Until Christmas Day, Harry and Ron couldn't believe that they actually knew who Nicolas Flamel was without Hermione and even spoke a few words to him!
"Ron, do you know what the Philosopher's Stone that Mr. Flamel mentioned is?" Harry sat on the ground, unpacking a pile of gift boxes in front of him, and turned to Ron and asked, "You know what I mean, you are a pure-blood wizard, you should know more about these things than me."
"Don't mention things like pure-blood or not. Only a hideous family like the Malfoys would say that!" Ron retorted.
As he spoke, he seemed to remember something and laughed out loud, "Speaking of Malfoy, do you still remember the day when the holiday just started, when Draco Malfoy was crying and making a fuss, and was dragged away from Hogwarts by his father, hahahaha..."
Harry thought of Malfoy's embarrassing look at that time and started laughing too. They laughed for a long time before they reluctantly stopped.
"So you don't know what the Philosopher's Stone is?" Harry forced the topic back on track and asked with a restrained smile.
"Well, I'm not sure." Ron sighed when he saw that he had failed to change the subject. "We can wait for Hermione to come back and ask her. She has read so many books, she must know what the Philosopher's Stone is!"
"That's all we can do." Harry nodded.
He looked at the gift boxes scattered all over the floor and asked hesitantly, "You said... Professor Dracula has helped us so much, should we prepare a Christmas gift for him as well?"
"You should give him a gift. He saved you once on the Quidditch field." Ron nodded.
As a little wizard who had always been fostered in his aunt's house, Harry had few friends and no pocket money since he was a child, and he never had any chance to give Christmas gifts.
This year he came to Hogwarts and received a large fortune left by his parents. He also made many good friends in school, which made his Christmas more meaningful and warmer. He finally had the sense of ritual of giving Christmas gifts to others.
But it was Harry's first time to experience such a complete Christmas. Subconsciously, he only thought of giving Christmas gifts to his friends, but forgot to prepare one for Professor Dracula, whom he admired the most.
Just now, he saw a large number of Christmas gift boxes on the ground and thought of his conversation with Nicolas Flamel yesterday. Then he realized that he should also express his gratitude to Professor Dracula!
"Ron, help me think of what to give to the professor!" He was anxious and shook Ron's shoulders.
But soon Harry's mood became depressed. "For someone as powerful as the professor, he probably won't lack anything..."
"Don't say that, Harry. Giving gifts is just a formality. The most important thing is to grasp the details!" Ron looked very experienced and patted his chest and said, "Think about it, what does Professor Dracula like to do normally?"
"Um... like leaning against the wall and watching the fun?" Harry asked uncertainly.
"That's not what I'm talking about!" Ron waved his fist. "You need to think about it in more specific ways. For example, what little habits does the professor usually have?"
Harry thought hard for a long time before hesitatingly saying, "Professor Dracula... seems to often hold a lollipop or a goblet?"
"That's right!" Ron slapped his thigh, "So Professor Dracula likes lollipops and drinking!"
"Uh... is it that simple?" Harry was confused. He felt that this was different from the cool and handsome image of Professor Dracula that he had imagined.
"You don't understand. Powerful wizards always have some little habits." Ron said confidently, "Take Dumbledore for example. My mother once told us that he had to eat sweets every day, and because of that he had to go to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries to treat his cavities every year!"
Harry had a strange expression on his face, but thinking of Dumbledore's usual weird little funs, he nodded in conviction.
"Ron, I'll leave the task of preparing the gift to you. I believe you'll do a great job!" Harry patted Ron on the shoulder, took out a handful of gold Galleons from his pocket and handed them to him. "Be sure to buy the best gift for Professor Dracula! If there's some left, you can buy yourself some snacks."
Ron had never seen so many Galleons in his life, and he couldn't help swallowing.
Then, he patted his chest heavily and assured: "Don't worry, I will definitely be able to prepare gifts for you!"
Then he ran out of the dormitory.
He planned to write an owl and send it to the shop in Hogsmeade so that Professor Dracula's Christmas gift could be prepared as quickly as possible.
Harry received too many gifts from fans and admirers, so he had to sit in his dormitory with trembling hands and continue opening a pile of gift boxes.
"Huh?"
When he opened the last light package of Christmas present, he couldn't help but let out a small exclamation.
A liquid, silvery-grey substance trickled down to the floor, gathering in a glittering heap.
…
Hogsmeade is a wizarding village located near Hogwarts Castle, and can be easily reached by crossing the long wooden bridge on the west side of the castle.
Because of the close distance, Dracula received the gifts sent by the Hogsmeade merchants that Harry and Ron had asked to send at noon that day, before the Christmas party began.
Dracula looked at the crooked words written on the gift box:
Merry Christmas, with professor's favorite lollipops and wine, HP & RW
"These two young men have a bright future. This saves me the trouble of going out to purchase more!"
He nodded in satisfaction and snapped his fingers, causing the gift box to peel off and open on its own.
However, the moment he saw the gift, Dracula's face immediately turned dark.
Among the gifts sent by Harry and Ron, a bottle of beautifully packaged vodka stood in the middle of the gift box, surrounded by a circle of Ron's favorite sunshine orange flavored lollipops, which were inserted in a staggered manner on the base, emitting colors like bright sunshine...
"… "
With a gloomy look on his face, Dracula pushed the Sunshine Orange flavored lollipop and the bottle of throat-burning vodka away from him, and used magic to wrap them up in the gift box he had just opened.
A bat appeared out of nowhere, picked up the gift box, flew out of the window to the headmaster's office on the eighth floor, and gave it directly to Dumbledore.
Afterwards, Dracula, still unsatisfied, flashed and appeared in Quirrell's office.
"Assistant Professor Quirrell, wait until school starts and find Harry Potter and Ron Weiss's holiday homework, and mark it according to the strictest standards!"
…
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