"Then... okay."
Seeing Kael do it, Conna hesitated for a moment and then nodded, accepting the box.
"That's the right thing to do." Nicolas said with a smile, "But you must remember, you have to open it yourself, that's very important."
"Alright, I'll remember." Conna nodded.
Then Nicolas took two steps back, watching with Perenelle as the two climbed into the carriage.
"Goodbye!" Perenelle waved her hand, "I remember you're graduating next year, right? You're welcome to come visit anytime after that."
Kael and Conna also leaned their heads out of the carriage window, waving back at them.
Next, the Thestral spread its wings, crouched down slowly, and then soared upward suddenly.
The carriage rocketed into the sky at a steep angle, heading towards Hogwarts.
Looking down now, there was no trace of the manor; only a rocky clearing could be seen.
"That's the Fidelius Charm, one of the best defense mechanisms of Nicolas' manor," Kael explained. "Without a guide, we couldn't find the entrance to the manor even if we turned back now."
"I've heard of that," Conna said.
Kael had mentioned the special magical protection of Nicolas' manor to her before, and after witnessing its wonders, she wasn't surprised at all.
No need to mention anything else, just that private library could attract countless wizards. If its location were exposed, endless trouble would surely follow.
In such a case, some protective magic was absolutely necessary.
But right now, they weren't in the mood to discuss this topic.
After returning to the carriage, their gazes simultaneously fell on the two boxes that Nicolas had just given them.
"What do you think might be inside?" Conna asked, unable to resist, as she looked at the box in her hand.
The box was very ordinary, just a common gift package with the same red ribbon tied around it, and otherwise nothing special.
If it were in a pile of gifts, Kael thought he would not take a second look.
"No idea," he said, shaking his head. "If you want to know, why don't you open it and see?"
"Can I open it now?" Conna was still a little nervous.
"Why not," Kael said. "Nicolas didn't say it had to be opened at Hogwarts."
Conna thought for a moment and realized Nicolas never said so.
There was still a long way to Hogwarts, and Conna was just too curious. After a moment's thought, she untied the ribbon on the box.
The carriage was strangely quiet for a moment, and Kael even slowed his breathing, watching intently as Conna slowly opened the box in her hand.
A slit appeared in the box, and just as Kael was about to lean forward for a better look, a red light shot out from inside.
The red light moved like a nimble Snitch, bouncing around the small carriage before suddenly turning and landing on Conna's wrist.
By the time Kael reacted, the red light had vanished. Meanwhile, Conna's right wrist now bore a shiny silver bracelet.
The bracelet had a delicate design, depicting a phoenix with its head and tail connected, in bright silver, except the eyes were red. Kael recognized it, a Magic Stone Fragment.
"What is this?"
"Nicolas said this could help me withstand two Killing Curses," Conna said softly.
"Huh? When did he say that?" Kael, curious, took the box and glanced inside.
The box was empty, with no note or explanation.
"I heard his voice just now," Conna pointed to her ear, "right when the box opened."
"Alright," Kael said nonchalantly, then thoughtfully continued, "Looks like he gave you back the Phoenix Potion, just in a different form."
Kael paused, suddenly realizing there was a difference between the two.
The Phoenix Potion is about revival, whereas the bracelet's purpose is defense. It's hard to say which effect is better, but the bracelet has a clear advantage... it can be used twice.
"An alchemical artifact that can block the Killing Curse might be a bit too precious," Conna said, looking at her wrist where the phoenix was slowly rotating and appearing to come alive.
"It's fine, Nicolas isn't short on things like this," Kael said, "and even if you wanted to return it now, you couldn't."
"How come not," Conna reached out, trying to take the bracelet off.
However, the previously calm phoenix now swiftly moved among her fingers, making Conna grab at nothing, then returned to her wrist.
Conna tried several times with the same result.
"Ha!" Kael couldn't hold back his laughter watching this.
"What are you laughing at!" Conna turned to look at him.
"Nothing, nothing," Kael shook his head. Of course, he couldn't say that Conna had looked like a clumsy Seeker trying repeatedly to catch the Golden Snitch only to slip away.
"Alright, just keep it," Kael quickly changed the topic. "After all, it was made from what you brought, so things are just returned to their owner."
"But it was a gift for Nicolas."
"Don't worry, he probably kept some for himself too," Kael explained. "If it's just for engraving magic text, it doesn't require much."
With Kael's explanation, Conna gradually accepted this special gift. She opened the window a bit, allowing sunlight to fall on the phoenix, changing its silver to a pale reddish-gold, just like a real phoenix.