Chapter 234 Christmas Gift
“This work is really not done by humans...”
Andrew sighed - he had just finished arranging the recipes for the Christmas dinner, and still had to decorate.
But here’s the problem. According to past records, no elf was even needed for this job. Professor McGonagall dragged Professor Flitwick to do it.
Can…
‘Pull the dean? I'm crazy to cause this trouble for myself! ’
Andrew closed the record angrily and prepared to do it himself - the Christmas tree was arranged, Hagrid provided it, it was not a big problem, but the decoration...
‘Oh my god, if you come here by yourself, you will be exhausted, right? ’
And a big problem is that he is not that good at decorative transformation - this thing requires a closer look, and cannot be tiled with range casting, otherwise he will be fooled directly.
‘Practice slowly by yourself? That's fine, but the files...can they still be handled by Dumbledore? Are you kidding...'
'We really don't have enough time, it seems we can only trick people - a person's power is limited, but a group...'
——
【notify:
The event "Wizard Chess Tournament" will be held in the school two days before Christmas. The winning college will get the right to dress up the school auditorium for Christmas this year. 】
Such a childish announcement was posted on the bulletin board, but the signature and seal underneath were extremely authentic.
"It's actually not Quidditch but wizard chess."
"Yeah, a duel is fine, but playing chess is a bit boring... I don't know who the referee is..."
"Is wizard chess bad? Isn't your academy afraid?"
"Afraid? It's obviously Taylor who is causing trouble for their academy!"
"If you can't win, just say so. Why don't you let it go... Not many Ravenclaws can play chess on weekdays..."
After a bit of commotion, the crowd dispersed—and went back to prepare for the game.
Let's keep talking, you can't get the decoration activity of the Academy Cup. It's great to do it now - it doesn't matter how many people are left behind, this thing will be crushed by just one chess champion.
——
"It's impossible to duel. You can't even watch it. Quidditch and Thunderbolt tiles are also impossible. Wizard chess at least doesn't need a strong guard. Professor Adams also asked me to spend some materials to make a permanent one." Let Dumbledore sign the deformed trophy, decorate it and add the materials, and it's done..."
"Over at the event, Principal Firecracker said he was responsible, so don't worry..."
"Performance activities, it seems that there is no such example in previous years, don't worry about it..."
"The elves are responsible for the castle cleaning and banquet..."
"That's probably it. I haven't finished the alchemical shrinking of the new lamp yet, so I can't use it yet..."
"That's it... Ah, by the way, I still have to be busy sending congratulatory letters to the Ministry of Magic, and, um, those schools... I've made arrangements. I need to have Dumbledore at least sign his name, otherwise it would be too shameful. Already…”
"worn out…"
He packed up a bunch of things, then sighed and closed the door to Dumbledore's office.
‘Speaking of which, what is Dumbledore busy with, fishing? That’s not right. They said they were giving me their work back, but I couldn’t see it coming…’
'Forget it, go back and study that piece of wood, don't care about things other than my strength...'
——
"Tyler didn't come?"
"We have a professor in charge."
Probably because they were a little bored, almost all the students who stayed in the school came to the scene - ten chessboards were placed there, and all the prefects who stayed in the school were invited to do inspections. Plus a referee, it was barely decent. Competition.
After all, the rules of wizard chess are over there, the number of people has been registered, and the single-elimination tournament system is basically no problem.
The basic meaning is - three players were eliminated because of casting curses on their opponents. After the game, one of them was so dirty that he was sent to the school hospital.
However, after a difficult choice, the Hufflepuff students won - one of the students who stayed at the school happened to be a skilled chess player.
No one was even unconvinced - because he killed the last opponent with a huge advantage.
So the cheerful Hufflepuffs almost jumped up and down, dragging their champions to get the materials - to decorate the auditorium, they had not experienced this kind of honor for a long time!
——
"Take a break from your busy schedule..."
Andrew didn't even care about the results of the competition - he just needed someone to decorate the auditorium, in any color.
The amount of documents these days has been a bit overwhelming, and his schedule has been a little overwhelming. Fortunately, there will be no problem after Christmas. If Professor McGonagall comes back, the workload will suddenly be reduced to normal. .
