Leonard rushed over, staring at the shattered vial on the ground and the tiny puddle of potion that remained, nearly losing his temper.
"How could you try everything?" Leonard tapped the little unicorn's head in exasperation, sighing at its pouty expression.
"What happened?" Midgard asked.
"It drank the potion I brought back from the ruins." Leonard picked up the broken crystal vial, careful not to let the shards cut the unicorns.
"Drank it?" Midgard gasped. "I thought you said that potion…"
"Yeah. An unknown potion with chaotic magic. A wizard would drop dead instantly if they drank it. I was planning to check the books and figure out what it was for, but this little guy downed it in one gulp." Leonard looked worriedly at the unicorn.
The little unicorn looked up at him with wide, innocent eyes that seemed to say, "What can I do? I'm just a little unicorn."
"Regardless of what it does, the little one looks fine," Midgard said. "Maybe it was meant for magical creatures?"
"Probably." Leonard activated his Magical Sight and examined the unicorn. Its magic showed faint fluctuations, but its life force remained steady.
He had taken the little unicorn from its herd himself, and the last thing he wanted was to anger the unicorns by letting it die under his care.
It wasn't that he couldn't handle a herd of them—this was his Botanical Garden, after all, filled with Dangerous Plants. Even a fire dragon would have to kneel and sing "Conquest" here.
But unicorns were rare. If a herd disappeared from the Forbidden Forest, it would definitely draw attention and investigation.
Besides, Leonard genuinely liked those forest spirits. The thought of killing them all felt wasteful and wrong.
"Anyway, let's just watch it for a few days. I'll check the library and see if I can find anything useful," Leonard said.
The main concern was whether this greedy little unicorn could be saved. If not, how was he supposed to repair his relationship with the herd?
"If nothing happened right away, it should be fine. It's a unicorn, after all." Midgard stroked the little unicorn, who whined in protest, then shook her head.
Hopefully, the little one would be okay.
...
After exploring the ruins, Midgard didn't linger. She Disapparated that very night.
As she put it, just catching a glimpse of Hogwarts from afar was enough. Getting too close made her feel out of place—like mold in a gutter, unfit to see the sun.
Leonard chalked it up to nerves. If she couldn't keep calm even when mountains crumbled before her, what was all that talk about sunlight and mold? If you were going to do shady work, at least do it with the pride of "I'm the best in the world."
Chickening out before even meeting Dumbledore? Ridiculous.
Midgard's response was a raised middle finger.
Watching her leave, Leonard settled the little unicorn, mounted another unicorn, and rode out of the Forbidden Forest. Braving the cold wind, he returned alone to his warm dormitory.
The room was quiet, except for Grey the night owl, whose round eyes watched as his master entered.
The empty dorm still felt unfamiliar to Leonard, but the solitude was nice. With no one else around, he didn't have to move quietly. He could finally relax.
Like making Christmas gifts.
Midgard had been right—he really should give the others something. Otherwise, they might think he was antisocial.
Leonard first went to wash up. After cleaning himself, he brought Grey to the fireplace in the common lounge and began his work—crafting gifts under Grey's watchful gaze.
The gifts were simple: amulets with more symbolic meaning than practical use.
He used Wiggentree branches and unicorn hair as materials.
Leonard carefully prepared the unicorn hair, then wrapped it evenly around small Y-shaped Wiggentree branches. He wound enough to make them look like they were wearing little sweaters—warm and soft to the touch.
He wasn't too confident in his craftsmanship, but once the first one was finished, it didn't look half bad.
Naturally, every friend deserved one. Leonard made ten in total, then used the Doubling Charm and Transfiguration Spell to turn a blank piece of parchment into ten sheets of colorful wrapping paper.
Once everything was ready, Leonard opened Grey's cage.
"Sorry to make you work so late, but could you play Santa Claus and deliver these gifts for me?"
Thoughtfully, Leonard had prepared small loops for attaching the boxes to the owl's talons, making it easier for Grey to carry them.
Originally, he had considered making keychain versions that Grey could carry directly—it would've been simpler. But Christmas gifts needed proper wrapping. Otherwise, people might think he didn't care. So Grey would just have to bear with it.
After everything was packed, Leonard was about to rest when he suddenly thought of his stingy grandfather, Londo.
During Christmas, the small town of Cotswold would be full of cheer. But that stubborn, lonely old man surely wouldn't celebrate with the Muggles he despised.
Even if it meant sitting alone at home, eating simple food in front of cold, bare walls.
...
Being alone on such a festive night couldn't feel good.
Leonard knew the old man's misery was his own doing. Their past Christmases together hadn't been much better—Leonard would usually sneak into town for small holiday gifts just to make things livelier.
Still, that didn't mean he couldn't send something to comfort him.
What would a Squib obsessed with the wizarding world want most as a gift?
Hard to say—it depended on his mental state.
If he were cheerful, a Fake Wand might have been amusing. But for someone like Londo, he'd probably take it as an insult.
"Ugh, what a pain. Even gift-giving is a hassle." Leonard pursed his lips, then simply wrote a letter and stuffed the remaining unicorn hair inside.
Having that as a keepsake wasn't bad—it was unicorn hair, after all.
"Thanks, Grey. You've got a lot to carry, so deliver the letter last. It's far away, and if you get tired, stay there for a while. I won't need your help here for now."
Leonard handed the letter to Grey and scratched the soft feathers on its neck.
He planned to give the owl a break too, letting it keep the lonely old man company for a while. After all, Leonard only had that one relative left. If the man sank into depression, there'd be no saving him.
Wizards didn't have potions for depression either. Things like Euphoria Elixirs only worked temporarily—once the effect wore off, the crushing contrast and emptiness that followed could easily drive someone into the abyss.
...
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