Simultaneously traversing: the pinnacle of all realms

The hall was decorated extravagantly for the pre-Christmas holiday banquet.

Twelve enormous Christmas trees were placed against the wall, adorned with twinkling magic candles and glittering icicles.

The ceiling was enchanted, with soft snowflakes falling that would disappear as soon as they landed on someone's head.

At the Hufflepuff table, students were excitedly discussing their holiday plans.

Ernie said he was going to France to visit relatives, and Justin said his parents were going to take him skiing.

Hannah said she was going to help her mother prepare Christmas dinner, while Susan said she would visit her aunt—a witch who worked at the Ministry of Magic.

"And you, Xavier?" Ernie asked, leaning closer.

"Go home." Xavier was wrestling with his steak.

The elves must have been busy today; the beef was cooked too firm. When Xavier swallowed it, he felt like his neck stretched two miles out.

My parents are waiting for me.

"That's great." Ernie nodded. "Merry Christmas."

The next morning, he boarded the Hogwarts Express and left the castle with his classmates.

The train sped across the snow-covered plains, and the scenery outside the window gradually changed from white fields to gray rooftops of cities.

In the afternoon, the train slowly pulled into King's Cross Station.

After a day on the train, Xavier was now extremely eager to learn how to teleport.

The train, still powered by a steam engine, was moving at a rather slow speed.

He carried his suitcase through the brick wall of Platform Nine and Three-Quarters and immediately spotted Darren and Beth waiting at the exit.

Beth was wearing a thick red coat, her hair was a little messy from the wind, and her eyes welled up with tears the moment she saw Xavier.

Darren stood behind her, smiling and waving at him.

"Ethan!" Beth ran over and hugged him. "You've grown taller! And thinner!"

"The school food is pretty good," Xavier said, letting his mother ruffle his hair.

Darren walked over, took the suitcase, and patted him on the shoulder: "Let's go home. Your mom made your favorite barbecue."

Xavier got into the car and watched the London street scene recede outside the window.

After leaving for several months and returning, everything felt both familiar and strange.

Christmas decorations have been hung up on the streets, and shop windows are filled with colorful lights and gifts, creating a festive atmosphere everywhere.

The magical world and the outside world seem to be separated by a deep chasm, each undisturbed by the other.

When Xavier returned home, he found that his stairwell had been rearranged.

Beth changed the sheets and curtains, and added a new lamp to the cabinet.

Darren even put some star-shaped glow-in-the-dark stickers on the ceiling.

"Do you like it?" Beth asked, hugging Xavier.

"Yes, I like it very much." — After all, her own home and the dormitory at Hogwarts are different.

In the days since Xavier returned, Beth and Darren have been staying with him, as if trying to make up for the time they missed.

-

On Christmas Eve, Xavier sat in his house, carefully writing greeting cards on parchment with a quill pen.

He wrote one for each of Harry, Ron, and Hermione, and one for each of Ernie, Justin, Hannah, and Susan.

The message was simple—Merry Christmas, and a short blessing. After writing the card, he wrapped the prepared gifts in kraft paper, tied them with twine, and gave them to Bob the owl to deliver.

The gift for Harry was a set of quill pen care tools—he had noticed that Harry's quill pens always forked, making the writing look like a spider crawling.

Ron was given a big box of chocolate frogs, knowing that Ron loved them but never had enough pocket money.

Hermione was given a copy of "A Supplement to the History of Magic," which contained some interesting anecdotes that Professor Binns wouldn't tell in class, and Xavier thought she would like it.

The gifts for the Hufflepuff friends were more casual—Ernie received a Wizard's Chess set—although Ernie was terrible at chess, he was very enthusiastic about playing it.

Justin received a popular book comparing Muggle and wizarding cultures, and Xavier thought Justin, being a half-blood wizard, would be interested in the topic.

Hannah received a set of exquisite herbal labels, while Susan received a bottle of ink that changed color.

Most of the money for the gifts came from his allowance, and a few he wrote to his parents in advance to ask them to buy them from Muggle stores.

Darren and Beth were very supportive, and even gave them extra money, saying, "Making friends is important."

On Christmas Eve, the family sat around the dining table.

Beth cooked almost every dish she could think of.

Xavier ate quite a lot, but Beth still felt he wasn't eating enough and kept piling food onto his plate.

"Did you make any friends at school?" Darren asked.

"Yes." Xavier named a few people and briefly introduced Harry, Ron, Hermione, and the other Hufflepuff classmates.

"Did you prepare gifts for them?" Beth asked.

"It's all ready. Some of it you even bought for me."

Beth nodded in satisfaction. "That's good. Oh, and we also prepared a gift for you—but you'll have to wait until tomorrow morning to open it."

On Christmas morning, Xavier woke up to find a small pile of presents at the foot of his bed.

His parents gave him a new outfit and a set of Muggle stationery ("You can use them at Hogwarts too").

There's also a thick British bird guide ("Don't you have an owl? You can learn more about it").

Xavier felt that it might not be very suitable for a magical bird like Popo.

He sat on the bed in the stairwell, humming a song as he unwrapped the gifts one by one.

Snow was falling outside the window, and the warmth of the heating inside made people feel lazy.

Bobo stood on the windowsill, tilting his head to look at him, occasionally making cooing sounds.

In the afternoon, Xavier showed his parents some pictures of Hogwarts—the kind taken with magic, of course, so that the people in the pictures would move around inside the frames.

Beth marveled at the sight, while Darren studied the photograph thoughtfully.

"It's truly amazing," Darren said. "Every time I see these things, I feel like I'm dreaming."

-

The next day, Xavier received several gifts.

Harry sent a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans with a note: "Be careful not to get the earwax flavor—though I think you're pretty lucky."

Ron gave him a set of homemade wizard chess pieces, saying they were the ones his brother Charlie used when he was a child. They were said to be enchanted, and if you made a wrong move, he would curse you.

Hermione gave him a thick notebook with the inscription on the title page: "For Ethan."

Hufflepuff's friends also gave gifts.

Ernie gave her a box of candy quills, Justin gave her a book on Quidditch tactics ("I know you don't watch much football, but this book is very interesting"), Hannah gave her a scarf she knitted herself—yellow and black, the color scheme of Hufflepuff, and Susan gave her a box of handmade cookies.

Xavier unpacked the gifts one by one and carefully put them away.