Chapter Ninety: Christmas Eve

"Is it really almost Christmas already?" Hearing Elsiona's words, Siwen paused in surprise.

"You haven't actually forgotten about Christmas, have you?" Elsiona eyed Siwen suspiciously.

"Ahaha, of course not!" Siwen denied quickly, chuckling. "How could I possibly tell you about your Christmas gift in advance? It has to be opened on Christmas Day, so you can discover it yourself—much more ceremonial that way!"

"Hmph, only a fool would believe you!" Elsiona wrinkled her nose and snorted softly.

Siwen could only respond with an awkward smile.

...

Thanks to Elsiona's questioning, Siwen suddenly realized that this celebration was not only about Slytherin's Quidditch victory, but also in anticipation of the upcoming Christmas holidays.

Over the next three days, the young witches and wizards' behavior in class confirmed this suspicion.

Christmas Day fell on a Saturday, and Hogwarts would begin its long winter break on December twenty-third, two days before Christmas.

Though classes continued as usual from Monday to Wednesday, the students' minds had already flown far from the school, dreaming of festive dinners at home.

The professors, however, were not inclined to indulge them. These three days became a prime period for deducting house points. If not for the enormous boost Siwen had given Slytherin with his special contribution award, Slytherin's lead might well have been overtaken by Ravenclaw during these days...

By Wednesday, the last day before break, the situation had become increasingly unruly. Professors ceased trying to force the students to listen; most simply assigned mountains of holiday homework and left the rest of the time for self-study.

Of course, most young witches and wizards had no intention of doing their assignments during these self-study sessions. They wouldn't even open their bookbags until the last day of the holiday!

Siwen, too, did not choose to complete his homework, but unlike his peers who were laughing and chatting, he was occupied with something far more serious.

Having learned that Christmas was just around the corner, Siwen was compelled to begin considering the matter of Christmas gifts—acquaintances with whom he wasn't particularly close could be satisfied with books or a selection of Honeydukes sweets.

But for those dear to him—his three roommates, Elsiona; friends or mentors who had helped him, such as Miranda, Professor Kettleburn, Professor Slughorn, and Dumbledore—he couldn't simply hand over any old thing.

After all, in England, Christmas was as significant as the Lunar New Year in China, the most important holiday of the year. The exchange of gifts between friends and family was a vital tradition, and the choice of gift was a matter of great care; the nature of the gift revealed the relationship between giver and recipient.

If someone gave a thoughtless gift but received something carefully chosen in return, embarrassment was inevitable.

Therefore, Siwen decided to be creative. He had been self-studying alchemy this term, so why not take the opportunity to practice... or rather, pour his heart into it!

He quietly pulled out a finely wrought piece of metal and began carving it, right in front of the ghostly Professor Binns.

After class, Abraxas and the others headed back to their dormitories to pack for the journey home. Siwen kept all his belongings in the pocket watch space, so he had no need to pack, but he walked down the spiral staircase to the dungeons with them.

At the foot of the stairs, Siwen parted ways with the trio, heading alone to the dungeon chamber reserved for the ghostly Siwen.

"So you're going home?" Helena asked, sounding worried. "Will your soul form go with you?"

"I think I can stay in the castle..." replied the ghostly Siwen.

"At least it's worth an experiment," the young wizard Siwen added. "We can see if, separated by hundreds or thousands of miles, both sides can still sense each other's circumstances in real time."

Helena seemed to breathe a sigh of relief upon learning that the ghostly Siwen would remain at Hogwarts, but soon asked anxiously, "Are you sure nothing will go wrong with your soul form and body so far apart?"

Siwen shook his head and replied, "Not at all. My condition is somewhat unusual."

To prove his point, he sat down on the sofa and closed his eyes.

A translucent figure emerged from Siwen's body, identical in appearance, dress, and expression.

Helena jumped in shock and asked blankly, "What is happening...?"

"This is the auxiliary soul inside the body," explained Siwen in his soul state, amused by Helena's bewilderment.

Since the soul from Siwen's previous life had departed this body, a new soul had slowly begun to form within it.

Yet the body had been nurtured for eleven years by Siwen's soul, so the new soul was entirely subordinate to Siwen, existing merely as a secondary soul.

"Can your original soul return to the body?" Helena inquired, not without concern.

"Let's try," Siwen said softly, sharing her apprehension.

With a thought, both soul forms—the young wizard and the ghost—hurled themselves into the body. As the two souls entered, Siwen's eyes snapped open.

"How do you feel?" Helena asked.

"I feel wonderful," Siwen replied, his eyes bright with excitement.

The two souls seemed to merge perfectly, with not the slightest discord in thought, and his body felt brimming with power!

He raised his wand, his lips moving.

"Armor of Protection."

A delicate, golden shield appeared before him. With a flick, the round, transparent shield melted like liquid, flowing over his robes and cloaking his black school uniform in a gleaming layer of gold.

He waved again, and another Lagga protective shield transformed into fluid, covering his face and forming a dazzling golden hood.

"What do you think of this look?" Siwen asked, striking a classic Ancient One pose with two Lagga rings raised at his sides.

"Well, it's certainly unusual," Helena nearly burst out laughing. With his small stature and childish frame, Siwen's pose was more adorable than impressive.

Afraid she might truly laugh, she quickly changed the subject, "Why have you suddenly become so adept at combining spells?"

Siwen replied without suspicion, smiling, "Because the spells of Kamar-Taj rely mainly on soul power to cast, and combining spells depends on mental control."

"Most of my combat ability has always resided in my soul form..."

...

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