Days at Hogwarts

Chapter 68 Christmas is Coming

A house that grants every request.

"【All petrified】"

Hermione cast a Binding Charm, quickly moved away from her spot, ran a few steps forward, and then cast another Binding Charm.

"[Armor Protection]"

Loren flicked his wand, and the white light of the first Binding Charm returned along its original path, slamming into the open ground. He then moved a few steps to the side, dodging the second Binding Charm.

The two moved back and forth, maneuvering within the dueling classroom constructed by the Room of Requirement. Hermione was primarily on the offensive, while Loren was constantly on the defensive and dodging.

Loren retreated in advance, dodging Hermione's charging spell. The instant the spell was cast, he seized the opening in Hermione's attack and used a binding spell to disarm her.

Any professor who witnessed the duel just now would have been genuinely impressed. The level of skill displayed by the two students was already superior to that of many upperclassmen.

Loren took a short breath; Hermione's offensive pace was too fast, and he was finding it difficult to defend against her.

With Flamel's guidance, Loren improved rapidly in dueling. Hermione didn't show much talent in combat, but she always managed to apply her knowledge, rarely making the same mistakes, and improved just as quickly.

Loren walked over to Hermione and lifted the spell from her. "You were too reckless just now, focusing only on offense and neglecting defense. Once I got the rhythm of the attack, the outcome was no longer in doubt." He reached out and helped Hermione up.

Hermione stood up, tossed her hair, and said, "Since you didn't fight back, I gradually lowered my guard and focused only on attacking."

Hermione felt somewhat helpless, as if she was getting further away from her goal of taking down Loren. She could sense that Loren was becoming more relaxed and natural in the fight.

No, if this continues, 22 will always be 22. Hermione had an idea; she would find another way to teach him a lesson.

"next time……"

The two talked as they walked out of the House of Requirement and headed towards the restaurant.

With Christmas holidays starting in a week, the castle is already being decorated in preparation for the Christmas dinner.

As Loren and Hermione walked down the corridor, Percy was standing on a stool hanging a ribbon; prefects always have it harder.

There was actually an easier way for wizards to hang ribbons, but it wasn't allowed in the hallways, as school rules explicitly prohibited casting spells in hallways. Percy had no choice but to stand on a stool to hang the ribbons.

Just then, Pippi suddenly popped out of the wall at the other end of the ribbon.

Percy held one end of the ribbon, while Peeves quickly grabbed the other end and spun around Percy several times, the ribbon tightly wrapped around Percy's neck.

His eyes bulged out, his trachea protruded from his neck, and he coughed loudly. His body swayed as if he was about to fall off the stool, looking as if he was about to be strangled.

"Tremble at the feet of the great Peeves!" Peeves sneered with satisfaction at Percy's miserable state. He dropped the ribbon and flew away.

After Peeves left, Percy's expression returned to normal. Once he was steady, he expressionlessly took the ribbon off his neck and continued to fiddle with the Christmas decorations, as if the earlier incident had not affected him at all.

Loren clicked his tongue. "He seems quite skilled at it. He must have been tricked by Pippi the Ghost many times."

Hermione nodded.

The two suddenly felt a little sorry for Percy and the other prefects.

……

December 20th, Friday, after Potions class.

"Snape didn't deduct any points today either. He hasn't deducted any points from us for two weeks now." Harry couldn't believe it. Maybe Snape was taking advantage of the upcoming holiday to avoid deducting points today.

Ron laughed. "Snape must have been eaten by Fluffy. This Snape is a magical creation of Dumbledore."

"Then you two won't have to do your Potions Christmas homework." Loren was also smiling; he was looking forward to the result of the two of them not doing Snape's homework.

Ron recalled his last experience retrieving snake venom and shook his head violently in fright. "I never risk my life."

"Remember to keep an eye on Fulwe during the holidays. If someone really wants to steal the Philosopher's Stone, the Christmas holidays will be a great opportunity to do so," Hermione reminded the group.

Ron nodded. Harry and Hermione were going home for Christmas, and Loren was being misled by Snape. The responsibility of protecting the Philosopher's Stone would be entrusted to me.

Before dinner, Loren went back to his dorm and dug his frozen pear out of the snow, because Hermione and the others were going to board the train home the next day.

When they were dug out, the pears' skins had oxidized and turned black, covered with a layer of white frost, and were frozen solid. Two pears made a crisp sound when they bumped together.

Christmas is on the 25th, but we need to allow some time for the little wizards to travel home. They'll have a holiday after their classes on Friday.

Loren initially thought the Christmas holiday would only last a few days, at most a week, but later learned that Hogwarts' Christmas holiday lasted from Christmas to February. What kind of holiday is this? This is winter break!

Moreover, Hogwarts only counts as one semester a year, with only one final exam next year, so Christmas can be a time for lots of fun. Loren was both silent and tearful; what kind of advanced progression was this?

Loren found a bowl, put the pears in it, and placed it in the lounge. He sat by the fireplace, holding a copy of "Wizard Weekly," waiting for the delicious treat from his memory to appear in the ice.

Loren didn't move the food near the fireplace to speed up the defrosting process, worried that it would affect the taste.

Before long, a layer of ice formed on the surface of the pear, which slowly melted away. When you touched it gently with your finger, you could feel that the black skin had become supple.

At dinner, Loren brought a bowl of black pears to the table.

"What is this?" Simo leaned closer; he was always full of curiosity.

"A delicacy from a faraway land," Loren said mysteriously.

"It looks like a pear."

"Why is the skin dark?"

Harry and Ron both came over to look.

Upon hearing this, Malfoy also turned to look in this direction; he had never seen a black pear before.

There were only about ten in total. I distributed them to a few close friends, and one to each of the twins.

"There's even a share for us!" the twins exclaimed in unison, their voices filled with exaggerated emotion.

"I'm sorry, Hermione, even though you're Gryffindor's top scorer."

"But next time we have to help Loren!"

Hermione was both amused and exasperated by these words. When have you ever helped me? Last time you stopped Loren during the snowball fight, wasn't it because you wanted to have some fun?

Loren demonstrated how to eat frozen pears, removing the stem, tearing open the soft black skin to reveal the snow-white flesh filled with pear juice. A sweet pear aroma wafted from the flesh, along with cool, moist air, making it very tempting.

Loren sucked hard on the torn opening, drawing all the pear juice and melt-in-your-mouth pear flesh into his mouth, then closed his eyes in enjoyment.

Although it tastes different from what he remembers, it's very close.

Just looking at Loren, the others seemed to be able to taste the deliciousness of the frozen pears. They followed suit and ate frozen pears for the first time, making slurping noises that echoed across the Gryffindor table.

The flesh was soft and smooth, the juice was rich and sweet, and it was icy cold – an experience they had never had before.

Ron took a bite, his eyes widened, and he quickly slurped it up.

He planned to finish this one as soon as possible; Loren had three left, and he could eat one more.

Malfoy scoffed, "Tch, Weasley, you country bumpkin."

Ron glared at him, and the two were about to clash.

Loren stepped between the two, placed a plate with a pear in front of Malfoy, and said, "Merry Christmas."

Loren felt that Christmas here was like Chinese New Year; after all, it was all about good luck.

Malfoy was stunned. He had never gotten along with the Gryffindors and had never spoken to Loren.

He thought he would argue with them again, but Loren's kindness left him somewhat at a loss.

(End of this chapter)