"I can't believe it," Harry said hoarsely.
At Ron's urging, he tore open the long, large package, and then a beautiful, gleaming broomstick rolled onto his bed, leaving him breathless with surprise.
Ron dropped the socks in his hand and jumped off the bed to take a closer look.
It was a Firebolt, exactly like the one Harry looked at and dreamed of every day in Diagon Alley.
Harry picked it up and it sparkled.
He could feel it trembling slightly, so he let go - it was hanging in mid-air, without any support, and the height above the ground was just right for him to ride on.
His eyes ranged from the golden serial number on the top of the broomstick to the completely smooth, streamlined tip of the broomstick.
"Who gave it to you?" Ron asked quietly.
"See if there's a card or something..." Harry asked Ron to tear off the wrapping paper of the Firebolt.
"Nothing! Hey, who spent so much money on you?"
"Hmm," Harry said with surprise on his face, "I bet it's not the Dursleys."
"I bet it's Dumbledore," Ron walked around the magnificent Firebolt, looking carefully from beginning to end, "Didn't he anonymously give you the Invisibility Cloak?"
"But it belongs to my father," Harry said. "Dumbledore just gave it to me... He wouldn't spend so much money on me. He can't give such expensive things to students."
"That's why he didn't say it was from him!" said Ron. "Otherwise, guys like Malfoy would say he was biased. Hey, Harry -"
Ron burst out laughing, "Malfoy! He will be so uncomfortable when he sees you riding this broomstick! This is an international-level broomstick, really!"
"I can't believe it," Harry muttered, stroking the broom with one hand, "Who on earth..."
At this time, Ron was lying on Harry's bed, laughing so hard that he couldn't breathe at the thought of what Malfoy would look like.
"Oh, by the way! There's another package." Harry came to his senses, bent down and picked up the inconspicuous little package.
"Uh... owl food?" Harry seemed more surprised than when he saw the Firebolt just now. "And it was a gift from Maka. Why?"
"Oh, speaking of which, I seem to have a small package over there..."
Ron got up from Harry's bed and walked to his own bed.
There was a sound of tearing off wrapping paper, followed by Ron's surprised chuckle.
"Is Maka planning to have a pet food tasting party this year?" He wondered, "One small bottle per person, Maka seems to be getting more and more stingy..."
"Oh - there is also a small card, let me take a look -" Ron said suddenly, "Hmm... Maka made this himself. It is said to have very high nutritional value and can make my spots healthier?"
Ron took Scabbers out of his pocket.
Harry found that Scabbers, who had been so fat before, was now as thin as skin and bones. He was surprised and unhappy - Scabbers' hair seemed to be falling off in pieces.
"It seems that Maka always knows what I need." Ron felt a little touched. "No one noticed that Scabbers has been in poor condition recently, but he noticed it."
He poured a few grains of reddish-brown rat food from the small, palm-sized bottle that Maka gave him, and placed it in front of Banban.
Banban leaned forward and smelled it, looking a little hesitant.
"Eat it quickly, my friend made it specially for you, it's rich in nutrients!" Ron pressed it to its mouth again, "It should make you gain weight."
Scabbers' head shrank, and he realized that Ron wouldn't let him go if he didn't eat it, so he had to stretch his neck and eat a few pills.
Following a squeaking sound, Banban found that he couldn't stop—what was this thing made of? too delicious!
It's fragrant and crispy, and seems to have a faint aroma of barbecue. It's like...
"It's like..." Harry picked up one and smelled it, then threw it into his mouth and chewed it. "Fried peanuts! Uncle Vernon ordered takeout at a Chinese restaurant, and this is the smell! But he Just for Dudley."
"Hey! Don't compete with Scabbers for food!" Ron was a little dumbfounded.
"... But, let me tell you, this is too delicious... Why?" Harry widened his eyes and said, "I think I still want to eat, give me some more!"
"Don't you have it there too? Take it away from your Hedwig -" Ron said angrily.
"What are you two talking about?"
Hermione walked in through the door, still in her pajamas, with Crookshanks in tow. Crookshanks looks grumpy and has a ring of wire around his neck.
"Don't bring it here!" said Ron, hastily stuffing Scabbers back into his pocket. But Hermione didn't listen to him. She put Crookshanks on Seamus' empty bed and stared at the Firebolt with her mouth wide open.
