The Thestral Carriage sped through the clouds, slowing down only by evening, finally returning to the ground.
Kael stepped out of the carriage, curiously surveying his surroundings.
Devonshire… Kael was not unfamiliar with it.
Because Ottery St Catchpole is in Devon, but he had no impression of this place before him.
This was far from Ottery St Catchpole, nearly at the edge of Devon, and Kael could even hear the sound of distant waves.
"Sir, welcome." A sharp and familiar voice said.
Kael instinctively looked down; it was a house-elf, wearing a floral shirt and goggles on its forehead.
"Tata? What's with this look?"
Tata was Nicolas Flamel's house-elf, but unlike other house-elves, it didn't reject clothing; in fact, the new clothes Nicolas Flamel gave it filled an entire wardrobe.
But the floral shirt, goggles paired with leather shoes made for an outfit Kael couldn't quite understand, not to mention the buttons were done up incorrectly, leaving the shirt uneven.
Yet, when he was in Paris, Tata's attire seemed quite normal…
"The master said I should try some different combinations." Tata tugged at the floral shirt, "What does sir think?"
"Hmm… very novel." Kael gave a thumbs up, "You'd definitely stand out as the most noticeable in a crowd of over ninety percent of wizards."
Tata was pleased and tugged at his clothes again, but he didn't forget the matter at hand.
"Sir, please follow me."
Tata bowed slightly and then walked in a direction.
Kael led the Thestral Carriage and followed behind him, walking barely more than a dozen steps before the scene before him changed abruptly.
What had been a gravel-covered space now inexplicably had a grand estate.
Beneath his feet was smooth grass and all sorts of beautiful plants he couldn't name.
In front of the estate's gate, stood two lifelike Fire Dragon Statues, so realistic they appeared as though alive.
The Thestrals refused to go any further, no matter what Kael said.
"It's alright, Sir, it's very safe here, and Tata will take good care of them."
"Alright then." Kael thought for a moment and simply unfastened the Thestrals' reins, letting them roam freely nearby.
"There's food in the carriage, and I'll bring more later."
One of the Thestrals snorted, nudging Kael's arm.
Then Kael followed Tata into the estate.
It was even larger inside than it looked from outside, almost as big as Hogwarts.
A watering can with little legs walked past them, shaking its head and evenly watering the plants on both sides.
"Hey, careful there, we have guests." Tata said disapprovingly.
The watering can stopped suddenly, its long spout bending slightly, as if apologizing…
A watering can apologizing?
Kael felt as if hundreds of Moonstruck Beasts were racing through his mind… Truly a Merlin sight!
But considering the owner of this place, everything somehow made sense again.
"Don't mind it, that clumsy thing." Tata continued walking ahead.
Along the way, Kael also saw scissors trimming dead branches, a fountain that actively bathed little birds, and a refrigerator being chased around by a Kneazle.
Kael felt he should apologize to Mr. Weasley… Here at Nicolas's, they really did have a running refrigerator, and it threw out ice cubes as it ran, trying to scare off the Kneazle.
Tsk, it sure was lively.
Kael followed Tata up some stairs, and there stood Nicolas Flamel, smiling with a similarly white-haired witch by his side.
That was his wife, Perenelle, who was also over six hundred years old.
"Long time no see, child." Nicolas warmly patted Kael's shoulder…
"Crack…"
Hearing the crisp sound by his ear, Kael almost thought he was caught in a scam.
"Be careful, that's the third time this year." Perenelle gently tapped his wrist.
"I will." Nicolas replied with a smile, before leading Kael into the room.
To Kael's surprise, the large room contained only the three of them.
He initially expected to see some familiar faces, like McPhail or that Beauxbatons Headmaster Maxime who wanted to poach him that he met in Paris before…
"Don't find it strange." Nicolas seemed to notice his confusion, "Some friends wanted to come celebrate Christmas together earlier, but I found it unnecessary.
"To me, those so-called holidays are no different from ordinary days."
Having lived for over six centuries, Nicolas had seen too much, so no day was special to him, they were all the same.
The old man walked slowly forward, with Kael following him into a spacious room.
The chair that was originally in the corner immediately moved to the table, and the teapot on the table poured a hot cup of tea on its own.
"Incidentally, I was about to invite you here a few days ago when I received the letter you sent through Albus."
Nicolas sat in the armchair, smiling, "I must say, you really gave me quite a challenge…"
"What?" Kael asked, puzzled.
"This…" Nicolas handed a golden pocket watch with five hands to Kael, "Last year, Albus came here and asked me, no matter what, to fix it.
"The last time he was this anxious was a hundred years ago when he came to borrow the Philosopher's Stone from me."
"This is Slytherin's Time Turner?" Kael cautiously took the pocket watch, his face showing an expression of surprise.
When he saw it last year, this Time Turner was like it was made of sand, crumbling at the slightest touch, but now it was intact, enduring any handling.
"Did you fix it?" Kael asked, amazed.
Truly, Nicolas Flamel could restore even shattered antiques like this.
"No, I didn't."
Nicolas shook his head, "I only repaired its outer shell, but its most important Magic Text Talisman is already destroyed. It's a product from a thousand years ago, vastly different from modern talismans. I could only find very little information, making restoration incredibly difficult."
Though Nicolas complained verbally, he spoke with a smile, clearly enjoying the challenge.
"You're not inviting me here for that, are you?" Kael returned the Time Turner to him.
"Correct, I need your help." Nicolas said, "I want to know what you experienced during the time reversal, especially the beginning and end process, as detailed as possible.
"It will help me deduce the structure of those talismans."
"No problem." Kael nodded.
...