Chapter 190: Snape’s Well-Intentioned Efforts

Just like the Niffler, who could always snatch shiny objects without a sound, owls seemed to possess the same stealthy skill.

On Christmas morning, Kyle opened his eyes to find a small mountain of presents piled up by his bed. It was almost comical how he hadn't noticed all those gifts being delivered.

Rubbing his eyes, Kyle muttered to himself, "Ratton, do you owls have some sort of secret ability…?"

Ratton, who was perched on the wooden shelf with his eyes closed, lifted a wing and gave a weak hoot. Although most of Kyle's Christmas gifts were delivered through the owl post office, he had sent Ratton with the gifts he wanted to give his family, friends, and professors.

It was just that Kyle had a few too many friends.

Ratton had flown almost nonstop all night to deliver the gifts on time, only just returning. He was so tired he could barely keep his wings up and had no patience for Kyle's idle musings.

"Sorry, it's been a rough day for you," Kyle said apologetically as he approached Ratton, pouring an owl tonic from a bottle into his bowl and adding a small piece of marinated dragon liver.

Dragon liver was a top-tier pet treat compared to Murtlap-dried rat, but it was extremely expensive. A tiny piece, about the size of a Felix Felicis bottle, cost sixteen Sickles. It was practically daylight robbery.

The piece of dragon liver Kyle had prepared was a Christmas gift for Ratton, costing a full ten Galleons. Truthfully, Kyle himself had never eaten anything so extravagant.

Ratton took a few bites of the dragon liver, drank some tonic, and finally began to feel a bit more energized.

Satisfied, Kyle returned to his bed and began unwrapping his own presents, most of which were sweets and chocolates—an even bigger stash than he'd received last year.

"Kyle, something's wrong!"

Ten minutes later, a loud shout echoed from the common room. It was Kanna's voice.

Kyle quickly set down the half-unwrapped chocolate and rushed out of the dormitory.

In the common room, Kanna was standing with a distressed look, clutching an open box in her arms.

"W-what's wrong?" Kyle asked, a bit alarmed.

Kanna bit her lip, looking worried. "I… I've lost my Galleons again. Could it be Pocky…?"

Remembering what had happened last year, Kanna immediately suspected the witch-turned-mouse after realizing her Galleons were missing.

"What are you thinking? That's impossible," Kyle said, waving his hand to reassure her. "She's probably busy making breakfast for the Dementors right now; she doesn't have time to sneak back to Hogwarts. Maybe you just forgot where you put the Galleons."

"Well…" Kanna sighed in relief at Kyle's words, patting her chest. "I'll look for it again. The Galleons aren't really important, but I quite liked that crystal hairpin…"

"Wait… a crystal hairpin?"

Kyle suddenly froze, his brows furrowing. "Have you lost anything else?"

"Not much…" Kanna tilted her head, thinking. "Some Galleons, a crystal hairpin… oh, and a silver brooch. It was a gift I'd just unwrapped, and then it disappeared in an instant."

Galleons… crystal… silver brooch…

Kyle's eye twitched slightly, as if he had already figured out what was going on.

"Just a minute."

Kyle took a deep breath and pulled out the Philosopher's Stone. The next moment, a black fur ball sprang from the corner of the common room, hurtling toward him.

Timing it perfectly, Kyle grabbed the little creature by the scruff, then quickly scratched its belly twice. With a satisfying clinking sound, Galleons, hair clips, brooches, stones, flower pots… an assortment of items tumbled out of the Niffler's pouch like a cascade, causing it to squeal in protest.

"Is that a Niffler?" Kanna exclaimed, amazed.

She had seen these magical creatures a few times before—black, fluffy, with a flat, duck-like snout, and that telltale pouch... It was unmistakably a Niffler.

"That's odd," Kanna said, puzzled. "Aren't Nifflers supposed to live in the Forbidden Forest? Why is one in our common room?"

"Uh… his name is Jerry, and he's mine," Kyle said, gathering up the pile of items from the floor. "I guess I wasn't paying attention last night, and he snuck out of the dorm."

It was unbelievable! Kyle could've sworn he'd put the little rascal back in his box before going to bed. How had he managed to escape? Maybe the lid hadn't been closed properly?

In any case, he was lucky to have found him so quickly; if Jerry had been out any longer, who knew how much more would have disappeared.

This was the first time Kanna had been up close with a Niffler. She came over, eyes wide, and asked hopefully, "Can I pet him?"

"Of course," Kyle said, casually handing Jerry over to Kanna, though he reminded her, "But watch out for anything shiny you're wearing, and be careful he doesn't try to pocket it."

"Okay, okay," Kanna replied absently, then eagerly began stroking the Niffler's head.

The fluffy, soft feel made her eyes close contentedly.

Seeing she was happily occupied, Kyle returned to his dorm to finish unwrapping his presents. Notably, aside from candy, he had received more books this year than anything else.

The collection was quite varied, ranging from highly technical Magical Theory texts to detailed guides on Quidditch techniques, and even biographies. One particular book caught his eye—a copy of Niffler's Postnatal Care, which he realized, with a chuckle, was from Newt.

Dumbledore's gift, meanwhile, was a pair of hand-knitted wool socks with striking gold and red stripes and Kyle's initials stitched into them. Kyle squinted and, after careful inspection, realized that the stripes were made from Fawkes' tail feathers.

Socks crafted with the rare, fiery feathers of a Phoenix… Kyle wasn't sure what Dumbledore had been thinking. It might have been more practical if they'd been mittens—at least then people could see them.

As for the gift he'd chosen for Dumbledore, it was decidedly more practical. 300 Ways to Knit Woolen Socks was an advanced version of last year's book, with 200 additional knitting patterns, enough to keep Dumbledore busy for quite a while.

But the biggest surprise was the gift Kyle received from Snape—a piece of moldy parchment.

Kyle understood the message loud and clear: Snape was reminding him to focus more in class and to take better notes. After all, if one's mind wasn't filled with knowledge, it would grow as empty and useless as the old parchment.

Kyle couldn't help but feel touched by Professor Snape's good intentions…

Only a professor as thoughtful as Snape deserved two gifts from him this year. Besides the usual bottle of Sleekeazy's Hair Potion, Kyle had carefully chosen a second present that had topped wizarding bestseller lists several times…

Travels with Trolls.