"Going back to school today?"
"Well, tomorrow is Christmas, I have to go back early."
Nia picked up the remote control on the table and randomly selected a TV channel. She said absentmindedly, "You didn't forget to prepare a Christmas present for me, did you? You know, I've been looking forward to it."
"It's already prepared for you." Albert reminded with a smile, "Don't you like it too?"
"Photo albums and dragons?" Nia suddenly realized, then curled her lips and said, "So, those bottles of beauty potions that Isobel brought were actually Christmas gifts."
"You can think of it that way." Albert opened a bag of dried fish for the cats at home. This was the Christmas gift he prepared for the cats: a big bag of dried fish.
"I always feel that Christmas presents should be received on Christmas Day to feel like presents." Nia muttered.
"After Christmas, I should come back and stay for a while." Albert plans to spend more time with his family.
"It seems like we haven't seen each other for a long time." Nia fell silent after saying this. If they went to the Far East, they would indeed not see each other for a long time.
"Don't worry, in a few years, when Britain is stable, you can still move back." Albert couldn't remember how many times he had said this.
"I'm worried about you." Nia turned her head and said to Isobel solemnly, "I'm leaving my unreliable brother to you. Don't let him do anything wrong."
"I'll keep a close eye on him." Isobel smiled.
After saying hello to everyone in the afternoon, the two left one after another and returned to their house in Hogsmeade.
"I really don't understand why you didn't just Apparate with me." Isobel handed the box and shrimp dumplings in the food box to the house elf, and said to Albert who had just walked into the hall, "I remember that when a wizard reaches adulthood, the traces on his body should have automatically disappeared."
"It's always better to be cautious, especially since I'm not very popular right now. It's best not to let anyone catch me." Albert came forward and gave Isobel a hug, leaning his head close to her ear and whispering, "Do you regret giving up being my dance partner?"
"It's a bit regrettable." Isobel did not deny that being Albert's dance partner at the Christmas ball would undoubtedly attract countless people's attention and make her the most dazzling presence at the ball. Most girls could not refuse such a moment, and she could also announce Albert's ownership to other girls to prevent anyone from having ideas about him.
"But I think your approach is very unfair to Katrina, and I don't want..."
"I understand what you mean." Albert muttered, looking at the falling snow outside the window. "After all, I also have a sister who is always worrying me."
"Yes, my sister who always makes me worry." Isobel said softly.
"How about we have a little dance party just for us tonight? I can dance with you as long as you want." Albert gently stroked the girl's long hair.
"Aren't you afraid that I'll force you to dance all day, only to end up with you sore all over tomorrow and unable to dance?" Isobel chuckled with her hands covering her mouth. She liked the feeling of leaning on Albert's shoulder and watching the snow together.
"Then I can come over to accompany you after the dance tomorrow night. I can use the time turner anyway." Albert really intended to do this. "It would be more appropriate to hold the Christmas dinner on Christmas Day."
"Well, you must be careful. Even Nia has noticed that you are going to do something dangerous." Isobel said suddenly.
"I have always cared about my life." Albert was slightly stunned. He did not expect Isobel to suddenly change the subject.
"Yes, you care a lot and are prepared, but I am still worried, just like this Triwizard Tournament." Isobel murmured, "I always feel like you are involved in some trouble again."
"Don't worry." Albert hugged Isobel tighter and said to himself, "I finally have a beautiful wife and a wonderful life. I don't want to lose it all for no reason."
His life was a perfect one that countless people envied and envied. If he lost his life inexplicably, it would be a huge loss.
"Do you think we will live this kind of life after we get married?" Isobel asked with a slight blush on her cheeks.
"Probably... Actually, I'm not sure." Albert thought for a moment and said, "Anyway, we can live the life we want. You can talk to Madame Perenelle and listen to their stories and life experiences. I remember that you have sent the Ancient Rune Guide to the publisher. Do you want to write a biography about the Flamel couple?"
"I always feel like you're always giving me something to do." Isobel looked seriously into Albert's eyes.
