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Lynn was awakened this morning by a faint rustling sound.
The sound wasn't loud, but it was persistent, as if something were continuously rubbing, tearing, and opening.
Lynn frowned, rolled over, and tried to block out the noise—it didn't work. He pulled the quilt over half his head—still no use.
He finally gave up the struggle and abruptly opened his eyes.
Then he froze.
His three roommates were sitting around a huge pile of stuff in the middle of the dormitory—a pile of packages, a veritable mountain made of packages.
Packages of all sizes, colors, and materials were stacked from the floor almost to the ceiling.
The ones on top were teetering precariously, ready to roll down at any moment. Even more terrifying, the pile of packages had spread to the doorway, completely blocking the dormitory door.
From time to time, an Owl would fly in carrying a package and drop it onto the mountain.
"Have I slept that long?" Lynn's eyes widened, his voice filled with disbelief. "Is it already Christmas?!"
His startled cry echoed through the dormitory, startling the three who were busy unwrapping packages.
Edgar was holding a freshly opened box from which a sweet, cloying fragrance wafted. He turned around and gave Lynn a look that said, You wish.
"Unfortunately," he said, his tone tinged with schadenfreude, "Christmas is still a few days away. You still have to worry about finding a dance partner, and you still have to keep hiding from people."
Lynn ignored his teasing, his gaze fixed intently on the mountain of packages.
"Then these... what's all this about?"
He pointed at the pile of packages that was almost completely blocking the dormitory door.
William pushed up his glasses, casually picked up a package from the very top, and deftly unwrapped it.
The wrapping paper rustled as it fell. He pulled out a letter from inside; the envelope was pale pink and gave off a faint scent of roses.
He shook the letter.
"These are all invitations asking you to be their dance partner."
Lynn: "..."
"Since this morning," William continued, "the Owls haven't stopped. One after another flying in, one after another dropping packages. The three of us have been unwrapping them since six o'clock, and up until now—"
He pointed to a stack of envelopes beside him.
The stack of envelopes was taller than William himself. A rough estimate put the number at close to a hundred.
Edgar grinned from ear to ear beside him.
"Tsk tsk, quite the ladies' man, buddy. And we're not even done with this pile yet. Did you get a good look at the pile by the door? That's just the tip of the iceberg. Once we clear this mountain, I reckon the number could double."
Ollie, who rarely spoke, was succinct.
"I've counted. Ninety-seven."
Edgar's eyes bulged.
"You actually counted?!"
Ollie ignored him and continued lowering his head to unwrap packages.
Lynn looked at the pile of letters, a throbbing starting in his temples.
What on earth was this all about?
He took a deep breath, then sat up in bed nonchalantly and started getting dressed.
"Oh, well, you guys keep unwrapping then," he said. "I'm going fishing first. Dou—"
Before he could finish his sentence, a hand reached out from beside him and accurately grabbed the back of his collar.
Edgar's face leaned in close to his.
"You hiding out by yourself is one thing," he said, "but making us unwrap packages for you? That's not very decent, brother."
Lynn remained in the grabbed position, his expression frozen on his face.
"Are you trying to run away?" Edgar asked.
"No," Lynn said without changing his expression. "I just wanted to get some fresh air."
"It's minus five degrees outside. The Black Lake has frozen over."
"I'll dress warmly."
"You're wearing pajamas."
Lynn looked down at his thin pajamas and fell silent.
Three seconds later, he sighed in resignation and sat back down on the edge of the bed.
"...Alright then."
And so, the four of them sat around the mountain of packages and continued unwrapping them.
Edgar was the fastest, unwrapping one, tossing it aside, unwrapping another, tossing it aside, all the while muttering nonstop:
"Invitation, invitation, snacks and sweets... Huh? What's this?"
He picked up an exquisitely packaged small box, opened the lid, and inside was a very tempting-looking little cake. The surface of the cake was sprinkled with golden frosting and emitted a rich, sweet aroma.
"Is this edible?" he asked, looking at Lynn. "It smells really good."
