John found his presents waiting for him in his dormitory.
Well, a lot of them.
So many, in fact, that he almost couldn't get into the room.
He casually picked one up and unwrapped it. The pink box inside immediately made John question whether its contents were entirely respectable.
Basil flew into the room, trembling all over.
Not with fear.
With anger.
It had discovered that while it was away, countless owls had invaded its territory.
John had no choice but to feed it more than a dozen dried minnows to calm it down.
He was certain that if Basil had been in the dormitory, those owls would probably have filled the entire room.
As an owl with a strong sense of territory, Basil had always been rather possessive.
"I think I'll need to set aside some time to open these properly."
The fact that he attended Hogwarts was no secret in the magical world. These presents had all been sent by admirers or people hoping to curry favour with him.
Just opening them would probably take several days.
So John decided to leave the task until the evening.
"I just hope my uncles haven't sent anything explosive."
His gaze swept across the mountain of gifts.
The only thing he was truly worried about was whether his uncles had mailed him a few hand grenades or something similar.
Making his way to the Great Hall, John enjoyed the rare experience of having it all to himself.
He asked for a glass of water and some bread, settling for a simple meal.
Taking out his pocket watch and checking the time, he figured Ariana should be awake and opening her presents by now.
A door appeared behind him.
John turned and walked through it.
As the door opened, he saw his mother.
John: "?"
He stared suspiciously at Mrs Wick, who was confronting the Star Spirits, then looked over at Ariana, who was peeking her head out from behind her.
"Mum, how did you get here?"
With a wave of his hand, John dispersed the Star Spirits.
The little fellows had been frightened by Mrs Wick.
Mrs Wick's eyes returned from pitch black to normal. After a moment's thought, she pulled Ariana over and said,
"I need to protect my daughter from being lured off to some strange place."
If you wanted to come, just say so. No need to make indirect remarks.
John was speechless, though there wasn't much he could say to his own mother.
"Alright. Now you've seen that this isn't some strange place, and there aren't any strange uncles here. Just your son."
"No," Mrs Wick said, winking at him. "I think spending Christmas here sounds rather nice."
John remained completely unmoved by his mother's attempt to act cute at her age.
Since Mrs Wick was here, though...
Where was his father?
...
"My wife! Ariana!"
Watson searched every room but couldn't find either of them.
He rushed over to Kiki, grabbed it by the wings, and demanded fiercely,
"Where are my wife and daughter?"
Kiki: "..."
What was wrong with him? Did he expect an owl to answer?
Fortunately, even though Kiki couldn't talk, Watson knew how to look for clues.
He spotted the card that had been spat back out by the fireplace.
He recognised his son's handwriting at a glance.
"So that's it. You went to see John behind my back."
Watson was not having it.
The magical world was so fascinating. How could they leave him behind?
He immediately began gearing up, putting on the custom-made wizard's robes he had ordered and placing a wizard's hat on his head.
"Still missing something... Ah, I've got it!"
Watson ran into his storeroom and rummaged around until he found a wand.
Well, it was normally used as a chew toy by Tom, but a certain irresponsible parent had secretly hidden it away for personal use.
Fully equipped, Watson stood proudly in front of the mirror, admiring himself.
"You really do look like a wizard."
After admiring himself for a while, Watson took out the card and swaggered over to the fireplace.
With a flourish, he tossed the card into the flames.
The card caught fire.
Then it burned to ashes.
Watson stood in front of the fireplace for a long time.
He cautiously reached a hand towards it.
The flames licked his fingers, making him jerk his hand back.
"This is supposed to get me there?"
Watson was deeply sceptical.
He threw another log into the fireplace.
The flames blazed even higher.
He reckoned that if he climbed in, he'd probably provide the fire with fuel for several more hours.
After checking several times, Watson finally understood.
He had been abandoned.
"You ungrateful brat!"
Watson gritted his teeth.
They had all gone to the magical world without him. Every last one of them had become completely lawless!
He was furious.
Waving the wand around wildly, Watson looked as though he had gone mad inside the Wick residence.
He stormed out of the house and immediately crashed into the snowman he had built the day before, then started punching and kicking it.
