The sickly, iron-fisted beauty in Harry Potter

She tried a few more simple spells before saying, "No, I think it's wonderful, absolutely wonderful, almost destined to be my favorite gift in life."

Hearing Hermione's praise, Dolly breathed a sigh of relief, smiled, and said, "I'm glad you like it."

"Dolly..."

Hermione wanted to say something more.

Because compared to Dolly's gift, hers was really worthless.

Although the two are surprisingly similar in price.

But Hermione knew very well how much effort Dolly had put into this wand.

"Alright, aren't you going to deal with other people's gifts?"

Dolly stretched and said, "You got way more gifts this year than last year, didn't you?"

Hermione then glanced at her pile of gifts, which was indeed double that of last year.

Hermione had excellent grades last year, but she wasn't very popular.

But this year is different. Hermione has learned to help others with their studies and has become Dory and Cho Chang's closest friend by the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw Quidditch teams.

So they all gave Hermione gifts, even if they were just simple candies, but that was enough to make Hermione happy.

Of course, Hermione soon experienced the bittersweetness of happiness.

That means she'll have to give back to so many people. Although Hermione doesn't have to worry about money, dealing with so many gifts is still a headache.

As for Dolly, there's almost no need for further discussion.

Dolly's gifts have almost doubled compared to last year, but with her help, she doesn't have to worry about most people's return gifts.

The two of them were busy until noon before they finally finished. After they went outside, they saw Qiu Zhang and Luna walking by while talking.

Upon seeing Dolly, Cho Chang's eyes practically lit up.

She skipped over to Dolly with joyful steps, revealing her wand.

Hermione felt a sour taste in her mouth immediately after seeing it.

However, this was inevitable, and there was nothing she could say about it.

"How is it, do you like it?"

Dolly asked the question, but Cho Chang simply waved his wand lightly.

A lily appeared at the tip of the wand, and Cho Chang placed the flower on Dolly's forehead.

Although the flower disappeared the next second, Qiu Zhang still smiled happily and said, "This is the best gift I have ever received since I was born."

Cho Chang's original wand was the most common pairing.

Unicorn tail hair plus English oak.

The unicorn's tail hair goes without saying, and the wand made of English oak is a loyal friend that the wizard who wields it deserves.

Such a combination can only be described as stable and versatile enough, but it is undoubtedly unremarkable for Qiu Zhang.

The wand that Dolly made for Cho Chang was made with phoenix feathers and cedar wood.

The phoenix's feathers need no further introduction, and those who possess cedar wood generally have strong personalities and extraordinary loyalty.

To paraphrase Ollivander's father, "You can never fool a man with a cedar wand."

In Ollivander's own words, "Cedar wands always find their home with wise and insightful owners."

Overall, this wand is fairly average, as can be seen from its enhancement attributes.

When enhanced to level 3, it can grant Qiu Zhang 1 point of Intelligence, 1 point of Willpower, and 1 point of Agility.

Such properties don't even seem like something a wand should have, but they do appear anyway.

Moreover, considering Qiu Zhang's specific circumstances, these attributes are clearly very useful.

Intelligence and agility go without saying, let's just talk about willpower.

The biggest reason why Cho Chang is criticized in the original work is that after Cedric's death, Cho Chang, who was originally an optimistic and cheerful school beauty, changed.

She became a pitiful girl who cried and was emotionally unstable, which ultimately made it impossible for her to stay with Harry and ended their relationship.

This shows that Qiu Zhang, who seems strong, actually has a low limit to her emotions or her ability to withstand pressure. At least when faced with major issues like life and death, she finds it difficult to cope.

This bit of willpower might prevent Qiu Zhang from falling into the same predicament again.

Of course, Dolly would never allow Cho Chang to experience a situation of life and death again.

"What about the wand your mother gave you? My wand can't be more valuable than the one she gave you, can it?"

Dolly joked, but Cho Chang replied seriously, "That's different. Besides, my mother gave me a second-hand wand, while you gave me a brand new one."

Dolly was moved by what she heard.

Although she knew that Cho Jang would cherish the gift she gave him, she did not expect him to value it to this extent.

So, during this holiday, she went to Qiu Zhang's house and made sure to reconnect with him.

Take a bath together a few more times, etc...

Thinking of this, Dolly's cheeks felt slightly warm.

Cho Chang's gaze toward Dolly sharpened even more, and this time Hermione immediately noticed something was wrong.

Without a second thought, he stepped between the two and asked, "Luna, what gift did Qiu Zhang give you?"

