The massive creature nearly filled his entire kitchen. It looked somewhat puzzled at the ceiling creaking against its forehead, then slowly and awkwardly sat down. It extended its enormous nose toward Anthony.
Anthony cautiously patted its nose. The coarse fur was hard and prickly.
The bear affectionately rested its head on Anthony's shoulder—he had to step back, bracing himself against the cupboard, using both hands to support the huge furry head—then the bear quietly dispersed.
Everything in the kitchen was normal. His ceiling was intact. The kettle still bubbled softly on the stove. Outside the window, snowflakes still drifted quietly.
"What did I summon?" Anthony asked the cat.
The cat jumped down from beside the stove and tentatively touched where the bear had appeared. It shook its paw, then without looking back, returned to the living room sofa and lay down.
After sitting down in the restaurant, Anthony still pondered where exactly he'd gone wrong to summon such a huge black "Patronus." Aside from it being genuinely warm, neither the color nor the size was quite right.
Maybe this was life's surprise for him. Like ordering tomato meat sauce pasta and getting pesto instead.
Good news was, he liked basil too.
"What's wrong, Henry?" Professor Burbage noticed him staring at the pasta that had arrived.
She happened to be visiting London's Christmas market and remembered Anthony had shown interest at the school feast. She sent him a letter inviting him to visit the Christmas market together.
Anthony had never imagined British wizards held Christmas gatherings too. After spending so long at school, he'd never seen so many adult wizards in such a crowded place.
These festivity-loving wizards imitated Muggle Christmas markets and sold mulled wine at the entrance—but the cups sang Merry Christmas songs, and the wine was kept at a gentle simmer with magic, giving off cinnamon scent.
Food stalls everywhere. On the warm, lively street, snowmen that wouldn't melt stood built with magic. The Christmas tree was frighteningly tall—Anthony was certain the Muggle-Repelling Charms and Confundus Charms at this location must be quite powerful, otherwise it'd be hard not to notice this power-tower-sized glowing Christmas tree—Honeydukes had a large stall at the London market too, right in the center of the gathering, displaying Squeaking Sugar Mice, each candy wearing a tiny Christmas hat.
All around were restaurants built with magic. Exotic restaurants proudly displayed their represented regions on signs—French, Italian, Greek cuisine, and of course, Turkish kebabs. Customers sat at indoor or outdoor tables, eating heartily.
Anthony chatted with Professor Burbage while deciding he had to tell Kevin about this place. He was certain the Joneses would be interested.
Maybe not in the wizard pretending to be a reindeer, flying on a broomstick from one end of the market to the other, but definitely an interesting experience.
"How are you, Henry?" Professor Burbage asked, watching Anthony bring the pesto pasta to his mouth.
He'd accepted the basil sauce pasta after all. Same price anyway. In such a noisy place, if he wanted to exchange it, he'd probably need not just a loud voice but an extra half hour to an hour.
Though the flustered new waiter had compensated him with a very large lemonade.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
Read up to (50+ ) advanced chapters on Patre\on
Visit us here: patreon.com/GoldenLong
Happy reading, everyone!