Gift
On a side street in Diagon Alley, Tom stopped by the Carkitt Market. He was away from Hogwarts for a bit, having just finished buying some items for his personal research that he had to hand-select. Normally, students aren't allowed to travel outside of the holidays, but for him, that was no issue.
He observed the merchandise on display in the storefront windows of several establishments. Not because he is interested, but with Christmas approaching, he needs to prepare presents to keep up with "friends".
One of the many tiny, animated carvings in the store window caught his attention as he passed by. The carvings were mostly as creatures, both non-magical and magical. The sight of the snowy owl, which was perched on a shelf, brought back memories of that day.
Tom hesitated for a while as he looked at the little snowy owl that was preening its feathers. Finally, he made a decision.
Now there was no one in front of the window.
"...how much is this?"
Harry had just woken up and felt a fluffy touch on his face. He habitually took the cat away and touched the smooth fur with his hand, and Bramble made a comfortable purring sound.
Bramble is a brown cat. Harry's parents bought Bramble from a store. According to the vendor, he is a mixed breed cat of a Siberian cat and a Kneazle.
When he saw Bramble's being affectionate, he recalled what his parents had said: when he was a year old, he nearly "killed" the kitten with a toy broomstick. The kitten is now a huge ball of fluff. It's a miracle, in retrospect, that Bramble came to like Harry so much.
Harry put aside these thoughts. Since it is already Christmas morning, there are more important things to do.
Near the Christmas tree, Harry is about to unwrap the final gift, which was wrapped in green paper and tied with a silver ribbon.
When he unwrapped the gift, he found a small snowy owl in a miniature owl cage. He opened the cage, and the owl flew out and rested on his finger. With his other hand, he caressed it, and it softly nibbled his finger.
He couldn't help but be impressed by the elaborate magical carving, and he temporarily returned the little owl to its cage. When he tried to figure out who it was from, he only found a card that said, "Dear Harry, Merry Christmas to you." They signed it TR, but he couldn't think of anyone he knew with those initials.
Harry did like the gift, although he didn't know who gave it to him.He brought the owl and its cage to Hedwig's side.
"Hedwig, you've got company."
Hedwig gave the little owl a look and pecked at the cage in anger, and Harry had to reassure her that no owl could replace her.
Harry opened the cage, and the owl flew out and stopped next to Hedwig, and now they both looked at Harry with their heads cocked.
"Harry, it's time for breakfast..." Lily came over at this point and smile at the sight. "Looks like we have a new member."