Chapter 426 Grindelwald’s Christmas Gift

Sirius felt like a fire was about to burst out of his chest. He had never seen such an annoying owl. Just like its owner, he only does things for profit, making it difficult for people to like him at all.

His eyes fell on the letter on the table, and he gritted his teeth, feeling an urge to tear it into countless pieces. However, as he looked around the old, empty mansion, he realized that Christmas had indeed arrived.

The Black family house looked particularly gloomy in the afterglow of the setting sun, and Sirius had not made any preparations for this holiday. No turkey, no pudding, no meat pie, no cheese. As for the Christmas tree, I didn’t even see a hair on it.

The house looked like a tomb, except that there were no wandering ghosts. He looked at Rogge's Christmas greeting letter again, and a self-deprecating smile appeared on his lips.

Although Rogge's choice of words was offensive, and even though the gift was given so rudely in advance, Blake still accepted it.

Sirius gradually calmed down and realized the deeper meaning hidden in the letter. He eliminated the offending words and finally saw the true intention of the letter.

"The Triwizard Tournament and mermaids?" He thought silently, his eyes rolling over the names of Harry and Digory.

During the World Cup, he had encouraged Harry to be brave and dare to express his love to the girl he liked like his father. However, according to Rogge's letter, Harry still did not have the courage to fight for love.

Sirius stroked his beard gently, a trace of determination flashed in his eyes, and he thought to himself: "Harry, it seems that I have to help you."

He secretly despised Rogge's letter: "Although Harry is a mixed-blood, the identity of the savior is countless times more noble than the so-called pure-blood. Travis is the same as those crazy pure-blood families."

He folded the letter carefully and turned his eyes to the box containing the potion. The packaging of the potion was extremely simple. It was a brown bottle with a label saying "Mason" on it, and the selling price on the side was 1,000 Galleons.

Sirius sneered and said to himself: "He is indeed a greedy brat who wants to extract a hundred thousand Galleons from me."

As he spoke, he reached out to twist the bottle cap. At this moment, the writing on the label suddenly changed, and a line of warning appeared on the paper: "Experimental version, use without authorization, there will be consequences."

Blake's smile froze in an instant, and he stared at the bottle in his hand with a trace of hesitation in his heart.

"Hmph, you want to scare me?" Blake gritted his teeth and twisted it suddenly, and the bottle cap popped open.

A pungent smell immediately filled the air, like the smell of boiling lime. The potion in the bottle was off-white, like liquid plaster.

"Do you really want to try?" Blake struggled internally. His eyes fell on the smiley face pattern on the back of the label, as if he felt the ridicule coming from Rogge through this piece of paper.

Blake took a deep breath, determination flashing in his eyes. He whispered to himself, as if he was challenging himself and Slytherin: "When have I ever been afraid of Slytherin!"

He held the bottle cap tightly with his fingers and carefully applied the potion to the scar on his chin according to the vague instructions on it.

Almost immediately, a sharp pain like a soldering iron spread from his chin throughout his body, and the burning feeling hit the depths of his soul.

Blake's body trembled involuntarily, and his clothes were instantly soaked with sweat. He fell on the sofa, biting the pillow, and insisted on not letting a trace of pain leak out of his voice.

1 second, 2 seconds... 5 seconds... Time seemed to become extremely slow at this moment, and every second seemed as long as a minute.

It wasn't until a full minute passed that the feeling of torture, like being burned by a cannon, gradually subsided. Blake felt like he had just been fished out of sweat, soaked and exhausted.

He stood up with difficulty and carefully touched the place where he had just applied the potion. The centipede-like scar had completely disappeared, replaced by smooth and flat skin, as if it had never been injured.

Blake let out a long sigh, feeling both relief and fear. He looked at the "mason" on the table and had a fierce ideological struggle in his heart.

"I swear to Merlin, this must be revenge!!" He held the potion bottle in his hand and said firmly.

At this moment, he recalled the scene last year: after Lupine drank the Wolfsbane potion, the pain of skinning and gouging out flesh when he transformed, seemed to be right in front of his eyes.

Now, the bottle of magic potion sent by Rogge also brought severe side effects, which made him have similar associations. Especially he knew that Rogge was Snape's favorite disciple, which made him suspect that Rogge did it on purpose.

However, despite his misgivings, Blake decided to use the potion. Because he knew that he would either use it completely or repair all the scars.

Otherwise, the next time he meets Rogge, he will definitely laugh at himself as a coward without courage. He, Sirius Black, couldn't stand this kind of ridicule!

"I can't just give up, I can't let Rogge succeed." He gritted his teeth and decided to do nothing. Just grab the bottle and start applying it all over your face.

Although every time he applied it, there was a sharp pain on his face, but he never stopped.

Finally, he felt a red-hot bronze mask welded to his face. The pain caused him to convulse all over and even hallucinate, and he could smell the aroma of barbecue.

"Can't pass out!" He vowed firmly in his heart that he could not give in or be defeated by the magic potion.

