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HP Chapter 16: Christmas (Part 3)
🕑 Added 2025-08-01 17:24:08 +0000 UTCOn Christmas Eve, Anne woke up contentedly in her wide, 1.8-meter bed. No classes, no one calling her to get up at the crack of dawn, and the best part, she could roll around as much as she liked without worrying about falling off. It was a beautiful kind of day.
She wandered into the bathroom and washed up lazily. Afterward, she pulled on her usual clothes from the wardrobe, tousled her hair, and padded downstairs in her slippers.
As she passed the second floor, Aaron stepped out of his study. He didn’t come too close, as he had some unknown substance stuck to his clothes. Leaning casually against the doorframe, arms crossed, he grinned at her.
“Good morning, Anne! Head downstairs and get some breakfast. I’m sure Orbie has something tasty waiting for you. He’s quite the little elf.”
“Good morning, Uncle Aaron~” Anne returned the smile just as easily. “I’ll head down now. We’re going to Diagon Alley later, right?”
“Right,” Aaron nodded. As he watched her turn away, he muttered to himself with a soft chuckle, “Sonia, Lambert, she’s doing so well now.”
Even years later, Aaron would remember this moment clearly, Anne’s messy bedhead, her half-dazed, sleepy look, and that relaxed smile. It was a smile completely different from any he had seen back at the orphanage.
Downstairs, Anne enjoyed a hearty French-style breakfast made by Orbie.
By the time she finished, Aaron had also freshened up and come down to join her. As Anne moved toward the door, Aaron reminded her, “We’re not driving to the Leaky Cauldron today, we’ll use Floo Powder!”
Anne looked pleasantly surprised toward the fireplace. “Our fireplace is connected to the Floo Network?”
“Of course!” Aaron said, grabbing a ceramic jar from beside the hearth. “Just grab a handful from this, toss it into the fireplace, step into the green flames, and clearly say your destination.”
Anne peeked into the jar. Inside was a shimmering white powder. She scooped some up, tossed it into the fireplace, and in a burst of green flame, stepped in.
“Diagon Alley!” she called.
“Brave girl,” Aaron commented with a smile, grabbing some powder for himself.
Anne barely had time to blink before she found herself standing in the fireplace of a shop in Diagon Alley, the same one she had used before. Aaron appeared right beside her moments later.
“How amazing!” Anne exclaimed at her first Floo Powder trip.
Aaron gave her a noncommittal look, then asked, “So, what are we shopping for today, Anne?”
“I think we should start with some common magical plant seeds, and a few potion-related tools, I’ll need them for my workshop. Also, some basic tools for plant care. I already asked Orbie; he said he can help look after them while I’m at school. Oh! And I’d like to buy some more books…”
As she spoke, they walked deeper into the alley.
“Those are all important, Anne. But don’t forget, tomorrow is Christmas. You’ll need gifts for your friends too!”
That reminded Anne of the gift she promised Jill.
“Hmm… Uncle Aaron, does Diagon Alley have gifts suitable for Muggles?”
“You want to buy something for Jill, right? There might be something in one of the shops. We can ask the clerk. If not, I’ll take you to a Muggle store later.”
Anne suddenly remembered she hadn’t yet explored a proper shopping mall in this life. The memories of spending hours in malls with her best friends in her past life rushed back. What were 1990s British shopping centers like, anyway? She couldn’t wait to find out.
She looked down at her outfit, still clothes from the orphanage. Yes, a shopping trip was long overdue.
After purchasing all the magical supplies and arranging for them to be delivered to the house, they visited the general store. Aaron suggested picking out Christmas gifts there, he said it was a great place to find interesting things. However, the shop didn’t carry anything suitable for Muggles. The wizarding world was still kept secret from Muggles, and the Ministry of Magic enforced strict rules around that. Anne had no intention of testing those rules. She knew they’d be heading into the Muggle world later anyway.
She picked out a delicate magical puppet for Fanny, then remembered Hermione. She had asked for Anne’s address on the train, hadn’t she? Judging from her attitude, she was definitely going to send a gift. If Hermione sent one and Anne didn’t return the gesture… well, that’d be a headache waiting to happen. Fine, etiquette was etiquette.
So she made another round through the shop and picked out a beautiful and practical magical quill. Stationery for a studious girl, perfect.
Once the gifts were wrapped and tucked into her bag, she and Aaron exited Diagon Alley through the Leaky Cauldron and stepped into the bustling streets of London.
