Volume 1 Chapter 29 Mrs. Weasley's Gift Box
After Halloween, the temperature in the UK has dropped significantly.
Hogwarts prepared winter clothes for the students. Although the carriages were always on the move, daily necessities were not scarce.
The fireplace in the common room was also burning warmly, and Jon and the other four were doing their Charms homework inside.
To be exact, Neville and the other three were writing, and Jon was the only one helping to guide them.
Ron held the quill pen, but couldn't write a single word for a long time. Looking at the five or six inches of blank space under the parchment where the requirements were, he couldn't help but plead with Jon.
"Give me your homework, Jon, for reference. I'll just take a look. I won't copy it verbatim. I'll just try to find some ideas."
In response, Jon simply refused in a firm tone.
"Don't think about it. Don't forget what Professor Flitwick said to you and me in private last time. You only borrowed from the last paper, but the professor still found out. If you get caught again, you and I will have to write the copied homework ten times."
"You'd better write it yourself, Ron. Even if Jon can give you the homework to copy now, can you still let him take the exam for you in your Charms class?" Neville said earnestly.
"Okay, okay, stop your preaching and I'll write it myself."
Ron sighed, scowling as he turned his attention back to the parchment.
It wasn't that he really couldn't write at all, there were no idiots in the Weasley family, but he just couldn't sit still and couldn't concentrate on things like writing a paper.
As the freshmen spend more time together, their relationship has become much closer than when the school started. After all, none of the five of them has a bad personality.
Although Jon didn't talk much at the beginning, he was always able to provide reliable help to others whether in study or daily life, which made him occupy a central position in this small circle. Even if Neville encountered something he was undecided about, he would ask him to help make the decision.
Halloween is also a holiday that is specially celebrated in the UK, but due to safety considerations, the carriage did not stay at a fixed location for the Halloween dinner. Instead, the dining room in the carriage was decorated for the festival, and everyone had a big meal together.
After Halloween is over, it means that there is only one and a half months left until Christmas, the most important holiday for all Westerners.
The atmosphere in Hogwarts became more relaxed. Both big and small children were looking forward to where Hagrid would take them to enjoy the Christmas dinner this year.
Few students or professors talk about the attack in September anymore. Apparently, it has been gradually forgotten by most people in the carriage, and only a handful of people still remember it.
Jon's studies of Occlumency with Slughorn were also progressing steadily.
He was very talented, and he made rapid progress in both basic spells and transfiguration in class and advanced magic such as Occlumency. Slughorn even deduced that he could start teaching him the spellcasting techniques of the ring by the end of Christmas and before the end of the year.
While John and the other three were reviewing their homework, Filch, who looked embarrassed, came into the common room. He walked straight to the square table where John and the other four were sitting and placed a large brown paper box in front of Ron.
"These are some things your family sent you. Professor McGonagall asked me to bring them to you. Remember the school rules about what you can't bring without permission. If there are any in this box, hand them over to me immediately! Otherwise, I will punish you!"
After saying these threatening words, he left with a sour face. As he left, he would occasionally look back at the box in front of Ron, as if he wanted to see him open it to make sure there was nothing prohibited inside.
Ron waited until Filch had completely left before making a face at the door.
"'Or I'll make you look good!'" He exaggeratedly imitated Filch's demeanor just now. "He's really annoying, isn't he?"
Justin nodded in agreement. He had just been punished a few days ago for accidentally tripping in the corridor and spilling ink all over the floor.
"Although he is indeed strict and cruel, he has always done things according to the rules." Neville comforted him.
Lavender looked at the paper box in front of Ron with some anticipation.
"Open it and see what your family has sent you!"
"It must be just some food that Mum made herself, and a letter telling me to study hard in school, stop hanging around with George and Fred, and take Percy as a role model."
Ron opened the paper box while mumbling. Inside was a large bag of homemade chocolates, a bag of toffee candies, and a letter on top of the candies.
He took out the letter, then opened the candy and prepared to share it with Jon and the others.
"Come on, have a try. My mom's cooking skills have always been pretty good, although she never had the chance to prepare any extravagant meals."
These things were very ordinary, but Justin and Lavender had obvious expressions of envy on their faces.
No matter how simple the items were, they were made by Ron's mother herself. The parents of one of them fled to Iceland to avoid being hunted by the Ministry of Magic, and the other parent had even the memory of having a child like him erased. This was a trivial matter for Ron, but it was a luxury for them.
The thoughtful Jon noticed the emotional changes between the two of them, so he took the initiative to take the chocolate and candy and shared them.
“It all looks good and should taste great.”
Neville also tacitly changed the topic to something else.
"I've been to Ron's house before, and Mrs. and Mr. Weasley are both very easy to get along with."
"They only act easy to get along with in front of other children. Just ask George and Fred. They have been scolded countless times by their mother." Ron said as he read the letter. "Just as I guessed, mother told Percy and me to learn from her mistakes."
As Jon was distributing the candy, he suddenly noticed that there was a thick layer of newspaper at the bottom of the paper box that Mrs. Weasley brought to Ron.
The people in the front-page photo of the newspaper can move like those in the video. A young man who looks very familiar to him, with a unique badge on his chest, is smiling at him gently.
Jon's eyes narrowed slightly, and he reached out to take the newspaper out of the box. Right above the photo was the headline of the front-page news.
[Hogwarts Charms Professor, Ministry of Magic Special Agent, and outstanding young wizard at the end of the 20th century - Barty Crouch was awarded the Second Class Medal of the Order of Merlin]