If he loses to "Mason", it is equivalent to losing to Rogge, which is equivalent to losing to Snape!

"Never!" Blake roared deep in his heart. He desperately endured the severe pain on his face, and his body hunched over involuntarily. There were waves of terrifying trembling sounds in his throat.

The pain almost made him faint, but he knew that as long as he persisted, the pain would pass.

Fortunately, the duration of action of the potion is not directly related to the area applied. After sixty seconds of torture, Blake was a good man again.

He gently touched his smooth cheek, feeling the smoothness of the skin, but then he discovered a new problem.

"Where are the eyebrows? Where is my beard?" Blake suddenly screamed, realizing that the hair on his face had disappeared along with the scar. He angrily yelled, "Roger Travis!!!"

"Hey, why did I hear someone calling me?" Rogge looked out the window, and there was only the rustle of falling snowflakes.

Sailer flew back against the wind and snow, standing on the table and scratching his paws dissatisfiedly. He kept mumbling, as if he was cursing.

"I didn't expect that Blake's house didn't even have food." Roger stroked its head and brought out the supper and snacks. Seiler then stopped cursing and ate happily.

This year’s Christmas gifts don’t require much effort. He prepared the same book for most of his friends: Grindelwald's Memoirs.

The upper and lower volumes have dragon skin covers, which are luxurious special editions. Additionally, the hard all-inclusive case provides extra protection for the book, ensuring it will stand the test of time.

Particularly worth mentioning is the pendant-shaped bookmark designed by Rita according to Rogge's request. It was inspired by the Silver Vase of the Blood Alliance.

When the principal sees it, he will definitely be able to recall the broken covenant.

For the members of the Jackdaw Magic Society, Rogge also prepared an additional "Battle Guide". This book records most of the magic he learned at Hogwarts, and also includes his thought process for using spells. Fighting it can greatly improve your magical power.

"Choose a low-level combat difficulty. They shouldn't be hung from the ceiling anymore." Rogge murmured.

In addition to wizards, he also prepared clothes for house elves and galleons for goblins. There is also a mermaid tribe, and he has prepared a full set of musical instruments. Finally, I kept a saxophone for myself.

Looking at the "Golden Legend" under the lights, Rogge couldn't help but pick up the shining golden saxophone and shouted: "I am!! Leeroy!!!"

Then, in the dormitory, he pushed his crotch and played: "Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep..."

The dead memories are resurrected in the sultry saxophone music, and his passion and vitality are released through music. The heavy snow outside the window was flying rapidly in the wind, as if charging downward excitedly to the tune.

After the song was played, Roger fell down on the sofa with satisfaction. Looking at the clear ceiling, my eyes are full of nostalgia for the past. At this moment, his soul was greatly satisfied.

Owls and elves work overtime all night to deliver Christmas gifts. They shoulder an important task: ensuring that everyone can see the gifts sent by others on Christmas morning.

The piles were piled high beside Roger's bed, all the way to the ceiling. He didn't even have time to go to the auditorium for breakfast, he was too absorbed in the fun of opening presents.

Every gift was full of mystery, and every time it was opened it was a new surprise. This kind of unknown and expectation made him unable to stop his movements.

However, when he opened a seemingly ordinary box, his movements suddenly stopped. In the box, lying quietly, was Slytherin's locket.

Even without the greeting card and the sender's information, Rogge immediately realized that this was Grindelwald's Christmas gift to him. After a careful inspection, he carefully lifted it.

The amber crystal on the front is inlaid with the letter "S" made of green crystal, surrounded by some indecipherable symbols. Rogge was curious to know what Grindelwald had shaped Tom in this Horcrux.

He pulled out his wand and tapped the tip of the wand lightly on the surface of the locket. Then, it slowly opened under the pull of magic.

The evil curse or prank that Rogge expected did not appear. On the contrary, there was a small key lying quietly in the locket that was supposed to be empty.

His face was full of doubts, and he looked at the key in his hand over and over again. It's very plain, even rusty. Neither can fly nor is it a portkey.

Seeing that there were no other clues, he reluctantly checked the box. As expected, nothing was found.

"Why do I feel like this is a trap invitation?" He said to himself, the corners of his mouth drooped slightly, and he put the key away helplessly.

Rogge hadn't seen Grindelwald for a long time, and even Seiler couldn't find him with a Christmas gift. Remember last time at the Ministry of Magic, Amelia mentioned that he worked in the Department of Mysteries.

"Asking him to go to the Department of Mysteries is like throwing a mouse into cheese." He complained a few words, and then sighed, "I actually gathered all the relics."

Slytherin's locket, Ravenclaw's diadem, Gryffindor's sword, Hufflepuff's golden cup. The four relics left by the founder were placed on the table one by one.

Helena emerged from the crown and silently admired the four items in front of her.

After a long time, she said softly: "I didn't expect that the relic left by Salazar was a locket. It does resemble his style."

"Well, I feel like it's the most useless." There was a hint of disdain in Rogge's voice.

