When Orli and Hermione arrived at the common room, everyone was already up. On Christmas morning, no one liked to stay in bed; the excitement of opening presents was enough to wake everyone up early.
Harry was fiddling with the miniature Quidditch player Orli had given him. It sat on a tiny broomstick and buzzed around his head in circles.
Ron was crouched near the sofa, rummaging for a wizard chess piece he had misplaced the previous night.
Fred and George were lounging in armchairs, exchanging conspiratorial winks as if they were plotting something mischievous.
"Happy Christmas, Harry, Ron," Orli greeted her friends warmly, then turned to the twins with a mock glare. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a crumbly cookie.
"This is your Christmas gift to me?" she asked, holding it up accusingly.
"Oh, Happy Christmas, Orli," Fred replied, his face barely concealing his amusement.
"Why didn't you eat it?" George asked, his eyes sparkling with anticipation.
Orli studied their identical smirking faces, then glanced at the cookie in her hand. A sudden realization struck her—could it be? Had they already invented it? Was this one of those infamous Canary Creams...?
Before she could follow that train of thought, Ron's stomach let out a loud growl.
"Don't want it? I'll eat it then. Got up too early and I'm starving," Ron said, snatching the unimpressive cookie from her hand and popping it into his mouth without a second thought.
The twins exchanged glances, their expressions a mix of excitement and suspense, as they kept their eyes locked on their younger brother.
"Just a plain custard biscuit, nothing special," Ron said, crumbs flying from his mouth. "Your Christmas gifts are pathetic. If I tell Mum—"
He didn't get to finish. With a loud "POOF!" Ron suddenly puffed up like a balloon, his entire body sprouting golden feathers. His arms transformed into wing-like appendages, and only his eyes, nose, and mouth remained unchanged.
Fred and George erupted into laughter, high-fiving each other in triumph. Orli stepped closer, running her fingers over Ron's feathers in fascination. Even Harry and Hermione couldn't suppress their laughter.
"What in Merlin's name is this?!" Ron squawked, staring down at his feathery, rotund form in panic.
"Canary Creams. Seven Sickles a piece," Fred announced with a grin, circling Ron like a proud inventor. "The first one's on the house. Holiday special—get them at a discount during Christmas!"
"I'll take five," Harry said eagerly, fishing out some coins and handing them to George. "Did you really invent these yourselves?"
"Of course," George replied, passing Harry a small bag of cookies. "This is the result of our term's hard work. The first batch effects last about a minute, but we're working on making them even better."
"These look amazing," Orli said, pulling out her own coins. "I'll take ten."
"No need to pay," Fred said, gently pushing her hand away and pulling out a bag of cookies along with a jar of multicolored jellybeans from his robe pocket. "Take as many as you like."
"What about me? Can I have some?" Ron, now back to his human form, reached out for a jellybean, only to have George slap his hand away.
"Absolutely not. Pay up, little brother," George said with mock sternness.
"Why does Orli get them for free? I'm your actual brother!" Ron protested, staring longingly at the colorful candies.
"Because Orli is our shareholder. She owns a third of our business," Fred explained with a grin, ruffling Orli's hair affectionately. "This is the real Christmas surprise! We're officially launching this Christmas, and by next Christmas, you'll be seeing dividends."
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