After a thorough investigation, the last black gem was finally found on the Black Lake Shore.
The professors breathed a sigh of relief and gathered these gems in the Headmaster's Office. The next morning, they announced that everyone could return to their dorms for free activities.
The students clearly loved the excitement and didn't care about the cause of the commotion; their enthusiasm wasn't diminished.
The gems were well taken care of, with two being given to Vivi, two to Little Sirius, one handed over to the International Wizarding Union, and the final one placed in Mr. Leme's Alchemy House.
"Mysterious, so mysterious." Mr. Leme looked at the black gem, a fervent expression appearing on his aged face, "Heavens, I've never seen a Dark Magic object like this before—at least not with my own eyes... Albus, where did you get this thing?"
"Voldemort created it," Dumbledore said concisely, accurately catching on to Mr. Leme's words, "You meant by not seeing it with your own eyes... you read about it in a book?"
"Oh, of course, Albus." Mr. Leme smiled at Dumbledore, "You should know, I've lived this long, definitely not for nothing."
"Sorry," Dumbledore chuckled, truly not expecting Mr. Leme to know what this was.
"So what is it?" Harry immediately asked.
"A curse, a curse attached to an object," Mr. Leme shook his head, "Anyone who touches an object imbued with this curse will have their mind controlled... Overall, it's a very complex thing, but I've only ever read about it in a book."
"How should it be removed then?" Dumbledore asked.
"Fiery Fire Spell, Killing Curse, both work," Mr. Leme said, "Most fire can clear such a curse... of course, it must be magic-infused fire."
"How do we prevent these things?" Dumbledore asked again, "If Voldemort and his followers are spreading these things everywhere, it's going to be troublesome. We can't possibly send wizards all over the country, or even the world, using Revelio to detect these things..."
"You're using Revelio to find these things?" Mr. Leme was stunned.
"Yeah," Dumbledore responded.
"Let me think..." Mr. Leme pondered for a while, then told Dumbledore: "Give me a month, and I will come up with a better solution."
"Could you be quicker?" Dumbledore asked.
Unexpectedly, Mr. Leme got angry.
"Then you'd better find someone else!" he said angrily, "You think a month is too long? Albus, you're really..."
He thought for a long time but couldn't find a suitable word to describe Dumbledore.
...
Snowflakes were swirling outside the window, tapping against the icy panes, with Christmas approaching soon.
Professor Slughorn announced that he would hold a party within the club, where everyone could invite a dance partner of the opposite gender.
Of course, Professor Slughorn also respected those who were different; they could choose not to invite someone of the opposite gender.
However, this seemed a bit disingenuous to Harry, as he felt the Professor had added this line due to the preferences of an undisclosed headmaster.
After all, when under someone's roof, you have to bow your head.
This also resulted in Harry receiving more winks than usual.
Hagrid had single-handedly brought in the twelve Christmas trees that were inevitably set up each year in the hall; holly and metallic foils were wrapped around the stair railings; candles were permanently lit inside the helmets of the suits of armor, and large bundles of mistletoe were hanging at regular intervals along the corridors.
Each time Harry walked through the corridor, he found groups of girls gathered under the mistletoe, causing traffic jams.
Under the mistletoe, you're supposed to kiss, which was their plan, but Harry managed to pass through without a single leaf sticking to him.
"You're really popular, mate," Ron said with envy, "Sometimes I wonder how great it would be if I were as popular."
But as soon as he finished speaking, Hermione punched him on the shoulder.
"I hope you'll put this energy into your studies instead of thinking about such trivial matters!" Hermione said angrily.
With that, she turned and ran off.
"What's wrong with her?" Ron scratched his head, asking.
"Obviously, she's angry," Harry said helplessly, feeling his best mate was hopeless—how could he be denser than he had been back then?
Evidently, Seamus and Neville thought the same.
They watched Ron with amusement but didn't plan to spell things out.
"I think he's not even as good as you," Neville whispered to Seamus, "See, you're already dating Lavender. I thought Ron would be next, but it seems..."
"I think he won't get with Hermione until you find a girlfriend," Seamus offered his sharp commentary, "Speaking of which, how's your progress? You've always liked Luna, haven't you? When do you plan to confess to her?"
"In the next couple of days, taking advantage of Christmas," Neville whispered, "Whether it works out or not, I feel Luna needs to know I like her; otherwise, it feels like my youth just can't seem to find a conclusion."
What, mate?
Neville looked up, surprised at his own statement.