Hogwarts: My Grandmother is the Queen

Charles was next to open the gifts.

Henry handed him a small rectangular box carefully wrapped in kraft paper.

"What is this?" Charles took it, weighed it in his hand, and found it to be very light.

"Open it and take a look."

Charles unwrapped the paper, revealing what was inside.

It was a small booklet, no bigger than the palm of your hand, with a line printed on the cover:

The Book That Pretends to Be a Book

How to use: Open.

Charles turned to the title page.

The sign above reads: "You thought this was a book."

He turned to the second page.

It is blank.

Page 3 is blank.

Page four, blank.

He flipped all the way to page one hundred, where a bookmark was tucked inside that read, "Are you still flipping through pages?"

Charles looked up and glanced at Henry, who remained unfazed, as composed as a point of interest.

He continued flipping through the pages, to page two hundred, which was blank.

There's a bookmark on page 300 that reads: "Soon."

Page 350, blank.

Page 399, blank.

Page 400 —

A note.

"Merry Christmas, Father! Guess what I gave you this time?"

Charles was amused and burst into laughter, almost dropping the book in his hand.

"Henry," he said, "did you design this?"

"The Weasley twins designed it," Henry said with a grin. "I'm in charge of delivering the gifts."

Charles closed the book and carefully placed it aside, as if afraid of damaging it.

"Very good," he said. "Very good."

He didn't say anything more, but Henry knew that the book would be placed somewhere on his father's bookshelf, taken out every Christmas to flip through, and to have a laugh.

When it was Diana's turn, the anticipation in her eyes was more evident than anyone else's.

Henry handed her something in a light blue velvet bag—her favorite color—with a thin silver cord tied to the opening.

"What is this?" Diana took it and gently weighed it in her hand; it was quite heavy.

"Open it and take a look," Henry said.

Diana untied the string and took out two A4-sized books from the bag. Both had cat covers, fluffy and cute, one orange and one gray.

"A coloring book?" She blinked, somewhat surprised, but more curious.

Henry pointed to the bottle of golden potion next to him: "And this."

Diana placed the two books on her lap and opened the first one.

On the title page, a line of text was written in a crooked and messy manner:

[Escape Coloring Book]

There's a surprise inside, it's normal if you can't keep up. If you do catch up, you can apply it with saliva—Ginny says that makes the color brighter.

(It is not recommended to actually use saliva.)

Diana raised her eyebrows slightly. She glanced at Henry, who remained calm.

She turned to the first page.

A line drawing of a kitten lifted its head from the paper and glanced at her with its round eyes—

Then, with a "whoosh," it jumped to the second page.

"Oh dear!" Diana exclaimed softly, frantically turning to the second page.

The kitten had already hidden behind a vase pattern, with only the tip of its swaying tail showing.

Diana stared at the severed tail for a moment, and then—

"Ha ha!"

She laughed like a child, reaching out to touch the tail. Just as her fingers touched it, the kitten darted to the third page and hid behind a book.

"Don't run!" Diana flipped to the third page and continued the chase.

Everyone in the living room stopped and stared at her. Charles gently rubbed his forehead with one hand, clearly indicating that he couldn't bear to watch.

Only William and Harry huddled together, nestled beside their mother's knees, and stared wide-eyed at the book that seemed to run away.

"Mom, it's run away again!" William pointed to the fourth page.

"I see it!" Diana turned to the fourth page, where the kitten was hiding behind the sofa, with only one ear showing.

She followed the trail for seven whole pages, and finally "caught" the kitten on the eighth page—behind a potted plant.

"Got it!" She held up the book like it was a trophy, her eyes crinkling into crescent moons with a smile.

The kitten wriggled under her fingertips, then resignedly lay there, waiting to be colored.

Diana looked up at Henry: "This... how do I apply this?"

"Ginny, the youngest Weasley, says that applying it with saliva makes it shinier," Henry says seriously, "but I don't recommend actually using saliva."

Diana looked at the words and laughed so hard her shoulders shook.

She picked up a colored pencil from the coffee table—the one the nanny had given to William and Harry, which was placed nearby—and carefully made a stroke.

The kitten's ears turned pink.

The kitten raised its head, meowed at her, then lay back down and continued waiting for her to apply the ointment.

Diana was stunned, then she laughed even louder.

"It barks! It can bark!"

William and Harry were jumping up and down anxiously, shouting, "Mommy! Let me put it on! Let me put it on!"

Diana handed the pen to William: "You color the tail."

William began to paint diligently. The kitten's tail turned blue, it glanced back, seemed quite satisfied, and then lay back down.

Diana opened the second book, the one with only one line on the title page: "Self-filled version - whatever you draw is what it is."

She picked up a pen and drew a crooked circle on the paper.

No wonder she's Henry's mother; the two of them always draw the same things.

The circle moved slightly, then popped off the page with a "pop," rolled to the corner of the page, and stopped, as if waiting for her to continue.

"Henry," Diana began slowly.

"Um?"

"Will this... stay like this forever?"

“Whatever you draw, that’s what it becomes,” Henry said. “That’s what the Weasley twins say.”

Diana held the self-written copy in her arms as if it were something precious.

"I love this gift," she said softly, but with utmost sincerity.

She turned to Henry, something shimmering in her eyes—not tears, but a light brighter than tears.

"Henry," she said, "this is the best Christmas gift I've ever received."

Henry smiled.

"Even better than a cashmere sweater?"

Diana paused for a moment, then burst into laughter, startling both William and Harry.

"It's so much better than a cashmere sweater!" she exclaimed with a laugh. "Better than a leopard-print rug! Better than anything!"

She stood up, confiscated the book in front of William and Harry, took the two books to the window, and opened the first page in the sunlight.

The kitten darted from the first page to the second page.

Diana chased after her.

"Don't run!"

The kitten darted to the third page.

"I'll catch you!"

Her giggles echoed in the living room, clear and crisp like a little girl's.

"Charlie," Philip turned to Charles, "how old is Diana this year?"

"Thirty...uh..." Charles thought for a moment.

"I think she's only three years old," Elizabeth replied with a smile, showing no displeasure at her daughter-in-law's rudeness.

Charles did not object, and surprisingly felt that this was not so bad after all.

Diana finally caught the kitten on page eight again. Holding the book up, she turned around and waved to Henry.

"Henry! Bring me this again next year!"

"Okay," Henry said.

"Bring something different!"

"it is good."

"We need to make them even faster runners!"

"it is good."

Diana nodded in satisfaction and turned back to continue painting the kitten.

After coloring the kitten, she flipped to the fill-in-the-blank book and drew a flower.

The flower bounced off the paper with a "pop," swayed its petals, and then fell back down.

She drew another star, and the star twinkled.

She drew a scribbled little dog that rolled around on the paper and wagged its tail at her.

Diana looked up at the sunlight streaming through the window, at her family in the living room, and at the two animated coloring books that seemed to move, run, and make sounds. Suddenly, she felt—

This is the Christmas she wanted.

(Delivered at 4 PM, please vote with monthly tickets)

(Princess Diana and Mr. Bean)

(Diana, who was caught sleeping)