Wisps of white smoke curled up from the cup Hermione had given Amanda, seemingly raising the surrounding temperature by a few degrees.
Looking at the image on the cup, Amanda felt her heart grow a bit warmer as well.
It was a photo of her and Hermione taken outside the Louvre Museum during their previous trip to France.
Hermione had one arm around her shoulder, while her other hand made a peace sign, her smile bright and sunny.
She stood beside Hermione with an expressionless face, but upon closer inspection, one could find a hint of soothed tranquility.
Yes, soothed. At that time, hadn't her emotions just been calmed by Hermione?
Looking at the small line of text appearing alongside the image near the bottom of the cup, Amanda reached out and gently stroked it.
"My promise to you, unwavering until death."
Murmuring softly, the smile on Amanda's lips grew wider, while her eyes gradually became moist.
"Do you like it?"
A slightly raspy voice came from behind, and Amanda's neck was gently embraced.
Feeling the softness and the sweet scent behind her, Amanda blinked and smiled, "Mm, I love it. Thank you, Hermione."
"You don't have to be so polite with me."
Having just woken up, Hermione spoke with a hint of lingering sleepiness and gave Amanda's cheek a light kiss.
The moisture in Amanda's eyes gradually faded, replaced by a flush of red and warmth spreading across her cheeks.
Seeing her face grow redder, Hermione gave a satisfied chuckle, let go, and walked back to her bed with light steps to change her clothes.
Amanda picked up the cup and took a small sip. Well, even though it was just plain water, it didn't feel any worse than the cola she had drunk before.
Carefully setting the cup down, Amanda continued opening the rest of her gifts.
Senior Cho Chang had given her a very beautiful cheongsam, likely because she had seen her Boggart before. Amanda's mind worked quickly as her hands deftly smoothed out the cheongsam, placing it on the bed without a single wrinkle.
Like Senior Cho Chang, Senior Marietta had also given her a piece of clothing—a very beautiful princess dress.
Looking at the princess dress in her hands, Amanda tilted her head. Her first thought was that she wasn't a princess and didn't have the life of one, so was it really appropriate for her to wear this dress?
But she would probably look good in it.
Smiling, Amanda placed the dress next to the cheongsam from Senior Cho Chang. It was as if they had planned it together—the first two seniors giving her a dress and a cheongsam.
Senior Penelopa, on the other hand, had sent her an exceptionally gorgeous magical silk scarf.
The moment she saw the scarf, Amanda identified the spells attached to it in her mind.
A Transfiguration Spell that could change its color and pattern, and Alchemy that allowed for simple sensing of surrounding changes.
Making this magical silk scarf was no easy feat. According to Senior Penelopa's letter, it seemed she had completed it during her free time over the summer break.
The study points she had compiled had helped Senior Penelopa save time, and Senior Penelopa had, in turn, spent that saved time on her.
Amanda smiled happily and placed the magical silk scarf securely on the bed.
The remaining gifts were from everyone in Ravenclaw and a large portion of the Hufflepuff Little Badgers—snacks, trinkets, decorations, and all sorts of things.
However, they all seemed to have a tacit understanding—not a single person had given her a book, not even the Little Badgers.
Besides that, there was something else that surprised Amanda: the gift from Harry and Ron.
She didn't know if the two boys had matured or if someone had given them a good idea.
The gift they sent this time showed exceptional emotional intelligence and wisdom, to the point that even Hermione, after changing her clothes, looked a bit surprised.
"This is a joint gift from Harry and Ron?"
She examined the crystal ball in Amanda's hand with some surprise, feeling somewhat shocked by the growth of the two boys.
"Yes," Amanda turned around with a radiant smile, the joy in her eyes completely overwhelming the deadness within them. "That's what the letter says."
"Not bad," Hermione nodded in approval. "Have those two finally grown up?"
"Well, it's about time..."
Hermione muttered softly. After all, in a year or two—or even now, if things moved quickly—Harry and Ron would be starting to date.
