Hogwarts: Harry Returns from Azeroth

Chapter 76. The Professors' Return Gift and Peeves' Performance

The last accusation from the red-haired boy before his death!!
Struggle. You can struggle.

To be honest, Percy's screams were so miserable that Harry couldn't bear to watch it.

"He slandered me, Fred, George," Harry said calmly, "Remember to come back early. We still have to attend the Christmas party after opening the presents."

"Yes, our great Minotaur King." Fred and George saluted exaggeratedly and then dragged Percy out.

Ten long marks on the carpet extended all the way to the door. Every detail showed how much pain the victim had suffered before his death, especially when the dormitory door was suddenly closed.

A slight click completely blocked Percy's cry for help outside the door, and the dormitory returned to silence again. The only sound was the sound of Jaina pecking at nut shells on the top of the cabinet.

Harry turned his head - and as soon as he turned his head he saw Ron looking at him with a dull expression.

"...Would you like some fudge?" After thinking for a moment, Harry picked up the gift from Mrs. Weasley beside him.

"Come on." As if deleting the memory fragment just now, Ron happily stretched out his hand, "I really like this candy made by my mother. It has a strong milk flavor."

We still don't know what Fred and George did to Percy on Christmas Day, but when the three brothers returned to the dormitory again, there was light in Percy's eyes - uh, and murderous intent.

There is strength in numbers. Before the party started, Harry finally dealt with the pile of gifts and wrote down the corresponding names to ensure that he would not miss any return gifts next Christmas.

The gifts given to him by the professors were also found out. Professor McGonagall gave Harry a complete set of broomstick maintenance tools plus a maintenance manual, including oiling and so on... Well, Harry was not surprised at all to receive such a gift from Professor McGonagall.

Professor Snape gave a book called "Advanced Poison Research". Uh, there was also a small note attached to the gift, with a few lines of sincere advice written on it. The gist of it could be summarized as not to rashly start a dispute with others. If you really do start a dispute, remember not to leave any threats to yourself, and then there were also a few numbers written on it.

Harry opened the book "Advanced Poison Research" and flipped through it, looking for the corresponding pages according to the numbers. On the corresponding pages, there were records of several colorless, odorless and difficult to detect poisons. The effects varied from mild to severe, ranging from slight punishment to serving the poison at the table.

When others found the gifts from key figures like professors, they would give them to Harry to open personally. Naturally, Professor Snape's gift received a lot of attention, but after taking a quick look, Fred and George watched with respect as Harry temporarily threw the book onto the bed.

They secretly made up their minds.

Watch out Snape, watch out Harry.

Professor Flitwick's gift was a notebook from his youth. Although it looked a little worn out, the content was quite essential. It mainly recorded Professor Flitwick's ideas on spell research when he was young. After taking a quick look at it, Harry felt that it should be of some inspiration to him.

The gift that Professor Sprout sent was even alive. Well, it was a plant that could open its mouth and bite people, so the word "alive" was a bit subtle to describe it.

A pot of Chinese kale seedlings.

Cabbage, also known as Chinese cabbage or Chinese cabbage, is a name difference caused by different regions.

The Chinese biting cabbage is a very ferocious magical plant. From the beginning of its growth, it will madly bite any creature that approaches it - in fact, no matter what it is, animals or plants will be bitten by it.

The pot of Chinese kale given by Professor Sprout was the reward she had promised to Harry, because Harry had been running to the seven greenhouses of Hogwarts since the beginning of the school year and was full of curiosity about those magical plants and herbs.

Given Harry's knowledge of Herbology and the strength he demonstrated in the club class that day, Professor Sprout finally agreed to give this dangerous plant as Harry's Christmas gift.

- He also wrote a paragraph of precautions in the letter, and emphasized that in principle the school would not allow lower grade students to come into contact with Chinese biting cabbage, and repeatedly reminded Harry to pay attention to safety.

And Harry... he certainly wasn't afraid of hurting anyone, so he planned to plant some lovely plants like Chinese kale in the box.

After all, I am just a crazy little cabbage↓

However, it will take a long time for this Chinese cabbage to produce seeds. It is only about five centimeters in diameter now, and looks small and cute in the flowerpot.

But it just looks cute.

After Ron pulled a short wooden stick from under the bed and put it in front of the Chinese cabbage, and in full view of everyone, the lovely plant bit the short wooden stick into pieces in just a few bites, Ron vowed never to get close to it again.

However, the brothers Fred and George had sparkling eyes, and they turned to look at Harry at the same time.

