In the Great Hall, Linus ran into Harry, Ron, and Hermione, who had just returned from Hagrid’s hut.
They had gone to share their suspicions about Severus Snape with Hagrid, only to be dismissed as if they were babbling children and sent on their way.
“Linus, you saw it too, didn’t you?” Hermione sat down next to Linus, looking furious.
“They always treat us like children.
They never tell us anything.”
“But we *are* children,” Ron mumbled from the other side of the long table.
“Linus, do you know who Nicolas Flamel is?” Harry asked, bringing up the question he cared about most.
“Never heard of him,” Linus replied smoothly.
If he solved the mystery for them too early, Harry and the others would miss out on half the fun of their first year.
“Oh,” Harry said, his shoulders slumping.
“He seems to have something to do with Albus Dumbledore and the item from Gringotts—the thing Snape is trying to steal.”
“Cough, cough—” Linus choked on his milk.
“We don’t have any evidence proving Professor Snape has committed a crime yet.”
“We all saw it, Linus,” Hermione said, glaring at him as if he had just betrayed their alliance.
“The Professor just looks like a bad guy, that’s all,” Linus said, noticing the dangerous glint in Hermione’s eyes and quickly adding, “But I’ll keep a close watch on him.”
Hermione patted Linus’s shoulder, satisfied.
“Good job.”
Thanks to the financial support of Professor Snape and the Board of Governors, Linus managed to repay the two Sickles he owed Harry and even bought Christmas presents for everyone he knew.
For Hermione, he chose a few exquisite, colorful hairbands, hoping she might find the time to tame her bushy hair.
For Ron, he bought a woolen scarf and hat to keep him warm during the freezing winter.
Harry was getting a copy of *Quidditch Through the Ages*.
Ever since Snape had confiscated his copy under a flimsy pretext, Harry had been complaining about it for weeks.
As for Professor Dumbledore, though it was said he loved sweets, Linus decided to send him woolen socks instead.
To Professor Sprout, Linus sent a brand-new cotton hat, so she wouldn’t have to keep wearing that patched-up old one.
If Professor Snape received Potter-brand shampoo, it was highly likely he would dump the entire bottle into Linus’s cauldron next Saturday.
But so what?
A man had to wash his hair eventually.
Linus delivered Gaia’s gift in person.
On Christmas Eve, he slipped down to the school kitchens once again.
“Gaia,” Linus called out, waving to the dark-grey house-elf standing nearby.
“Master Linus!” Gaia hurried over, carrying a small tray piled high with biscuits, bread, and milk.
“Is Master Linus here for a late-night snack?”
Linus shook his head.
“No, Gaia.
I’m here to give you your Christmas present.” He handed a jar to the house-elf.
It was a brand-new ceramic food storage jar, round and plump like a pumpkin, with a glaze that flowed with a creamy, silky off-white luster. You are reading on g.com, the official source.
Embossed around the center were delicate designs—silhouettes of house-elves polishing candlesticks and baking pies nestled among winding silver fern leaves.
The lid featured a handle shaped like a crescent moon, which lifted to reveal a sealed cedar inner lid, releasing the clean scent of freshly fired clay and cedarwood.
“This…
this is too precious!
Gaia cannot accept this!” Gaia clutched his mouth, desperately shaking his head to hold back the tears welling in his eyes.
He shook so hard that several pieces of food nearly fell off his tray.
Linus was quick.
He snatched a piece of bread mid-air, placed it back on the tray, and helped Gaia set the tray down on a nearby dining table.
“Why can’t you accept it?” Linus asked gently.
“Gaia, we are friends.
This is a token of our friendship.
I’m sure you have a Christmas present for me too, right?
Let’s trade.”
Linus reached his hand out to Gaia.
Gaia wiped his tear-streaked cheeks.
“Gaia thought Master Linus had forgotten about Gaia because Master Linus hasn’t visited in so, so long.”
“Oh?
Is that your excuse for not preparing a Christmas present for me?” Linus teased, feigning anger.
“No!
Gaia prepared one!
But Gaia cannot give it to Master Linus yet.
Christmas presents must be opened on Christmas morning,” Gaia said, his voice still trembling with a hint of a sob.
“So, you’re unhappy because I came to deliver my gift early?” Linus kept his face stern, turning as if to walk away.
Gaia grabbed the hem of Linus’s robes, shaking his head frantically.
“No, Master Linus!
Gaia likes Master Linus very much, and Gaia loves the present!” He took the ceramic jar from Linus’s hands, cradling it like a treasure.
“Gaia will keep it safe forever.”
Linus smiled and patted Gaia’s head, noting that the injuries on the elf’s arms had mostly healed.
“Goodnight, Gaia.”
“Goodnight, Master Linus,” Gaia said, clenching his small fists happily.
***
The next morning, Linus woke up early.
Everyone in the dormitory was busy unwrapping their Christmas presents.
“Mate, I love you!”
He was equally delighted when he unwrapped the second gift, which was a scarf and hat from Harry.
“Oh, brilliant!
Now I can swap them around.
The colors you chose are really nice, Harry.”
But by the time he unwrapped the third gift—another scarf and hat, this time from Hermione—the smile wiped off his face.
He looked up at Linus.
“Did you three plan this?”
Linus caught the silent laughter in Harry’s eyes and replied to Ron, “Not at all.
This is probably just the telepathic bond of the ‘Four Tigers of Gryffindor.'”
“The ‘Four Tigers of Gryffindor’—I like that,” Ron said, instantly forgetting his disappointment over the duplicate gifts.
He began urging Harry to unwrap his own presents.
Leaving the noisy boys to their fun, Linus picked up a box close to him and opened it.
To his luck, it was a bottle of Draught of Peace from Professor Snape.
Judging by the prices Snape set during their extra sessions, it was worth about eight silver Sickles.
There was no card.
The Professor was likely aware that no one wanted to read his scowling words on Christmas morning.
The small pink pouch was obviously from Hermione.
Inside was a neat, square lunchbox and a pale yellow card that read: *Eat your meals on time.
— H.G.*
*What a thoughtful girl,* Linus thought, smiling softly.
Harry had sent him *The Origins of Potions*, and Ron had gifted him a Chocolate Frog card.
The wizard on the card was Jack Bayard, a distinguished Muggle-born wizard.
Outside the tower, an owl with reddish-brown wings and a snow-white neck tapped its beak against the window.
Harry opened it, and the owl flew in, dropping a heavy parcel directly onto Linus’s lap.
Linus opened it to find a large box packed with toffees.
It seemed the elderly, forgetful Dumbledore had hurriedly sent a return gift after realizing he had received one first.
In an inconspicuous corner of his bed, Linus found Gaia’s gift.
It was an old wooden comb, seemingly carved from boxwood.
The back of the comb was worn smooth from use, but its seven teeth remained fine and perfectly intact.
*So Gaia was there that night too?* Linus recalled his very first night in the dormitory.
Right after they entered the room, Seamus had shaken his hand, pointed at his messy hair, and said, “You should probably comb your hair.” At the time, Linus had searched all his pockets but couldn’t find a comb, so he had scratched his head awkwardly and said, “Thanks.”