Chapter 51: Christmas (Edited)

For a moment, Tom felt moved. Doraemon had once said that one's luck was like a coin, alternating between good luck and bad luck. But for a while, Tom thought his luck was one-sided, all bad luck. But today, at last, he got one! 3 rounds, gold, and not swindled! He was a knowledgeable prophecy traveler and was very good at making the system play the gold cards.

Tom decided to go with his "gut" decision the next time he used the draw screen.

And the push Dumbledore gave him was unparalleled, this time he gave him points for Black Magic!

[Black Magic talent has reached its maximum level, do you want to turn your talent into Magical Theory?]

Tom's eyes lit up: Magic Theory? Since it was black magic, could it be converted to Defense Against the Dark Arts theory, which is related to black magic?

He chose [Yes].

Another option appeared on the system screen: The overflowing Black Magic talent can activate two columns of magic theories: Defense Against the Dark Arts or Black Magic.

Tom thought about it and decided to activate the Defense Against the Dark Arts theory, since he will not be able to unlock this theory in this or next year, and could only unlock it in third year.

He chose Defense Against the Dark Arts without hesitation, and there was a new item in the theory of knowledge section [Defense Against the Dark Arts Level 0 (???)]. This also provided Tom with a place where he could find the "key" to the subject, presumably, according to Tom, a valuable learning experience left by someone who could be effective in helping him gain knowledge in the early years.

Over the next few weeks, Tom spent his time studying in the library, completing homework and gaining experience in his subjects, or practicing spells in the Room of Requirement to gain experience and skill.

Soon Christmas arrived.

Tom's system panel took on a whole new look.

[Tom Yodel (Wind)

[Profession: apprentice mage]

[Title: Novice]

[Magical Enchantments: Protego Enchantment level 0 (99+/100-27%), Lumos Enchantment level 1 (187/200-71%), Restoration Enchantment level 0 (99+/100-29%), Levitation Enchantment level 1 (158/200-69%), Wandless Spell Casting Level 0 (99+/100)...]]

[Theory of Knowledge: Enchantment Level 1 (46/200), Transfiguration Level 0 (99+/100), Alchemy Level 0 (24/100), Defense Against the Dark Arts Level 0 (99+/100)...]

[Magic Items: Wand (acacia wood, horned water snake horn, thirteen inches), 98% Compatibility, Bogart's soul ring (Sorceress, three headed dog, phoenix, remaining blanks: 2), feather (refined 2)]

[Pets: Occamy (juvenile), homing pigeon (adult)]

[Talents]

[Enchantment: 4 (Intermediate Talent)]

[Potions: 5 (Superior Talent)]

[Divination: 3 (Superior Talent)]

[Transfiguration: 5 (Gifted)]

[Alchemy: 1 (No Talent)]

[Herbology: 4 (Intermediate Talent)]

...

[Black Magic: 9+ (Azkaban)]

[Magical Stones: 30,120]

With his efforts, he has grown stronger, but his magic stones have also dropped, approaching the dangerous 30,000 mark.

The weather has become colder and the sky is often filled with snowflakes. As Christmas approached, everyone was in a good mood, but Tom and Hermione's good mood was spoiled by the news that their punishment had not yet been confirmed. Normal students, when they break the rules, are expected to be dealt with as soon as possible and punished. But Tom and Hermione were a bit different, as their punishment was not punitive, but a form of "Acquiring Knowledge", which was a bit more complicated. Hagrid was not yet ready for this: the ranger had to prepare his "lessons" well.

The delay in punishment was not a good thing in the minds of any of them, it's like a class,

At the beginning of the semester, you are told you will have an exam at the end of the month, then at the end of the month you are told it is postponed until the week of midterms, then in the middle of the semester you are told it is postponed until the week before final exams.

Of course, this is not the most devastating situation, the most devastating situation is that the professor has completely forgotten about the exam at the end of finals week.....

In mid-December, there was a major snowstorm at the school, with several feet of snow. The Gryffindor Weasley twins were said to have been severely punished for throwing several snowballs to chase Professor Quirrell, one of which hit him so hard in the back of the head that he was knocked unconscious on the spot.

But the cold outside could not penetrate the thick castle walls and affect the young wizards inside. In the Common Room the fireplace was lit, and the young wizards enjoyed sitting around it as they went about their business. In winter, enjoying the warmth of the fire, listening to the beeping of the wood in the flames, making a nice white noise, while listening to the cold wind howling outside, is a great way to increase your level of happiness.

But it's the owls that have to work, even with the snow and wind. Hiring an owl to send a letter at the owlery costs several times as much: not all the owls at the school are free to use, and these clever little creatures ask the wizards for payment, either in the form of food or a few knuts. This way, they could get some extra food from the janitor when they returned from delivering the mail.

Now not so much, with all the snow outside, few school owls are willing to go out and take jobs, preferring to huddle in the shed and hide in the snow unless they are paid quite a bit. Of course, private owls do not receive this treatment.

Christmas vacation at Hogwarts begins on December 20 and runs through January 3. Since December 20 is a Monday and January 3 is a Friday, the actual vacation lasts a total of 19 days. This is the most fun time for young wizards outside of the summer vacations.

The last class before Christmas for first year Ravenclaw wizards is the flying class. When this class was cancelled due to the snow, they were already in de facto vacation mode. The whole house rejoiced, because they could go home! But Tom faced a very real problem: he had no home and no family.

But when Professor Flitwick came over to ask the students who would be staying, Hermione stopped Tom.

"Why don't you come home with me for Christmas?" Hermione made the invitation, but Tom hesitated: it was a family reunion, would it be okay for him to be part of it?

But in the meantime, Professor Flitwick had already left at full speed: there were hardly any Ravenclaw students left at school. Hermione pulled out another letter, which broke through Tom's defenses, "Tom, look, Dad really wants me to invite you!"

So what was there to say? On Monday morning, Tom and Hermione appeared on the Hogsmeade train platform and boarded the Hogwarts Express back to London together.

When the train arrived, Mr. and Mrs. Granger were already waiting on the platform.