In the morning, while all the students who had stayed for Christmas were peacefully opening their presents, Viktor's bedroom was in complete chaos. The floor was covered with books, scrolls, and half-empty potion vials, and a pair of dirty boots lay in one corner. In the middle of this disaster, Viktor stood, growling in irritation, trying to find a specific piece of parchment.
— Where is this damned parchment? — he mumbled to himself, kicking a stack of alchemy treatises. — That's it, Daphne is not going home anymore; she would have found everything by now. Fine, let's try one more time.
He pulled his wand from his sleeve, pictured the item he needed, and pronounced clearly:
— Accio, parchment!
In the next moment, a real paper storm descended upon him. Scrolls flew from the shelves, rolled-up sheets shot out from under the bed, and his own drafts spilled from the desk. The parchments, like deranged birds, swirled around the room, some of them hitting Viktor on the head, others getting tangled in his hair. He swatted away a sheet that flew right into his face and exhaled with difficulty.
"It's a good thing I write most of my ideas in a notebook," he thought, feeling utterly desperate. His eyes scanned the fluttering paper, but the sheet he needed was not among them.
Giving up, he looked at the pile of gifts that had miraculously survived the paper vortex. There were quite a few.
— Alright, — he said, walking over to the table. — Let's see what we've got.
The gifts from Slytherin students included sweets, expensive magical items, and a bunch of wand care kits—useless for Viktor, whose wand required no maintenance. Opening one of the gifts, he read: "To Viktor from George." Inside was a box of "Magical Sweets." A crooked smirk appeared on his face.
— He should have learned "Leviosa," that would have been the best gift, — Viktor mumbled.
— Okay, Hermione. Oh, a new diary... Nice. Daphne — an alchemy book. That's good. Hmm, this one is unsigned, probably from Snape, — he picked up a small, heavy pouch made of hippogriff leather. — A spatial bag for potions. An expensive gift. It's good to be rich, — he thought with a hint of envy, feeling the smooth leather.
He continued to open gifts. Dumbledore sent him a phoenix feather—a valuable and useful ingredient that greatly pleased Viktor. From Professor Flitwick, he received a scroll with a new spell, and from McGonagall—a weighty tome on Transfiguration.
Finishing with the gifts, Viktor waved his hand sharply, and all the scattered items rose into the air. The books neatly stacked themselves on the shelves, the parchments rolled into scrolls and were placed in a special drawer, and the potion vials returned to the cabinet. The room was once again a model of perfect order.
He surveyed it with satisfaction, but then his face lit up with a sudden thought, and he slapped his forehead.
— Of course! — he exclaimed. — I must have left it in the Room of Requirement.
Grabbing his cloak from the bed, he hurried out of his room.
Heading towards the exit of the common room, he suddenly stopped. After thinking about something, he turned into the first-year boys' dormitory. Opening the door, he saw several boys who had stayed for Christmas, happily chatting and playing a board game. He smiled and said:
— Merry Christmas.
— Thanks! — they replied.
— Merry Christmas to you too!
Viktor nodded, gesturing towards his room, and added:
— I have a bunch of candy boxes on my table; leave a couple of the tastiest ones for me and take the rest to the common room. I won't eat it all anyway.
— Okay, thanks! — they replied.
Viktor turned around.
— Don't forget to throw away the gift boxes. And Dad is going to do his own thing now, so don't get into too much trouble.
As soon as he disappeared, one of them got up and said:
— Well, let's go see.
They all nodded and followed him in a group.
The days after Christmas flew by, turning into a series of endless experiments for Viktor. He spent them as usual on alchemy in the Room of Requirement, improving his protective amulets. Through many trials and errors, he managed to significantly enhance them. He didn't abandon the "stone wall" idea but simply refined it. Now, the amulets were enchanted with three spells at once: the first—"Protego," which created a magical shield; the second—a cooling rune, which worked on the principle of a Muggle computer's cooling system, preserving the amulet's integrity when it heated up from charms; and finally, the "stone wall," which gave wizards time to counterattack. He was very surprised that it had never occurred to anyone before to add a cooling rune to increase the amulet's effectiveness. Although he didn't realize he had shamelessly stolen the idea from the Muggle world.
Viktor, though he wouldn't admit it, really missed the times when the school was full of students. He missed his slow-witted companions, his always-cold assistant who kept him in check, and especially Hermione, who constantly dragged him to the library, distracting him from his work. As they say, you only realize how much something meant to you when it's gone.
After another day in the Room of Requirement, Viktor headed to dinner, but on the way, he was distracted by Harry, who looked agitated. He ran up to Viktor and said:
— Viktor, come with me tonight. I want to show you something. Let's meet at the Restricted Section.