Luna nervously raised her wrist, only to find a pure white bracelet there.

Hermione felt better now; at least Cho Chang treated everyone equally when giving gifts, without making any significant differences.

Even so, Luna still felt uneasy.

She was even wearing the new clothes Dolly had given her, a light green coat and brand-new little leather shoes, making her look like an elf who had grown out of the snow.

These clothes were still within Luna's comprehension, but the gift that Cho Chang gave her did startle her a bit.

Because Luna had never worn any real jewelry since she was a child, her mother's jewelry had long been sealed away by her father.

So Luna was very worried because the bracelet was priced at a price she could not afford at all.

"Don't worry, it shouldn't be anything very valuable."

Dolly noticed Luna's unease and turned to Cho Chang, asking, "How much are these three bracelets worth in total?"

Cho Chang noticed the change in Dolly's eyes. He opened his mouth to say a number, but Dolly took back a zero and said instead, "A little over a hundred Galleons in total."

Upon hearing the number, Luna visibly breathed a sigh of relief, but her face still turned somewhat pale.

This was still not a number she could afford, and Luna's changes had clearly caught the attention of Hermione and Cho Chang.

Hermione rolled her eyes at Cho Chang, seemingly annoyed that the gift he gave was too expensive.

Qiu Zhang felt somewhat helpless, because she didn't know that Luna's family situation was so bad.

And she never intended for Luna to pay; giving gifts was always just to make everyone happy, wasn't it?

Fortunately, Dolly had anticipated this situation, so she asked, "Cho Chang, what gift did Luna give you?"

Cho Chang immediately showed off her brooch. She, Dolly, and Hermione had all received handmade brooches from Luna, but the flowers inside were different.

"This is a magical item, one of a kind, and very valuable for collection."

Cho Chang understood immediately and said, "I will treasure it when I get back. Nothing is more precious than a handmade gift, just like your wand, Dolly."

Upon hearing this, Luna's expression softened.

In her mind, the magic wand was indeed less valuable than the bracelet Cho Chang had given her.

But Cho Chang's happiness didn't seem fake, and Luna could also tell that Cho Chang was genuinely happy.

"Okay, time to go eat."

"Aren't you hungry? I'm so hungry my stomach is practically sticking to my back."

Hermione then smoothed things over by taking Luna's wrist and leading her outside.

The group chatted and laughed along the way, and Luna also smiled.

However, Dolly knew very well that although Luna was not ashamed of her family background, she was a person who would dedicate everything to her friends.

In this sense, Luna has a strong Hufflepuff vibe.

So Dolly still needs to find a way to prevent Luna from feeling pressured by a few Galleons, as that's not the kind of scenario Dolly and the others want to see.

However, there's no rush.

Right now, besides the Christmas holidays, the most pressing issue is how to deal with the basilisk.

Although Dumbledore temporarily thwarted the Ministry of Magic and Lucius's conspiracy, an explanation was still needed regarding how to deal with the Basilisk.

Sure enough, Dumbledore made a brief appearance in the Great Hall during lunchtime and gave a short speech.

In short, Dumbledore acknowledged the existence of the Basilisk.

However, this matter has already been learned by him and everyone in the Ministry of Magic. Next, he will work with all the professors and the Aurors of the Ministry of Magic to ensure the safety of Hogwarts.

Then we hope that all students can return to school normally after the Christmas holidays. If they cannot return to school temporarily for various reasons, that is understandable.

This obviously caused a commotion among the students.

However, it was just a disturbance, and there was not much panic.

Because everyone only knows that the secret room has been opened, but they don't know what kind of monster is inside.

Only a few people knew about the news that the secret room had been opened last time, and that there was a monster inside that could kill people; it had killed one person last time.

But since Dumbledore had come out to vouch for him, everyone started discussing whether Dumbledore was more powerful or the monster was more powerful.

In the end, everyone concluded that even if Dumbledore became senile, with all the professors and the Aurors from the Ministry of Magic, they would not be in any danger.

Don't think the young wizards are being careless in their judgment.

If you think about it carefully, you'll understand that this is the living environment of wizards.

Last year, there were giant monsters attacking people, giant killer spiders in the Forbidden Forest, and even a huge octopus in the school's Black Lake. There are too many things that can kill a wizard.

If even Dumbledore can't protect them, then where in the entire wizarding world is safe?

There is no doubt that the slogan "Hogwarts is the safest place in the wizarding world" still holds true, at least for now.