‘Just calculate the expenses tomorrow and get the principal to sign it. It’s not a big job, and you can even be lazy while watching the winners’ decorations... I won’t be able to live for the holidays the day after tomorrow... It’s a perfect arrangement...'
After stretching, Andrew suddenly remembered a problem - hell, he didn't prepare any Christmas cards or gifts!
‘It’s too late tomorrow, no, I have to leave school now to buy a leave application form for... entry and exit... Ah, by the way, there is no need to approve it, I am responsible for it...'
He originally planned to care about the result of the game, but now it seemed that it was completely impossible - he hurriedly ran to Dumbledore's office, and then directly borrowed the Floo Network and flew towards Diagon Alley.
——
"Yes, yes, that's right over there, perfect decoration, just do it like that!"
Andrew walked among Hufflepuffs and felt comforted as he saw every student being very energetic.
Throwing away the remaining guilt, he began to experience Dumbledore's happiness.
"It's great, it's just such a transformation technique. I'll put some ribbons on it, it's beautiful!"
He was pacing back and forth, not doing his job at all - or so the Hufflepuffs were watching him to prevent him from intervening on a whim.
This power was obtained with great difficulty!
Thanks to the chess king of our hospital!
"That's it, very good. I'll go look elsewhere. The castle's armor and stuff. Mr. Filch has complained many times..."
Andrew said with a smile on his face and left the energetic Hufflepuff.
As for his own academy - he was quite frustrated yesterday, but he was not blamed.
Using an intellectual game like Wizard Chess for selection is already a waste of time - what can you say if you can't win?
‘The situation is great! ’
And there was no flag planted this time - the losing house began to pile up snowmen and signs in front of the castle, trying to seize the exterior decoration. Hufflepuff simply carved one for each person, and then ignored them.
There are no problems with the elves and Filch either.
Andrew also asked his own owl and the college's owl to take out the Christmas gifts in batches. In short, everything was ready and waiting for Christmas to arrive.
——
"Today, I'm going to sleep in...after all, I'm here to celebrate the New Year..."
It was rare for Andrew to wake up and not go out for a run, so he slept for an extra hour.
He was very tired during this time.
After waking up, Andrew, who felt energetic again, moved his body, looked at his pile of gifts, then blinked and looked again.
no?
Why does it feel a bit high?
He hurried over and decided to send back anything of high value - hell, he was doing odd jobs at school, not working for the Ministry of Magic!
"Well, this is..."
A Hufflepuff student? A piece of candy?
Yes…
Another Hufflepuff student?
Chocolate?
Okay... After opening a dozen gifts in a row and finding that they were all Hufflepuff snacks, Andrew sighed - hell, no, he really didn't do any favoritism!
But the candies couldn't be considered bribes, so he sighed and accepted them all.
Then, the next package.
Quibbler? ? ?
Um... that's okay too.
He put it aside and continued to take out one portion. This time it was, well, this one was good. It didn't even melt. It was a portion of lemon-flavored ice cream. It was especially delicious when eaten around the fireplace in winter!
He happily opened the package, then opened the next one, and then he felt bad all over.
It's another hardcover quill set, but the feathers at the end are changed from phoenix to thunderbird ones - what the hell, why are you rushing to publish during the festival?
'Fortunately, the name magic used in communication over there is not a pen name...'
"This is? Well, well, this is-"
He opened the package and checked the name. Sure enough, it was roommate, perfect, a precious card that he didn't have!
As expected, my family understands.
The other roommates also gave just the right gifts, but the one that impressed Andrew the most was the gift from Dumbledore - a very special magic pocket watch, but it had no functions marked.
'We'll do it later...'
He finally counted the gifts. The hardest gifts in the pile belonged to Hagrid-those rock cakes that looked like they could smash the ground.
‘In addition to those gifts, I have sent them all...as have several other friends from the college. There is also a gift letter that needs to be answered...Huffman, you are really different. ’
Andrew sighed, gave up saying unnecessary words, and began to lie on the table and write a reply.
That guy Huffman, his first correspondence since training, was really a reply that he had to take very seriously - when he wrote, he introduced his good results in the training camp, and also expressed his outlook for the future. , full of desire to share, Andrew really couldn’t help but reply immediately.
