25 December 1991, Hogwarts
The Potter scion turned and left the room doing his best to not burst into laughter. When he was finally in the comfort of his common room, Harry broke down and laughed harder than he ever had before at Dumbledore's panicked expression when he talked about the cloak's curse.
On Christmas day, Harry woke up smiling at the silence that met him. For all he had missed his friends, sleeping in an empty dormitory, especially without Crabbe and Goyle's constant snoring, was a very good feeling.
Like he did every morning, Harry took a warm shower, changed his clothes and prepared to leave the dormitories, ready to get some breakfast. It wasn't until he reached the common room that he realized that it was Christmas, or Yule as the traditionalists liked to call it.
Harry noticed that the Christmas tree that was installed by the beginning of December, had a small pile of presents underneath it. Huh, so it was Christmas already? Time really does go fast when you're having fun.
Harry looked around to see if any of the piles belonged to him, and yes, there was a small pile on the left with his name on it. Harry smiled before making his way to unwrap them. The pile was by far the smallest in the bunch, but this was his first time getting a Christmas present in this life, and he was excited to see what his friends got him. The idea was so foreign that he had forgotten that Christmas was even a thing. Harry had to say that he was surprised with the concept of exchanging gifts was still done in Yule. It was a muggle tradition, not a wizarding one.
There were rituals involved in Yule, of course, but they weren't as important as Samhain. Harry wasn't invited to any of them, which wasn't really a surprise since there were barely any students in the house. Still, receiving gifts was more than enough for him to be happy.
He had almost forgotten about the holiday until he heard Weasley say some comment about Slytherins not deserving Christmas gifts or something. Harry didn't even care about the offensive comment but widened his eyes when he realized that he almost forgot to shop for his friends. Lucky for him, owl orders were a thing, and Hedwig ended up having quite the workout for a weekend, going from one shop to another, hoping to find any suitable presents for his friends.
Shops advertised their products in magazines, with the prices. Witch Weekly had an entire section just for beauty products, but there were a few magazines for Quidditch and other interests. Marketing in the wizarding world really was lacking all things considered. You needed to constantly market your products to get any owl orders, and you needed to be selective with what you wanted to buy. Often, the shop will end up sending a letter back to you to deal with it. It was quite time-consuming, but aside from opening a very eye-catching shop in Diagon Alley, it was the only way to get new customers.
Harry didn't want to go too far with the presents. Harry decided to just be basic and send a new pair of Quidditch Chaser gloves to Tracy since she expressed her enthusiasm in joining the team the following year. For Blaise, Harry had found a small shop that made animated engravings of any designs. Harry simply asked for a silver cloak pin shaped like an eagle's head. It cost a pretty penny, but Harry was rich now, and he was allowed to splurge a little.
As for Daphne, Harry contacted a Herbologist that specialized in breeding miniature magical plants. The Potter scion was able to purchase an enchanted bonsai tree that also functioned as a lamp with a tap of a wand, releasing small floating lights that could illuminate an entire room. He really hoped that Daphne, whose love of Herbology surpassed even Longbottom's, would like it.
Harry picked up the first present, which happened to be a wizard's chess set from Blaise, with a note telling him to stop playing with his own set. Chess happened to be Blaise's favourite pastime, that is until Harry kept destroying him one game after another. He had to admit that Blaise wasn't that bad for an eleven-year-old, and Harry's experience in chess from his past life was an unfair advantage. Still, it seemed to motivate the Italian boy to improve himself, which was a plus in Harry's book.
Smiling, the Potter scion put aside his new chess set – which he knew was quite expensive – and picked up Tracy's present which happened to be a large box of Chocolate Frogs. Harry smiled, knowing that she was practically buying for herself. Harry wasn't really fond of sweet food, and Tracy was probably planning on eating the chocolate herself when she comes back, knowing that Harry wouldn't touch them.
Finally, Daphne's present happened to be a book and a fairly old one at that. Its title was 'Customs of Wizarding Nobility in Magical Britain after the Statute of Secrecy by Anthony Greengrass'.
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