days at Hogwarts

Chapter 595: Happy Christmas
Christmas, London.

At around eight or nine o'clock, Loren was awakened by Hermione, who asked him to prepare the most important dish in Christmas dinner - roast turkey.

Perhaps because of the abundance of berries on the mistletoe branches and the satisfying gift from a certain girl, Loren was willing to cooperate and started preparing the food after breakfast.

Honestly, it doesn't matter who does it.

Turkey has a very low fat content. If you are not careful, it will become old and woody. If you don't roast it for a long enough time, it will not be roasted thoroughly. If you want to prevent the loss of juice, you need to marinate it, brush it with oil before roasting, and fill the chicken belly with fruits and vegetables...

Hermione didn't want to make it herself at this time, and kept saying that magic was to make life more convenient.

After a tedious and complicated process, the most effective way is to mix some condiments and dip it in it.

After lunch, the turkeys were marinated and stuffed and put into the oven, and the aroma of meat began to linger over Hampstead.

Whenever Crookshanks showed up, he was always lazily lying somewhere, on the back of a sofa, on a carpet at the corner of the stairs, or on the window sill of a room. With the bright but not warm sunlight of winter, no one could see how he moved, as if he had moved to another place while sleeping.

Hanhan's activity area is in the backyard. He flaps his wings and jumps from one tree to another, then jumps back after a few minutes. He leaves for a while and flies back from somewhere during afternoon tea to ask for dried rat meat.

Crookshanks randomly reappeared in the arms of a family member, occasionally looking up and barking, asking for some dried mouse snacks.

Loren and Hermione watched a movie called "Brave Heart" together. The movie was set against the backdrop of court politics in England in the 13th and 14th centuries, which inevitably made people wonder whether there were wizards involved in the original story.

Hermione's serious analysis was quite interesting.

The dinner lasted nearly two hours, mainly because the adults, who were slightly tipsy, insisted on sharing their past life experiences. Bates and Wendell were even able to complement each other. Monica's third-party perspective was ingenious and very inspiring.

Although the two young people had rich and wonderful past experiences, they had no intention of sharing them at this age and decided to go out for a walk.

Loren and Hermione walked on the street, quietly watching the whole city slowly light up. There were many people on the streets, and cheers and laughter could be heard constantly.

In the dim night, many businesses and shops have closed, but the colorful lights on the streets and corridors are still on. From afar, all kinds of colorful lights are lit, and the light strips on the Christmas tree are shining with warm orange light, making the whole night look gentle.

There are young people dressed in fancy clothes performing on the streets, there are vendors selling handicrafts chatting with their hands in their pockets, and there are young couples stopping to share a crepe.

“It tastes just average.”

Loren swallowed the last bite, threw away the paper bag, took the girl's hand, and looked around: "Do you think these discount stores have raised their prices in advance? How can a greeting card be so expensive..."

Hermione tilted her head slightly. The greeting card business in the gift shop was unexpectedly booming. As for whether the store was offering discounts or raising prices, no one cared anymore.

"Do you think Santa Claus is a wizard? Who would ride a reindeer in the sky or climb people's chimneys in the middle of the night?" Loren shook their hands and muttered non-stop, "I feel like Dumbledore would do that kind of thing. Nothing he does is strange..."

Hermione pursed her lips, as if she felt that a certain old headmaster was indeed like this, and couldn't help but smile gently.

The shops on the street were brightly lit, making the white mist exhaled by passers-by look red, and the bulbs on the Christmas tree were so hot that the mistletoe branches and berries crackled.

……

12 Grimmauld Place.

In order to celebrate Christmas and welcome the upcoming wedding, everyone worked tirelessly to clean and decorate the room. The wizards' convenient and fast magic left Carver and her daughter dumbfounded. Arthur and Molly were very interested in the Muggle rust removers and perfumes.

The rusty chandelier was repaired and cleaned, and it was no longer hung with spider webs, but with holly and gold and silver ribbons, and the snow that never melted was piled up on the carpet.

Kreacher's nest was a key cleaning area. It was made of rags and old blankets, with bread crumbs and moldy cheese scattered everywhere. Marjorie directly judged it to be uninhabitable, marked it as an illegal building, and demolished it the day before Christmas.

