It can wait, its Christmas After All!

You wake up early on Christmas and rub the sleep from your eyes. You had set up some token decorations in the Common room with Rupert yesterday. He had been excited and enthusiastic, but your Christmases had never been particularly festive. Together you and Rupert had set aside your chess-based rivalry, and decorated the Common Room for the Yule. You had hung Holly and Juniper from the arches of the main hall, and called it an early night.

However, the room is different this morning than it was last night. When you get the last bits of sleep out of your eyes you see a modest stack of presents at the foot of your bed. Smiling you climb out of your bed and examine the stack critically. You see a few more than you had any reason to expect.

Grabbing the top package you tear at the paper, and see a well-bound tome. There is no title along the binding. Inside the front cover is a small piece of parchment. It was a note from Kingsley.

Merry Christmas Marvolo!

I hope you are enjoying your first year of school. I'm glad you've kept in touch. I figured this would be a great gift for you: It is a Reference Book. This book will store anything that you could seek to write in it, but will always open to the page you want. I hope you will use it as a journal for yourself, but it is also very useful for taking school notes, it will always open to a blank page, but when you turn the page it will turn to where you need it to turn.

Best Wishes

Kingsley Shacklebolt

PS- I have received your Owl regarding the other matter, and I will look into your options, however the Ministry, as a policy would rather you return to your family's residence.

Smiling you try the book out. On the inside jacket is a small label saying "This book is the property of _____." Opposite of the ownership page is a short series of instructions, similar to what Kingsley put in his letter.

Grabbing a quill and ink from your nightstand, you carefully pen out 'Marvolo Gaunt' and tap it twice with your wand. You see the instructions fade into the page of the book. Scrambling back over to your nightstand you pull out your notes from the investigation and copy them into the Reference Book. You then close the book and open it, finding only a blank page. You then try to open the book looking for "secrets." When you open to a blank page you find yourself smiling again.

"Now this, this could be useful," you say laughing to yourself. You set the book aside and toss the notes into the dorm's fireplace. At least you don't have to guard these notes anymore.

You go through the rest of the presents. Ezra gave you a box of Bertie Botts Every Flavor Jellybeans, and about ten chocolate frogs. Munching on your first frog you move onto a small box from Raj. Inside is a small bracelet with a polished piece of lamellar on it. The lamellar has the house crest carefully painted on its blue face. Raj included a note saying that his Mother made jewelry, and that he knew you didn't have much in the way of House Pride accessories. Finally, Jennifer's gift is a set of muggle books, unfamiliar names like Christie and Conan-Doyle stare out at you from the spines of the books.

There's only one present left. Wrapped in Green and Silver wrapping paper with black ribbon, the present has the telltale sign of a gift from your family. Swallowing, you realize that you really could use a bite to eat. What time was it? Oh that late??