"Severus Snape?" Nico repeated quietly, but could not find the name in his memory.

Among the people he knew, the only wizard who was related to potions and still alive was Pegasus Sasia, and the last time he saw her was sixty years ago... or maybe seventy years. It was so long that he could not remember clearly.

"That's the professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts." Kyle reminded from the side.

"ah?"

This was the second time Nico was surprised and couldn't help asking, "Is the threshold for admission to Hogwarts so high now?"

A professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts actually brewed the most complicated potion to date. Are all professors at Hogwarts so versatile? Isn't this a bit too much? How can other schools survive?

"No, no...you misunderstood." Connor quickly explained: "Professor Snape has always been in charge of the Potions class, but he only became the professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts this year."

After hearing what Kanna said, Nico nodded in understanding.

If that were the case, it would be much easier to accept.

"It seems like he really cares about you." Nico said to Kanna: "By the way, he should also be using the Nirvana ashes left by Fox."

"Sorry, I don't know." Connor turned to look at Kyle.

"Yes." Kyle said immediately, "I remember Professor Dumbledore said before that when Fawkes was reborn, part of his ashes were taken away by Professor Snape."

"No wonder." Nico nodded.

At this time, he vaguely remembered that when he went to Hogwarts two years ago, Dumbledore also mentioned the name Severus and said that part of the ashes had been used by him.

However, Dumbledore only said these things at the time and did not mention what Severus taught. In addition, his attention was on the ashes in Kyle's hand at the time, so he did not care about these things.

Now everything is clear.

The half of the ashes that was taken away by Severus Snape at that time was brewed by him into the Phoenix Potion in front of us.

"It's amazing..." Nico said in a low voice, then he turned his head to look at Kyle with a smile on his face.

“Tsk…”

The Wizard just can't stand comparison.

To be honest, there aren't many things that can interest Nico nowadays, but Kanna, whom he met for the first time, happened to bring him such a satisfying gift.

Look at Kyle again. Every time they meet, he will find something for him to do, and it’s the kind that he can’t refuse. He has worked more in the past two years than in the previous thirty years.

And more importantly, Kyle always had his eyes on his opera house.

With such a comparison, the gap is immediately apparent.

"No, I wasn't wrong either." Kyle muttered, "He is indeed the professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts now."

"That's not what I meant." Nico held out his hand. "Hurry up and take it out."

"What?" Kyle was a little unresponsive for a moment.

"Gifts." Nico said confidently, "You came to visit me, a man over 600 years old, so why didn't you bring any Christmas gifts?"

Kyle opened his mouth and his whole body went numb.

What is going on? Why does Nico suddenly care about this?

Although he also prepared a gift, compared with the Phoenix potion that could revive Kanna, his opera poster that could be performed was really not impressive enough.

"How about..." Kyle thought for a moment, took out the gold cup and put it on the table, "I'll give this to you?"

"No." Nico refused without even thinking.

"This is Hufflepuff's gold cup." Kyle couldn't help but say, "Didn't you say before that it was a temptation that no alchemist could refuse?"

"That was true ten minutes ago, but it's different now."

Nico calmly took out the bottle of potion and shook it, "With this, I can always make a copy of it, so to me, this thing is just a lump of gold."

"The last thing I lack is gold."

The greatest feature of the golden cup is that it is stable enough to remain intact even after being eroded by Voldemort's soul fragments.

Phoenix Potion happens to be the best stable material in alchemy, so what Nico said is true.

"But it's the Hufflepuff cup...it means something different." Kyle tried to emphasize its other meaning.

"It's just like that for you." Nico still didn't care, "I graduated from Beauxbatons, and I have nothing to do with the Big Four of Hogwarts."

Kyle was silent for a moment.

During this process, Perenal kept looking at the two of them with a smile, and from time to time he would bring some delicious food to Kanna.

But Kanna had no appetite to eat these. She stared blankly at Kyle and the golden cup on the table.

What did they say? Hufflepuff's...golden cup? The Hufflepuff from Hogwarts?

As a student at Hogwarts, she certainly knew what this thing meant.

Just like the sword of Gryffindor and the diadem of Ravenclaw, the gold cup is the most precious treasure in the eyes of every Hufflepuff student.

Unexpectedly, it was disliked here? Even Kyle was a Hufflepuff like her.

Kanna looked at the golden cup on the table again.

Yes, the size and shape of this cup is exactly the same as the golden cup in the portrait of Helga Hufflepuff in the common room.

“Ignore them.” Perenelle patted Connor’s hand. “What they think is completely different from what they say.”

There were some things Kanna didn't understand, but she knew them clearly.

Nico wasn't unhappy with the gold cup, he was just teasing Kyle.

The reason was very simple. It was probably because he was so absorbed in studying these two things some time ago that he forgot about time and missed an important opera.

Nico was upset for several days.

Originally, he had forgotten about this matter and it had nothing to do with Kyle, but it just happened to happen.

However, knowing the truth, she did not intend to stop it. She just smiled and watched Nico embarrass Kyle, as if she was watching a wonderful stage play.

Kyle naturally didn't know all this. As Nico stared at him, he scratched his hair, feeling a little worried.

He hadn't expected Nico to even refuse the Hufflepuff gold cup. When would he be able to choose Christmas presents?

And that was a gold cup, how come it became just a piece of ordinary gold in Nico's hands?

Something is wrong... Kyle's eyes flickered.

But it’s better this way. He was reluctant to give the gold cup away in the first place, and he gave it out just to be polite.

But he didn't expect that Nico, instead of feeling embarrassed, looked down on the gold cup.