Considering Kreacher's self-appointed contributions, Sirius allocated him a bedroom on the top floor.

The portrait in the hallway is a difficult problem. Compared with the survival of the Black family, the old lady cares more about the purity of her bloodline and always scolds Carver and her daughter hysterically.

Sirius even planned to burn her to death, but Mundungus stepped forward and got an exceptionally tall Christmas tree from somewhere to block the Black family tree and the hysterical portrait of Mrs. Black.

As for the elf heads on the hall wall, Molly had intended to cover them up with Santa hats and beards to make them look pleasing to the eye, but Ms. Carver insisted that they be completely covered, or she would have nightmares at night.

Anyway, by the time they went to bed on Christmas Eve, the old Black house was so completely transformed that it was almost unrecognizable.

After opening presents and having fun for a day, the Black family's Christmas dinner was held.

"The newlyweds are here, Merry Christmas!"

When Sirius Black and Betty Carver sat down in the adjacent seats, George and Fred led the screaming and cheering, and even whistled exaggeratedly, making the whole basement kitchen noisy.

"Let's...eat quickly. The children are starving."

Sirius, who was always articulate, stuttered a little. When he met the gentle gaze of the woman next to him, a hint of shyness appeared on his handsome face.

"What do you say, boys?" George drawled oddly.

Fred slammed the table and said, "This is all bullshit!"

The bride-to-be Betty Carver, who was being teased nearby, couldn't help but smile. She was no longer young and not glamorous, but very attractive. The warm yellow candlelight illuminated her fair and cool skin, adding a bit of warmth.

After spending some time together, she found it easy to get along with the Weasley family, who were warm and kind and had already adapted to living with wizards.

Mrs. Weasley is a kind-hearted person, and Mr. Weasley has an extraordinary curiosity about household appliances.

The steady man named Remus knew a lot about Sirius' childhood, but he would occasionally change the subject, such as asking about the sexy swimsuit girl poster in Sirius' room, or the many love letters Sirius received...

On the other side of the long dining table, Harry and Ginny, wearing sweaters of similar style and color, sat next to Ron, fiddling with a lifelike miniature statue of Santa Claus.

"Look! Marjorie, if you touch this scarf it will fly, just like this—"

Santa Claus in red was hovering in the air, casting sparkling spots of light.

"It's amazing!" Marjorie said happily. Boxing Day is said to commemorate an unlucky Christian named St. Stephen, who was killed by pagans with bricks on the second day of Christmas and became the first martyr of Christianity...

After breakfast, Loren and Hermione said goodbye to their parents, dressed themselves and walked back to their bedroom. Then, waving their wands, they appeared in a hidden corner next to the grass at Grimmauld Place.

It was still as messy and desolate as before. The surrounding houses were dilapidated and old. Some of the houses had broken windows, and some had garbage piled outside the front steps. Fortunately, it was winter, so the bulging garbage bags did not have any pungent smell.

The two checked the house numbers and walked towards the narrow gap behind number 11 and in front of number 13.

With the rumbling sound of space expansion, the door of Blake's old house appeared in front of the two people. They walked up the steps and rang the doorbell.

Soon someone opened the door to greet them. There were only two people. The one walking in front was Harry, and the one walking behind was a girl of about seventeen or eighteen. She said in a clear voice, "You must be Loren and Hermione! I am the daughter of Sirius's fiancée. My name is Marjorie..."

"Hello, Marjorie."

After exchanging pleasantries and walking into the foyer, Loren discovered that the house had undergone a huge change.

Hundreds of colorful candles floated in the air. Even though the candles were not lit, the mansion was decorated with colorful colors. White and gold flowers were wrapped around the chandeliers, and fairies fluttered their wings among the petals. A long velvet carpet was laid at the entrance of the hall, and every corner was spotlessly clean.

These candles look somehow familiar.

The air was filled with a light floral scent, with none of the damp, moldy smells that it once had.

"These candles were sent by Dobby. He said they were not used for the Christmas dinner at Hogwarts, so they are just right for decorating the wedding. Dumbledore agreed." Harry explained to them, "The wedding is scheduled to take place on the 28th. Preparations are almost complete. There will not be many guests on either side. Some members of the Order of the Phoenix will attend, so it won't be particularly grand."

