Hogwarts: My Grandmother is the Queen

Henry was extremely pleased with the twins' handiwork. He set the gifts aside, and Lucy immediately and silently packed them into her suitcase.

When he woke up in the morning, he saw that the house-elf had polished his dark leather suitcase to a shine, and the lining, blessed with the Unblemished Stretch Charm, was stuffed full.

When he got to the foyer, Lucy was already waiting for him there.

"Is Your Highness about to depart?" Lucy blinked her big eyes at him.

"Yes, it needs to be a day earlier." Henry crouched down, looking directly into those round eyes. "There are some things I need to take care of, and I need you to come with me."

He didn't say what it was about, and Lucy didn't ask.

She simply nodded vigorously and stuffed a small packet of pastries carefully wrapped in brown paper into his hand—the Hogwarts kitchen special butter cookies that Henry had casually mentioned a few days ago.

"Let His Highness's family have a taste," Lucy said softly, the corner of the tea towel crumpled in her hand.

Henry accepted it and thanked him softly.

"Thank you, Lucy, for putting it in my suitcase."

Lucy's eyes lit up for a moment, then she took back the cookie, lowered her head, took a step back, and disappeared into thin air, leaving only a very soft "hiss" sound.

He had just straightened up when he heard a series of heavy footsteps.

It was Hagrid, striding briskly into the castle.

"Henry!" Hagrid's face, reddened by the cold wind, broke into a smile as soon as he saw him, but it quickly fell back down.

Clearly, the half-giant had noticed Henry's attire; he must be leaving school to go home for Christmas.

"You're leaving already?" Hagrid rubbed his hands awkwardly. "I thought you'd stay a few more days! Yaya missed you so much these past few days—"

As if in response to its master's words, Tooth peeked out from behind Hagrid, its tail slapping the floor and creating a small whirlwind.

"I'm going home for a few days, I'll be back when school starts," Henry said, then paused and added, "The scarf suits you very well."

Hagrid looked down at the gold and red wool scarf around his neck—he hadn't taken it off even while sleeping for the past few days.

He chuckled sheepishly, the annoyance he felt from the conversation about Cerberus with Harry Potter and the Trio the day before yesterday seemingly dissipated for the time being.

"Take care on your journey!" Hagrid waved vigorously. "Give my regards to your family!"

"Yes, I will." Henry returned his smile.

The snow was still falling, and Henry walked briskly out of the castle.

He didn't go directly to the station; taking the train would be too much of a waste of time. He had another way: Lucy.

House-elves can Apparate without restriction, allowing them to take their owners anywhere they've been.

Lucy had certainly been to Diagon Alley; such a distance was no problem for her at all.

"Is Your Highness ready?" Lucy's voice came from beside him. She had reappeared at some point, standing in the snow, looking up at him.

Henry nodded.

Lucy reached out and gently took his hand.

The next second, the world distorted.

The feeling is hard to describe—it's like being gripped by an invisible hand and then turned inside out.

The ground beneath his feet vanished, the wind howled in his ears, and a dizzying sensation washed over him. Henry felt as if he had been put into a washing machine.

Then, almost at the same instant, everything returned to normal.

Henry steadied himself and opened his eyes.

He was already standing at the entrance to Diagon Alley, in front of the Leaky Cauldron.

Lucy released her grip, took a step back, and stood quietly beside him.

His first stop was Diagon Alley, where, in addition to the Weasley twins' homemade trinkets, he also wanted to buy some magical gifts for his family.

Of course, he didn't forget his classmates, but he felt that the gifts he prepared for his friends in the magical world should be in line with the characteristics of the royal family, or at least conform to their stereotypes about the royal family.

Diagon Alley was busiest in the year before Christmas, with the Leaky Cauldron packed with wizards rushing to do their last-minute shopping before the holiday. Tom was so busy that he could only nod hurriedly to Henry through the crowd.

Passing through that familiar brick wall, a cobblestone street came into view, lined with colorful shop windows and decorated Christmas trees, creating a festive atmosphere.

A long line formed outside Florin's Ice Cream Shop, with people shivering as they waited to buy the winter-limited hot butter rum ice cream, though they had no idea how hot ice cream was made. In the window of Flourish and Blotts, several self-flipping picture books were vying for attention—one depicting the soaring posture of a Welsh green dragon, and the other a magical fireworks encyclopedia that sprayed colorful fireworks, attracting a group of children who clung to the glass and refused to leave.

Henry walked through the crowd with a leisurely pace.

He went to Gringotts first, where he was personally greeted by the leprechaun manager, who was clearly impressed by the big client in vault 777.

After confirming that Henry needed to withdraw cash for the purchase, a fawning glint flashed in Rapunzel's beady eyes as he efficiently completed all the formalities.

It's clear that he's very enthusiastic about helping Henry lose weight.

"Does Your Highness need assistance with moving things?" the pull ring asked solicitously. "Gringotts can provide that—at a reasonable price, of course."

"No need, I have arrangements," Henry said with a smile but without losing his politeness.

Pulling Ring didn't ask any further questions, but instead bowed even more attentively and personally escorted him to the bronze gate.

"Merry Christmas, Your Highness!" he called from behind. "If you need anything next time, just come to me!"

Henry didn't turn around, he just raised his hand and waved it gently.

He walked out of Gringotts, and Lucy had quietly appeared beside him without him noticing.

For the next two hours, Henry wandered among the shops in Diagon Alley, with Lucy half a step behind him. Whenever Henry selected a gift, she would step forward, gently touch it with her small hand, and the gift would disappear into thin air, carefully stored away in a space known only to her.

He went to a tea specialty store first.

The shop isn't big, but it's decorated with a very warm and inviting atmosphere.

The shop window displays dozens of different colored tea canisters, with a hand-painted ceramic jar in the most prominent position. It depicts a Niffler rolling around in the snow—the Niffler is round and plump, holding a gold coin in its paws, its beak sticking out high, and its face has that smug look of "I've stolen the whole world."

Considering that his great-grandmother was over ninety years old and was from the previous generation of his grandmother, Henry did not intend to give her a strange gift. Instead, he picked out a can of Christmas black tea, a specialty of the magical world, from a tea shop.

The shop owner was a round-faced witch. When she heard that the gift was for a woman in her nineties, she immediately and enthusiastically recommended a calming and sleep-inducing black tea. She also gave her a free jar of honey with the same Niffler design, which also had a calming effect.

"This is for you." She smiled. "It has the same calming effect as honey, and it goes well with tea. Older people like sweet things."