hospital, learned that during the time he was unconscious, she had actually turned his beloved younger sister into a complete "TV shut-in," he would probably be fuming with rage, wouldn't he?
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