"Uh, Ron… that look of yours. Maybe we should stop opening these?"
After a long moment of staring at Ron's completely transformed appearance, Harry spoke up hesitantly.
Ron, who had been thoroughly out-pranked by the twins, was convinced George had rigged the crackers. To prove it, he snatched several more from their arms and pulled them open himself. He even handed a few to Harry.
The results? The best thing Ron pulled was a lumpy brown hat that looked exactly like Lazy Sheep's hairstyle. Harry, on the other hand, hit the jackpot.
Forget the admiral's hat on his head—just the brand-new wizard chess set and the toy wands that could actually cast fixing spells had Ron green with envy.
"No, Harry, you have to believe me! I can definitely pull something good!"
By now Ron was obsessed. He wasn't trying to prove the twins had cheated anymore—he was trying to prove his luck wasn't that bad.
Unfortunately—
"Sorry, Ron."
George shrugged with an innocent expression. "You already used up all the crackers."
Honestly, even the twins hadn't expected Ron's luck to be this good. They'd only prepared a handful of prank crackers, and Ron had somehow managed to pull every single one.
In a weird way, that kind of talent for stepping on every landmine was its own special kind of luck.
Seeing the twins really had nothing left, Ron gritted his teeth but had no choice but to accept it.
"Alright, don't be mad. Here—have some pumpkin juice."
Harry handed him a cup. Ron took it without hesitation and gulped it down.
He really couldn't understand it. Was his luck seriously that terrible? Why couldn't he pull anything decent?
Watching Ron stay glum, Harry shot a helpless look at Tom, silently begging for backup.
Tom let out a long sigh, patted himself down, and pulled out a small device, setting it on the table.
Harry didn't understand what Tom was doing, but Ariana recognized it immediately. "Isn't that the machine you used to extract emotions before?"
[Yeah. That's the one. I made a few upgrades to it.]
Tom nodded and handed the device to Harry. Before he could explain anything, Harry smacked his fist into his palm like he'd just solved a great mystery. "I got it!"
Then, before Tom could stop him, Harry pointed the device straight at Ron and hit the button.
Harry watched expectantly as the machine worked… but when it finished, Ron's mood was exactly the same as before.
Before Harry could ask what went wrong, Tom explained wearily:
[This thing turns emotions into a drink. I wanted you to collect happy emotions for Ron to drink—not extract his emotions!]
"Why didn't you say that earlier?!"
Harry's face twitched.
[You didn't exactly give me a chance!]
Tom rolled his eyes.
How was this his fault? Harry had just started messing with it without asking how it worked.
[Now what—]
[You have to drink what's already in there before you can collect anything new.]
Tom answered before Harry could even finish the question.
"?"
Ariana gave Tom a suspicious glance. Last time, the device hadn't required drinking the previous batch… right?
But since it was Tom saying it, she kept quiet.
"—Got it."
Looking at the gray-green liquid in his cup, Harry swallowed hard. He hesitated, but for Ron's sake—and because Tom had made it, not Snape—he gritted his teeth and downed it in one go.
A thick, slightly sour and astringent taste hit his tongue and seemed to stick in his throat, making his chest feel heavy and stuffy.
[How was it?]
Tom asked curiously once Harry finished.
[Before, it could only extract one emotion at a time and the taste was pretty rough. So I upgraded it a bit last time. Should be better now.]
"Still not drinking it a second time."
Harry rubbed his chest like he was trying to push the feeling out.
"Was it really that bad?"
"Not exactly bad. Just… really heavy. Like it got stuck in my throat."
Harry answered without thinking—then realized who had spoken. He turned mechanically and met Ron's curious gaze.
"Wait—Ron, you're okay?!"
"Why wouldn't I be?"
Ron shrugged. "Just felt a bit down earlier. But I've dealt with worse at home. You just push through it."
Hearing Ron's genuine words and seeing his calm expression, Harry went silent. He wanted nothing more than to go back in time and slap the version of himself that had forced down that drink.
As the resident chaos enjoyer, Tom watched the dramatic scene unfold with a mischievous grin. Yeah… he had done that on purpose.
The smile never disappears—it just moves on. That saying was 100% true.
Of course, after having his fun, Tom still cleaned up the mess.
[Alright, alright. I was just messing with you.]
He took the device, pointed it at the ceiling of the Great Hall, and pressed the button.
[Here. Drink something actually good.]
The machine activated, and soon several cups of a goose-yellow liquid—like chrysanthemum tea—appeared in front of them.
Harry eyed his drink warily, but before he could say anything, Tom picked up his own cup and downed it in one go.
[Yeah… that happy feeling is pretty nice. Headmaster Dumbledore, want a cup too?]
"If you don't mind."
Dumbledore, who had appeared behind them at some point, smiled.
Tom didn't hesitate. He collected more emotions from the air and handed the resulting drink to Dumbledore.
[I didn't really know what to get you for Christmas, so these drinks will have to do as my gift.]
Dumbledore looked surprised for a moment, then smiled warmly. "Thank you. But you've already given me the best Christmas gift possible."
As he spoke, his eyes drifted to Ariana.
"?! Wait a second!"
Harry finally caught on. He looked at the drink in his hand, then at the large bottle in front of Dumbledore. "Didn't you say you had to drink the previous batch before you could collect new emotions?!"
[Oh, that~]
Tom stretched lazily and gave Harry a playful look.
[I was just messing with you~]
"? Tom!"
"Ah, youth is wonderful."
