Chapter 738: Christmas Gifts
Chapter 738: Christmas Gifts
"Severus Snape?" Nico repeated softly, but the name drew no recollection from his memory.
Among the witches and wizards he knew who were associated with potions and still alive, there was only one—Pegasus Sasha, and the last time he had seen her was sixty, or perhaps seventy years ago... It had been too long, and he couldn't quite remember.
"The professor of Dark Arts Defense at Hogwarts," Kyle reminded him from the side.
"Ah?"
This was the second time Nico was surprised, and he couldn't help but ask, "Has Hogwarts' standard gotten so high now?"
A professor of Dark Arts Defense had actually brewed the most complex potion currently known, and the professors at Hogwarts were so multi-talented?
Wasn't this a bit too much? How could other schools even compete?
"No, no... You've got it wrong," Connor quickly explained. "Professor Snape has always been in charge of Potions. He only took up the post of teaching Dark Arts Defense this year."
Hearing Connor's explanation, Nico nodded in realization.
If that was the case, it was much easier to accept.
"It seems he really cares about you," Nico said to Connor. "By the way, he probably used the Nirvana Ash left by Fox, didn't he?"
"Sorry, I don't know," Connor turned to look at Kyle.
"Yes," Kyle immediately replied. "I remember Professor Dumbledore mentioning before that when Fox underwent Nirvana, Professor Snape took away a portion of the ashes."
"No wonder," Nico nodded.
At this moment, he also vaguely remembered that two years ago when he went to Hogwarts, Dumbledore had mentioned the name Severus, saying that a portion of the ashes had already been used by him.
However, at the time, Dumbledore only mentioned this much and did not elaborate on what Severus taught. Moreover, with his attention fully focused on the portion of ashes in Kyle's hands, he didn't pay much attention to it.
Now, everything made sense.
The half of the ashes taken away by Severus Snape back then must have been used to brew the Phoenix potion in front of him.
"It's truly marvelous..." Nico murmured, then turned to glance at Kyle, a smirk tugging at his lips.
"Tsk..."
Wizards just couldn't help but make comparisons.
To be honest, there weren't many things that could pique Nico's interest nowadays, but surprisingly, Connor, whom he was meeting for the first time, had brought a gift that suited his fancy so well.
And then there was Kyle, who always found something for him to do every time they met, and it was always the kind of request he couldn't refuse. His workload in the past two years had exceeded that of the previous thirty years.
More importantly, Kyle always had his eyes on his opera house.
The contrast between the two was immediately apparent.
"I didn't say anything wrong, though," Kyle mumbled. "He is the professor of Dark Arts Defense now."
"I'm not talking about that." Nico stretched out his hand. "Come on, take it out."
"Take what out?" Kyle was momentarily taken aback.
"The gift, of course." Nico said with justification. "You came to visit me, a senior wizard of over six hundred years, and you didn't bring a Christmas gift?"
Kyle's mouth hung open, and he was at a loss for words.
What was going on? Why was Nico suddenly concerned about this?
Although he had also prepared a gift, compared to the Phoenix potion that Connor could revive, his gift of an opera poster that could play music seemed rather paltry.
"How about..." Kyle thought for a moment and placed the golden cup on the table. "I'll give you this instead?"
"No." Nico refused without hesitation.
"But this is Hufflepuff's golden cup." Kyle couldn't help but point out. "You said before that it's an irresistible temptation for all alchemists."
"That was true ten minutes ago, but things are different now."
Nico calmly took out the potion and swirled it gently. "With this, I can replicate it anytime I want. So, to me, it's just a lump of gold."
"Gold is the last thing I need."
The most distinctive feature of the golden cup was its stability. Even after being tainted by a fragment of Voldemort's soul, it remained intact.
And in alchemy, the Phoenix potion happened to be the best stabilizing agent, so Nico wasn't exaggerating.
"But it's Hufflepuff's cup... It holds a different significance," Kyle tried to emphasize its alternative value.
"Only to you." Nico still didn't care. "I graduated from Beauxbatons. I have no particular attachment to the Big Four houses of Hogwarts."
Kyle fell silent.
What had they just said?
'Hufflepuff's... Golden Cup?'
Was it the one from Hogwarts?
As a student of Hogwarts, she was well aware of what this cup signified.
Just like Gryffindor's sword and Ravenclaw's diadem, the Golden Cup was the most prized treasure in the eyes of every Hufflepuff student.
Yet here, it was being rejected? Even Kyle, who was also a Hufflepuff, seemed indifferent.
Connor looked again at the cup, shimmering with golden light, on the table.
Indeed, its size and shape were identical to the one in Helga Hufflepuff's portrait in the common room.
"Never mind them," PereNAL said, patting Connor's hand. "What they say and what they think are completely different things."
There were some things Connor didn't understand, but she knew one thing for sure.
Nico wasn't dissatisfied with the Golden Cup; he was merely teasing Kyle.
And the reason for that was simple. It was likely because, not long ago, Kyle had been so engrossed in researching these two items that he had forgotten the time and missed an important opera performance.
Nico had been annoyed about it for several days afterward.
It had been his own fault for forgetting, and it hadn't been Kyle's doing, but now he had the perfect opportunity to bring it up.
However, Connor, who knew the truth, didn't intend to stop him. She merely watched with a smile as Nico put Kyle in a difficult position, as if she were observing an intriguing play.
Of course, Kyle himself had no idea about any of this. Feeling Nico's gaze on him, he scratched his hair, looking a bit perplexed.
He never expected Nico to even reject the Hufflepuff Golden Cup. Since when did Christmas gifts become something one could be picky about?
And it wasn't just any cup; it was the Golden Cup, yet Nico was treating it like a lump of ordinary gold.
Something wasn't right... Kyle's eyes darted about suspiciously.
