Chapter 492: Do you want to build a snowman? (Edited)

"What are you doing here nya?! You want to break Harry's arm again nya?!"

Harry and the others were awakened early on Christmas morning by Fish's screams.

Immediately after, a high-pitched voice rang out....

"Dobby won't do it! Dobby has come to give Harry Potter his Christmas present. Harry Potter said Dobby could come and see him whenever he wanted."

"Dobby?!"

Harry abruptly got out of bed, lifted the curtain and looked out.

The first thing that caught his eye was the usual mountain of Christmas presents for Fish, and then he saw Fish holding a house elf carrying a kettle warmer and a pair of mismatched socks on the floor, surrounded by boxes of presents scattered around him.

"Dobby had no intention of attacking Harry Potter, sir!"

Dobby shrieked in defense as he collapsed to the floor, his large tennis ball-sized eyes brimming with tears.

"Oh, that's right!" Harry rushed to Dobby's rescue, "Let him go, Fish, he won't attack me again!"

"But Fish saw him lurking around your bed, wondering what he was up to."

(??ˇ?ˇ??)

Fish let go of Dobby, but continued to watch him warily.

"Dobby's sorry, sir!" Dobby shrieked in fright, covering his mouth with his long, slender fingers, "Dobby just wanted to wish Harry Potter a Merry Christmas and bring him a present, sir! He didn't mean to attack him!"

"Come on, it's okay." Harry waved his hand at Fish, "I trust Dobby."

"Harry Potter is great!" Dobby was brought to tears.

The commotion had awakened the others, who peeked through the slits in their curtains, sleepy-eyed and with disheveled hair.

"Merlin's fancy pants, what a sight!"

Seamus glanced at the Christmas presents that nearly filled the dormitory and the sleep went out of him.

It was the first time they had seen such a sight, and although they had heard about it from Harry and Ron, they couldn't help but marvel at the sight.

"You won't think the same when you help open presents..."

Ron, who had been helping Fish open presents for three years now, sighed, seemingly helpless, but actually dejected.

"Another Christmas present to open!"

?(?≧?≦?)?

Fish cheered, picked up a box and opened it, and Neville and the others eagerly surrounded them, helping to open the presents together.

"Can Dobby give his present to Harry Potter?"

Dobby asked pointing as he noticed Fish was no longer looking at him, his long fingers tightly gripping a small package, having been pinned to the floor by Fish earlier, he wouldn't let go.

"Sure," Harry said, a little nervously, "Well... I've got something for you too."

He quickly opened the briefcase and pulled out a pair of rolled up socks from inside. They were his oldest and ugliest pair of socks, dull yellow in color and originally belonging to his Uncle Vernon.

"Sorry, I forgot to wrap them..." Harry scratched his head and sheepishly handed his the socks in his hand.

Fish, who had been thinking about it, also pulled a bag of candy out of his pocket and handed it to him along with a Christmas card with Dobby's name printed with a cat's paw.

(?ΦωΦ?)つ

"I misunderstood you earlier, so here's a present for you."

"A gift from Fish McGonagall!"

Dobby, who was already giddy from receiving Harry's gift, became even more excited as he carefully put Fish's gift away and began to pull hard on his big ears.

"The other elves will be envious of Dobby! Dobby is the second elf to receive a gift from Fish McGonagall after Comey."

"Do the other elves want Christmas presents, too?"

?ω?

Fish blinked, then pulled out a stack of Christmas cards and the shorthand quill Rita Skeeter had given her.

He put a card down, then sucked the tip of the quill and placed it vertically on top of the first card.

"Ramsay, Ike, Winky..."

As each elf's name came out of Fish's mouth, the shorthand pen quickly filled in the names on each card.

Then Fish pulled out his sandwiches and handed them to Dobby.

"Fish didn't have any this year, so give them the sandwiches and the cards from me, and Fish will get you some new socks next year."

(??ω??)?

Fish scratched his head and said with some regret.

However, Dobby was moved to tears, "Lord, you're so generous, Dobby will send presents to everyone!"

He raised his hand and wiped away his tears, then disappeared with a stack of snacks and cards.

A few moments later, Dobby reappeared in Fish's bedroom.

"Everyone is very grateful to Fish McGonagall! And Dobby too!" He shouted to Fish as soon as he appeared, then turned to Harry, "Sir, the store people have made a mistake, they've given you two of the same!"

Dobby said with wide eyes as he pointed to the dull yellow socks on his feet.

"Ah, gee, Harry, how did you not notice that?" Ron smiled at Harry, then ran to his bed and pulled out the package Mrs. Weasley had sent him.

"Hey Dobby, this is for you..." he unwrapped a pair of purple socks from the package and tossed them to Dobby, "Take these two socks, combine them and mix them together."

"That's very kind of you, sir!" he squealed, bowing deeply to Ron, his eyes filling with tears again, and praising Ron loudly.

"It's just a pair of socks." said Ron with a slight blush around his ears, waving his hands in embarrassment.

Neville, Seamus and Dean joined in the fun, each giving a pair of socks to Dobby, and received the same exaggerated compliment.

Dobby then handed Harry the small package in his hand.

"This is Dobby's gift for Harry Potter, sir!"

Harry opened the package and inside was also a pair of socks, this one inherited from Dobby's aesthetic, one bright red with a flying broom and the other green with a golden Snitch.

"Dobby knitted them himself, sir!" The elf said happily, "He bought the wool out of his own wages, sir!".

"That's... really... wonderful, thank you, Dobby." said Harry and put on the socks, which made Dobby cry with joy once again.

"Dobby must go now, sir, we're already in the kitchen getting ready for the Christmas party!". Dobby waved to the group and disappeared again.

After a while, the twins came to help, as they always did, and brought their best friend Lee Jordan, followed by the Creevey brothers, and other Gryffindors like Cormac McLaggen.

As there were many more people helping to unwrap the presents than in previous years, the gifts were unwrapped quickly. Most of the gifts were consumed as breakfast, and the rest of the gifts were mostly toys, as everyone knew Fish's hobbies.

After unwrapping the presents, everyone arrived in the common room, where Hermione and other girls had been waiting for a long time.

"Hermione~!"

?●ω●?

Fish jumped on Hermione and rubbed up against her, then turned into a cat and lay on her lap, purring, while Hermione pulled out a small comb and brushed Fish's fur while whispering a story under the envious eyes of the girls.

Fish spent the morning in Gryffindor Tower, and all the girls, except Hermione, took turns brushing and reading to the cat...this time it was the boys' turn to be envious.

It wasn't until noon when the group came down together and enjoyed a nice lunch in the Great Hall.

After lunch, the twins proposed a snowball fight, which was well received by many, and naturally Fish was also very enthusiastic.

Fish had never lost a snowball fight and had once beaten all his opponents, but that didn't stop him from burying everyone in snow again.

But just as they were getting up to leave the castle, a small figure approached them.

"Fish!"

Gabrielle rushed into Fish's arms, looking up at him with her little face....

"Would you like to build a snowman?"