The agents watching him exchanged glances.
"Has he... gone insane?"
"I think he might just be under too much pressure."
An older agent calmly analysed the situation.
"Or perhaps he's doing this deliberately for our benefit, hoping we'll let our guard down."
"That makes sense!"
The younger agent looked at his senior with admiration.
The older agent lit a cigarette and said gravely,
"As expected of you, Watson Wick. You must have discovered us long ago."
"An excellent performance, but you can't fool me."
The older agent let out a cold laugh.
"Pack it up."
"Pack it up?" The younger agent was dumbfounded. "We're supposed to be watching him."
"There's no point. He's already discovered us. Everything we see from this point onward is only what he wants us to see."
The older agent said coldly,
"This round goes to him. Let's withdraw. Otherwise, we'll never get to see the real Watson Wick."
"Alright."
The younger agent was once again completely convinced by the older agent's reasoning and believed him without question.
Little did they know, he was simply a heartbroken middle-aged man abandoned by his wife and daughter.
...
Hogsmeade.
As soon as Mrs Wick entered the village filled entirely with witches and wizards, she felt an irresistible itch in her hands.
It was like an instinct buried deep within her bloodline.
A lingering after-effect of the great witch hunts.
Ariana took in everything around her without missing a single detail.
Clutching her teddy bear, she wandered through the village full of witches and wizards.
This was John's Christmas present.
A journey for Ariana to experience something entirely new.
Although John wasn't going home, he could bring Ariana here instead.
He removed the bracelet from Ariana's wrist and extended his wand towards her.
"I'm here."
With John by her side, Ariana no longer needed the restraining bracelet.
Mrs Wick was soon drawn towards Gladrags Wizardwear, thinking it would be a good place to buy Ariana a few outfits.
For some reason, ice cream was especially popular during winter.
Perhaps it was the same logic as eating hot pot in summer.
John noticed Filch presenting his membership card for Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour and receiving two strawberry mapo tofu-flavoured ice creams.
He ate one himself and handed the other to Madam Pince.
The two chatted and laughed together, and even Filch's habitual stoop had straightened.
After thinking it over, John decided to keep that little secret to himself.
"Would you like a warm Butterbeer?"
John pointed towards the Three Broomsticks.
Ariana curiously pressed herself against the window to look inside.
The pub was packed with people, making Ariana take a nervous step back.
"Mr Wick."
The owner of Gladrags Wizardwear hurried over and respectfully said to John,
"Your mother has purchased thirteen ladies' robes."
John took a money pouch from his handbag and handed it to the owner.
"Make sure my mother enjoys herself."
The owner's hand nearly dropped the pouch to the floor.
Money truly worked wonders.
Grinning so broadly that his eyes disappeared, the owner repeatedly assured John that he would take excellent care of her.
Seeing that Ariana didn't like the crowded pub, John thought for a moment.
"Then let's go somewhere else. I think you'll want to visit there too."
Ariana tilted her head, wondering where they were going.
...
The Hog's Head.
Compared with the Three Broomsticks, this place looked like a rubbish bin in the middle of a slum.
The nearly deserted inn echoed with the bleating of a goat wandering out into the open.
Behind the bar, Aberforth rested his chin on one hand, looking utterly bored.
Ever since Voldemort's downfall, even the Dark Wizards who used to spend money in his pub had disappeared.
If this continued, he would probably go out of business.
Jingle~!
The door opened.
Aberforth slowly looked over, assuming it was another Dark Wizard coming to conduct some shady business.
But the moment he looked up, it was as though someone had cast the Full Body-Bind Curse on him.
His eyes slowly widened.
A breathy gasp escaped his lips.
"Not welcoming guests?" John asked from the doorway.
Aberforth's eyes remained fixed on the figure behind him.
The little girl holding a wand was curiously looking around the empty pub.
"Ariana..."
At last, he managed to speak.
But the calm words he had intended became choked with emotion.
Looking at the old man, Ariana felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity.
Then, in a voice Aberforth had not heard for so many years, yet had never dared forget, she softly called out,
"Brother."
____
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