"What does this mean? Did you give me a house?"
Ian took the item out of the gift box.
It had an exquisite pattern with a touch of hollow design, clearly an antique with some age. In the light, it still had a slight patina.
It was a key.
...
The corridors of Hogwarts were quite tranquil.
One could even say somewhat desolate.
Due to Christmas, most little wizards chose to go home, and those staying at school were few, mostly preferring to stay in the incredibly warm common room.
When Ian came out of the Room of Requirement, he exhaled a large breath of white mist.
At that moment, there were no longer the crowds of students bustling about, no longer the laughter echoing from classrooms and corridors, and no longer the flying training and matches over the Quidditch Pitch. The hallways, towers, and the lawn outside of Hogwarts Castle looked especially serene under the gentle winter sunlight.
On days like these, not many little wizards would head to the hall for meals. However, Ian did bump into a familiar face at the entrance of the hall.
"Miss Greengrass! Where's my Christmas gift?" Ian, adhering to the principle of nodding acquaintance thrice, also sent a gift to Daphne Greengrass, who was as scared of him as a tiger.
However, he didn't receive a return gift.
"Are you trying to use my warm face to stick it to your cold backside?" The little wizard was not happy, causing Daphne Greengrass and her little friend Gesha Selwen to shiver.
"I... I did send something; it's in the same box as Qiu Zhang's." Daphne Greengrass hurriedly explained, leaving Ian stunned in place, slightly bewildered.
"The Christmas card inside is your gift?" Ian, recalling for a moment, widened his eyes, "As a descendant of the Pure-blood Clan, you just give me a Christmas card?"
His tone was a bit aggrieved.
"Is there a possibility... that my dad has stopped giving me money..." Daphne Greengrass forced a smile, but it looked more painful than crying.
To prove she was telling the truth, she took out her money bag, which indeed looked rather pitiful, containing only a few copper Knuts and not even a single Silver Sickle.
"I can't even afford a gift box..."
Daphne Greengrass's tone was very sincere and helpless, and this little witch, who had an unlucky semester just for mocking Ian once as a mudblood, was truly miserable.
"Doesn't she want to lend you money? Fake friend?" Ian looked at Gesha Selwen, who was hiding her head like an ostrich. This little witch immediately reacted as if reflexively and started rummaging through her money bag.
In her haste, the money bag fell to the ground but made no sound. Opening the money bag, Gesha Selwen's situation appeared even worse than Daphne Greengrass's.
Empty.
"Really, we have no money at all, my family doesn't give me any money either." Gesha Selwen and Daphne Greengrass exhibited an aura of destitution.
"So, you're the bankrupt sisters of Hogwarts." Ian also felt a bit sentimental, and he took two copper Knuts from his money bag, giving one to each of the little witches.
"This is a reminder fee. Remember to remind your families to send me compensation soon." After saying this, the little wizard left the bankrupt sisters and entered the hall.
"Clearing assets takes time..."
Daphne Greengrass replied.
But her voice was so soft that Ian probably didn't hear it. If he had, perhaps he wouldn't have wondered why their families had cut off their funds.
Clearly, Dumbledore wanted a big contribution from the Pure-blood Clan.
"Did he also give you a Christmas gift?" Gesha Selwen asked, only after Ian's figure completely disappeared, looking at Daphne Greengrass with a strange expression.
As if seeing a fake friend who secretly joined but didn't include her.
"I heard he gave gifts to many people... perhaps trying to win people over?" Daphne Greengrass's thinking was very much in line with the Pure-blood Clan's usual style.
"Then why didn't he want to win me over? Our family is no weaker than yours..." Gesha Selwen was not eager for Ian's attention; she merely felt her family might have been belittled.
Daphne Greengrass didn't know how to respond.
"What did he give you?"
Gesha Selwen continued to ask, full of curiosity.
Daphne Greengrass sighed, "I didn't dare to open it. Little Grindelwald's look was strange, and I feared that opening it might stick a Killing Curse to my face."
Her words made Gesha Selwen's eyes widen, even drawing a sharp breath.
"That guy hid a Killing Curse in your gift? Gosh! Even the Black Demon King back then wasn't as scary as him!" Gesha Selwen's soft sigh and sentiment were utterly genuine.
"..."
Daphne Greengrass was silent for a while, and when Gesha Selwen tentatively asked if they should take the gift box to the still somewhat neutral Hufflepuff Headmaster to complain, she finally responded with a helpless acknowledgment.
"I didn't say the Killing Curse would come from his gift..."
Daphne Greengrass finally replied, unable to avoid it.
"?????"
Gesha Selwen was stunned for a moment before understanding. It turned out that Daphne Greengrass was worried about the Killing Curse coming from Ian's good friend.