A Web Of Magic - Volume 1 Chapter 93 Christmas

Magnus held his breath and slowly moved away from the wall. He quietly moved into the laboratory nearby and collected everything of use that he had placed there before. ‘I’m getting out of here. There’s no way I’m coming back till that thing’s gone. What kind of a creature is that anyway? The book did warn me of a slumbering monster here before. I didn’t pay much attention because my divination didn’t show any danger. Is that the loophole in my divination? It won’t show danger unless the monster wakes up?’ Magnus floated up with his surfboard to reach the trapdoor exit above.

‘I should be more careful next time. Who knows when that thing will wake up? What’s it doing under the school anyway? Wait a minute. A chamber, a monster, Slytherin is this the rumored Chamber of Secrets? But I thought that was just a made-up story. I even asked Merlin’s book and it didn’t know what it was. Unless, the myth started after Merlin’s time? Did one of Slytherin’s descendants start the myth? That makes sense. Why would Slytherin leave a monster just to kill students of the school he had helped establish? From what I know of Salazar Slytherin, he shouldn’t be that petty. Proud and arrogant maybe, but not petty,’ Magnus mused as he exited the chamber.

If that creature had been alive since Slytherin’s time, it must be over 1000 years old. Any creature that lived that long would be terrifying and Magnus didn’t want to face it without any good reason. ‘It looked like a serpent. But I don’t know of any magical serpent that can live for so long or grow that big. Did Salazar Slytherin make it himself?’ Magnus doubted. He decided to give up the lab and limit his experimentations to the Room of Requirement when in the castle. He would have loved to do them at his home, but he was afraid that any explosions during the process could potentially ruin his house. That and raise suspicions from the people living nearby. So, that’s a no.

The day before Christmas, Magnus found Fred and George in the castle courtyard in order to let them fly test his new surfboard. He found them just as they hit Prof. Quirrell’s turban with bewitched snowballs from the back. Magnus was shocked at the audacity of these two fellows. ‘These idiots! Even I have to tread carefully around Prof. Quirrell. What if he curses them to oblivion?’ Magnus scolded these guys in his head. They honestly do not have a sense of danger sometimes. His focus crystal kept changing between black and white every time a snowball hit the back of the professor. Before he could warn them not to, Prof. McGonagall who was passing by found them. To no one’s wonder, they got a good scolding and detention. Magnus shook his head wryly.

He found them once this business was done and asked them to test his surfboard.

“What’s it called?” Fred asked interested. The sleek board looked polished and well-built. It definitely looked better than the wood of a broom.

“It’s a surfboard,” Magnus explained some of its functions.

“I think I saw one of these in one of dad’s muggle magazines,” George recalled.

“Oh yeah. Isn’t that supposed to be used on water mate?” Fred asked doubtfully.

“You can use it for that too if you want. Go on try it,” Magnus urged the both of them. This should help him stress test the board and he can further improve it based on their feedback and observations. If they have any accident, he can easily heal them up anyway. Fred and George were raring to try the new surfboard. They were flying enthusiasts after all. If allowed, they will even try to make their dad’s car fly.

Fred and George took turns flying on the board. At first, they needed some time to get used to the controls of the board, but they were similar to that of a typical broom and were simple enough. Soon they were zooming in the sky back and forth. They even attracted a crowd with their flying. Some of the members of the crowd wanted to try it for themselves too. Magnus gladly agreed. The more guinea pigs for testing, the better it was for him.

In the end, many of them tried the surfboard and most of them had only positive things to say about it. There were some good suggestions and requests to buy one for themselves. Magnus didn’t know the rules regarding selling flying items so he said he would get back to them after ironing out those details. Some of the testers fell while flying the board but Magnus quickly healed them back up. All in all, it was a fun experience for all of them.

The morning of Christmas, Magnus opened the presents piled up near his bed. Most were either chocolates or books. He placed those sent by Fred and George on the side. They would need to be screened properly for whatever prank they set up. Mrs. Weasley sent him a red sweater and some pies. Hagrid sent him some treacle fudge. Prof. Flitwick sent him a charms book useful for enchanting. ‘Looks like the professor heard about the surfboard. News travels fast in Hogwarts,’ Magnus smiled. He also got some greeting cards from Prof. McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey. Hermione sent him a box of Every Flavored beans as well as a diary. Harry also sent him a box of chocolate frogs as did Ron. Apart from his friends, there were also plenty of students whom he had healed before that sent him gifts. Magnus smiled to himself at all of these gifts. It was nice to be remembered by everyone. After cleaning up, he popped back home to spend the rest of the day there. He only planned on coming back for dinner.

In another tower on the other side of the castle, Harry was opening his gifts along with Ron. He was surprised to receive so many gifts. It was the first time in his life, barring his aunt’s family but they don’t count in his mind. He got a green sweater from Ron’s mother and he didn’t even know her!

“Ugh, I always get the same sweater,” Ron complained from the side. Harry didn’t know what to reply so he continued opening his presents. He smiled to himself as he saw the gifts from both Hagrid and Hermione. ‘Speaking of Hermione, maybe we should search more in the library. We need to find out who Nicholas Flamel is before she comes back or she’s going to be mad. Why is it so hard to find out about one person? I wonder if I should search the Restricted section of the library?’ he thought to himself.

“What’s this?” Ron said as he pulled out a shiny cloak from one of Harry’s gifts.

“What does it say on the card?” Harry asked curiously. Ron handed him the card with a shrug.

“Your father left this in my care years ago, Now I return it back to you. Use it well,” was all it said but there was no mention of the sender.

“Go on. Try it on,” Ron urged him. Just as Harry put it on, his body under his head disappeared.

“Blimey! That’s an invisibility cloak. They are supposed to be very rare,” Ron looked on enviously. Harry didn’t care much for it though. What use is there for him? Still the letter said it belonged to his father, so he would take good care of it. He then opened his last present. It was form Magnus. He saw the note first. “I found some of these in Prof. Flitwick’s collection. Thought you would appreciate them. Your mother was once his best student after all. Merry Christmas.”

Harry saw lots of photos of what looked like Hogwarts students. He immediately noticed one person common in all of these. The name underneath the photos read- Lily Evans. It was his mother in her younger days. Harry held back his tears. He felt very grateful towards Magnus. To him, this gift was more valuable than all of the others.