But this turn of events was actually preferable, as he hadn't wanted to part with the Golden Cup in the first place. Offering it earlier had merely been a polite gesture.
If Nico didn't feel comfortable accepting it, then that was fine with him.
However, he hadn't anticipated that Nico wouldn't feel embarrassed about the situation at all; instead, he seemed to look down on the Golden Cup.
While the outcome was similar, the implications were vastly different.
"You're not just being polite, are you?" Nico seemed to see through Kyle's thoughts, narrowing his eyes.
"Of course not!" Kyle forced a laugh. "I was just joking around to liven up the atmosphere. Actually, I already prepared a gift beforehand."
"Then bring it out quickly." Nico extended his hand once more, his interest piqued as he watched Kyle.
He had already made up his mind that whatever Kyle produced next would meet the same fate as the Golden Cup.
Nico didn't believe that Kyle could produce another unique Horcrux, such as Gryffindor's sword.
And even if he did, Nico didn't think he would be interested.
Among the items left behind by the four founders, according to legend, only Gryffindor's sword wasn't a traditional alchemical artifact but a weapon forged by fairies.
In Nico's opinion, such an item was even less appealing than a lump of gold.
Indeed, his prediction proved correct. Kyle no longer had any Horcruxes in his possession, but he did have something else.
Under Nico's watchful gaze, Kyle quickly put the Golden Cup away and took out a delicate silver canister.
"I got this from Professor Dumbledore," Kyle said solemnly. "You have no idea—he didn't speak to me for over half a month because of this."
"Oh?" Nico raised an eyebrow.
He didn't doubt Kyle's words.
When Kyle had taken out the canister earlier, he had immediately recognized it as something belonging to Dumbledore.
Each alchemist had their own unique habits and characteristics, and the alchemical items they created bore distinct imprints of their creators.
Even if two alchemists created the same object, there would be subtle differences in the details, serving as their signatures, akin to a byline on an article.
And this silver canister bore the unmistakable mark of Albus Dumbledore.
There was one more piece to the puzzle.
A few days ago, when he had seen Dumbledore, the older wizard had indeed seemed rather glum. At the time, Nico hadn't thought much of it, chalking it up to the matter with Voldemort.
But now, in hindsight, his expression had seemed more like that of someone pouting after having something taken away from them.
"What is it?" Kyle asked.
"You said you specially took this from Albus as a Christmas gift for me, right?"
"Yes." Kyle nodded repeatedly, "It took a lot of effort."
"That's strange." Nico picked up the canister and examined it, "According to what you said, this happened at least half a month ago, but I only decided to invite you over yesterday. The timing doesn't quite match up."
"Ah, that..." Kyle stammered, "I saw it during Divination class... I must have a talent for prophecy."
"That's even stranger." Nico said, "I'm not trying to deny your talent.
"But Kyle, do you remember the crystal ball we saw in the room earlier? That's also an alchemical item meant to reveal any prophecies concerning me.
"If I'm not mistaken, it hasn't lit up in five years."
Nico stared intently at Kyle, as did PereNAL and Connor, especially Connor, who was seeing for the first time someone who could make Kyle so flustered.
...It was quite intriguing.
"I, I misspoke." Kyle quickly backtracked in the face of Nico's questioning, "Actually, I saw that I would be traveling far during Christmas and guessed that I would come here."
"Oh, that makes sense." Nico looked relieved, "I thought the crystal ball was broken, and it's not easy to fix that."
"Oh, and thank you for the gift, I like it very much." Nico picked up the canister from the table and handed it to the house-elf Tata, who was standing nearby, instructing him to take it away and keep it carefully.
He looked as if he was afraid that Kyle would change his mind.
Kyle noticed this as well, but what could he do... In the face of a thick-skinned, six-hundred-year-old wizard, he was powerless.
Tata was very skilled, and the sumptuous dinner he prepared was no less than the feasts at Hogwarts, and there were even dishes from other countries, a variety of flavors.
The other three enjoyed their meal very much, except for Kyle, who felt like he was chewing on dry bread.
But Kyle never expected that this was just the beginning, and what came next was even more disheartening.
After dinner, PereNAL took Connor to tour the mansion, which had many magical features... a ceiling that changed weather, an opera room that brought one into the performance, and alchemical items everywhere...
These were things one wouldn't find elsewhere.
Even Connor, who wanted to find a quiet place to finish her book, was drawn to these wonders and followed PereNAL.
"Do you like operas? Or concerts?"
"Rarely." Connor replied, her voice still a bit tense. "Does radio count? I often listen to the Weird Sisters' broadcasts."
"Radio is fine, it's very student-like. I remember watching a Christmas musical held by the Wombles ten years ago, and the sales of radios tripled at that time... Come with me, dear, I'll show you the live version."
The two soon disappeared up the stairs.
Meanwhile, Nico was eager to experiment with the Phoenix potion and headed back to the laboratory.
In the blink of an eye, Kyle was left alone, oh no, with the exception of the house-elf Tata.
"Mr. Kyle, may I clean up if you are finished dining?" Tata asked, holding a cloth and looking up at Kyle.
Kyle stood up subconsciously and moved to the side.
"Thank you, sir." Tata said, and he patted the table. The dining table immediately came to life, its legs scurrying away with the chairs into a corridor that suddenly appeared on the left, then disappeared from view.
Tata quickly wiped the floor and followed suit, after which the corridor vanished.
Throughout this process, Kyle watched from the sidelines.
He knew that the corridor led to the kitchen, but he had never been there, and Tata didn't give him the opportunity.
Just as he was thinking of killing time by exploring the kitchen, the corridor disappeared.
Now, he was truly alone, left to his own devices as if he had been forgotten in the first place.
(End of Chapter)
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