Chapter 255

The next morning.

A knock at the door came, and John opened his eyes, feeling groggy.

Today was Christmas, and he had spent the night at Hermione's house.

"John, get up."

Hermione's voice called from outside the door.

"What's wrong, so early in the morning..."

John opened the door, bleary-eyed; if he were at his own house, he would still be fast asleep at this hour.

"It's already nine o'clock; Uncle and Aunt are calling you down to open Christmas presents."

Hermione stood outside the door, dressed properly, hands on her hips as she spoke to him.

John had no choice but to rub his messy hair and shuffle downstairs in his slippers behind her.

In the living room, the Christmas tree lights were still on, and piles of gift boxes were stacked beneath the tree.

Naturally, they were all for the two children.

Some were from friends at Hogwarts, others from both sets of parents.

The gifts from friends were all common stationery or snacks; worth mentioning was Ryan's gift, which was delivered by Titus on his behalf.

Even Harry had sent him a gift, but he hadn't prepared one for Harry—that was sloppy of him.

The gifts from the elders were relatively normal—sweaters, scarves, tins of homemade cookies, and several hardcover books with gold-leaf covers.

Finally, there was Hermione's gift.

It was a gray-black cloak; the lining was deep blue, black and blue intertwined, appearing more mysterious as the cloak swayed.

On the back of the cloak, a wide, bright blue path of light wound its way down, filled with dense, tiny points of light, like a solidified star trail.

The cloak as a whole didn't look flashy, but it highlighted its unique style.

"How is it? Do you like it?"

Hermione stood beside him, smiling as she spoke.

Her eyes held both anticipation and nervousness, her two small hands clasped behind her back.

John's fingertips gently brushed the cool blue light pattern, his eyes filled with delight and an eagerness to try it on.

It was clear that Hermione must have made this by hand; while low-key, it also catered to his personality of liking to show off by adding such a special strip of light.

One could imagine that Hermione must have spent more time on this cloak than on her studies.

John immediately raised his hands to shake out the cloak, swung it in a circle, and draped it over his shoulders.

The black cloak fell slowly, wrapping around John's entire body, reaching down to his ankles.

The front was slightly open, but it could be fastened at both ends with a silver chain.

Just looking at it from the front, it was a very ordinary black cloak, the kind every student at Hogwarts had.

But once the cloak fluttered, the blue inside and the blue light strip on the back flowed and pulsed as if alive.

"How is it? Does it look cool?"

The moment John put on the cloak, seeing his head tilt slightly and a confident smile appear, Hermione was momentarily dazed.

"... Vain."

After being dazed, Hermione turned her head and gave a light huff, refusing to give an evaluation.

She crouched down and began to unwrap the gift John had given her.

The gift box was very small, looking as if it couldn't hold any large items.

After Hermione gently opened it, she found a small dark brown bag inside, the opening tied with a thin silver thread, and a line of small text embroidered on the bag in silver thread.

——ToMyBrightestGirl

——Dedicated to my brightest girl

Seeing this small bag, Hermione was slightly stunned.

First, intuitively, she didn't think John would give her an ordinary bag.

Second, visually, this bag had obvious signs of being handmade and showed a sense of importance through its careful design.

She pinched the silver thread with her fingertips and gave a light pull—the bag opened.

The inside of the bag was pitch black, as if even the warm, dancing light from the fireplace had been sucked into it.

She slowly reached her hand inside.

She had reached half her arm in, and she still couldn't touch the bottom?

Her first feeling was disbelief, and the next moment, she realized what it was.

"Undetectable Extension Charm?"

Hermione immediately turned back to look at John in surprise.

John nodded with a smile.

"Uh-huh, I begged Professor Flitwick to teach me."

"And I also registered it at the Ministry of Magic; it's guaranteed to be legal and compliant."

When he said this, he even made a peace sign, clearly very proud of himself.

Hermione, however, knew that John had mainly been learning Apparition from Professor Flitwick this semester, as well as learning the Felix Felicis potion from Professor Snape, and usually had to read books in the library with her.

He was no less busy than she was.

Yet he still found time to learn the Undetectable Extension Charm and craft such a carefully designed bag.

As she explored, she could also touch some potion bottles and jars stored at the bottom of the bag, as well as a notebook with a sheepskin cover.

Only John's name was written on the title page of the notebook; after opening it, it was a record of his insights and learning notes from his time studying spells with Professor Flitwick.

"I've been keeping this book since I started following Professor Flitwick in my first year; I originally wrote it to lend to Titus and the others to study... uh, but that's not important; what's important is that I think it should be useful to you."

Seeing this book being taken out, John scratched his head, looking slightly embarrassed.

Hermione couldn't help but laugh after hearing this.

"Then if you gave the book to me, what about Titus and the others?"

"I can teach them myself," John said as if it were a matter of course.

"...... Then you might as well give the book to them and teach me yourself."

When she said this, Hermione clearly carried a hint of jealousy.

John was startled.

Hiss... that makes sense!

But he had already given it away; he couldn't very well ask for it back...

Looking at John's dazed, cute expression, Hermione couldn't help but laugh again.

"I'll take the book; after all, this is your treasure, filled with your own handwritten notes and insights, and besides..."

"Anyway, you're mine too; whenever I want you to teach me, don't you have to?"

My goodness, she really mastered the art of wanting it all.

Hearing Hermione's shameless words, John was shocked.

But he really couldn't refuse, so he could only raise his hands in surrender with a smile: "Fine, fine, fine, Miss Granger—the book is yours, and I am yours too."

Hermione's cheeks flushed slightly, but she lifted her chin, looking just like a cute little lioness who had won a battle.

The parents on the sofa not far away, watching the two children flirting, all revealed knowing smiles.

Only Mr. Granger didn't look very comfortable.

Clearly, the effects of yesterday's alcohol had worn off...