, Hermione, and Amelia, who were wrapped in cloaks and scarves, then turned up the marble staircase alone, and headed back toward Gryffindor Tower. Snow had started to fall outside the windows, and the castle was very still and quiet. 

"Psst -- Harry!"

 He turned, halfway along the third-floor corridor, to see Fred and George peering out at him from behind a statue of a humpbacked, one-eyed witch. 

"What are you doing?" said Harry curiously. "How come you're not going to Hogsmeade?"

 "We've come to give you a bit of festive cheer before we go," said Fred, with a mysterious wink. "Come in here...." 

He nodded toward an empty classroom to the left of the one-eyed statue. Harry followed Fred and George inside. George closed the door quietly and then turned, beaming, to look at Harry

. "Early Christmas present for you, Harry," he said. 

Fred pulled something from inside his cloak with a flourish and laid it on one of the desks. It was a large, square, very worn piece of parchment with nothing written on it. Harry, suspecting one of Fred and George's jokes, stared at it. 

"What's that supposed to be?"

 "This, Harry, is the secret of our success," said George, patting the parchment fondly. "It's a wrench, giving it to you," said Fred, "but we decided last night, your need's greater than ours."

 "Anyway, we know it by heart," said George. "We bequeath it to you. We don't really need it anymore." 

"And what do I need with a bit of old parchment?" said Harry.