The green flames in the fireplace flickered continuously, making the originally spacious living room suddenly appear a bit crowded.
Every guest greeted everyone, and the visiting professors all brought gifts—
Professor Sprout brought a pot of singing Magic Lilies, while Professor Flitwick held in his hands a cake about as tall as him, exuding an enticing aroma. Professor McGonagall stacked her gift boxes beside the Christmas tree, her expression softer than usual—although Harry still found her somewhat intimidating.
During this period, Professor McGonagall underwent a drastic change in temperament. The biggest "victims" were actually the group of Gryffindor students, as Professor McGonagall would always confiscate Gryffindor's prohibited items first whenever she visited the common room—being close by, there was no alternative.
Among the four heads of houses, Snape of course appeared last, like a gigantic black bat silently gliding into the room, his black robe billowing as his entrance brought a chill that made Ashley the cheetah, lounging nearby, flick her tail disdainfully before shifting her spot.
Upon Snape's arrival, his lips pressed into a thin line, his sharp gaze seemingly able to flay a layer off William.
William, however, smiled, because whenever he saw Snape's expression, he knew that the shampoo he had gifted successfully disgusted him.
"Obviously."
Snape spoke sinisterly, his voice as if chilled for decades in the Slytherin Dungeon, "It's unfortunate your sense of humor hasn't grown proportionally with your increasing power, Richard, utterly harmless—"
"Is that so? What a pity."
William continued to smile, and Snape did not look at him again, casually tossing a small return gift—a glass bottle almost the size of William's fingernail flew from Snape's hand and landed in William's palm, the desperately few drops within suggesting—it was possibly a bottle of Felix Felicis.
"Merlin's backless sweater!"
In the next moment, Hagrid's booming voice almost lifted the roof, accompanied by a thumping sound. Unlike the other professors, he was covered in snow, his large furry body appearing in the doorway on the other side of the living room. Clearly, William's fireplace wasn't fit to accommodate a giant twelve feet tall, forcing Hagrid to depart early to avoid getting his head stuck in the chimney.
By coincidence, Sirius had left the flying motorcycle at Hogwarts last time and asked Hagrid to ride it over.
Just as the fireplace was intended for regular people, the designer of the houses on Privet Drive clearly didn't anticipate the doors needing to accommodate someone so tall one day. Hagrid had to squeeze sideways, bowing through the doorway, while carrying a large object wrapped in burlap on his shoulder, "Merry Christmas! It's so cold today—"
Before his words ended, he saw that the previously spacious living room instantly seemed cramped due to his arrival.
"Looks like we need more space."
William put down the toy he was teasing the little cheetah with, leisurely drawing his wand, not even muttering a spell, just casually tracing a circle.
In the next instant, the four walls of the living room seemed pushed back by invisible hands, the ceiling rising two feet higher, instantly expanding the room's space more than twice, now allowing Hagrid to stand upright without appearing so constrained.
"Always so convenient."
Lupin smiled as he brought out a tray of freshly baked gingerbread men. These little cookies tried to escape from the tray but failed under Lupin's strict guard.
"Just a small application of the Space Expansion Charm."
William stowed his wand and accepted the "gift" Hagrid brought, if such a thing could be called a gift—following the burlap unraveling, revealing inside an... somewhat droopy Explosive Snail, William's mouth twitched unconsciously as he stopped himself from impulsively throwing the hideous thing out, looking at Hagrid.
"Ever since Sagros died, Xiao Ying has seemed listless, so I wanted to ask you to take a look—"
Okay, from Hagrid's words, it seems this wasn't the gift he prepared—thankfully, this world isn't as crazy as William imagined—Hagrid's Explosive Snail breeding plan ultimately failed. Although these white creatures are hermaphroditic, they apparently don't have the ability to self-reproduce, so Hagrid kept the two most robust samples.
Unfortunately (to universal celebration), one didn't survive the winter, passing away in a slightly regrettable (though not truly regrettable) manner.
Hagrid arranged a grand funeral for it, a topic students discussed for over half a month.
And now it seems, the remaining one won't last much longer either…
"Truly, what a joyful occasion…" William murmured instinctively.
"Huh?"
"Ahem, I meant, it's probably heartache, emotional, uh, sickness, I can't treat that—prepare yourself, Hagrid."
William gathered the visible delight on his face, exchanging a meaningful glance with Harry, who was chuckling nearby. He calmly placed the Explosive Snail in the corner to fend for itself while setting up a simple Barrier to prevent the curious cheetah from getting sprayed with fire.
As the fireplace flames blazed brighter, the atmosphere gradually became lively.
The scent of roast turkey, honey-glazed ham, and mulled wine filled the air.
Harry and Tom were still seated on the carpet in the corner, a game of Wizard Chess laid out before them. However, with numerous idle spectators offering pointers, the rhythm of the two little wizards was disrupted, prompting the chess pieces to continuously poke their fingers with weapons.
Meanwhile, on the sofa, Sirius animatedly recounted to Hagrid, who was drinking Butter Beer for relief, his "adventure tale" of searching for Kreacher. Although most parts sound embellished, Sirius truly has a knack for storytelling.
Across the room, Grindelwald remained on the periphery, his bald head mottled like unpolished stone under the firelight. He held a glass of water, occasionally gazing past the conversing crowd, finally silently sliding to William's side, sinking slowly into the sofa.
"Everyone's here." The man's voice was very low, his heterochromatic eyes shimmering slightly in the shadows, "Is everything foolproof?"
William was holding a struggling Chocolate Frog, not responding immediately, instead popping the poor little creature into his mouth, chewing slowly as his eyes emitted a faint blue glow, seemingly sealing off the noise of the living room momentarily.
Seconds later, he swallowed the chocolate, turned to Grindelwald, revealing a calm smile.
"All the actors are ready—"