At the Granger Residence, quite a distance from Hogwarts, Hermione was also enjoying Christmas dinner with her parents.
Seeing the massive turkey her mother brought to the table, Hermione's eyes lit up; she truly loved the taste of turkey.
Having secured one of the turkey legs as she did every year, Hermione carefully sliced off a piece with her knife and fork and put it in her mouth, her eyes narrowing with happiness.
It was the same familiar taste; her mother's cooking was wonderful. She wondered if she could learn to cook like this someday... if she did, she could make it for her family and her loved one.
As she thought this, Amanda's figure uncontrollably appeared in Hermione's mind.
Why did she think of Amanda? As soon as the thought arose, Hermione answered it herself.
It was perfectly normal to want to prepare a Christmas dinner and invite a friend to eat.
Taking another bite of turkey with a smile, Hermione continued her train of thought while chewing.
Amanda... she wondered what she was doing right now. She was probably eating Christmas dinner too.
But maybe not... if she still only spent three and a half minutes eating... she would have finished by now.
At this thought, Hermione's smile slowly faded. Christmas dinner—if Amanda still ate like that—Hermione pursed her lips tightly.
She would truly feel distressed for her. Christmas dinner should be a meal to be savored... Seeing his daughter purse her lips as if something was on her mind,
Mr. Granger asked in confusion, "Hermione, what's wrong? Is something bothering you?"
"Hmm?" Hermione snapped back to reality and shook her head at her father. "I'm fine, just a little worried..."
"Worried?" Mr. Granger looked at Hermione, puzzled.
However, Mrs. Granger, who had just brought the remaining dishes out of the kitchen, saw Hermione's expression and more or less guessed what she was worried about. It was that girl named Amanda, wasn't it?
Though she didn't know exactly what Hermione was worried about concerning her, she said, "Alright, don't ask so much."
Mrs. Granger patted her husband's shoulder, signaling him to eat his own food and stop asking.
She then walked over to Hermione, leaned down to gently hug her shoulders, and whispered in her ear.
"Don't worry, Hermione. Today is Christmas, and Santa Claus ensures that everyone spends this day happily."
"Mom..." Hermione pouted. "You know that since I was eight, I stopped believing in Santa Claus."
"Pfft," Mrs. Granger rubbed her daughter's head with amusement. "Sometimes, believing in fairy tales is a beautiful thing."
Hermione lowered her head, thoughts flowing quietly through her mind. She hadn't believed in Santa Claus since she was eight.
But tonight, she was willing to believe... she was even willing to believe in Santa Claus every Christmas from now on.
She only hoped that Santa Claus could truly let Amanda spend this day happily—and with genuine happiness.
While the Christmas dinner at the Granger Residence had begun, the Christmas dinner at Hogwarts was still underway.
In the Great Hall, Professors and students chatted with one another while enjoying desserts and ice cream.
Amanda sat quietly in her seat, taking small bites of the vanilla ice cream in front of her.
For a rare moment, her mind was completely blank; she wasn't thinking about studying, nor was she recalling the contents of any book.
It wasn't until the feast ended and she returned to her Dormitory that Amanda's mind returned to its usual state.
Subconsciously reviewing her behavior over the past two days, Amanda's thoughts stopped on the fact that she had played in the snow with Harry and Ron for an entire afternoon.
She had wasted study time to play in the snow. Wasted study time needed to be made up, and at the same time, she should accept punishment for the act of wasting study time.
Without hesitation, Amanda raised her right hand to press against her left arm, yet she hesitated to act.
Her brain was constantly replaying the scenes from the Christmas feast and the taste of the Christmas gift Hermione had sent her, which she had experienced this morning.
Although there was still no emotional fluctuation in her heart, Amanda slowly lowered her hand.
She didn't want to punish herself tonight. This sentence appeared clearly in Amanda's mind.
Then she would punish herself tomorrow. Even if the punishment was delayed and the amount had to be doubled, she simply didn't want to punish herself today.
She didn't want the memory of punishing herself to be associated with the gift from Hermione and the Christmas feast, even if she didn't know why.
Lowering her right hand, Amanda stared blankly at her surroundings.
Originally, this was study time, but now that she wasn't studying... she didn't know what to do.
Sitting quietly on her bed, Amanda stared at the floor in a daze until her eyes grew sore. Only then did she look up at the clock in the Dormitory.
One o'clock in the morning. She had been sitting for a full two hours. Perhaps she could sleep.
Amanda told herself this, but... should she sleep?
"You don't need excessive sleep. One hour a day is enough. Sleeping more is a mistake!"
Her mother's voice echoed in Amanda's mind. She slowly lowered her head and, in the end, did not lie down on the bed.
She sat quietly until her designated rest time arrived, then she lay down and closed her eyes.
Without any transition, she fell directly into a deep sleep.
One hour later, Amanda abruptly opened her eyes and sat up in bed.
It was already a new day. Before getting out of bed to put on her shoes, Amanda raised her hand and pressed it against her left arm without further delay.
Playing in the snow for four hours meant four marks. Because she had delayed the punishment last night, the original four had now become eight. After eight strikes delivered with full force, Amanda's left arm was trembling slightly.
Her upper left arm was now covered in dark purple bruises, one handprint overlapping another, looking quite horrifying.
Struggling to raise her left arm to move it in circles, Amanda's expression remained flat, showing no sign of pain.
Once the trembling in her left arm had subsided slightly, Amanda got out of bed, put on her shoes and socks, picked up her bag, and walked out of the Dormitory.
She arrived at the Library. Because it was so early, Madam Pince had not yet arrived to begin her work.
So Amanda could only place the books she needed to return on the table next to her, waiting to return them once Madam Pince arrived.
She then walked to the shelves, pulled out several new books, and sat in her usual seat.
