"What is this..."
Cedric watched as Kael stared blankly at a thumb-sized bottle, curiosity bringing him closer.
"Strange, why doesn't it have a label," Cedric frowned, puzzled, "Could it be that someone from St Mungo's accidentally misplaced it?"
"With eyesight like that, why are you even a Seeker? You should retire quickly to avoid embarrassing yourself." Kael reached out, pointing at the bottle, "Look closely, the label is right here... huh?"
Kael was abruptly stunned.
Because he discovered that the spot he was pointing to was empty, and the words that had been there just a moment ago had disappeared.
"No, you're mistaken."
Cedric examined it again closely, and, after confirming there was indeed no label, laughed, "By the way, the Quidditch final selection is in a few days; you should avoid night wandering lately, or you'll end up tossing the Quaffle outside the goal in a daze..."
With that, Cedric turned his head and started talking to George nearby.
"Strange..." Kael muttered as he looked at the bottle in his hand.
He was certain that when he first saw the bottle, there were indeed the words "Veritaserum" written in golden script.
But in the blink of an eye, those words had vanished without a trace.
"I couldn't have been seeing things... Oh well, I'll find time to research it carefully."
Shaking his head, Kael pocketed the bottle and continued rifling through the box of potions.
Compared to the Veritaserum, the remaining potions seemed much more ordinary, though some were quite valuable, most could be found in stores.
Soon, only one bottle remained in the box after his search.
It was tucked away in a corner of the box, the bottle even smaller than the Veritaserum.
As Kael carefully took it out, a collective gasp surrounded him.
"No way..."
Cedric's eyes widened in disbelief, "Is that Felix Felicis?!"
Inside the bottle, the golden liquid shimmered with Kael's movement.
Cedric's eyes followed its movements.
"What? Felix Felicis!"
At that moment, Fred and George crowded over, asking curiously, "Is this the fabled Lucky Potion?"
"It must be."
Cedric nodded knowingly, "Though this is my first time seeing the real Felix Felicis, I've seen pictures in books, and it looks just like this. Besides, look at this inscription."
As he spoke, Cedric pointed at the tiny tag near the bottle's neck, barely larger than a grain of rice.
"It's really Felix Felicis!" Fred clicked his tongue.
Like Cedric, it was also his first time seeing the real Felix Felicis,
Previously, he had thought of it as something out of legend, like the Elder Wand from stories.
The trio stared at the Felix Felicis in Kael's hand, not daring to blink, until just five minutes before class started, they reluctantly left.
Conna cast a curious glance as well, but the longer she looked at the small bottle, the more familiar it seemed...
"Haven't figured it out yet? Have you forgotten?"
On the way to the Charm Class classroom, Kael took out the Felix Felicis once again, shaking it in front of Conna.
"Let me give you a hint, remember last year's Christmas gift?"
"Christmas... Ah, I've got it!"
Conna paused, realizing, "I remember now, Professor Snape gave me a potion like this back then, turns out it really was Felix Felicis."
"Not cold medicine anymore?" Kael elongated his tone teasingly.
Conna seemed to catch on to Kael's hint, blushed, and turned her head a little embarrassed, muttering a few explanatory words.
She hadn't known about Professor Snape's relationship with the Prince family at the time, so it was understandable not believing it.
After all, how often would a professor give a student Felix Felicis as a gift? It's quite ridiculous any way you look at it.
"Now you believe it, right?" Kael asked with a smile.
Just as Conna was about to nod, she suddenly thought of something, raised her head, and looked at Kael with a less than friendly expression, "Wait a minute, did you already know that Professor Snape knew me back then and have been enjoying the joke on me ever since?"
"You're overthinking this, it's really not that."
Kael shook his head, explaining, "I only found out a few days before the holidays."
Conna wrinkled her nose and asked, "Then how were you so sure back then that the potion he gave me was really Felix Felicis?"
Kael casually replied, "Because that's exactly what Felix Felicis looks like."
"It's really that simple?"
"Of course..." Kael laughed, "Besides, it also has to do with the professor's character, Professor Snape wouldn't joke about such things."
Professors at Hogwarts each have unique personalities. If the gift had come from Professor Flitwick, for example, it might indeed turn out to be cough syrup,
because he's done things like that before.
Chris mentioned during a chat once that Professor Flitwick gifted all the students who stayed during Christmas a Ravenclaw Diadem one year.
But the students soon discovered it was actually chocolate, sculpted with magic by Professor Flitwick to resemble a Diadem.
"I see..." Conna nodded thoughtfully.
Upon reflection, she realized Professor Snape indeed wouldn't engage in such unnecessary antics.
"By the way, I'm returning this to you."
As they approached the Charm Class classroom, Kael suddenly pulled a small bottle from his pocket and handed it over.
It was Snape's gift to Conna—the Felix Felicis.
He hadn't dared leave it anywhere else, keeping it with him at all times.
Conna glanced at Kael without accepting it.
"Are you really giving it to me?"
"What are you talking about... It's your possession in the first place." Kael chuckled.
Previously, he'd helped keep it safe for Conna since she had been losing things—it didn't seem secure to leave the Felix Felicis with her.
Now that the thieving "Rat" was gone, there was no need to worry.
Still, Conna didn't move.
"What are you waiting for, just take it." Kael nudged as Conna stood still, urging, "Class is about to start."
"No..."
"What?" Kael was momentarily stunned, thinking he misheard.
This was Felix Felicis, after all...
"I said, I don't want it."
Conna suddenly laughed, standing at the entrance of the Charm Class classroom, hands behind her back, she said, "Since I've given it to you, it's yours now, I don't want to be a Crup..."