Once the party ended, Julian offered parting words to the Greengrass family and to Minister Fudge, then returned to Hogwarts.
It was only after he stepped back into the castle that he visibly relaxed, letting out a quiet sigh of relief. Dumbledore wasn't in the office when Julian arrived, so he left without trouble and went straight to the common room to change, wash the gel out of his hair, and get ready for sleep.
After that, he collapsed into bed and passed out, mentally exhausted from the strain of the evening.
...
The next morning Julian woke at his usual time, stretched, and headed to the workshop to begin making Christmas gifts.
That was one of the best parts of his forging ability this time of year. A few hours of work could cover his entire list without him needing to scramble.
It wasn't a long list.
The twins.
Harry.
Ron.
Hermione.
Tracy.
Daphne.
Hagrid.
Flitwick.
McGonagall.
And finally Snape, who deserved something for actually giving a damn, even if it wasn't always obvious.
...
For the twins, Julian sent over a handful of prank-friendly spells he'd found in the "ancient" section, along with a Ring of Protection each. He'd already decided everyone would get a Ring of Protection by default, so anything beyond that counted as the real gift.
For Ron, he forged a set of chess pieces out of dragon steel, then had Flitwick enchant them.
Hermione received a translated version of the magical fundamentals book from the "ancient" section, with the parts that were dangerous to Julian removed.
The rest of the list was where things became irritating. For them, he needed to forge and enchant specific items, and that meant careful work.
...
Knowing that, Julian lit the furnace and waited for it to heat while chatting with Helena.
"Any idea when Flitwick ought to arrive?" Julian asked, chewing on a chocolate chip cookie.
Helena shook her head. "He said sometime today, but when exactly is beyond my knowledge."
"Rather irritating," Julian said with a shrug, "but I suppose it doesn't matter much."
He switched the furnace over to dragon flame and grabbed a mithril ingot from his stack.
...
Julian tossed it into the fire and waited. It didn't take long at all for the metal to heat, thanks to the intensity of the flame.
Using tongs, he pulled the now white-hot block out and set it on the anvil. Then he began hammering, not shaping it into a simple object, but flattening it, compressing it into a wide sheet.
Once it was thin enough, he worked the rough edges with careful strikes until the sheet became a clean circle.
He made a single small hole in the center, then widened it slowly, patiently, until the disk became a thin but sturdy ring of metal.
...
He reheated it, then began beveling the edges, sharpening them all the way around until they formed a lethal point.
If it wasn't already clear, Julian was crafting one of the few ring-shaped weapons he actually knew well.
A chakram.
He quenched it in oil, polished it until the edge was razor-sharp, then set it aside with care.
...
Next he grabbed a dragon steel ingot and placed it in the furnace to heat.
It was at that moment that Flitwick finally entered the workshop, wearing an eager expression.
"Sorry for the delay," Flitwick said apologetically. "The Weasley twins were causing mischief with some enchanted snowballs and Quirinus."
Julian nodded in understanding. "I haven't gotten very far into my work today, so you haven't missed much."
"Wonderful!" Flitwick said, brightening. His eyes drifted to the chakram, but he clearly didn't understand why it was there, so he ignored it. "So what do you have in mind?"
...
"Right now," Julian explained, "I was about to forge the body of my Christmas gift for Hagrid."
He pulled the white-hot dragon steel out of the furnace with tongs and set it on the anvil.
Flitwick stood to the side, watching intently as Julian began hammering the metal into a dense cube.
During the process, Flitwick noticed something odd about Julian's hammer. He couldn't place it, but he could tell it was special.
Julian worked carefully, then drove a hole through the cube.
Then another.
Then another.
By the time he finished, the cube had taken on a strange, deliberate shape.