Watching the chaos between the boy and the cat, Dumbledore smiled in quiet amusement.
Kids' grudges came and went quickly. Though he was annoyed at Tom for tricking him, Harry's temper faded fast.
"Oh right, Tom—did you see the Christmas gift I got you? Do you like it?"
Tom blinked, then shook his head.
[Not yet. Newt dragged me off to see Norberta and the others yesterday. I was so tired this morning I haven't had a chance to look.]
"Ron and I haven't opened ours either. Want to go open gifts together?"
Tom had been about to refuse, but seeing Harry's hopeful expression—and remembering he had just tricked him—he thought about it and agreed.
[I don't really see the point, but since you want to… fine.]
"Then let's go. Meet you in your translation shop!"
With that, Harry grabbed Ron and took off toward the common room.
Tom shook his head. He didn't know why they were so excited, but he might as well play along with the kids.
"Oh! Opening gifts together!"
Ariana, who had overheard, looked a little disappointed and envious. "If I'd known, I wouldn't have opened my Christmas gifts so quickly."
[It's fine. You can still come even if you've already opened them~ See you in the translation shop later.]
With a wave, Tom teleported himself back to his dorm.
Soon after, he entered his translation shop carrying several unopened packages. Harry, Ron, and Ariana were already waiting.
[So why are we opening gifts together?]
"To see if there's anything we can share with each other, of course!"
Harry tore open a large package. "This one's from Hagrid. No idea what's inside."
[Hagrid, huh—]
Tom rummaged through his own pile and pulled out a medium-sized package.
[I got one too. This one. Feels kinda weird though.]
He weighed it in his paws. It was light, and there was some kind of odd smell coming from inside.
"Maybe he got us different things?"
Ron pulled out his own package from Hagrid. It was similar in size to Tom's, a bit smaller than Harry's.
"We'll find out soon enough."
Harry opened his. Inside was a beautifully bound book—actually a photo album.
The pages were filled with moving wizard photographs of James and Lily.
Harry's smile froze as he looked at the album. He hadn't expected Hagrid to give him something this personal.
Tom didn't say anything, just patted Harry's shoulder. Honestly, he hadn't expected this either. Though his memory was fuzzy, he was pretty sure this wasn't originally a Christmas gift.
But it didn't really matter.
"Alright, Harry. Weren't we going to look at our gifts too?"
Ron didn't know how to comfort him, so he awkwardly tried to change the subject. "My turn next."
He opened his package. Inside were a few dragon scales and several strands of unicorn tail hair.
There was also a letter: "Ron, Merry Christmas.
I didn't know what to get you, but Malfoy mentioned you don't get much pocket money. I only have these materials, but if you don't mind, please take them."
"Hagrid, you're a god!"
Ron looked ready to jump for joy.
They were pretty ordinary gifts, but he didn't mind at all. As a down-to-earth guy, he loved practical stuff like this.
Seeing that Harry and Ron had gotten decent gifts from Hagrid, Tom opened his own package with some anticipation. Then he went completely silent when he saw it was filled with catnip.
"I asked the pet shop owner. He said cats really like this grass, so I bought some. I hope you like it."
The note that came with the catnip said exactly that.
Tom felt a bit helpless reading it. What could he say? Hagrid had gone out of his way to ask the pet shop owner for him. He couldn't exactly complain.
Besides, he'd tried catnip before. The taste was actually pretty good. Having a little every now and then to change things up wasn't the worst.
[Fine. At least you tried. And it makes up for the "Magical Creature Care: From Beginner to Grave" book I specially prepared for you.]
Tom shook his head, not noticing the slightly odd expressions on Harry and Ron's faces.
[Keep going. Whose turn is it?]
Harry swallowed and randomly picked up a package. Then he saw Tom's name on it.
[Mine? Let's see what you got me.]
Tom rummaged through the pile and pulled out Harry's gift. But as he looked at the package—and smelled that very familiar scent—his smile slowly froze.
"Uh, let me go first!"
Harry quickly cut in and tore open the gift Tom had given him. Inside was a small projector and a tape.
[You like Quidditch, right? I found some highlights and techniques. Should be right up your alley~]
Tom looked proud.
It hadn't been hard to make, but he had put some thought into it.
"Ah, yeah. It's… really nice."
Harry's smile was a bit strained. He frantically signaled Ron with his eyes.
Ron didn't know what Harry was up to, but he played along. "Let me see what you got me, Tom."
He opened his package. Inside was a brand-new wand.
"?! "
Ron's expression stiffened too.
[How is it? It's not Ollivander's, but I made it myself. Should work just as well—probably better than that secondhand one you had.]
It was made from scraps, but still way better than Ron's old wand.
Tom thought to himself.
"Uh, yeah. It's great. I really like it."
Ron's voice had gone as flat as Harry's. Tom gave them both a suspicious look.
[I get the feeling you two are hiding something from me.]
"No, we're not!"
"Yeah, why would we hide anything?"
[Good.]
Tom rummaged again and found the package from Ron.
[Let's see what you two got me.]
Ron and Harry tried to stop him, but they were way too slow. Before they could say anything, Tom had already opened both packages.
Then—
[—This is the gift you two carefully prepared for me?]
Tom stared at the two identical bottles of grass in front of him with dead-fish eyes. He looked at Harry and Ron.
No wonder they'd been acting weird. So their "thoughtful" gift was also catnip?!
All he could say was: the weight of the gift wasn't the problem. It was who gave it last that made everything awkward.