If the two of them didn't grow up soon, she couldn't even imagine how "broken down" their girlfriends would be.
Looking down at the crystal ball in her hand, a Castle stood amidst wind and snow, clearly Hogwarts. In front of Hogwarts, several magical little figures were joyfully having a snowball fight.
This scene was exactly the one from their first year, when she, Harry, Ron, and the Weasley Twins had a snowball fight together.
So everyone remembered... they remembered the memories of being with her, they remembered everything related to her... The three seniors remembered her past hardships and Boggart, Harry and Ron remembered the past snowball fight with her, and Hermione remembered the promise she had made.
Even more people remembered things about her; otherwise, why wouldn't there be a single book among her Christmas gifts?
She was a Ravenclaw, after all.
Placing the crystal ball on the table, Amanda suddenly felt that she could understand many things now.
For instance, what she had just thought about—why no one gave her books.
It must be out of care... Whether they knew the truth or not, everyone could feel her desperation and hard work, so they didn't want to do that during such a happy holiday.
They didn't want her to revisit her usual toil and effort. It was a holiday, a festival—happiness should come first.
"Come on, let's wake up Senior Cho Chang and Senior Marietta, and then go to the Great Hall for breakfast together."
Hermione tapped Amanda's shoulder with a smile, gesturing toward the two beds behind them where Cho Chang and Marietta Eckmore were sleeping soundly.
"Okay." The smile on Amanda's face faded slightly, but she still walked to Cho Chang's bedside with a smile and gently pulled back the bed curtains.
Cho Chang was lying in bed, her fair arms and shoulders peeking out from under the quilt, her black hair scattered across the pillow as she slept soundly.
"Senior Cho Chang, Senior Cho Chang, wake up. It's time for breakfast."
Amanda reached out and gently pushed Cho Chang's shoulder through the quilt. From the other bed, Hermione's voice could be heard softly calling Marietta Eckmore.
"Mm, mm... getting up now, getting up now."
Cho Chang answered groggily, rubbed her eyes, and slowly sat up, leaning against the headboard to wake herself up.
Seeing that Cho Chang was awake, Amanda took a step back and politely closed the bed curtains, standing aside with Hermione to wait for the two seniors to change.
After changing and washing up, Amanda and Hermione followed Cho Chang and Marietta Eckmore out of the Ravenclaw Common Room.
Marietta Eckmore turned around and looked at Amanda with a smile. "Amanda, do you like the gift I gave you?"
"I like it very much. Thank you, Senior Marietta."
Amanda nodded without hesitation, and the three others looked at the smile on her face with delight.
Hesitating slightly, Amanda pursed her lips and spoke. "But is it appropriate for Senior Marietta to give me a princess dress? I'm not a princess, and I don't have... the life of a princess."
Marietta Eckmore shook her head with a smile and put her arm around Amanda's shoulder.
"Who says you're not a princess or don't have the life of one? As long as we want to be, every girl can be a princess—her own princess."
"Exactly," Hermione nodded from the side, also reaching out to help tidy Amanda's hair. "It's the same for Harry and the other boys. As long as they want to and believe it, every boy can be a prince—his own prince."
"And," Hermione continued walking, leaning in to whisper in Amanda's ear, "in my eyes, you are my princess."
Amanda's earlobes slowly turned red. She turned to look at Hermione, a smile mixed with shyness appearing on her face.
"I understand."
She nodded earnestly. She should have more self-confidence, more love—love herself more and believe in herself more.
Entering the Great Hall, Amanda and Hermione had just sat down at the Ravenclaw Table when Harry and Ron hurried over from the Gryffindor Table.
Harry was holding a brand-new flying broomstick that looked very high-end and luxurious.
Amanda, who now controlled the commerce of the entire British Wizarding World, recognized at a glance that this flying broomstick was the latest model being sold through her own hands—the firebolt.
"Wow, it's a firebolt."
