The Christmas holiday wasn't very long.
It was already the day before the new semester started. Many little wizards who had returned home were back at school, and the Hogwarts train was more punctual than most trains in the United Kingdom.
After the nourishment of the Christmas holidays, the eyes of many failing students were filled with light again, happily sharing holiday tales with friends, and the previously somewhat desolate school instantly became lively.
Of course.
There were also little wizards still reminiscing about the holiday, feeling that time passed too quickly, like the Gryffindor twins who regretted not having enough time to prank their little brother.
Perhaps for many little wizards at Hogwarts, the holiday flew by, but the two weeks that passed for them amounted to nearly two months of outrageous length for Ian.
He indeed was stuck in a time loop for a long time, and when he saw his two good roommates, Ian realized they were now a little shorter than him.
"How did you suddenly grow so tall?" Michael said, carrying bags as he walked into the dormitory, feeling very surprised by Ian standing up to greet him.
William was also quite amazed, standing beside Ian, using an exaggerated gesture to compare their heights, as he was always quite skilled in providing emotional value.
In reality, Ian was only slightly taller than him by a hair's width. Of course, for them, Ian seemed to have grown several centimeters taller in just two weeks.
"No, I've always been this tall," Ian suppressed the urge to tiptoe, showing a look of indifference and feigned confusion.
"No! That's definitely not the case!" Michael took out a photo of the three of them from when they first enrolled, where Ian, in the middle, was noticeably shorter than the two of them.
With the evidence laid out, Ian could only change his story immediately, "It's definitely because I was studying during the holiday, and the weight of knowledge stacked up my height."
Such a fallacious explanation might not even be believed by Gryffindor's brash ones, let alone by little wizards like William and Michael from Ravenclaw College.
"You must have secretly brewed yourself a growing potion; my mom's Spanish wild boar didn't grow as fast as you. She even fed the wild boar plenty of growth feed commonly used by Muggles."
Michael confidently stated his guess.
His metaphor was, as always, abstract.
"…"
Ian was suddenly left speechless.
William, however, didn't voice any doubts; this green-haired boy simply moved closer to Ian, looking at him with a pitiful expression.
"Could you give me some of the growing potion as well?"
His eyes were filled with longing for height.
"I don't have any."
Ian shrugged helplessly.
"Don't be selfish, please give me some of the growing potion too, I'm begging you, alright?" William, maybe stimulated by Ian's considerable growth.
He clearly didn't care about height before the holiday.
"Here."
Left with no options, Ian thought about it, and handed over a bottle of leftover potion. William, being bold, took it and poured it down his throat directly.
"The taste is kind of weird."
As soon as he finished speaking.
William began to rapidly grow in front of Ian and Michael, visibly stretching out his loose robe, hurriedly removing his clothes to avoid damaging them.
The changes in height and appearance were very apparent. William seemed to have been cast with time acceleration magic, his body shot up rapidly, and his previously slightly short stature now approached adult height. His muscles began to define, still carrying a hint of youthful freshness but now showing signs of strength.
His facial features became much more pronounced.
"My God! What kind of magic potion is this! The effect is so obvious!" Michael looked up in disbelief at William, who had grown to about 175 centimeters.
"Aging Potion."
Ian looked down at the potion bottle William had thrown on the ground.
"So it was an Aging Potion... I thought it was some potion that could have permanent effects," Michael looked slightly disappointed, clearly aware of the effects and limitations of the Aging Potion.
"Oh no!"
Michael didn't seem to care what he drank, he ran to the washroom, checked himself in the mirror, and came out with a face full of deflation.
"Too short?"
Ian blinked.
"??????"
William was in a daze.
"Then it's too thin."
Ian made another guess, prompting Michael to burst out laughing, realizing what Ian was referring to, while William's expression became even more dejected.
"It's that my height is too short."
William sighed heavily, leaving Ian somewhat confused. Meanwhile, having thought of something, Michael immediately explained William's odd behavior to Ian.
"He told me on the train that a beautiful older sister had just moved next door to his house, standing at a lofty 178 centimeters with impossibly long legs."
With Michael's explanation, Ian suddenly understood why William was now concerned about his height—it was because of youthful yearning and the adolescent fantasy about the girl next door.
"It's alright."
Ian knew it was time to put his comforting skills into practice.