"People always have to find something to do to achieve their goals. It's not good to just eat and wait for death." Albert said self-deprecatingly, "Although eating and waiting for death has always been my goal, I always feel that I still have to find something to do so that my life will not be confused."
"If this is what you call living a life of idleness and waiting to die, many people would bury their heads in the snow out of shame." Isobel found it a little funny. Albert was the hardest working person she had ever seen.
"Actually, I just think that I should work harder when I'm young, so that when I'm old, I can hug my wife comfortably," Albert put Isobel on his lap, "... and slowly enjoy life growing old together, just like this."
"So, by old age you mean adulthood?"
"No, probably after the age of thirty." In his previous life, Albert had a plan to start preparing for his retirement at the age of thirty, but unfortunately it failed.
"For many people, life has just begun at the age of 30."
"After losing the Philosopher's Stone, Mr. and Mrs. Flamel don't have much time left. We could spend more time chatting with them sometimes." Albert sighed. Although they left behind many legendary deeds, I still hope that their legends will be recorded by us instead of some guys making up stories for money. I know Nico doesn't really care, but even someone like Dumbledore is actually very happy to appear on the Chocolate Frog card.
"You are still as thoughtful as ever." Isobel agreed. After finishing writing "Guide to Ancient Magic Runes", she really hadn't decided what to do. It would be nice to talk about the past with the Flamel couple through the two-way mirror. Many old people have always liked to reminisce about their past. She was actually very curious about how they had spent such a long life together and could still maintain such a relationship.
The house-elves prepared a sumptuous dinner. After the two of them finished eating, they sat on the sofa and listened to the wizard broadcast on the radio. They talked about the authorship issue of the publication of "Ancient Magic Runes Guide". In the end, they decided to publish it under their own names.
"Winter is actually very suitable for hot springs." Albert stretched and said to Isobel, "How about we go soak together?"
Isobel blushed slightly and nodded gently: "Hmm..."
...
...
On Christmas morning, Albert woke up to a rustling sound. He opened his eyes and found his three roommates opening presents beside their beds.
"Good morning."
Fred and George were already wearing their own sweaters, knitted by Mrs. Weasley, the Weasley children all got one every Christmas.
"Oh no, I'm so sleepy." Albert didn't come back to take a nap until five in the morning and he was still feeling sleepy.
"When did you come back?" The three of them pretended not to hear Albert's complaints and asked with a smile.
"It's five o'clock in the morning." Albert closed his eyes, turned over and put his head into the quilt. He had just closed his eyes not long ago and now he needed to continue sleeping in order to cope with the dance party tonight.
"We thought you were here in the afternoon. By the way, how did you get in? I remember the password was changed."
"The house-elf opened the door for me."
"By the way, where have you been these days? The girls are looking for you?" Lee Jordan asked with a smile.
"Go home and don't tell anyone."
"How did you get back?" George asked curiously.
"It's very simple. When wizards reach adulthood, they have no trace on them. They can just use Apparition to go wherever they want, as long as the Ministry of Magic doesn't know about it." Albert said weakly, "By the way, don't talk nonsense... and don't disturb me, I need to lie down for a while... and help me feed the cat. Um, can you help me unpack the pile of packages beside the bed... Unpack them somewhere else, anyway, don't disturb my sleep."
"I almost forgot that you're an adult. Even if you use magic outside, the Ministry of Magic won't know." Fred, George and Lee Jordan were a little envious. They didn't know whether they were envious of Albert's mastery of Apparition, or the pile of Christmas presents beside Albert's bed, some of which had traces of being stepped on.
After the three of them exchanged glances, Fred prepared breakfast for Tom in tacit understanding. George helped to pack the gifts beside the bed into several large boxes. Lee Jordan took out the metal book from his schoolbag and unfolded it in the dormitory. Then the three of them carried Albert's pile of gifts into the activity room of the Wizard Card Club and slowly unpacked them.
It was always their pleasure to help Albert unpack every Christmas.
In fact, the three of them spent most of the morning in the activity room unpacking packages. When they were hungry, they would take some snacks from the packages. Anyway, Albert didn't mind anyone helping him unpack packages, and he never minded anyone taking and eating his food.