The rest of the afternoon was a whirlwind of excitement. Anne explored shop after shop. 1990s British malls weren’t all that different from the ones in the 21st century, aside from the absence of LED billboards and digital screens. Shopfronts had full-glass windows, and with Christmas around the corner, every store was running promotions. The streets were packed with shoppers.
And so, on the eve of Christmas, Anne indulged herself in a satisfying shopping spree, complete with a British gentleman to carry her bags.
When they returned home, Orbie had already prepared a lavish Christmas Eve dinner. Anne ate to her heart’s content and went to bed full and happy.
The next morning, when she woke up, she found three small gifts at her bedside. Orbie had collected them from the owl in the yard. One was from Aaron, who had asked Orbie to deliver it to her room.
Anne picked up the topmost box, a small purple one. Inside were several rare magical plant seeds, each individually packed and labeled. It was from Fanny.
She really gets me, Anne thought, smiling.
The second gift was in a white box, from Hermione. It contained an assortment of chocolates in different flavors. Knew she’d send something, Anne thought, setting it aside on her desk.
The last gift was also in a white box, this one from Aaron. Inside was a photo frame. In the photo were three young people, smiling brightly at the camera, her parents and Aaron.
She placed the frame on the most prominent shelf of her bookcase.
After washing up and getting dressed in her brand-new clothes, Anne pulled a small bag from a shopping bag. Inside was a men’s scarf. She took it with her and headed downstairs.
Aaron wasn’t on the second floor, so she continued down to the first. The moment she stepped onto the stairs, he looked up from the living room and smiled.
“Hey! Merry Christmas, Anne!”
“Merry Christmas, Uncle Aaron! I loved your gift, and I have something for you too!” She lifted the little bag in her hand.
“Huh?” Aaron looked surprised. “You got me something?”
Anne walked over to a chair, stood on it, and motioned for him to come closer. When he did, she pulled the scarf out of the bag and carefully wrapped it around his neck. She gave him a once-over.
“Not bad! Uncle Aaron, if you changed your hairstyle and kept your clothes a little tidier, you’d be a real heartthrob!”
Aaron gave a helpless laugh and ruffled her hair. Looking down at the scarf, he said warmly, “I really like it. Thank you.”
Anne hopped down from the chair. “Of course! I do have excellent taste, I’m a sophisticated woman of the 21st century,"
She caught herself just in time and hastily corrected, “I mean, a brilliant witch of the 21st century!”
Luckily, Aaron didn’t notice anything off. He simply nodded and asked Orbie to start breakfast.
After eating, Anne spent most of the day in her small greenhouse. Though modest in size, it took up nearly a quarter of the backyard. It was enchanted, though from the outside it looked like an ordinary glasshouse. Much of the house was enchanted, in fact. Muggles couldn’t see anything unusual, and Aaron had cast a low-level Muggle-Repelling Charm, so most Muggles wouldn’t even register the house.
During the holiday, Anne planted over twenty different magical plants. Many were just seedlings, and some had only a single pot. She labeled each plant and recorded its information in a plant log near the greenhouse entrance. Instead of the clumsy, outdated method taught by Professor Sprout, where all plant data was logged by date, Anne used a more scientific approach, drawing on knowledge from her past life. She categorized them by type and assigned codes, like A01 for “Plant Type A, Specimen 01,” and documented growth rates and traits accordingly.
She taught the method to Orbie too, who was thrilled to help with such an “important task for Miss Reeve.” He now spent much of his free time assisting in the greenhouse.
Besides Herbology, Anne was fascinated by Potions, particularly how similar it was to chemistry. Her little workshop was mostly stocked with potions equipment. And thanks to a certain employee of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, their basement housed several magical creatures. This meant Anne had plenty of high-quality potion ingredients and could perform many of the experiments she read about in books.
Aaron, a proud Gryffindor, was also quite skilled in Transfiguration. He often helped Anne with her messier homework attempts. Occasionally, Anne would even ask him to drive her out to the countryside with a telescope to observe the stars for her Astronomy assignments.
As for History of Magic, well, Anne had already read enough history books in the library to breeze through those. And if that wasn’t enough, she also had an overachieving pen pal named Hermione who regularly sent her letters and homework updates.
The peaceful, joyful days flew by.
Aaron eventually returned to work, this time, on a business trip to Morocco in North Africa. And Anne’s 20-day break soon came to an end.
On the last day of vacation, she returned to Hogwarts.
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A/N: Back to Hogwarts and the main trio!
