Chapter 26: Christmas

Christmas finally arrived at Hogwarts, it wasn't just around the corner, it was in the castle.

The few remaining students in each of the houses went straight for their Christmas trees, William was already aware of the gifts from the other Gryffindor students, still he got up from his bed heading towards the dining hall, if his family had sent him any gifts he really didn't care, they wouldn't be any better than the gifts from the other students due to his current condition. William even went so far as to wish for a sweater knitted by Mrs. Weasley to cover himself from the winter cold.

As soon as William came down the stairs he noticed the children sitting by the presents, as expected Harry had the wooden flute made by Hagrid in his hand, while Ron was fascinated with the fifty pence coin.

William gave one last yawn as he stretched his body to leave the common room when he was held up from his shirt collar

"Stop" said one of the red heads, the Gryffindor house prefect as he handed three parcels into William's hands "I don't think it's a good idea to leave without opening your presents" Percy stood with his own half opened presents, under his arm was a sweater but he didn't seem to feel like opening them.

"Speaking of bad ideas, I think it's best not to waste your mother's efforts on your unwarranted embarrassment. wear the sweater, it may be the last one you can wear" William took the first gift and opened it.

Percy who had been left behind looked at William's back, he wanted to say something but silenced him instead he looked at the sweater closely and the word Pe, his mother's affection could be glimpsed, he looked to the side and put it on his body.

William's first gift was a hairbrush, it was obviously from Hagrid and was sent mainly by Pruna but the griffin was still too small to brush it, maybe in a few months or a year.

The second gift was a letter, the sender was Abbey Rosier, William's mother. Seeing the return address label the white-haired man was startled but restrained his voice, he wasn't afraid of his mother but for anyone it was hard to see words of reproach.

As he opened the letter he realized that his ideas were only a matter of his mind and the reality was much simpler, the letter was blank. There was nothing written on the letter, William looked at the back and even thought that with a revealing spell he could see the contents but if they wanted to say something they would not use a code. William crumpled the letter and ejected it into the fire to burn completely.

In William's hands rested one last gift, it was not small but not huge either, this time the sender of the letter was Lord Rosier, William's grandfather, that was a surprise for young William but he was quite curious about the gift.

When he opened the package he found a book, a necklace and a note.

-William I know this is unexpected, everything that is happening to you are things that are not in your power and I don't blame, instead your mother seems to have the idea that you betray the family, your father would have had the same idea but it is not so in my case, I am an old man with a bit of wisdom. The hat selects you depending on your abilities and being in gryffindor means you are brave, these gifts are to protect you. The necklace is an object that is passed down in our family and has many protective charms that will keep you alive, your father never wore it with him. The book contains incantations to make you invisible, it is important that you learn them to keep you away from your siblings, they are blind to their mother's words.

PS: In the eyes of the lions you are still a snake, trust no one and stand firm in the face of all adversity.

William was stunned at the enclosed note, he did not expect a similar surprise coming from his grandfather whom everyone feared. With his right hand he lifted the necklace to see the small emblem it bore, a small silver cross with a star at each end.

Instead the book looked a little more worn than the ones he took from the family library, possibly one of the books William overlooked, the title of the book seemed simple "Arts to Conceal Presence" there was nothing very special about the title one had to admit and even its author seemed simple, just the initials D.L.F.

Each of the pages of the book was yellow and the writing was elegant, William had already read several books in the library but he had not seen such elegant calligraphy before, it was written in a clean hand so it could be said that it was an original book of the author, simply an outstanding object but with the antiquity it could be a treasure, even so Lord Rosier sent it casually with an owl.

The tables of the great dining room were full of food, even though there were no more than twenty percent of the students in the castle, at this moment William was calmer since he had much more space to sit and eat in peace, besides all his brothers had returned home, another good news for the white-haired boy. Now without interruptions he could start with his reading of the book sent by his grandfather, some students noticed William's actions and shook their heads but the teachers were intrigued to see the old book, even more so Dumbledore but without showing it on his face.