"I won't attack the Ministry of Magic."
Aurora's gaze at Ian was also peculiar. She hesitated for a moment before she suddenly realized and said, "So that's it. You've been thinking about how to attack the Ministry of Magic since your first year."
What a cunning mind.
Ian was left speechless.
"Should we head back?" Aurora glanced into the depths of the Forbidden Forest. It was obvious she had grown and there was a hint of reverence in her eyes.
"I still want to test my creation; the first one is actually a gift for you." Ian pulled out his alchemy creation, which looked about the size of a cigarette box.
"What's this?"
Aurora's attention was instantly drawn to the box with sharp teeth.
"The Bone Crushing and Ash Scattering Box!"
Ian proudly introduced his creation. He looked around and found what seemed to be the remains of a Mortar Rat, likely hunted by a Curled Wing Demon and uneaten.
Poor Mortar Rat.
Its brain had been completely eaten.
Half of its body had vanished as well.
"I like the name," Aurora's eyes lit up. She watched expectantly as Ian approached the Mortar Rat's corpse and placed the peculiar little box on it.
"Crunch, crunch, crunch~"
The little box began to operate automatically, with its sharp teeth tearing at the flesh and bones, swallowing the mixture into its stomach, and then excreting stream after stream of soil from its rear.
"A must-have for home and travel!" Ian compared the soil excreted by the Bone Crushing and Ash Scattering Box with the dirt on the ground in front of Aurora.
Besides the difference in color, there was no discernible difference; even its smell was just that of regular soil—this clearly could avoid lots of trouble.
"You'll make a fortune from this, Ian... if the Aurors don't catch you," Aurora picked up the Bone Crushing and Ash Scattering Box that had devoured all the Mortar Rat's remains.
She seemed quite impressed by Ian's little invention, though she gave a serious critique.
"????"
Ian's smile froze.
"I just invented a tool to contribute a little to the agriculture of this world," Ian said with a guilty conscience. The reason he invented this was mainly because disposing of corpses had been too troublesome a few times before.
"Huh?"
Across from him, Aurora raised the little box in her hand and shook it, her dazzling heterochromatic eyes blinking, "It's called the Bone Crushing and Ash Scattering Box, isn't it?"
Ian pursed his lips.
"Who doesn't have a few cattle or sheep that die of illness?"
He defended himself convincingly.
"There will come a time when it's needed, really, really."
Ian wasn't sure if he was trying to convince Aurora or himself.
"I'll prepare a gift for you for Christmas as well. Can you prepare a return gift for me?" Aurora tightly held the Bone Crushing and Ash Scattering Box in her hand.
When she asked Ian, she seemed a bit cautious, her eyes carrying a hint of expectation.
"Of course."
Ian sensed some subtle emotions, a bit anxious and uneasy... He nodded without hesitation, and the German Girl visibly relaxed quite a bit.
"I stole something from my grandfather, and I think you'll definitely like it." Aurora lowered her voice mischievously, as if hoping to heighten Ian's anticipation for the gift.
"!!!!"
Ian was a bit bewildered.
He didn't know why he felt a pang of guilt.
"Mr. Prince, as well as Mr. Prince's friends who like to break school rules, perhaps we should leave. The commotion just now attracted the Centaurs, and these untrustworthy guys will definitely kill us to keep their secret."
The House-Elf Rabi suddenly spoke nervously from a short distance away, and Ian looked over. At night, his vision couldn't see far.
However, the rustling sounds in the forest became more pronounced.
"Perhaps we should take this." Aurora ran to a tree and pulled out a few eggs, handing them all to Ian.
Not wanting an encounter with the Centaurs, Ian didn't have time to inspect them and stuffed them into his robe.
"Let's go!"
Ian signaled Aurora to approach House-Elf Rabi. The little elf held onto both him and Aurora, and that feeling of spinning around and causing nausea and dizziness resurfaced once more. It was intense, like being sucked into a swirling vortex, making everything around blur.
The distinct rhythm of Space Magic was incredibly apparent, but Ian clearly wasn't in the mood to ponder it, or perhaps he simply no longer had the ability to try and decipher it.
The vertigo was even stronger than the first time, acting upon him.
"Ugh~"
Ian intended to tough it out and say to the equally unprepared Aurora, "You need more practice," but the two consecutive short-space leaps made him unable to hold back.
In contrast, Aurora seemed completely unfazed.
"..."
The two reappeared in a corridor at Hogwarts, and the figure of House-Elf Rabi had disappeared, as House-Elves generally preferred not to show themselves in areas where young wizards could easily spot them.
"The magic of the elves is just that crude."
Aurora observed Ian, who was leaning against the wall, seemingly unsurprised.
"I just ate too much tonight."
Ian stubbornly shook his dizzy head.
"I remember you said before the semester started that you would treat me to a secret meal prepared by House-Elves..." Aurora probably remembered this because of Ian's response.
Little girls always tend to remember such detailed things.
"That's right, how about tomorrow night?"
Ian didn't intend on breaking his word.
He figured that the Hogwarts kitchen was well-stocked now, the House-Elves had mastered the art of hotpot, and it might be more fun to invite a few friends to eat together.
"Sure."
Aurora nodded.
She frowned, hesitated for a moment.
"But let's not eat the one from earlier, okay? It saved my life, I don't want to eat it..." The tone of the German girl was filled with gratitude towards Rabi.
Yet.
Ian abruptly looked up at her.
His eyes were filled with horror as he looked at Aurora.