"It's Gryffindor's sword that's useless, okay." Helena immediately retorted, with a kind of pride unique to wizards in her voice, "We are wizards, how can we be like reckless men, using fists to fight with Sword duel?”

"There is no difference..."

"The difference is huge!" Helena refused to give up, insisting on giving Roger a lesson on what wizards are: "In the magic world, dueling without magic spells is despicable and vulgar..."

Roger listened to her lecture quietly, but his mind was already elsewhere. He turned to open other gifts, not interested in Helena's words.

All Christmas morning, Hogwarts Castle was quiet, no one came out. Everyone is immersed in the joy of the holiday, either opening gifts in the house or showing off to each other in the common room.

In the principal's office, Dumbledore looked at the hill-like box with a smile on his face. He smiled and opened each gift with his own hands.

Many people in the wizarding world are aware of his preference, and every Christmas he receives jars of Lemon Sherbets. He unhooked one and put it in his mouth with a smile.

The outermost layer of hard candy slowly melts in your saliva, and you can finally taste the white filling inside. When you eat the sandwich, it will sizzle in your mouth, giving you a wonderful taste experience.

Dumbledore had a happy smile on his face, but when he opened the gift from Roger, his smile paused.

On the top of the box, a blood bottle bookmark sways gently on a silver chain. Dumbledore couldn't help but hold it, feeling its cold metallic texture, but it had no magic power to confine him.

The black and white protective case is very eye-catching, as if to imply that the books inside are both dangerous and safe. It is a set of conjoined books, and the second volume is the key to the first volume.

You can read the next volume, or the entire volume. However, the upper volume cannot be opened individually.

Dumbledore immediately washed his hands and opened them gently. On the gritty pages, Grindelwald whispers his legend.

Dumbledore was neither happy nor angry, just listening calmly. From dropping out of school, to becoming acquaintance... Although Grindelwald tried to erase all traces related to Dumbledore, Dumbledore can still feel his presence between the lines.

"In 1945, I was imprisoned." Grindelwald's writing stopped abruptly at the end of the first volume.

Dumbledore stared at these words, as if he could feel the eyes that once burned with ambition looking at him. However, it went out.

Slowly close the first volume and turn to the second volume, where Grindelwald's unknown prison life is hidden.

The first sentence of the second volume is like the whisper of an ancient god, directly hitting Dumbledore's soul: "How difficult is it to live in a castle alone? I think you must know."

This sentence made Dumbledore fall into deep thought. His fingers stayed on the pages of the book, unwilling to continue turning. The filling of lemon snow baby pops gently in your mouth, releasing a sweet flavor. But at this moment, Dumbledore could only taste the bitterness in his heart.

His thoughts drifted to that era full of dreams, the boy who walked side by side with Grindelwald. Now, all that is left of the old man in the room is the shadow of his memories and a story that can never be told clearly.

…

He put Grindelwald's memoirs on the bookshelf and whispered in his heart: "I'm sorry, Gale." There was a trace of unspeakable sadness in his voice, as if he was saying goodbye to the past years.

The wand was waved gently in his hand, and other gifts obeyed the call and flew out of the box one after another. They are automatically classified and placed neatly and orderly.

In the end, a blue howling letter hung alone in the air with nowhere to put it.

Howler letters usually carry rebuke and dissatisfaction, and Dumbledore's first reaction was that someone had sent the wrong gift. His curiosity piqued, he gently opened the envelope. A familiar voice came from the letter, gentle and kind.

"Ahem." The voice said, "Albus, I found a ring in your student's old house. I think I destroyed the prophecy about you."

"You, you are so careless. It seems that the White Wizard is too easily deceived. He didn't even notice any little tricks. You, you..."

"The resurrection stone inlaid on the ring has been hidden by me." The roaring letter was still floating in the air, but it remained silent for a long time.

"Please leave me the position of substitute professor of dark arts. Maybe I will come back to teach one day." Finally, it said: "If Newt doesn't lie, there will be a fifth-year transfer student at Hogwarts next year."

When Dumbledore heard this, he jumped up from his seat. His heartbeat quickened and his palms clenched unconsciously. He reached out to catch the roaring letter, but it turned into countless pieces of paper before his fingertips, floating in the air. He looked at the nothingness in his hands, his heart was in turmoil, and he could not calm down for a long time.

Hogsmeade is covered in snow and filled with Christmas cheer. In the Three Broomsticks pub, drunk wizards were singing. Dumbledore, who was passing by, had a serious expression on his face and dragged heavy steps towards the Pig's Head Bar.

Fudge, who raised his hand to say hello, froze on the spot and said to Fudge's girlfriend Celestina: "What's wrong with Albus?"

Celestina touched her belly and looked at her lover sweetly: "My dear, I don't want to drink. Let's go to the teahouse."

Dumbledore walked to the door of the Pig's Head Bar, hesitated for a while, and then pushed it open. Aberforth, who was originally smiling, became as cold as ice the moment he saw him.