"Don't even think about it!" It was even Percy who made a solemn refusal. He seemed to have regained his authority as an elder brother and a class leader. He warned the twins seriously, "I don't want to write a letter to tell Mom that you bit off someone's butt with cabbage - Mom will go crazy."

"Oh my god! Percy!"

"If you hadn't told us, we wouldn't have thought we could use it to bite someone's butt off!"

"You are such a genius!!"

Fred and George spoke to each other in an admiring manner and kept blinking at Percy.

"Don't try to play tricks on me!" Percy snorted coldly, "I'm not kidding you this time, Harry, you must not give them the seeds. You don't want to wake up and find that many people in the school are missing half of their buttocks, do you?"

Harry actually had to suppress a laugh.

Although he has said it many times, he really has to say it again, the students at Hogwarts are all geniuses.

Powerful spells and amazing potions give students the foundation to let their imaginations run wild.

"Ah, don't worry, I won't." Even though the twins were winking at each other desperately, Harry still promised seriously.

So much so that when they finally went to the restaurant, Fred and George looked angry, as if Harry had done something unforgivable.

Watch out for twins.

Today, Hogwarts was once again carefully decorated by many professors. Although not many students chose to stay on campus, there was no perfunctory attitude in any aspect and it could even be called grand.

Well, after entering the restaurant, Harry discovered that there were actually quite a few students who chose to stay in school.

On four long tables were piled more than a hundred fat roast turkeys, with mountains of roast meat and boiled potatoes next to them, platters of delicious sausages, bowls of peas mixed with butter, and dishes of thick gravy and cranberry sauce.

Apart from anything else, the food alone is already very luxurious. And for children who have not yet grown up, besides food, what is more important is of course play.

There was more than just food piled on the dining table. Every few steps you took, you could find piles of wizard lottery bags and firecrackers on the table.

Harry hadn't taken a few steps when George stuffed a colorful firecracker into his hand. The boy ripped the thing apart, and the next moment, Harry heard a deafening roar, as if a warship had fired a cannon, which made his head buzz.

Not only that, in an instant, they were engulfed by a puff of blue smoke, which was not choking. From the exploded firecrackers, a lady's hat exploded. George took it and put it on his head, looking elegant. But Harry just wanted to kick this kid in the ass. George definitely did it on purpose just now, just to scare Harry.

"Oh! Harry! You're finally here!" A loud greeting came from the guest of honor seat, and Hagrid strode over. He looked ruddy and very happy.

"Very handsome, Hagrid," Harry gave his good friend a big hug and praised him sincerely.

Then Hagrid let out a laugh that was even louder than the explosion of the lottery firecracker just now, and even attracted the attention of the entire restaurant.

Today, Hagrid wore the suit that Harry had specially tailored for him as promised. To be honest, with his height and physique, he was the most eye-catching person in the whole audience today in this suit. Even Dumbledore couldn't compare to him.

The main reason is that the contrast is too strong. In the past, Hagrid always gave students a rustic and clumsy look, but this suit perfectly shapes Hagrid into a - a suit thug.

Well, please forgive Harry for using this word to describe his friend, but this word is indeed the most appropriate.

He had a sturdy body, broad shoulders and strong muscles. Even though the suit was loose on him, it couldn't hide his wild beauty. Hagrid had obviously trimmed his beard today, and tidied up his usually fluffy hair, tying it up behind his head.

But to be honest, this tied hairstyle makes Hagrid look more active.

He even sprayed some perfume on himself, which was a bit pungent and made Harry sneeze.

"I'm sorry, Harry." Patting Harry on the back, Hagrid said as quietly as possible, "I don't know if you've seen it, but I'll leave your Christmas present with me first. Otherwise, you'll have to bring it here later, which is very troublesome."

It was obvious that the gifts these two alcoholic friends prepared for each other were similar.

"There's no need to be so careful, Hagrid," said Ron next to him speechlessly, "We all heard it - and you two are really..."

Ron knew that the Christmas gift Harry prepared for Hagrid was actually for him to go over and have a drink together when he was free, and Hagrid's gift to Harry was also in this way. Hagrid wanted to speak softly, but to be honest, with his volume, how could the people around him not hear him?

"Oh? Really?" Hagrid chuckled a few times, but still lowered his voice as usual and said, "Anyway, you're going to come to my place tonight? Harry, I got some stuff from America..."

"Hey, hey, hey! Hagrid! Professor McGonagall is looking here!" Ron reminded.

Professor McGonagall did look over, and her eyes had become sharper.

"Forget it, Hagrid," Harry patted Hagrid's leg and said, "I think you've had a lot to drink today, let's make an appointment another day - Merry Christmas."