Lynn took it, brought it close to his nose, and sniffed. Then he looked at Edgar with an expression that said he was looking at an idiot.
"I told you to study more in your spare time, but you never listen."
Edgar was baffled.
"What's wrong? Is there a problem?"
William leaned over from the side, sniffed the cake carefully, and then pushed up his glasses.
"Hmm..." he mused. "Is it possible that the fragrance you smell is the scent of a Love Potion?"
Edgar fell into thought.
"Love Potion?" he repeated. "I think I've heard of that..."
Ollie didn't even look up.
"It's Amortentia."
Edgar instantly stared wide-eyed at the cake, looking thoroughly unsettled.
Lynn walked over and patted his shoulder.
"It's fine. I have the antidote for Amortentia here. You can eat it."
"Really?"
"Would I lie to you?"
...
By the time Lynn and the others finished unwrapping the packages, noon had quietly passed.
Lynn stretched, his bones cracking. He looked out the window. The sun was shining, the snow had stopped, and the sky was a clean gray-blue.
Then he remembered a problem—it was time to eat.
The moment this thought surfaced, the scene from two days ago in the Great Hall, surrounded by a group of witches, automatically flashed into his mind.
Those burning gazes, the envelopes being handed to him, those follow-up questions of "Mr. Lynn, do you have a dance partner yet?"...
Lynn shuddered violently.
Couldn't go. Absolutely couldn't go.
The Great Hall was a trap now. Go in, and you wouldn't get out.
His eyes darted around, and he soon had an idea.
Hagrid's Hut was a good option. It was warm there, had food, and no crazy witches. He could also, by the way, grab some Abraxan hair—the tail hairs he'd grabbed from the Beauxbatons horses last time were almost used up, and he needed to replenish his stock.
"Dodo."
A soft pop sounded, and the House-elf instantly appeared beside him.
"Take me to Hagrid's Hut."
Another pop, and the two figures vanished from the dormitory.
The next moment, Lynn's feet landed on the snowy ground in front of Hagrid's hut door.
It was quiet all around, with only the rustling of the wind through the treetops. Smoke curled from the chimney of the hut, and warm yellow light shone from the windows, looking exceptionally cozy.
Lynn nodded in satisfaction and stepped toward the door.
Then he stopped.
Because music was coming from inside the hut.
That music... how to put it? The tune was a bit strange, like some sort of waltz, but the rhythm was fast and slow, occasionally hitting a few wrong notes.
Even stranger was that mixed in with the music were some heavy footsteps and the dull thuds of something bumping into furniture.
Thump—Crash—
It sounded like something had fallen over.
Then came Hagrid's voice, tinged with annoyance.
"Oh! Bumped into it again!"
The music continued.
Lynn stood outside the door, completely dumbfounded.
What was Hagrid doing?
From the sound of it... was he dancing?
Hagrid was dancing?!
This realization left his mind blank for a full three seconds.
Then his thoughts began to race frantically.
Did Hagrid have a girlfriend? Since when? Who was it? Madame Maxime? Couldn't be, right? Hagrid was so timid that he even stuttered when talking to her. How could he possibly—
Wait, what if she was into that?
The more Lynn thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.
Would it be inappropriate to knock now?
What if he barged in on a scene he shouldn't see—
He shuddered again.
Forget it, forget it. He'd come another day.
He turned to leave.
Right at that moment—
"Woof woof woof woof!!!"
A burst of cheerful barking exploded from the side, shattering the tranquility around the hut.
Lynn's movements froze.
He slowly turned his head and saw Fang charging over from the corner of the hut, his four legs scrambling through the snow, his tail wagging like a propeller, barking nonstop, his voice filled with the excitement of a long-awaited reunion.
Lynn: "..."
He looked down at the overly excited dog, then up at the tightly closed door of the hut. The corner of his mouth twitched.
Sure enough, the music inside the hut stopped.
Then came Hagrid's voice, tinged with a trace of panic:
"Who's outside?!"