After reading quietly for two and a half hours, at exactly seven o'clock, Madam Pince arrived at the Library.
Amanda went forward to return the previously borrowed books while checking out new ones, then left the Library with her bag.
Watching Amanda's retreating figure, Madam Pince couldn't help but marvel once again at the girl's diligence. At the same time, she couldn't help but think what it would be like if all students at Hogwarts were this diligent.
The moment the thought popped up, she shuddered at the idea, feeling a pang of heartache.
That would truly be too hard on the children... it was better for them to stay as they were—healthy and happy, learning while growing up properly.
With a helpless sigh, Madam Pince shook her head and withdrew her gaze. That child Amanda... she simply demanded too much of herself.
Hurrying into the Great Hall, as soon as Amanda sat at the round table in the center, breakfast was served on time by the House-elves.
Finishing breakfast in three and a half minutes, Amanda stood up and returned to her Dormitory as quickly as possible, opening a book to read seriously.
Unbeknownst to her, Harry, who had just come out of his Dormitory, was excitedly discussing the mirror he had seen last night with Ron.
"I saw my parents!" Harry shared his joy excitedly with Ron.
"That..." Ron looked at Harry hesitantly but decided to congratulate him first. "I'm happy for you, mate, but you know, they've already..."
"I know! They're dead..." Harry lowered his head for a moment of silence, then looked up with light shining in his eyes again.
"But I really saw them in the mirror yesterday! Maybe, maybe it's a mirror that lets you see the dead!"
"Well, maybe that's it," Ron nodded.
"Do you want to come with me?" Harry looked at Ron excitedly. "I mean, you could go and meet my parents."
"Of course, mate," Ron patted Harry's shoulder. "I'd love to!"
Harry nodded happily. Seeing Harry's unusually excited state, Ron suddenly felt a stroke of inspiration.
"I think we should go get Amanda. I mean, she knows so much, maybe she'll know what that mirror is all about. Plus, we can use it as an excuse to help her relax."
"Good idea, Ron," Harry agreed with a nod. "Then we'll go get her tonight."
A look of confusion flashed across Ron's face as he looked at Harry helplessly. "Why... does it have to be at night after curfew? You know Amanda probably won't like breaking curfew."
Harry slapped his forehead. "Oh right... I completely forgot we could go during the day. I was just over-excited."
Ron gave a long sigh and patted Harry's shoulder. "It's fine, let's go."
Arriving at the entrance to the Ravenclaw Common Room, they were undoubtedly asked a question by the bronze knocker again.
The two boys looked at each other and, too lazy to think, simply started blabbing random answers.
In the end, Harry had a stroke of luck and actually guessed a reasonable answer. The bronze knocker slowly opened the door to let them in.
Stepping into the Ravenclaw Common Room, the first thing that caught their eyes was Ravenclaw House's own small Library.
"Typical study-loving Ravenclaws," Ron remarked.
Harry nodded in agreement. He looked around and, seeing no sign of Amanda, guessed she must be reading in her Dormitory.
Realizing that no one else from Ravenclaw had stayed for Christmas besides her, he simply called out loudly.
"Amanda, Amanda, are you there?"
Harry's shout was muffled significantly by the door to the girls' Dormitory, but it eventually reached Amanda's ears.
Though the sound was faint, it was enough for Amanda to recognize that someone was calling her full name.
Breaking out of her study state, Amanda expressionlessly put down the book she was reading, walked to the door, and opened it.
Walking down the stairs into the common room, Amanda looked at Harry and Ron with a neutral gaze and spoke without emotion.
"What is it?"
"Er... I found a very interesting mirror while I was out wandering last night. I wanted to take you to see it. You know, to help you relax a bit."
Harry spoke somewhat hesitantly, emphasizing 'relax' to show he was following Hermione's instructions. He just didn't know if Amanda would agree because of it.
Taking her to relax—thoughts flashed rapidly through Amanda's mind.
Relaxing would take up study time. She couldn't take up study time.
But Hermione wanted them to help her relax... the two thoughts in Amanda's mind clashed once again.
The final result was the same as before; Amanda nodded with a calm face and agreed to let Harry take her to relax.
She would just have to make up the relaxation time later, along with the three hours spent knitting gloves for Hermione and the four hours spent playing in the snow.
As for the punishment for taking up study time, she would do it when she got back.
With Amanda in tow, Harry led her and Ron to the abandoned classroom where he had seen the mirror the previous night.
Entering the classroom, Amanda immediately saw the oversized mirror in the center.
As soon as Harry saw the mirror, he forgot his surroundings and hurried forward, staring longingly at his parents appearing inside.
After a few moments, Harry snapped out of it, turned back, and waved to Ron and Amanda. "Ron, Amanda, come quickly, look at my parents."
"Okay," Ron nodded and walked forward quickly.
Amanda walked forward calmly, her gaze placidly scanning the mirror, and she soon identified the string of runes upon it.
The mirror of erised—the description she had once read in a book instantly jumped out of her mind.
"Well? Do you see my parents?" On the other side, Harry was still excitedly asking Ron.
"No..." Ron's voice was equally excited but also carried a hint of confusion. "I see... myself as Head Boy, Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, and holding the Special Award for Services to Hogwarts!"
"Does this mirror show our future?!" After speaking, he looked at Harry with great excitement.
Harry froze for a moment, then shook his head with a bitter smile. "How could it, Ron? My parents are dead."
Ron suddenly realized and quickly said, "Oh, sorry, I didn't—I..."
"It's okay," Harry waved his hand, indicating he didn't mind.
Once Amanda confirmed it was indeed the mirror of erised, she stepped forward slowly, her expression unchanged.
Ron turned to look at her curiously. "Amanda, do you know what this mirror actually is? Why do Harry and I see different things?"
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