The day's after-activities ended not very pleasantly.

Harry and Ron went completely insane with the set of pieces they borrowed from their roommate, Seamus Finigan. They start out rampage on the board in disregard of their moves, but then they swarm up and punch Ron's pieces, creating a chaotic scene where the decorative weapons and helmets on the pawns fall everywhere, like a real battlefield of cold weapons.

Truth be told, it's fun to watch a group of small men in armor the height of an index finger fight on a chessboard, but Ron can't afford to compensate anyone else's pieces or afford to lose his own pieces. He initially tried to separate the two groups of villains with spells, but it didn't work well - in order to prevent someone from cheating by magic in the game, the pieces of the wizard's chess were specially processed so that ordinary spells applied to them had almost no effect.

It wasn't until Harry and Neil, who finally figured out that something was wrong, to join in to help, that the three of them reluctantly replayed the disobedient pieces back into the box, but by this time several of Ron's heirloom-level worn-out pieces had already broken and cracked

Distraught, he suddenly felt a thirst in his throat, so he picked up the neon-colored "hot tea" that he would never touch under normal conditions, and leaned his neck to take a sip......

It worked very well, and Ron, who was still depressed just now, regained his energy in an instant, but maybe a little too uplifted. For the rest of the day, he was in a strange state of euphoria, throwing his eyes on Harry's shoulders at every opportunity, promising him all sorts of unrealistic plans, such as studying hard starting tomorrow, shoving Snape's head down the toilet, and marrying his sister, who had just turned ten, to Harry......

Before escaping, Neil assured in no uncertain terms that it was just a side effect of the tonic effect, and that the reason why Ron was so excited was because of the body's stress response to speed up the use of excess energy. As long as he continues to be in this state, he will naturally return to normal after a while.

Harry didn't doubt him, as Neil had drunk the same thing himself to prove his innocence, but perhaps because he was so insane that his symptoms didn't seem obvious. Besides, in Harry's memory, something similar seemed to have happened before - after being poured on the train with a horrifyingly thick green drink that claimed to be "good for digestion", Ron also briefly experienced dizziness, nausea, and confusion, but by the time the opening ceremony began, he had fully recovered.

In fact, not only was it as simple as recovery, but he even swept the dishes at the dinner that night with a good appetite that didn't look like he had already eaten a lot on the train, so much so that he earned the disgraceful nickname "Chicken Leg King" among a small number of students...... With this precedent, Harry wasn't really worried that Ron would continue like this.

Sure enough, the next morning, Ron returned to normal after babbling all night before, and when Harry woke up, he looked at his set of magic pieces that were on the verge of being scrapped with a sober and aware expression.

The Weasleys' poverty is now nothing to hide...... Or something that can be hidden. Ron's textbooks, robes, and even broomsticks were all gifts left by the family's elders, tattered from their frequent use over time.

Malfoy even pointed out harshly that the Weasleys were second-hand except their brains, and that Ulysses had a rare lack of expression in the face of such a nasty statement, but only shrank his head into the collar of his master's robe as if he were embarrassed. It seems that according to its judging criteria, this is not a malicious attack on others, but just "pointing out the facts in a way that is not tactful enough".

- Malfoy figured this out and laughed for more than half an hour in the Slytherin common room, before finally getting whipped by the tail for his offence.

Among the many junks that Ron had in his possession, the wizarding chess set had a particularly long history, dating back to his grandfather's generation, but considering that it was a cheap commodity on the streets back then, it was estimated that even if it was in five times better condition than it is now, it would not be worth a few bucks. However, unlike brooms, the performance of chess pieces is not easy to deteriorate with aging, on the contrary, due to the peculiarity of wizard chess, the chess pieces used all year round are more tacit with the chess player, and they can easily make them obey the command.

Ron loved this set...... Not really, but he did cherish it, because he knew that it would be the only entertainment the family could provide for him for at least the next three to five years. If it breaks, your spare time for the next few years will be ...... Very painful.

Now it's broken.

This depression continued for several days, until Christmas Eve, when he and Harry exchanged goodnight before going to bed, and Ron's expression still looked a little listless.

