Time flies. The weather was getting colder, and Hogwarts had its first snowfall of the year, covering the entire school in white.
This also meant that Christmas was coming soon, and a joyful atmosphere permeated the whole of Hogwarts.
After all, most of them were students, and with the holidays just around the corner, there was plenty to be happy about.
At this time of year, Hogwarts Castle was adorned with many magnificent decorations.
The Great Hall was magnificent and imposing, with walls adorned with cascading ribbons of mistletoe and holly. Twelve Christmas trees stood in various corners of the room, each with a few flickering candles inserted into its trunk, clearly imbued with magic.
It wasn't just this place that was enchanted. The ceiling of the Great Hall was also affected. Its transparent appearance made it seem as though snowflakes were drifting in from outside, only to suddenly disappear just before they touched the students.
"Harry, can I borrow your Invisibility Cloak?" Ron nudged Harry's shoulder during lunch.
"Huh?" Harry exclaimed softly, taken aback.
"What are you going to do?" he asked.
"Didn't that old bat confiscate my Golden Snitch last week?"
Ron had been distracted during a Potions class, fiddling with the Golden Snitch from the indoor Quidditch set. Snape had confiscated it and given him a scolding.
"I'm afraid that won't work. The Invisibility Cloak isn't with me right now." Harry shook his head.
Dumbledore had contacted him more than once shortly after the end of the Triwizard Tournament the previous year.
"Harry, there's something I might need to ask you."
The old man had suddenly made this request during a conversation in the Headmaster's office.
Harry didn't know what Dumbledore could possibly need his help with. He was already one of the most powerful wizards in the entire Wizarding World, so what could he possibly need from him?
Dumbledore wanted to borrow his Invisibility Cloak.
Harry had readily agreed, of course.
Without even the slightest hesitation.
He had never imagined that Dumbledore would simply keep his Invisibility Cloak for himself.
After all, it was his father's inheritance, entrusted to that old man for safekeeping. Then, when Harry was in first year, Dumbledore had returned it to him as a Christmas gift.
If Dumbledore had truly had selfish motives, there would have been no reason for him to return it to Harry at that time.
Anyway, nobody knew.
Who would doubt Dumbledore's character?
"Okay." Ron's eyelids drooped, and he looked somewhat disappointed.
"I'm going to have to do manual labor for them again," Ron muttered.
The Weasley twins' joke business was thriving, especially now that it had a solid theoretical foundation. Its quality and features had become even more distinctive, and their products were in high demand.
Their helpers also contributed a great deal.
That wasn't all. As a Prefect, Ron was also responsible for supervising and decorating Hogwarts.
There was also maintenance work to deal with.
"Peeves, don't touch that ribbon! It was so hard to hang up!"
For example, right now. He could only put down the unfinished food on his plate, hurriedly stand up, and deal with the mischievous Peeves.
Now, he could somewhat understand Filch's feelings.
As for Hermione, her knitting skills had progressed rapidly. It was now possible to tell whether she was knitting hats or socks.
It was a race against time. Even after lunch, they made the most of their free time.
In the past, she might have pressed Harry about his progress in Occlumency.
What she hadn't expected was that after Harry mastered the technique, he didn't completely resist Lord Voldemort's intrusion. He even occasionally allowed it to happen.
He no longer wanted to be jealous of Cho Chang and Cedric's affection. It felt as though he wasn't himself anymore, filled with jealousy and resentment.
He wanted more information.
He was now unwilling to remain passively defensive.
Why did Lord Voldemort want him to see these things?
So one night, he got what he wanted.
He drifted off to sleep.
Harry saw a man in black robes standing respectfully before him, reporting something.
"Grindelwald? A duel? Interesting," the man said softly.
Harry's vision narrowed. He must have squinted.
What Harry couldn't see was that where Lord Voldemort's nose should have been, there were only two tiny slits left on his face. They wrinkled slightly before becoming two eerie, thin lines.
A brilliant idea emerged in the Dark Lord's mind.
Harry felt a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction.
"After Christmas? That's something to look forward to. I'm going to give him a big gift."
Lord Voldemort's chilling voice sent shivers down one's spine as he revealed a sinister smile.
The man in the black robes became increasingly humble, as though he were about to kneel before him.
Harry tried desperately to see the man clearly, but to no avail.
"And the location?" Lord Voldemort closed his eyes and pondered for a moment, his long, pale hand stroking the armrest of the chair before he asked.
No decision had been made yet.
The caress of the armrest turned into a slow tapping, each soft sound striking Harry's chest.
The scene was plunged into a bizarre and distorted state, like a pebble floating on water and creating ripples. A dizzying sensation swept over him.
Harry woke with a start, fumbled for his glasses on the bedside table, put them on, and then took a few deep breaths.
"Grindelwald?"
He repeated the name under his breath, and remembered it.
Ron seemed to hear the noise. He abruptly turned over in bed, then fell into a deep sleep again.
Harry calmed himself down and decided to tell Ron and Hermione about what had happened in the dream the next day.
On weekends, the Gryffindor common room looked as pleasant as ever—a round room filled with worn-out armchairs and rickety old tables. A crackling fire burned in the fireplace, and many students held their hands out toward it to warm themselves.
Where the bookshelves had originally stood, an open space had been cleared for their indoor Quidditch competitions. According to George and Fred, they were considering hosting a formal competition.
A group of Gryffindor students were gathered in a circle, engaged in a fierce competition.
"This is about building brand awareness!" George said.
"Don't you guys think this is cool?" Fred chimed in.
They were already dreaming about the future.
Harry would definitely join if he were in the mood, but he wasn't thinking about that right now.
He found Ron, who was writing a History of Magic essay, and Hermione, who was knitting elf hats nearby, and gathered them around an old table.
"Do you know Grindelwald, Hermione?" he asked directly.
"Grindelwald? Why are you suddenly asking about him?" Hermione's tone was extremely surprised, and her light eyebrows arched.
Crookshanks noticed its owner's surprise, and its chubby body nimbly flipped onto the table. It looked at its owner with its apricot-yellow eyes and round face, as though it were angry.
"Grindelwald? Who is he?" Ron asked blankly.
Harry had a similar expression, staring wide-eyed at Hermione with his emerald-green eyes.
Judging from Hermione's reaction, he must have been a very famous person.
Hermione clutched her forehead in pain, her expression resembling Professor McGonagall's when she had seen Ron cast a Vanishing Spell on a rat, only to create several copies of it.
"Don't rush. Let me think."
Ron quickly waved his hand, racking his brains.
"Lord Voldemort's men?" he asked tentatively.
Hermione rolled her eyes again.
"His story is on the back of Dumbledore's Chocolate Frog collectible card," Hermione said casually.
"It's him?"
Ron finally realized who it was. He then stumbled up the stairs before quickly returning, carrying a dirty metal box.
"Found it!" Ron exclaimed excitedly.
He returned to his seat, waving the card in his hand.
Dumbledore was stroking his long, silvery-white beard, smiling at them from the card.
"He was a Dark Wizard. It's normal that I don't remember him very well, and there's only one or two lines about his deeds, okay?" Ron argued, trying to prove that his memory wasn't bad.
"I have one too."
Harry patted his pocket, remembering the Chocolate Frog he had bought on the train earlier, which had contained a card featuring Dumbledore. He took it out and looked at it.
"Why isn't there a detailed introduction about him?" Ron pressed.