The three of them knew that for some important packages, the house-elves would help him keep an eye out and put them away separately, and they would never appear in this pile of packages.
"The number of Christmas presents Albert received this year is truly astonishing," Fred couldn't help but sigh.
If greeting cards are included, there are a total of 138 items.
"It must be because of the Warriors. Most of the girls in the school gave him gifts." George stuffed the unpacked books into the bookcase one by one.
"You also promoted the photo of Albert in his dragon costume to a girl you didn't know by chance, Fengya brand wizard costume, which brought him a lot of popularity." Lee Jordan shook the greeting card in his hand.
Only a portion of this pile of Christmas gifts, large and small, were sent by Albert's old acquaintances. Most of them were sent by girls in school. In addition to Christmas cards, there were a lot of snacks and desserts. After the packages of several acquaintances were picked out, the rest were piled aside. There were a total of 31 boxes of desserts, which was a bit shocking.
"If the girls knew that we opened the gifts they sent to Albert, they would probably want to strangle us." Lee Jordan looked at the box of snacks in front of him and raised his eyebrows. "But why did they think of sending snacks and desserts to Albert?"
"If I were you, I wouldn't touch that stuff. God knows if it contains aphrodisiac." George saw Lee Jordan about to open the bag and quickly reminded him.
"I remember Albert has the antidote for the love potion. If I get poisoned by it, remember to help me drink it." Lee Jordan began to serve the desserts that the girls had brought.
"Do you think we should sell some high-end love potions when we open a shop?" Fred said suddenly. "Love potions seem to be very popular with girls."
"Can you brew it?" Lee Jordan raised his eyebrows.
"No, but I think George will. He's always good at Potions." Fred threw the question to George.
"Is it recorded in Albert's potion notes?" George glanced at the two and said, "You must not have read it. His notes are more reliable than those potion books. As long as you follow the steps, you can usually easily and successfully prepare the potion."
"I'll leave it to you when the time comes." Fred patted George on the shoulder with an expression that said I have high hopes for you.
"By the way, what do you say we should do with these things?"
"How about we take it to the common room and share it with others?" Fred said seriously. "After all, today is Christmas, and good things should be shared with everyone."
"I think that's a good idea." George agreed with a smile, "Albert prepared a lot of antidotes for the love potion last time and hasn't used them yet."
"Why don't we call Albert? After all, this is his Christmas present. I think he would be interested in this kind of thing."
All three of them knew very well that the snacks and desserts sent by the girls would most likely be treated as "suspicious" items.
It would be a shame to just throw it away like this."
"I think we could send a copy to all three of Montague anonymously," Lee Jordan suggested.
"And that Ludo Bagman fellow, too." Fred had not forgotten about Ludo Bagman giving them fake gold coins, "in the name of female football fans."
"Will that guy believe it?" Lee Jordan raised his eyebrows.
"You can ask him for his autograph and say it's for your son." Fred said with a smirk on his face.
"Ludo Bagman hasn't been a Quidditch player for years." George pointed out the flaw. "You can point out that her son is a fan of Krum and wants an autograph of a photo of him and Krum. Oh, and those fake Galleons from last time should still be there. Put five of them in there and say you'll give me another ten Galleons after you get the letter."
"Did that guy reply?"
"Yes," Lee Jordan thought. "Bagman's in debt now, so he'll probably fall for it. With any luck, he might miss the Christmas ball tonight."
"Then I'll bring these out and share them with everyone some other day. Remember to bring Albert along." Fred decided on how to deal with these desserts that were suspected to be laced with aphrodisiacs.
"I thought I'd send a copy to Filch, too."
"And Snape."
"Forget about Snape. He's the Potions Professor, so it's not easy for him to be fooled. And once this gets out, he'll definitely cause trouble for us. It's totally not worth it." George rejected the bad idea of sending a package to Snape. If they sent it to Snape, they wouldn't be able to share it with everyone, which would reduce a lot of fun.