However, the beauty of Christmas is enough to wash away all the gloom. The next morning, Harry was surprised to find a small pile of gifts at the foot of his bed—something he hadn't done in eleven years—and Ron was up and kneeling beside the bed to tear down his pile.

Apparently, the hill of cardboard boxes and ribbons had made him completely, at least for the time being, forget about his hapless set of wizarding chess - magical items are difficult to repair, so they are usually expensive, and it may not cost much to repair them than to buy a new one...... Of course, he couldn't afford either.

"Hey, Merry Christmas." He greeted Harry as he sat up from the bed and was trying to tear open a package with brute force.

"I wish you happiness too." Harry replied sleepily, groping his way out of bed and putting on his dressing gown, "I never thought I'd get a Christmas present......

"Have your uncles and aunts never given you gifts?"

"Strictly speaking, no, they'll still send me something: like a soaked diary, and half a piece of chewing gum left." Harry shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, and knelt down in front of the pile of gifts, as Ron had done, ready to see who would give them to him. As soon as I looked down, I saw a note with Uncle Vernon's name on it—not a postcard, but an irregularly shaped note torn from a cardboard shell, "In fact, they've been doing extra well this year—look!" ”

The note read, "We have received your letter with a Christmas present for you. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Penny", with a fifty pence coin glued to the back.

"That's a weird shape, is this Muggle money?" Ron asked curiously, and Harry tore the coin from the scrap of paper and tossed it to him.

"Yes—you can keep it." Harry said, laughing out loud at the sight of the other man's ecstatic look.

Hagrid gave him a crudely made thing, I don't know if it was a flute or a whistle, apparently made by his own hands; Hermione's gift was a large box of horseshoe-shaped chocolates; Even Ron's mother, Mrs. Weasley, had prepared gifts for him—a bright green hand-knitted sweater and a pack of equally handmade gummies—and it was clear that someone, even when he was depressed, hadn't forgotten to write home a Christmas present for his best friend.

"Whose are the rest?"

Harry asked to himself. There were two unopened gifts left in front of him: a boxy wooden box, and a paper bag that was extremely light to handle. He thought about it for a moment and decided to put the paper bag aside first and reach for the rope that was tied to the wooden box.

"Hey, you have one too?" Seeing this, Ron searched through his pile of gifts and pulled out a wooden box with no giver labeled, almost identical to the one Harry was unraveling. The two men looked at each other with a smile and took it apart at the same time.

"Cool ......"

It contained a set of wizard chess pieces, all polished with crystal, which looked very beautiful, and when someone lifted the lid, all the chess pieces raised their heads together, and then bowed to him in unison. A small note was sandwiched between the king's chess piece and the edge of the wooden box, and Harry pulled it out, seeing that it was written in somewhat stiff floral letters:

"Merry Christmas to you—and, hopefully, Mr. Weasley will forgive me."

Harry sneered and peeked at Ron to see that he was also reading the notes in his box, with a stupid smile on his face.

"Hah, this guy! How can I afford to be angry with him? Oh, look at this shine, it's amazing......"

Seeing Ron's ecstatic appearance, Harry couldn't help but shake his head. That's the great thing about Neil, whenever he gets into trouble, he always thinks of a suitable solution to gag someone's mouth, and even Snape can't seem to help him in this regard. But that's not a bad thing for anyone else, because most of the time, he's willing to offer a very good price, and like this set of chess pieces, which is worth a lot of money at first glance, Harry can't wait to play a game with it.

But until then, there is one last gift to be unpacked.

There was no signature on it, and Harry unwrapped the paper packet, and something like a liquid, silvery-gray suddenly slid to the floor, gathering into a shiny heap.

Ron, who was stroking a crystal knight with a lewd smile, gasped.

"I've heard of this thing." He lowered his voice and said, his eyes fixed on the silver light that seemed to flow on the floor, "If I am right, it is very rare and very precious. ”

"What is it?"

Harry picked up the gleaming silver fabric from the floor. It was weird to the touch, like it had been woven with water.

"An invisibility cloak." Ron said with a look of awe on his face.