The fine rain of Forks fell over the house-hotel's backyard like a whispered farewell. Inside, the living room was bathed in the soft glow of a floor lamp, and the air carried the scent of damp wood, herbal tea, and the faint aroma of parchment that Celestia always seemed to carry with her. Nathael stood by the window, hands tucked into the pockets of his black jacket, gazing toward the forest vanishing into the mist. Beside him, Celestia sat gracefully on the windowsill, her tail wrapped neatly around her paws, her eyes fixed on his silhouette.
"It was a good journey," she said quietly.
Nathael didn't reply immediately. He simply nodded, lost in thought. Then he turned and called the others.
"Everyone."
Draco, Hermione, Carrie, and Kate emerged from their rooms almost simultaneously—Draco with his usual composure, Hermione already wearing her backpack over one shoulder, Carrie carrying a small suitcase Kate had helped her pack, and Kate herself with a gentle smile, though her eyes betrayed exhaustion.
"Tomorrow we head back to Great Britain," Nathael announced, his voice clear and firm. "The journey is over."
A moment of silence followed. None of them were truly surprised—they all knew this trip wasn't for tourism—but the news still struck them with a strange blend of relief and melancholy.
"Did you find what you were looking for?" Draco asked, his curiosity barely masked beneath his aristocratic tone.
Nathael nodded, offering no further details. None in the group knew the true purpose of their stay in the United States. To them, Nathael and Celestia had only been seeking "information"—something vague, important, yet secret. And it would remain that way.
"Yes," he said simply. "Now we just have to go home."
Hermione nodded, satisfied. Carrie looked down, but a small smile touched her lips. Kate stepped forward.
"So… I'll come with you," she said softly, yet with unwavering resolve. "To Europe. I want to see it. I don't want to be separated from you—from any of you. Do you think it's possible, Nathael?"
Nathael met her gaze. There was no fear in her eyes—only determination, and something more: trust. Trust in him.
"Of course," he said with a warm smile. "Anytime you want."
Kate smiled, visibly relieved, then turned and walked back to her room to finish packing.
"Then… go pack your things," Nathael told the others.
They all nodded and returned to their rooms. Nathael and Celestia went into theirs and began silently gathering their belongings. The room was nearly empty—books stored in Celestia's storage ring, clothes neatly folded, the map of Forks rolled and tied with a ribbon.
Suddenly, Celestia stopped.
"Do you have the gifts yet?" she asked, her voice so innocent that Nathael instantly knew a trap was coming.
He froze.
"Gifts?"
"Yes," Celestia said, slowly turning to face him with a sly smile. "Christmas. In two days. You remember, right? Not just Christmas—also Hermione's birthday. And you yourself said you'd buy her two presents: one for her birthday, another for Christmas. 'As soon as we arrive in the States,' were your exact words."
Nathael paled.
He'd forgotten.
Completely.
Between gremlins, vampires, the Quileute, the artifact, Carrie, Kate, lessons, battles… time had slipped through his fingers like sand.
"Oh," he croaked.
Celestia looked at him with a mix of mockery and affection.
"'Oh'?"
Nathael coughed, trying to mask his embarrassment.
"Well… and you? Do you already have yours?"
Celestia lifted her chin proudly.
"Of course I do. I took the opportunity while we were at the ancestral manor before the trip. I went into my vault and selected a few items… just in case."
Nathael looked at her, a spark of hope in his eyes.
"And… by any chance, didn't you take an extra one or two? For, say, someone who might have forgotten?"
Celestia let out a mischievous, almost human-like chuckle—part purr, part laugh.
"I knew you'd forget," she said. "So… yes."
Nathael sighed in relief and scooped her up into his arms, gently stroking her head.
"Thank you," he said. "Without you, I'd be lost."
Celestia purred contentedly in his embrace.
"I know. Which is why, as a token of gratitude… you should buy me that limited-edition French designer cloak. The one in velvet with silver trim."
Nathael laughed.
"Of course. The very least I can do for you."
Celestia let out a happy meow, and for a moment, they forgot about vampires, bracelets, and otherworldly threats. They were just themselves—a hunter and his cat—preparing to celebrate something as simple, as deeply human, as Christmas.
The next day, everything was ready.
The suitcases—compressed and sealed inside Celestia's storage ring—no longer took up any space. The car had been returned early in Forks; Nathael, exhausted, hadn't wanted to drive. The group took a taxi to Seattle, with Kate in the front seat giving instructions to the driver.
At the airport, Kate handled everything. Efficiently and with a smile, she booked their tickets to New York, arranged their travel permissions, and even secured an extra seat for Celestia by claiming she was a "high-level therapeutic cat" and Nathael's "essential emotional support companion."
"I didn't know you were so efficient," Draco said, impressed.
"I have many talents," Kate replied with a mysterious smile.
They arrived in New York at dusk. The city welcomed them with its usual chaos: lights, honking horns, fake snow in certain districts, and the roar of the subway beneath the asphalt.
Once again, they checked into the Waldorf Astoria. The same penthouse suite awaited them, as if no time had passed at all.
"Rest," Nathael said. "We leave tomorrow. But first… I want to ask you something."
They gathered in the living room around a small table with mugs of hot chocolate.
"What did you learn on this journey?"
Hermione spoke first.
"I've learned that the magical and Muggle worlds aren't enemies," she said clearly. "That understanding the other is just as important as mastering a spell. That fighting gremlins takes more than magic—it takes strategy. That combining spells, training your body… that it all matters in becoming a complete wizard."
Draco nodded, a refined smile on his lips.
"And I," he said with a dramatic pause, "have carved my first fire rune. Taken my first step into ancestral magic. And I've come to understand what it truly means to be a pureblood… and I'm ready to earn that title."
Carrie, the shyest of them, looked down for a moment. Then she raised her eyes, a new resolve shining within them.
"I… I've only learned to accept who I am," she said softly but firmly. "To stop fearing my magic. And… to thank you, Nathael. For finding me when I needed it most."
Nathael looked at her, a rare tenderness in his eyes.
"It wasn't chance," he said. "It was fate."
He paused, then looked at them all.
"And I'll tell you this: I will never leave you. I'll be loyal. I'll be your teacher, your guardian, your ally—because you're no longer just my students. You're my family."
A deep silence settled over the room. Then, without words, they embraced.
Hermione with Draco, Carrie with Kate, and Nathael with Celestia at the center—like the heart of a small circle the world hadn't wanted, but that they had chosen to build together.
Outside, New York glittered with thousands of lights. But inside that suite, there was something rarer, more precious than any magic:
a home.