"Oh, okay, Merry Christmas then," Hagrid said as he happily sat back in the guest of honor seat.

Professor McGonagall seemed to turn her head and asked Hagrid something, but Hagrid just giggled and poured glass of wine into his mouth, his face getting redder and redder, and in the end he even kissed Professor McGonagall on the face, which caused cheers and whistles from the whole audience.

But the most shocking thing was Professor McGonagall's reaction. Not only did she not look angry at all, but her face turned red with shame, and even the black top hat on her head tilted to the side.

It was truly a festival in every sense of the word. Even the most serious professor all day couldn't be serious today. The castle was filled with a cheerful atmosphere inside and outside.

Ron was even addicted to playing with lottery tickets and firecrackers. He kept pulling one after another, so that Harry couldn't even finish his meal in peace. From time to time, there would be a loud noise around him, which made him instinctively tense his body and mind and he couldn't relax at all.

Whereas Muggle firecrackers produced shabby little plastic toys or flimsy paper hats when they exploded, wizarding ones were far more fancy - sometimes there would even be a few little white mice leaping energetically onto the table after the blue smoke had burst.

Harry had to act in time to ensure that these little creatures would not jump into his cream of mushroom soup. To be honest, he had already begun to regret not bringing Jaina with him when he went out today, otherwise these little white mice would all be Jaina's snacks, and it would be a good holiday for the girl.

Why not just take a few back with him? As he thought this, Harry tapped the most cheerful mice with his wand, turned them into neat little wooden blocks, and stuffed them into his pocket.

For the senior students of Hogwarts, the reason why this year's Christmas banquet is special is not only because of Hagrid's suit that breaks the stereotype, but also because they saw a ghost in the restaurant that they had never seen on any festival in the past - in fact, to be more precise, it should be a poltergeist, after all, ordinary ghosts cannot come into contact with living things.

That's Peeves.

Almost everyone knows what kind of character Peeves is. He is a nasty guy who loves to make trouble and play pranks, such as putting a soup bowl on someone's head while they are eating.

Therefore, senior students all knew that Peeves was strictly forbidden to attend school banquets, and he was not even allowed to enter the restaurant during normal meal times.

But today he showed up at the Christmas party for the first time, and the first students to do so were holding their belongings and looking to Headmaster Dumbledore for help.

But Dumbledore did not drive Peeves out. Instead, he stood up and welcomed him.

Peeves did look quite different today. Not only were his clothes much cleaner, but he also didn't carry anything uncomfortable on his body - he really looked like he was here to attend a party.

Well, although Harry felt that Peeves obviously resisted the urge to overturn the plates when he passed by the table, that restraint was a little too obvious.

Not only that, when passing by Harry, Peeves turned to Harry and bowed slightly to him.

"...He bowed to you, Harry!" Ron growled with his eyes wide open, "I didn't expect Headmaster Dumbledore would actually allow him to attend the banquet!"

"Don't panic, Ron," Harry said casually as he was busy filling his bread with roast meat. "This is the proper treatment for a hero who has protected the castle."

It turns out that even Peeves can resist the urge to play pranks if he wants to.

The Christmas dinner was not ruined by the unexpected guests, but even became more lively - Peeves took out six small balls from somewhere and performed catching skills while they floated in the air.

The six small balls were constantly thrown up and caught in his hands, and even a shadow was drawn in the air. His skills were truly superb, which aroused cheers from a large number of students.

This kind of applause further stimulated Peeves and made him more excited. He then performed a series of programs, such as pedaling a unicycle in the air, pretending to be a dead person, and imitating the words and deeds of the previous headmaster.

There was thunderous applause.

To be honest, even the students who had been in the castle for six years had never thought that Peeves had such a talent - let alone them, even some professors had never thought of it.

These people now wish the Christmas holiday would end immediately so that they can tell all the students who chose to go home about this special Christmas party... and then enjoy the painful looks on their friends' faces.

Peeves was the focus of the whole audience today, especially the one in which he imitated the behavior of the previous headmaster. It was so popular, with his lifelike appearance and ambiguous tone.

To be honest, Harry initially suspected that Dumbledore did not forbid Peeves from imitating the words and deeds of past headmasters, an indecent act that undermined the dignity of past headmasters, because he had a grudge against the previous headmaster. In terms of time, the previous headmaster of Hogwarts was in office, which should have been the time when Dumbledore was studying at Hogwarts.

By the time Peeves' show reached the second half, Harry was no longer doubting.

Well, Dumbledore probably really had a grudge against the previous headmaster.

(End of this chapter)