And, without explaining the details, he just left. Viktor shrugged and went to dinner.
That evening, as instructed, he was at the Restricted Section.
— And what, do you not even need to eat? — he asked a portrait of some man. — And do you go to the bathroom? But you don't eat, so why would you need to?
The man in the painting he was talking to sighed and said:
— Listen, boy, leave me alone, let me get some sleep.
— Oh, you sleep? So you do have something in common with the living, — he continued, ignoring his irritation. — And when you walk between paintings, how does that work? Do you see a portal or just a passage to another picture? Can you walk through walls?
— Boy, if you don't leave me alone, I'll complain to the Headmaster and tell him that a student is wandering around the school at night instead of sleeping, especially near the Restricted Section! — he threatened, his voice growing stronger.
Viktor crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes sparkling.
— I don't care about that old man, — he replied.
The figure in the painting was shocked by the student's audacity. They stared at each other, and a silence fell between them until Viktor broke it:
— So, do you need to eat anything? If so, do you only eat what's drawn? Does that mean there's an artist in the school who goes around and draws food for you?
The figure in the painting was about to cry from helplessness. Just then, Viktor felt someone tug at his robe and whisper:
— Viktor.
Goosebumps ran down his skin. He jumped to the side.
— GHOST!
Harry took off his Invisibility Cloak and said:
— Don't be afraid, it's me.
Viktor exhaled, pressing a hand to his heart.
— Harry, you scared me; don't do that again.
Harry looked at him strangely and asked:
— Viktor, are you afraid of ghosts?
Viktor looked at him as if he were an idiot.
— Yes. What's so strange about that? Everyone is afraid of ghosts.
Harry replied in surprise:
— It's just that there are a bunch of ghosts wandering around the school, and we even talk to them.
Hearing Harry's words, he froze, then frantically began searching through his pockets, his eyes darting around. Harry asked in surprise:
— What are you looking for?
— My phone, I'm calling the Winchesters. — Then he looked at Harry and said seriously: — You run to the dining hall and get some rock salt. And hurry!
Harry, not understanding anything, shook his head and said:
— Come on, I'll show you something.
Viktor stared at him for a long time and, giving up, said:
— Fine, let's go, but after this, we're getting the salt. I want to test something.
Harry nodded, though he didn't understand why he needed salt.
Viktor found himself in a room filled with old and dusty things, and in the center stood a large mirror. He immediately knew where he had been brought, but he asked anyway:
— So, where are we?
— I've discovered something, — Harry said quietly, — and I want to know the answer. And you're the smartest person I know, so maybe you can give it to me.
Viktor sighed, walked over to Harry, put a hand on his shoulder, and said cautiously:
— I know what you want to ask.
Harry was surprised.
— You do?
Viktor nodded and replied:
— Yes, I've run into the same problem. Harry, you see, we're at that age now where we're starting to get interested in the opposite sex, and all the strange things that happen to us, especially in the mornings, are a sign that our bodies are changing from a boy into a man. So, when you wake up in the morning and find your underwear is wet and sticky, you shouldn't...
Harry turned red, and his eyes widened in horror. He shouted:
— NO! THAT IS NOT WHAT I WANT TO TALK ABOUT!
Viktor looked at him in surprise:
— Not about that? Then what?
— WHY WOULD YOU EVEN THINK I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT THAT?!
Viktor, deep in thought, replied:
— Well, you've just changed a lot lately; you've been avoiding me, and now you've called me to some dark room and wanted to ask me something. So I figured it was something intimate.
Harry sighed.
— I haven't been avoiding you.
Viktor just stared at him in silence. Harry hesitated:
— Well, maybe a little. But it's definitely not because of that.
Viktor asked:
— Then why?
Harry looked at Viktor for a long time and, with a sigh, asked:
— Viktor, answer me honestly, no jokes. During the match, when you lost consciousness, why did that happen?
Viktor froze, then began to laugh uncontrollably. Wiping away his tears, he asked:
— You thought I was trying to knock you off your broom?
Harry turned away, embarrassed. Viktor continued to laugh even harder:
— Harry, I'm not so petty that I would injure someone over a game.
Harry asked:
— Then why did you pass out?
Viktor, calming down, replied:
— Yes, there's an old stump who knocked me out. I won't go into details; it's still upsetting and unpleasant to remember.
Although Harry found it strange, he believed him. He felt very guilty for doubting Viktor and just stood there silently with his head down.
Viktor began to look around, discreetly examining the mirror in the center of the room, and asked:
— So, what do you want to show me?
Harry snapped out of it and said:
— Right, come with me.