Chapter 32: Christmas Approaches

Chapter 32: Christmas Approaches

In the narrow alley, there stood Borgin and Burkes store, with a room in the back.

Borgin's curse had long wormed its way into the depths of the soul, like a few transparent and difficult-to-detect strands of hair mixed among thousands of fishing lines.

And they all tangled into a mess.

The difficulty of cleaning it up was evident.

Of course, this difficulty was from Borgin's perspective.

For Moon, well, he had plenty of time.

He couldn't be bothered to trace the source of the curse and clear it from its logical operations.

Anyway, he had nothing else to do. He visited Borgin every now and then to do some "manual labor" and pick up some interesting dark magical items.

Life was indeed flavorful.

As Moon pulled out the last thread of the curse from Borgin's soul, the curse that had clung to him for decades finally became powerless, starting to crumble.

"Done." Moon shook his hand, and the deep blue threads connected at his fingertips scattered in the air.

Borgin lifted himself up, his old and cloudy eyes shining, voice trembling, "Captain, is it over?"

Moon put on his hat, "It's over. I've destroyed the operational chain of the curse. Remember, from today, you're no longer an undead who fears no pain and injury."

Borgin stood up, quickly bowing, "Thank you."

Moon nodded, put on his wool coat, and walked straight to the main hall of the store.

"Oh, right!" Borgin suddenly stopped Moon.

Turning around, Moon saw two wrapped packages with colorful ribbons in Borgin's hands.

"Captain, I wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas on the day itself, but I thought it might be inconvenient, so..." Borgin said, "Here's an early Christmas wish."

Moon was surprised for a moment, then turned to look at the snowflakes outside the window and chuckled, "I always feel like I've become insensitive to time."

He took the two packages. "This small one is your Christmas present, and the big one is for your child," Borgin said considerately.

Moon hadn't expected Borgin to be so thoughtful, especially since he had only met Harry once during the explosion a few months ago.

"I'll convey your wishes to him," Moon nodded, smiling, "Merry Christmas."

With that, he walked out.

Suddenly, a cold breeze hit him, snowflakes drifting in the sky, and no more scattered stars like in the summer nights.

"I didn't realize Christmas was so close," Moon sighed, then vanished into thin air.

Moonlight Castle, second-floor study.

Compared to a few months ago, it had clearly transformed. A desk, an alchemy table, a bookshelf, a coat rack, and a small shelf for magical ingredients.

Harry, at the desk, slowly took off his glasses and rubbed his face.

Exhaling...

After a deep breath, he stood up and went to check the progress of the potion.

After a whole autumn semester, he had grown taller and looked much more robust.

Now, there was a delicate balance between him and the Dursleys, especially after being required to run to school every morning. Their lives were less entangled.

But...

Thinking about the upcoming Christmas in two days, he felt a bit overwhelmed.

Aunt Marge would come to visit the Dursleys.

Aunt Marge was Uncle Vernon's sister. Although Harry and Aunt Marge had no blood relation, people had always forced Harry to call her aunt.

Just thinking about her made Harry uneasy. If it were the old him, he might have even panicked.

All because of that woman, Aunt Marge, who had been Harry's nightmare.

At Dudley's fifth birthday party, Aunt Marge had used her cane to beat Harry's legs just because she didn't want Harry to outshine Dudley in a music game.

Two years ago, during Christmas, she visited and gave Dudley a robot with a computer inside as a gift. Harry received his first Christmas present in his life—

A box of dog biscuits.

After confirming that the potion was fine, Harry went to the desk and picked up a yellow crystal pendant.

He calmed the turmoil in his heart and lifted the pendant.

"Aunt Marge's visit is good news."

After silently reciting it seven times, whether it was Harry's trembling hands or some other factor like the wind, the pendant started swaying.

It moved from a simple left-and-right motion to a clockwise rotation.

It was considered "correct."

He put down the crystal pendant, somewhat helplessly, "I really don't have the talent for divination."

Going downstairs, he first greeted Lucifer.

Meteor hopped over, rubbing against Harry's body with the broomstick head.

Lucifer, seemingly lost in thought and not sleeping, stood still by the fireplace.

"Meteor, it's too cold outside recently. Let's wait until it warms up a bit before flying," Harry consoled.

"Harry," Lucifer suddenly spoke.

"I'm here, Lucifer," Harry turned around.

"Would you like to spend Christmas here?" Lucifer suddenly asked.

"Really?" Harry couldn't believe his ears. Well, he had entertained the thought, but... he shouldn't be the one to suggest it.

He knew the weight of such matters.

Lucifer nodded, "Of course, most of the time, it's just me and Moon in the castle. Having one more person adds some festivity, right?"

Harry nodded, a smile uncontrollably spreading across his face, "I never cared, anyway. Celebrating the holidays means eating and drinking, then taking a break. But I have a break every day, and I eat whatever I want."

"I don't care. Festivals should have a festive atmosphere. You always have this appearance of being detached from worldly desires, so it serves you right to be cursed," Lucifer pointed at Moon, half-jokingly.

Moon touched his ear, somewhat helpless, "Alright, alright, I'll listen to you."