"Oh, Harry! Who gave this to you?"
"I don't know," Harry said. "It didn't come with a card or anything."
Much to Harry's surprise, she was neither excited nor curious at this statement. Instead, her face elongated and she bit her lip.
"What's wrong with you?" Ron asked.
"I don't know," Hermione said slowly, "but it's a bit weird, isn't it? I mean, this would be a pretty good broom, wouldn't it?"
"This is the best broomstick ever, Hermione," said Ron.
"Then it must be very expensive..."
"Probably more expensive than all the broomsticks in the Slytherin team put together!" Ron said happily.
"Hmm... who would give Harry such an expensive thing without telling him who it is?" Hermione asked.
"Who cares about that?" Ron said impatiently, "Listen, Harry, can I give you a ride? Okay?"
"I don't think anyone can ride it just yet!" screamed Hermione.
Harry and Ron looked at her in surprise.
"What do you think Harry is going to do with it - sweep the floor?" said Ron.
But before Hermione could reply, Crookshanks jumped out of Seamus' bed and went straight for Ron's chest.
"Get it out of here!" Ron immediately covered his pocket and shouted loudly.
But before he could cover it, Crookshanks' claws had torn Ron's dressing gown apart, and Scabbers managed to escape from Ron's shoulders.
Ron grabbed Scabbers' tail and kicked Crookshanks, but missed. He kicked the box at the foot of Harry's bed, knocking it over.
Ron himself was hopping on one leg, screaming in pain.
Crookshanks' fur suddenly stood on end and a high-pitched, faint cry filled the room.
"You might as well take the cat away, Hermione," Ron said angrily, sitting on Harry's bed and rubbing his toes.
Hermione pursed her lips, then picked up Crookshanks and slowly walked out of the room. Crookshanks' yellow eyes were still staring at Ron fiercely.
At this time, Scabbers curled up into a ball in Ron's hand.
"It doesn't look good, does it?" Harry said hesitantly.
"He's just stressed out!" said Ron. "If that stupid big furball doesn't mess with him, he'll be fine!"
But Harry remembered that the woman at the Magic Zoo said that mice can only live for three years... He couldn't help but feel that Scabbers might be approaching the end of his life.
Although Ron had been complaining that Scabbers was annoying and useless, Harry was sure that Ron would be very sad if Scabbers died.
"Maka said that rat food can make Scabbers healthier, he must know it." Harry couldn't help but think so.
There was certainly a lack of Christmas spirit in the Gryffindor common room that morning.
Hermione locked Crookshanks in the dormitory, but was extremely angry when Ron tried to kick him; Ron was furious that Crookshanks wanted to eat Scabbers again.
Harry gave up trying to reconcile the two of them and concentrated on looking at his Firebolt, which he had brought into the common room.
For some reason this also upset Hermione.
She said nothing, but she kept looking at the Firebolt sullenly, as if it had offended her cat.
And while Ron and Hermione were sulking, Maka was flying happily in the sky...
"call out!"
Maka passed by at low altitude and rushed past the three Ernies, causing them to scream.
"Oh—that's great!" Ernie shouted. "Come on, do it again!"
Next to him, two little girls clapped so hard that their hands turned red. They also looked very excited.
But after Maka circled in mid-air, he descended and stopped in front of them.
"It's not interesting for me to fly alone, why don't you come together?" Maka said.
"But we can't fly well!" Ernie said, "It's better to watch you fly more excitingly."
"Then let's rest for a while!" Maka said and landed on the ground. "It will be lunch time soon, isn't it? You haven't introduced this new friend to me yet!"
"Ha! This is Hannah and I's good friend Leila-Leila Shafiq. We have known each other since we were children." Ernie shrugged.
"Uh-huh," Layla said with a smile, "Ernie told me about you - so many times!"
"I've said it so many times, but don't you still remember the name wrong?" Ernie couldn't help but said.
"Oh - I'm not very good at remembering people's names -"
"Leave her alone, Maka," Ernie said with a smile, "She is always so reckless, don't worry..."
"It's okay, just be careful and don't bump and fall yourself." Maka also curled up the corners of her mouth, pretending to be smiling.
"Hey, stop laughing, you look very awkward when you smile!" Leila said suddenly, "You look a little spooky."
"Uh, really?" Maka touched her face.
It seems that I have to hurry up. The current situation is really not conducive to the progress of the plan.