The next morning, as soon as Kael woke up, he saw a mountain of presents piled up at the foot of his bed.
Most of them were chocolates or candies and other snacks, and there were even more than he'd expected.
"A top student really is popular, after all."
Kael put these aside and kept unwrapping the rest of the gifts.
The biggest one was from Hagrid; it looked like a wooden barrel, wrapped in thick kraft paper on the outside.
"Don't tell me it's a Moonstruck Beast…" Kael opened the package a bit nervously.
Thank goodness, it wasn't what he thought. Hagrid had sent him a Cloak Grass plant; the wooden barrel was a makeshift flowerpot, filled with dirt.
The leaves of the Cloak Grass still had some dewdrops on them, probably freshly dug from the Forbidden Forest.
Kael's gift for Hagrid was a set of Fire Dragon models, like the ones used to draw lots in the Tournament—animated, capable of low-altitude flight, and even spitting fire.
Hagrid would probably love that.
Cedric gave him a set of "Quidditch Through the Ages," with a signature from a Chudley Cannons player on it.
Kael looked at the autograph and set the book aside with distaste… He didn't like that team.
It's worth mentioning that Kael's present to Cedric was also Quidditch-related: his cherished, long-collected Wimbourne Wasps signed bat.
He'd especially written to Mrs. Weasley to have her help mail it, so it was definitely a sincere gift.
For that, Mrs. Weasley gave him quite a scolding, complaining that he still hadn't gone home for the holidays, and saying she'd give him a proper lecture come summer break.
But Kael wasn't worried one bit.
Mrs. Weasley was easy to please—a handmade apron from Kael, plus a pretty end-of-term report card, and there'd be no issue at all.
Conna's present was a pair of hand-knitted gloves, with Kael's initials sewn into them.
To Kael's surprise, the little witch's craftsmanship was unexpectedly good, and he actually quite liked them.
The size fit just right, perfect to go with the sweater Mrs. Weasley sent him.
He'd given Conna a handbag with an anti-theft charm on it—should be pretty useful for her.
Fred sent a bottle of disappearing ink, and George gave him a Chocolate Frog Card album—blank, transparent sleeves inside to store his collected cards, very convenient.
Kael gifted them a copy of "Basic Alchemy," which also happened to be the alchemy course textbook at Beauxbatons Academy of Magic.
He knew the twins were inventing joke products lately, and this book could be of real help to them.
And then there were his two lovely roommates.
Mikel gave him an exquisite golden brooch, and Ryan gifted him a set of Wizard Chess.
What surprised Kael was, he'd actually received a present from a professor.
Professor Flitwick gave Kael his own class notes—spanning first to third year, two thick notebooks filled with his understanding of charms.
This present was truly precious.
Kael felt a little guilty, because what he'd given Professor Flitwick was just a simple Rowan Talisman.
Actually, Kael had given every professor a gift.
The Rowan Talisman for Professor Flitwick.
To Professor McGonagall, a golden snitch-shaped hat ornament.
To Professor Sprout, a set of tool maintenance kits.
To Professor Oren, a wand.
To Professor Binns, a newspaper clipping titled "The Three Major European Magic Schools: Professor Benefits Edition."
To Headmaster Dumbledore, a book: "One Hundred Ways to Knit Woolen Socks."
And, of course, to Professor Snape, who'd been taking special care of him lately—Kael, to show his thanks, especially sent him a whole box of Potter's Speedy Shampoo.
But he didn't sign his name on this one, nor use Ladon, but randomly picked an owl at school, sent the package to the Owl Post Office in Diagon Alley, and had them deliver it to Professor Snape.
The process was a little troublesome, but totally worth it.
He was sure Snape would be moved to tears by this gift.
After carefully storing Professor Flitwick's notes, Kael opened the last present—Diana's.
It was a silver ring with a crescent moon design, with a short letter underneath:
"This is a magic tool. It can cast the Apparition Charm three times. If you're in danger, just pour Magic Power into it and focus on your destination—it'll take you away.
Note: It can't be used inside Hogwarts Castle, but once you're outside the castle gate, you're good. If you don't want to take the train home during holidays, you can use this instead.
(Hope you like the present, dear.
Merry Christmas.)"
Is this an upgraded Portkey?
When Kael slid the ring onto his finger, it automatically fit snugly against his skin. He tried moving his fingers and it felt perfectly comfortable.
Kael really liked this gift.
He'd always wanted to learn Apparition, but since he was too young, neither Chris nor Newt would teach him.
This ring was, without question, the best Christmas gift he'd gotten in his eleven years.
Only problem: three uses felt a bit stingy.
Thirty would've been better.
After tidying up the dorm, Kael went to the common room to find Conna up on tiptoe, digging for something in a big flower pot.
"What are you looking for? Want some help?" Kael asked.
"No need, found it!" Conna pulled out a filthy little cloth pouch from the pot and turned to him. "Thank you for the Christmas present, by the way. I really needed it."
Kael watched her pull two Galleons out of the pouch, then slip them into the handbag he'd given her, and asked curiously,
"You're still losing Galleons lately?"
"Not anymore." Conna shook her head, "Though I did lose two Sickles yesterday afternoon."
Isn't that the same thing?
Kael frowned. "Where are your roommates? Gone home?"
"Yeah, all went home. I'm the only one left in the dorm." Conna sounded a bit excited. "But they sent me gifts—hair clips from the Muggle side. They're so pretty!"
Kael rubbed his forehead, just about to say something when Conna dashed back off to her dorm, full of energy.
When she came back, she was holding a small wooden box.
"See? Isn't it pretty?" Conna handed the box to Kael.
Inside were seven or eight colorful hair clips; the designs really were a lot fresher than what you'd find in the Magic Realm.
Kael, however, wasn't too interested—after a quick look, he was about to hand them back to Conna.
But just then, he noticed a small bottle hidden underneath the clips. Curious, he reached in and moved the clips aside.
"What's this—holy crap?!"
His hand jerked, and he almost dropped the box—cold sweat instantly broke out on his forehead. He hurried to set the box down on the wooden table next to him.
Once he'd calmed down a bit, Kael gingerly reached out and took out the little bottle.