"Dobby is here too?"

"Yes, and Winky. I thought the people at home might be too busy, so I invited him when I sent him a Christmas present. But Little Wheat didn't come. Dobby said he was reading a book on dark magic and was cursed. He cried while reading."

"Dark magic curse..."

Loren was silent for a moment, thinking that the curse of knowledge is also a curse. He would go talk to him after the holiday, so as not to make the elf depressed.

"There's nothing else we can help with, how about we go back first and come back on the wedding day?"

"Don't say that..."

When I got onto the landing, I could hear the sound of piano and harp playing coming from the living room in the distance. The sound was melodious and slow, echoing in the empty and spacious old house, as if it was the result of a thorough overhaul of the old house. It was mixed with the footsteps of elves and adults shuttling back and forth, the clinking of tea sets and porcelain, and the intermittent chatter as the living room door opened and closed.

When a few people were about to push the door in to say hello, the wooden door opened and a lady in a wedding dress flashed by quickly. Then Molly appeared. When she saw the two of them, she smiled so much that her eyes narrowed and several wrinkles appeared on her face.

"Merry Christmas, Mrs. Weasley."

"Loren! Hermione! Merry Christmas!" Molly came to the two of them and hugged them. "You finally came. We are putting the bride's hair together. Those brats have been making a lot of jingling noises upstairs. Go up and keep an eye on them for me. It's best to make sure they finish their homework!"

Obviously, she heard the two people's farewell words just now.

"Well..."

Loren noticed the thin bloodshot veins under her eyes and the slightly swollen eye bags. He knew at a glance that this enthusiastic witch had put a lot of thought into preparing for the wedding, and she really needed a quiet environment.

"Stay."

Harry hurriedly spoke to persuade them to stay: "The adults are busy preparing for the wedding, and we are not allowed to make any noise. We will be scolded if we make the slightest noise. We are now locked in the room all day, except for chatting, playing chess and doing homework. We are almost moldy. You two still have the guest room, how about you stay here until the wedding?"

Marjorie nodded heavily, her eyes eager. She was now very curious and eager to come into contact with any wizard of the same age.

"..."

It sounds like you are lacking playmates.

Loren and Hermione looked at each other, then looked at Harry and Marjorie beside them, and nodded slightly: "Then let's go upstairs to play with them first. See you later, Mrs. Weasley."

Molly smiled brightly: "See you later."

Loren and his companions stepped onto the stairs and continued to go up. The last time they came here, the old wooden stairs made a creaking sound, but this time, no creaking sound could be heard anymore. The stairs had been reinforced and the floor was covered with thick carpets. Everything looked brand new.

It seems that this is its true appearance, a heirloom mansion that was built by a pure-blood family that has been passed down for hundreds of years and spent a large amount of gold Galleons.

Ron and Ginny were playing chess in the room, neither of them were in high spirits. Ginny saw her knight being chopped down and scratched her head, having no idea what to do next.

But... never mind. The sooner I lose, the sooner I'll be free.

She was about to take out her king and loosen him when she immediately heard the door open. She slapped the chessboard in surprise and stood up, "Hermione!"

Ron looked at the chess pieces in disarray on the chessboard with a somewhat distressed expression.

After greeting each other, they sat down next to each other. Seeing that there was no sign of the twins in the room, Loren couldn't help but ask, "Where are George and Fred? Are they helping too?"

"They were taken by Sirius to shovel snow in the backyard." Marjorie watched Ron separate the two knight chess pieces that were wrestling with each other without looking up. "They are not allowed to use magic. They can only dig it out bit by bit with a shovel."

Loren turned to look at Harry: "Did they feed the skipping candy to your future godmother?"

Harry shook his head. "George and Fred caught Sirius chatting with his mother's portrait in the middle of the night. When he was sharing breakfast with us, Marjorie heard it. Sirius got angry and asked them to shovel snow."

Loren and Hermione nodded thoughtfully.

It seems that although Sirius has always been at odds with his parents, he still wants his parents' blessing on the matter of marriage.

If his parents were still alive, they might be convinced, but the magic portrait is just a silhouette of a real person. They have memories but cannot think, and their emotions will not change...

(End of this chapter)