Although the results are similar, the meanings are completely different.

"You're not just trying to be polite." Nico seemed to see what Kyle was thinking and said with narrowed eyes.

"Of course not." Kyle laughed dryly. "I was just joking to liven up the atmosphere. I actually prepared the gift a long time ago."

"Then take it out quickly." Nico stretched out his hand again and looked at Kyle with interest.

He had already decided in his mind that no matter what Kyle took out later, the result would be like the golden cup just now.

Nico didn't believe that Kyle could take out another special Horcrux...such as the sword of Gryffindor.

But even if he did take it out, Nico didn't think he would be interested.

Among the legendary things left behind by the Big Four, only the sword of Gryffindor is not an alchemical item in the traditional sense, but a weapon made by goblins.

To Nico, that kind of thing is worth less than a lump of gold.

The fact was exactly as he thought. Kyle no longer had the Horcrux in his hand, but he had something else.

Under Nico's gaze, Kyle quickly put the gold cup back on the table and took out an exquisite silver jar.

"I stole this from Professor Dumbledore." Kyle said solemnly, "You don't know, he hasn't spoken to me for more than half a month because of this thing."

"Oh?" Nico raised an eyebrow.

He didn't doubt Kyle's statement.

When Kyle took out the jar just now, he recognized it as Dumbledore's thing at a glance.

According to the habits and characteristics of each alchemist, the alchemical items they create will also be marked with different marks.

Even if it is the same thing, there will be slight differences in details when made by different alchemists... This is their unique symbol, which is equivalent to the signature on an article.

And Dumbledore's name is clearly "written" on this silver jar.

There is another point besides this.

When he saw Dumbledore two days ago, he indeed looked depressed. He didn't think much about it before and just thought it was because of Voldemort.

But now thinking about it, his expression was more like the depression after something was taken away.

After thinking of this, Nico's expression immediately changed... Even Dumbledore felt distressed, which is quite interesting.

"Oh, this jar is really exquisite." He said with a smile, "But there is one thing I don't understand."

"What?" Kyle asked.

"You just said that you snatched this from Albus as a Christmas present for me, right?"

"Yeah." Kyle nodded repeatedly, "I put a lot of effort into it."

"That's strange." Nico picked up the jar and looked at it. "According to what you said, this happened at least half a month ago, but I only decided to invite you to be my guest yesterday. The timing doesn't match up."

"Ah, this..." Kyle stammered, "I saw this in divination class...I must have the gift of prophecy."

"That's even stranger." Nico said, "It's not that I want to deny your talent.

"But Kyle, do you remember the crystal ball you saw in the room just now? It is also an alchemical item, and its function is to let me know any prophecy about me.

"If I remember correctly, it hasn't been lit in five years."

Nico stared at Kyle with burning eyes, as did Perenelle and Connor, especially Connor. It was the first time she saw someone who could make Kyle so passive.

...It's quite interesting.

"I, I was wrong just now." Facing Nico's question, Kyle quickly corrected himself and said, "Actually, I saw that I would be going on a long trip during Christmas, so I guessed that I would come here."

"Really? That makes sense." Nico showed a look of relief. "I thought the crystal ball was broken. It's not easy to repair that thing."

"Oh, and thank you for your gift, I like it very much." Nico said as he picked up the jar on the table. He didn't even look at what was inside, but handed it to the house elf Tata beside him, and told him to take it back and keep it carefully.

He looked as if he was afraid that Kyle would go back on his word.

Kyle also saw it, but what could he do... Facing an old wizard who was over 600 years old and still had the audacity to act like a rogue, he had no way to deal with it.

Tata’s cooking skills are very good. This sumptuous dinner is no worse than the one at Hogwarts. There are even dishes from many other countries for all kinds of tastes.

The other three were enjoying their meals, except Kyle, who ate everything as if he was chewing dry bread.

But Kyle didn't expect that this was just the beginning, and even more disheartening things were yet to come.

After dinner, Perenelle took Connor to visit the manor. There were many magical places here... the ceiling that would change the weather at any time, the opera hall that made people feel like they were there, and all kinds of alchemical items everywhere...

This is not seen anywhere else.

Even though Kanna wanted to find a quiet place to finish reading the book in her hand, she was still attracted by those magical places and followed Perenal away.

"Do you like opera? Or concerts?"

"Rarely." Connor's voice still sounded a little reserved. "Does radio music count? I often listen to the radio music of the Weird Sisters."

"Radio music is also good and very suitable for students. I remember watching a Christmas song and dance held by Warbeck ten years ago. At that time, the sales of radios tripled... Come with me, dear, I will take you to see a live version."

The two quickly disappeared up the stairs.

At the same time, Nico took the bottle of Phoenix potion and went to the laboratory impatiently.

It seemed like just a blink of an eye, and Kyle was the only one left here, oh no, and there was also a house-elf Tata.

"Mr. Kyle, if you have finished your meal, could you please move aside?" Tata said to Kyle, holding a rag and looking up at him.

Kyle subconsciously stood up and walked to the side.

"Thank you, sir," said Tata. He patted the table and the dining table immediately moved, swinging its legs and trotting with the chairs, disappearing into a corridor that suddenly appeared on the left.

Tata quickly wiped the floor and followed him in, and then the corridor disappeared into thin air.

Kyle was watching the whole time.

He knew that corridor led to the kitchen, but he had never been there, and Tata never gave him the opportunity.

He had just come up with the idea of ​​going to the kitchen since he was free anyway, when the corridor disappeared.

Now, he was the only one left around, and no one paid any attention to him, as if there were only three people here in the first place.

(End of this chapter)