Ethan Jones, holding a piece of bread in his hand and tearing it apart, asked, "By the way, Draco, are you going home tomorrow too? You said at the start of the term you'd help me check the origin of my bloodline. Is there still no news?"
Draco's face turned slightly red. In fact, Lucius had written to him long ago, telling him that the Malfoy family didn't have such a magic artifact. But to save face, he kept putting it off. Now that he was asked again, he had to bite the bullet and continue to patch up his lie.
He paused and hesitated: "Well, I'll ask my father again when I go home for Christmas. The letter wasn't very clear."
However, these days were coming to an end. He had already thought it out. When he returned to school, he would lie and say that his family's magic artifact was accidentally destroyed and couldn't be brought to school for him to use.
Moreover, Ethan Jones himself said that Dumbledore was also helping. Presumably, his side wasn't an important channel, which made him lie with even less scruple.
"Okay." Ethan Jones didn't make things difficult for him anymore. He brought this up this time only because he felt the look Draco gave him just now was a bit wrong, as if there was some inexplicable sense of superiority in it, despising him a little.
Early the next morning, Ethan Jones dragged a trunk full of candy purchased with Hagrid's help and left Hogwarts with Hermione.
The weather was already very cold, but due to the ban, the hand warmer Hermione made had to be left in the dormitory because the flame couldn't be replenished.
Stepping on the thick snow, his face was red from the cold.
He breathed hot air onto his hands while chatting with the girl: "Hermione, when can you add the Warming Charm to clothes through Alchemy?"
Hermione was also a bit depressed: "I'll study it again when I come back. There are still some minor flaws."
The Warming Charm was a spell they found in the library specifically for coping with the cold winter.
After using this spell, clothes could have a certain heat preservation effect, allowing them to wear fewer clothes and move less clumsily.
But the shortcoming of this spell was also obvious—the duration was very short, only about an hour. For a long class like Potions, they had to secretly renew it halfway.
Hermione's Alchemy study was not very smooth because her research direction did not overlap much with the Weasley twins, so even with their help, her research was still bumpy.
The Levitation Charm clothes she originally wanted to give Ethan Jones as a surprise hadn't been made yet, and the current Warming Charm clothes were stuck in the same place.
"It's a pity Hogwarts doesn't have electricity, otherwise getting a small electric heater would be nice."
Hermione also regretted it a bit. After more than four months of life, she was already very familiar with Hogwarts: "It is a pity. Hogwarts rejects these technological products."
The two crossed the Black Lake, arrived at the platform at the school gate, and boarded the Hogwarts Express.
There were many empty seats on the train this time because many students stayed at school, including Harry, Ron, and the Weasley twins.
Harry didn't want to go back to his aunt's house. As for the Weasley brothers, it was because their parents went to Romania to visit their brother Charlie.
Putting the luggage away, Ethan Jones closed the compartment door: "Do you want to go to Diagon Alley during the holidays to buy some things?"
"You're going to Diagon Alley?"
Ethan Jones nodded: "Mm, I reached an agreement with the Weasley brothers to withdraw some Galleons for them as a deposit. In addition, I also want to buy some beauty potions for Mom. She said last time that the estimated frequency of use was a bit low and she bought too little."
He invited again: "How about it, wanna go together?"
Hermione was tempted, but she thought about it: "Hard to say. I don't know how my parents plan to spend Christmas. If they plan to travel, I probably can't go."
"Alright." Ethan Jones regretted that he might have to go shopping alone.
The two took a nap on the train, and soon the train arrived at the station.
When they got out of the station, they saw their respective parents.
The four people who met during the summer vacation were talking and waiting for them together.
The two dragged their trunks to them: "Mom, Dad."
"Seems like you've grown taller, but thinner." Mom Sofia held his face.
"Not thinner. The food at school is quite good. Maybe it's because I grew taller, so I look a bit thinner." Ethan Jones certainly knew whether he was thin or not and explained helplessly.
Sofia hadn't seen him for more than four months: "Really? I still think you look thinner. I have to take you to eat more good food this time home."
Father Albert watched Sofia nagging distressingly, exchanged a look with Ethan Jones, looking a bit helpless.
Hermione on the other side was pretty much the same.
After a long time, they said goodbye and went home.
The first thing Ethan Jones did when he got home was to let Edward out.
Having been stifled in the cage for half a day, the first thing it did upon returning to this room where it had lived for more than two months was to fly to the shelf to find the dried fish, owl treats, and other food Ethan Jones had stored.
Putting the luggage away, Ethan Jones took out a large pile of candy and went downstairs.
He put the package on the table: "The candy you wanted should be enough for a while. If it's not enough, I'll send it to you slowly after I return to school."
"Great. Your mom loves these candies, especially the Peppermint Toads. The effect is peculiar; she loves it the most."
"You say it as if you don't like it." Sofia rolled her eyes at Albert.
"Like, of course I like it." He laughed it off.
Ethan Jones liked this family atmosphere very much. Watching his parents bickering lovingly, he also had a smile on his lips.
Ethan Jones spent the few days of Christmas holidays very comfortably.
In the morning, he slept in after a long time, living a life of being waited on hand and foot.
On the day before Christmas, he went to Diagon Alley alone.
He came this time not only with 200 ounces of gold but also with the Daily Prophet clipping he got from Hagrid to prove that Gringotts was not as safe as the Goblin said when he opened the account.
Although the Goblins argued strongly, they finally waived his annual custody fee.
Although Ethan Jones was somewhat dissatisfied with this compensation, seeing the Goblins about to turn hostile, he finally quit while he was ahead.
He left 1800 Galleons this time, 1000 of which was the investment promised to the twins, and the rest was to buy some gifts and mom's beauty potions.
Today Edward was extremely busy. Except for the gift for Hermione which Ethan Jones delivered personally, everyone else's gifts were delivered by Edward flying back and forth.
For Harry, it was a bag of Diagon Alley candy. Ron's was the same, just a different flavor. The three roommates also got the same thing.
For Snape, it was a silver cauldron. For Professor McGonagall, it was a green handbag. In addition, he also bought gifts for several other professors one by one.
Especially Dumbledore. He remembered he needed woolen socks. Although he didn't know why he wanted such a gift, Ethan Jones still bought a pair of thick purple woolen socks for him.