In Nicolas' private library, as usual, Kael sat quietly at the table, flipping through a book on alchemy.
The house-elf Tata stood silently beside him, timely presenting a freshly made lemonade when Kael finished the last page.
"Thank you."
Kael drank the lemonade and finally sighed in contentment.
It's been a month since he came here, and during this time, he practically lived in this library, sometimes even having his meals delivered by Tata.
Although Nicolas Flamel didn't teach him any alchemy knowledge directly, he recommended several books suitable for beginners, which greatly benefited Kael, leading to a substantial leap in his alchemy skills.
This visible progress left Kael extraordinarily satisfied.
Unfortunately, today is the day of departure.
Reluctantly, Kael handed the book in his hand to Tata and walked out of the library alone.
In the hall, Nicolas Flamel continued to enjoy a remembered opera performance.
When Kael approached, the orchestra had just finished the last note.
"I was just wondering when you'd come out."
Nicolas stored away his memories, slowly rising from his beach chair, "Perenelle has urged several times already; we must return."
Perenelle is Nicolas' wife; she prefers staying in Devon caring for the garden plants, so she didn't accompany him to Paris this time.
"Are we departing now?" Kael asked.
"No rush," Nicolas said with a smile, "Before that, I need to check whether you've been slacking."
"Alright then... Professor Nicolas."
Kael pulled a folded parchment from his pocket, spreading it before Nicolas.
The parchment detailed every room here, with Kael's name at the hall's location.
"Is this a map?" Nicolas asked with interest.
"Yes," Kael replied, "The original map was drawn by Tata. I studied the trajectory magic of the Summoning Charm and some other interesting things, and eventually created this."
Kael took out his wand, tapped it on the map, and softly uttered:
"Library!"
On the parchment, a clear dashed line appeared between Kael's name and the library.
Nicolas' gaze flickered; he didn't speak but lightly moved his fingers.
Instantly, the hall seemed to come alive, with the corridor behind Kael slowly closing, soon merging into a wall.
Not only that, but even other places like doors and windows vanished; the hall suddenly became an enclosed space without any exits.
Nicolas looked at the parchment again.
The room locations on the map changed as well, but strangely, the dashed line connecting Kael to the library remained, just changed direction.
The dashed line turned at the original corridor position and merged into the wall on the left.
"Seems like your work failed."
Nicolas looked up at Kael, pointing to the direction of the dashed line with a smile, "There's no exit there."
"Not necessarily, Nicolas." Kael also smiled.
He followed the map to the wall, then took a deep breath and walked straight into it.
Nothing happened, just like Platform 9¾, Kael passed through the wall and arrived at that familiar corridor.
Then, Nicolas followed, coming out as well.
"Allow me to retract my earlier comment," he said with a smile, "Excellent work; you didn't slack off."
"Can we go back now?"
"Indeed," Nicolas said, taking out one blue and one red crystal fragment, "These are portkeys; they can be used by channeling magic power into them through alchemy."
Kael stared intently at the blue crystal that was identical to a Magic Stone Fragment, opened his mouth, but in the end, didn't ask anything.
Nicolas continued, "The red one can send you home, while the blue one can bring you back to the library when needed one day."
"Return here?" Kael instinctively raised his head.
"Yes," Nicolas said, "I suppose you wondered why I invited you here."
Kael was silent for a moment, then gently nodded.
Initially, he thought it was due to the Merlin Order Medal, but if that's all, it shouldn't have warranted such a long stay.
Especially ten days ago, when during a meal, Nicolas' wife Perenelle started urging him to go back.
Kael was prepared to return home then, but unexpectedly, Nicolas made an excuse to watch an opera, refusing.
However, these days he never went out.
"Because I knew you'd come here, I saw it two months ago," Nicolas said.
Two months ago... Hogwarts hadn't closed yet at that time.
Kael pondered, "A prophecy?"
"Strictly speaking, no, but you can understand it that way," Nicolas said with a wink, "Want to know what I saw?"
"No!" Kael immediately shook his head.
Prophecies in the Magic Realm are peculiar; if unknown, there might be a chance to change the outcome, but once known, it will definitely occur someday.
"No need to be so tense."
Nicolas waved his finger, restoring the room to its original state.
"Actually, I only saw you coming here twice, nothing else.
But a voice in my mind told me you need that knowledge, and I should help you."
Hearing Nicolas Flamel say this, Kael's expression relaxed significantly.
As long as it's not about finding Nicolas Flamel, it shouldn't be anything major.
The last time he intervened was for...? Oh yes, saving Paris.
They returned to the hall together.
"Well then, there's one last matter..."
Nicolas pointed to a box on the table nearby,
"Although it's a few days late, happy birthday, child."
Kael suddenly remembered today is August 5th, five days past his birthday.
"Thank you, Nicolas, what's this?"
"Didn't you mention wanting a box to preserve magic items before?" Nicolas said, "I made it for you while listening to the opera."
Kael picked up the box and examined it closely.
The box felt heavy, its surface was dark gold, with several golden symbols near the opening... Kael quickly recognized them as symbols for preserving magic power.
"Fantastic, I need this," Kael said happily.
"Glad you like it."
…