[Dear Huffman;
I am very happy to receive your letter... (a long sentence of greetings to the body)...
(A long paragraph of blessings and praise for Huffman’s adventure)…
Thanks to you, I'm doing fine in school. I just do those things every day, except for being a little tired...
The kid in the first grade is still naughty and mischievous. Nothing has changed much from when you left. I don't have much to say about my personal experience. If I have to say something, it's just the bad things that are widely circulated in the school.
The only thing I can mention is that it was a risk, but unfortunately, I didn't make any outstanding contributions, I just got such an opportunity by luck.
I hope you can behave like this in the future. To be honest, I really look forward to you taking risks like that...
Your friend
Andrew Taylor]
With a smile that could never be wiped off, Andrew sealed the envelope and began to imagine the scene where Huffman would curse after receiving the letter. This was really interesting.
After getting dressed and putting away the gifts, Andrew was ready to go out and mail the letters.
——
"It's amazing. Hufflepuff is so happy... Why isn't that guy Ron here? His house was robbed!"
There was a cry from the Gryffindor table.
They had a chance, because Ron was recognized as the best chess player in the house, but the whole Weasley family went back to celebrate Christmas.
This is very, very unpleasant, especially when you see a pair of decorations.
Fortunately, those full gems in the scoring hourglass make people feel very reassured - if nothing else happens, they can win the Academy Cup this year, and the celebration scene may be even grander then.
However, the sumptuous Christmas dinner makes everyone's worries disappear, especially since there are no cups to hand out this time, which makes people even happier - forget it, Hufflepuff's decorations are just Hufflepuff. Patch, it's better than Slytherin.
But even Slytherin isn't too angry now - Gryffindor has been having so much fun cleaning the toilets these days, and they haven't won either, which is even more reassuring.
The only person in the room who seemed a bit off was the Ravenclaw.
Andrew wanted so badly to pull out his wand now, but he couldn't.
The reason is very simple, because Dumbledore specially thanked him when he spoke before the banquet - Damn it, dear principal, you are putting me on the fire!
I can’t even sit at the table here!
If it weren’t for the delicious food in front of him, Andrew would have very much planned to leave the table - he finally settled down to eat.
"Bring some firecrackers!"
As Dumbledore spoke, a pile of specially made firecrackers were piled up in front of everyone. Andrew packed them up with just one spell - No, he couldn't stay any longer, so he went back to study with the firecrackers to see if there was any difference...
But shortly after he left the table, he was stopped.
"Professor Black? Didn't you take leave until after Christmas?"
Andrew looked at Sirius curiously.
"Harry still likes the crowded scenes at school," Sirius said, but his expression was not very good, which made Andrew a little suspicious.
"The school is really lively. There are firecrackers over there. When did you come back, Professor?"
"This morning, I just came here not long ago..."
Sirius said, then took a deep breath.
"That, is, um...reward..."
He pushed a box over and handed it to Andrew.
? ? ?
I've already refused once, Professor Black...
Andrew sighed and prepared to refuse again in a low voice.
After all, he is a professor, so he cannot be too loud or disrespect others.
But something happened that puzzled him. Dumbledore's voice suddenly came over, "Take it, Taylor..."
? ? ?
Andrew was stunned for a moment, but he tried to pretend that nothing was wrong.
Principal, are you kidding?
But he couldn't say it directly now, so he could only pretend to be calm and look forward to the next instruction.
"Take it, I witnessed it."
…
All right.
Andrew sighed, "Okay, if you insist, but we have no relationship a long time ago, never have."
Sirius nodded frantically, then ran away blushing.
Andrew was left looking surprised, waiting for Dumbledore to speak.
"If you don't accept it, my new professor will probably be worried about this all day long...even if you bring him the gift from Azkaban."
Dumbledore sighed, "Ghosts don't always spread useful things, but after you took it, I think he will be more restrained in the castle in the future."
"It just so happens that you can use this time well. After using it, I will help you return it at the end of the school year - he will probably be more mature by then..."
Wait, principal, did you force me to leave on purpose? And this box...have you already discussed it with Sirius' ancestor and asked him to bring it over?
Andrew was very skeptical, but thought about the astronomy tower...
‘Nah, I don’t know what happened. ’
(End of chapter)