"Come on, Louis, don't bother talking to him." Hermione rolled her eyes at Ron, then turned to Harry. "Harry, want to come to the library with us? Don't waste your time sinking into bad habits with this useless fellow."
Harry gave an awkward smile. "Sorry, Hermione… but I really want to play wizard's chess."
"Fine." Hermione shook her head, looking disappointed, and tugged Louis by the arm to leave.
"'Don't waste your time with this useless fellow…'" Ron mocked in a falsetto imitation of Hermione's voice. Harry nearly burst out laughing, but he quickly stifled his smile.
Ron, oblivious, kept grumbling: "Did you hear her? Who even says stuff like that? Probably only Louis can put up with her."
Before he could finish, a sharp pain shot through his foot—Hermione had jumped up and stomped on it!
"Hmph!" Tossing her hair, Hermione left Ron hopping in pain and ran to rejoin Louis.
"I did well, right?" she said proudly, almost bouncing with excitement at Louis's side.
"Not bad. If you're unhappy, say it directly—make sure the other person realizes they're wrong." Louis patted her head. "Good job."
The two of them went together to the library, choosing seats near the fireplace.
Winter was approaching, and the castle's hearths were always burning to keep students warm.
Hermione sat down, pulling out the book she hadn't finished last time. While reading, she would occasionally glance up at Louis, smile faintly, and then return to her pages.
"Oh, by the way, Louis, are you staying at school for Christmas, or going home?" Hermione asked.
"Of course I'm going home," Louis replied. "What about you?"
"I'm going back too. That means we can travel together!" Hermione said happily.
The Christmas break lasted seven days, from December 18th to the 25th, ending with the evening return feast at Hogwarts.
Naturally, Louis would go home. He hadn't seen his mother in half a year—Mrs. Wilson was probably desperate for her son.
But he also knew a lot would happen during the holidays.
First, the Invisibility Cloak—one of the Deathly Hallows—would be returned to the Potter family, into Harry's hands. Dumbledore had been keeping it, but at Christmas he would give it back.
Then, the Mirror of Erised would appear in the dungeons, where Harry, wandering at night, would find it and become captivated.
The Mirror showed a person their deepest desire—an easy trap to fall into.
Dumbledore used that property to fashion a test, guarding the Philosopher's Stone so that it wouldn't fall into Voldemort's hands.
After Harry grew addicted to the mirror, Dumbledore would break his illusion and then hide the Stone inside it.
And yes—Louis wanted the Philosopher's Stone.
True, he was already immortal, with the endless treasury of the King's Treasure at his disposal, but he was still fascinated.
The power to turn anything to gold—wasn't that far more interesting than a vault already full of it?
So Louis intended to brave the obstacles, claim the Philosopher's Stone, and then pin the blame on Voldemort.
Taking the Stone would be easy. The hard part was shifting the blame.
That would require some special methods.
It should work. Quirrell was about to reach his breaking point—Louis just had to push him into betraying Voldemort, make him tell everyone that the Dark Lord had stolen the Stone, and then…
"Louis? Louis?" Hermione's voice broke into his thoughts. "What are you thinking about?"
"I was thinking about a magic trick."
Louis smiled.
A trick of smoke and mirrors—bait-and-switch, muddying the waters.
…
December 18th, clear skies.
The weather was nice today—perfect for going home.
Louis put on his winter clothes, then his robe, packed his luggage, and prepared to leave the dorm.
"Behave yourselves during the holidays. Don't go wandering into the Forbidden Forest, understood?" he warned his two pets—a ginger cat and an owl—before leaving.
"Meow."
"Hoo."
Fafnir and Hastur both promised in their own way to be obedient.
Satisfied, Louis nodded, left his luggage behind, and stepped out of the dormitory. He didn't need to worry about it—house-elves would deliver it to the station.
But before leaving, there were a few more things he had to handle.
Inside the Room of Requirement's auxiliary chamber, Louis summoned Chuan.
"Master, these are the materials Voldemort collected for you," Chuan said, presenting a large bundle as soon as she appeared.
"Mm, leave them here," Louis nodded. "Tell me, did Voldemort discover you, or did you show yourself?"
"Master, I revealed myself. They never even noticed Gan, wen or chui," Chuan replied. "Voldemort's condition seems unstable—he doesn't dare awaken fully. When I appeared, I communicated with him briefly, and during that time Quirrell's body nearly collapsed."
"Looks like Quirrell won't hold out much longer before he's forced into the Forbidden Forest," Louis mused. "Continue your task, but replace Gan, wen and chui. Go yourself. And remember to leave me some unicorn materials, especially tail hairs."
"Yes, Master."
"That's all. You may go."
Chuan dissolved into water and vanished, while Louis released his stand-in.
The Faceless Phantom floated silently in the room.
"Leave it here. I may need it at any time." Louis looked at the apparition, then deliberately patted its shoulder as though greeting a subordinate. "I'll leave it to you."
"No problem," the doppelgänger answered in Louis's own voice.
"Talking to myself is actually kind of fun," Louis chuckled, turning to open the door and leave.
Everything was ready. Time to go home.
The Christmas holiday had officially begun.
On the train ride home, Louis shared a compartment with Hermione.
Since many students weren't going home, the carriages were half-empty, leaving the two of them to enjoy a quiet little world of their own.
Laughter and chatter filled the ride, one moment after another.
By noon, the train rolled into Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. Louis and Hermione disembarked together, with Louis helping carry her luggage.
"Look—isn't that your father?" Louis nudged Hermione with his shoulder, pointing ahead.
Hermione followed his gaze, and sure enough, she spotted Mr. Granger.
"Dad!" After half a year apart, Hermione waved excitedly at her parents.
Mr. Granger's expression looked a little odd as he walked up.
"Welcome home, Hermione." He gave his daughter a hug before turning his eyes on Louis.
"Good to see you again, Mr. Granger. Good afternoon," Louis greeted calmly, tipping his tall hat.
"Afternoon. I remember… Wilson, yes. You're old Mr. Wilson's grandson." Mr. Granger recalled, then glanced meaningfully between his daughter and Louis.
Hermione didn't think anything of it, waving goodbye. "See you after the holidays, Louis."
"See you," Louis replied, handing her luggage to Mr. Granger and watching their family walk away.
Just then, someone suddenly appeared behind him.
"Was that your girlfriend, Louis?"
It was Lambert Wilson, the magician, who had somehow crept up unnoticed—if not for Louis's sharp spiritual senses, he wouldn't have realized he was there at all.
Louis sighed helplessly, looking at Mr. Wilson. "Not yet."
"Then you'd better work harder. When I was your age, I was already dating." Mr. Wilson said with mock encouragement.
"I remember you met Mother when you were twenty." Louis said lazily. "I'm sure she'd be very interested to hear about your 'first dates.'"
"Ahem… it's getting late. Let's go home. Your mother's been missing you like crazy." Mr. Wilson coughed twice. "Come on, let's go."
He hefted Louis's luggage as they walked. Then, as though it had just occurred to him, he asked:
"Uh, son, you remember what I just said earlier?"
"Mm."
"That was nonsense."
"Oh."
"Your mother and I were each other's first love. Nothing before that counts."
"Oh."
"I was bragging. At your age, I was still playing in the mud."
"Oh."
…