As a fellow Quidditch player who loved Quidditch as much as Harry did, Cho Chang spoke in admiration.
Then she looked at him curiously. "Who was so generous to give you a firebolt directly?"
Harry and Ron glanced at each other. Harry carefully placed the firebolt on the Ravenclaw Table and lowered his voice to a level only the few of them could hear.
"That's the problem. I don't know who sent it. No signature, no card, nothing."
He frowned as he spoke. Having gone through the events of the past two years, he couldn't help but be wary in the face of such things.
Not to mention that outside Hogwarts, there were Sirius Black and Pettigrew, and he didn't know which one wanted him dead.
"Sending such an expensive item without a signature or a card?"
Hermione looked at the firebolt on the Ravenclaw Table with a solemn expression. Something like this made it impossible for her not to be suspicious.
After hearing Harry's words, Amanda silently drew her wand and cast every detection spell she knew for objects on the firebolt.
Various magical lights bloomed from the firebolt. She looked up and shook her head at the others.
"According to my inspection, there's nothing wrong with it, and no one has tampered with it."
"But my level of magic is limited after all, so I can't be entirely certain if this firebolt truly has no issues."
"You're being too modest." Penelope, who had just sat down nearby, shook her head. Amanda's magical level had already surpassed theirs by who knows how much.
She dared say that Amanda's magical level was definitely approaching that of the Professors now. Of course, there were surely aspects where she wasn't as good as the Professors, but there were also aspects where she far exceeded them.
"In that case," Hermione looked up at Harry, "though you might not be happy with me saying this, I suggest you don't use this firebolt for now. Give it to the Professors and ask them to check it thoroughly for you."
"After all, someone might still want you dead right now, right?"
After hearing Hermione's words, Harry quickly shook his head. "I'm not unhappy. I quite agree with your suggestion."
Ron, standing beside him, also nodded vigorously. "Yeah, I think so too. After all, Harry's safety comes first."
If something had happened to Harry's nimbus two thousand, perhaps these two Quidditch-loving boys would be more anxious.
But since Harry's firebolt was currently fine, they weren't in any hurry at all. After all, Harry, riding his nimbus two thousand, had been undefeated except for the last match he lost due to the influence of the Dementors.
Having made their decision, Amanda and Hermione accompanied the two boys to the Staff Table.
At the Staff Table, Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick, who were having breakfast, looked up and smiled at them as they saw the students from their respective houses approaching.
"Merry Christmas, children. Is something the matter?"
Professor McGonagall smiled warmly, her gaze lingering on the firebolt in Harry's hand with a hint of surprise.
"Merry Christmas, Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick."
Harry greeted the Professors politely. After the other three had each greeted the Professors in turn, he placed the firebolt on the Staff Table.
"Professor McGonagall, it's like this. I received this firebolt this morning, but there's no signature and no card. I don't know who sent it to me."
"Maybe I shouldn't be suspicious of the person who gave me a gift," Harry said, scratching his head with a guilty expression, "but... my situation is a bit special, and right now outside..."
Harry didn't even need to finish. Upon hearing this, the expressions of Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, and the other Professors turned serious once more. Even Professor Snape cast a glance toward them.
"You are not in the wrong, Mr. Potter." Professor McGonagall adjusted her glasses and looked down to examine the firebolt closely. Naturally, she didn't see anything wrong from the surface.
Looking up again, she gave the four children an appreciative smile. "I am proud of your alertness, children. Safety is the most important thing."
With that, she waved her wand, making Harry's firebolt fly to the floor behind the Staff Table.
"I will check this firebolt thoroughly and will also give it to Headmaster Dumbledore to ask for his help in inspecting it."
"If there are no problems, I will return it to you in its complete and perfect state as soon as possible."
"Thank you, Professor McGonagall."
"You're welcome, Mr. Potter," Professor McGonagall raised an eyebrow. "If this firebolt has no issues, I think I'll be very much looking forward to seeing you ride it, soaring over the Hogwarts Quidditch Pitch."
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