Return of Salazar Slytherin

During Christmas, there are fewer students in the school, which makes it much easier to grab the best seats by the fireplace.

With his back to the fireplace, Rhys prepared Christmas gifts for the little witches and wizards he had met and gotten to know over the past few months.

At Hogwarts, you only need to put the gifts in the common room before going to bed at night, write the name of the recipient on it, and the recipient will receive the gift the next morning. It is much more convenient than the Muggle world.

The next morning, when Rhys woke up, he saw a small pile of gifts piled outside the bed curtains.

"Gifts, it's been so long since I've received any. Let's see what we have here," Rhys said, drawing back the bed curtains and sitting on the edge of his bed to open the presents.

Gift-giving is an art, and Rhys had put considerable thought into his gifts.

First was Lupet. For the first witch he met upon awakening, Rhys prepared a pot of sunflowers. These flowers resembled sunflowers but emitted a faint sunlight after blooming, perfect for nighttime illumination. More importantly, according to legend, sunflowers could lessen the pain werewolves experienced during their transformations on full moon nights. Though Lupet no longer had to bear this curse, having a pot of these flowers in her room would certainly lift her spirits.

Of course, Daphne was also on his list. He prepared a pure silver necklace for her. The pendant was shaped like a snake, coiled into the shape of the letter "G," representing the Greengrass family name, with two emeralds set into the snake's eyes.

While wearing a pure silver necklace might seem beneath the status of a Greengrass, the necklace Rhys gave was no ordinary piece of jewelry.

It contained three carefully prepared spells for Daphne: two could be triggered multiple times and one, a passive spell, could be used only once.

The actively triggered spells on the necklace could cast an attack or deploy a defensive barrier once a day.

The passive spell was more sophisticated; when triggered, it would create a shield that absorbed and reflected spells back to the attacker. However, due to the necklace's ordinary material, even one use of this high-level spell would cause the necklace to break apart, and Rhys would be notified.

This necklace was an alchemical tool Rhys prepared for Daphne, ensuring she wouldn't meet an untimely end while growing up.

This kind of thoughtful gift was a tradition dating back to the founding of Hogwarts, with the other founders occasionally giving similar gifts to their favored students.

For Hermione, Rhys compiled his notes and reflections from the past few months into a booklet and gave it to her. He believed the studious young witch would appreciate it and hoped she would gain some insights from it.

Rhys also prepared gifts for other familiar young wizards like Neville, even though they didn't interact much. The goal was to be thorough and considerate.

Christmas morning was the time for opening presents.

After unwrapping the gifts in the corner and taking stock, Rhys found he had received a few greeting cards and some candy, gifts from less familiar friends. Neville's gift was simple but interesting—a bag of herbs meant to hang by the bed to repel mosquitoes.

Hermione's gift was a large box containing a manual water flosser set, useful for removing plaque. There was also a box of sugar-free lollipops, a new product from America that Mr. Granger had obtained, said to prevent cavities.

Daphne's gift particularly delighted Rhys. She had given him a palm-sized silver snake sculpture! The craftsmanship was excellent, making it look almost lifelike. The details indicated it was hand-carved, not magically shaped, and Rhys grew more fond of it the more he looked at it.

Lupet's package was bulky. When Rhys opened it, he found a hand-knitted scarf with a silver-green base. It featured a wolf's head design, with a large snake emerging from the wolf's mouth.

As Rhys stepped out of his dormitory, he noticed Daphne wearing the necklace he had given her.

"Good Morning and Thank you for the necklace!ᒄ₍⁽ˆ⁰ˆ⁾₎ᒃ♪♬"

"And your snake sculpture is beautiful."

"By the way, your necklace has two special functions," Rhys added, explaining the two actively triggered spells embedded in the necklace.

(´⊙ω⊙`)！

Daphne covered her mouth in surprise.

"This is too valuable. I can't—"

"Shh, it's no big deal."

Rhys waved his hand dismissively, indicating it was of no consequence. The necklace's materials were inexpensive, and the effort involved was minor in his eyes. 

He thought back to Helga's extravagant gifts to her favored students. Her alchemical gear could grant wearers incredible defensive and evasive abilities, making them nearly impossible to catch even for other founders.

'In comparison, the equipment I gave is really nothing.'

When the two came to the great hall together, the Christmas dinner was already on the table.

Hundreds of plump roast turkeys, mountains of roast meats and boiled potatoes, heaps of delicious little sausages, bowls of buttered peas, and plates of rich gravies and jams adorned the tables.

Alongside the food were heaps of wizard crackers. Rhys and Daphne drew a lottery firecracker together, and a hat decorated with flowers and a brand new set of wizard chess exploded from it.

Gryffindor had the most students staying over the holidays, with Harry, Ron, and three of Ron's brothers all present.

After the meal, Rhys found a sheltered corner on the first-floor corridor, watching Harry and the others having a snowball fight in the courtyard.

He couldn't help but laugh when he saw Ron's twin brothers charming snowballs to chase after Professor Quirrell.

'Quirrell, this is what you deserve. People with ulterior motives deserve this fate, being a professor at Hogwarts and not taking the teaching job seriously!!'

He made a fist-sized solid snowball with the snow by the window, and then controlled it to hit Quirrell's turban hard, making him stagger. "Ah! Oh, c-children playing s-snow b-ball, g-good good!"

"Great shot!" cheers echoed from the courtyard, and Rhys laughed gleefully.

'Consider this a bit of interest, Quirrell.'

Rhys had no mercy for someone harboring ill intentions towards Hogwarts. He hadn't taken more direct action yet, primarily out of consideration for Dumbledore's developmental plan.

He thought this kind of teaching project was excellent and believed his own student should participate—consider it a cross-house collaboration between Gryffindor and Slytherin.

While Rhys amused himself with Quirrell, Daphne seemed troubled.

He had given her such a valuable necklace, and she had been continuously accepting his gifts and kindness without reciprocating.

This imbalance didn't sit well with her.

Feeling increasingly compelled to help Rhys, she finally couldn't hold back and asked,

"Rhys, is there something I can help you with?"

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End of Chapter!

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