The next day, Kael sat up on an antique bed, rubbing his head. He stared blankly at the unfamiliar surroundings for a while before rembering that he was in Paris, at Nicolas Flal’s house.
"Honored guest, would you like so breakfast?" A sharp voice ca from the other end of the room.
It was a house-elf wearing goggles.
"Tata?"
Kael recalled that this little elf should have this na.
"Yes, honored guest... I’m honored you rembered Tata’s na."
Unlike the house-elves in the Hogwarts kitchen who were always timid, Tata seed much more normal.
With its clean and decent attire, it looked more like a butler from an ancient manor.
But they also shared a common trait: a bit too enthusiastic.
After seeing Kael get up, it brought over all the washing supplies and breakfast in one go.
Steak, sausages, bread, foie gras, French soup... various breakfast items piled up the entire table, enough to feed an elephant.
"Enough, I really can’t eat all this!" Kael hastily stopped it from bringing more breakfast, took a hot towel from a tray beside him, wiped his face, and asked, "What exactly happened yesterday, and why am I sleeping here?"
Kael only felt his head was muddled; he just rembered being invited to Nicolas Flal’s ho and eting Fleur from Beauxbatons and Ms. Maxi.
As for what happened afterward and why he was sleeping here, he had no impression at all.
"Honored guest, you drank so strong water yesterday, and then you fell asleep," Tata said. "It was the master who asked to bring you here to rest."
"Strong water?" Kael frowned, seemingly recalling sothing, but it was still a bit vague.
"Oh, it’s this." Tata took out a bottle. "After they drank it yesterday, I specially saved it."
Kael took the bottle, and his expression turned sowhat unsightly.
Vintage Flaming Whiskey.
Looking at the date on the bottle, 1933...
Good heavens, did he drink whiskey nearly sixty years old? No wonder his head felt so terrible.
Ever since he learned Occluncy, he hadn’t felt like this for a long ti.
And Occluncy is only for spiritual magic; strong liquor is clearly beyond its scope.
"The master said you might need this."
At this ti, Tata handed a sky-blue magic potion to Kael.
Kael opened the cap and took a small sniff, then tilted his head back and drank it.
The next second, Kael felt a cool breeze washing over him, and his originally groggy mind instantly cleared up a lot, and he rembered.
Yesterday, while dining together, indeed soone gave him sothing like wine.
And it was none other than McPhail, who delivered the rlin dal to Hogwarts.
But at that ti, he said it was honey wine, even young wizards could have a couple of cups, so Kael didn’t think much of it and took a sip.
Then here he was now...
Kael only felt his head pounding with every heartbeat.
Who would have thought... McPhail, this wizard over a hundred years old, one of the few recipients of the First Class rlin dal, would trick a child not even thirteen into drinking Flaming Whiskey!
Oh, and the Bafe Awakening Potion he planned to brew for him.
That gooey, bubbling, weird brown liquid... Kael had only seen that in Mikel’s cauldron.
Even a Fire Dragon couldn’t handle that stuff, right?
For a mont, Kael suddenly suspected McPhail had so vendetta against Dumbledore... but because he couldn’t fight him, he decided to extract so interest from Kael instead.
...
After breakfast, Kael left the room and followed a golden corridor to the hall from yesterday.
At this mont, the hall had completely transford, the ceiling gone, the walls and floor had turned dark gold.
As Kael walked in, he saw an astonishingly large orchestra, filling every corner, intently playing their instrunts.
And Nicolas Flal was lying on a beach chair, sunbathing while enjoying a splendid opera performance.
He noticed Kael coming in and smiled, saying, "I guessed you were awake when Tata took all the food from the kitchen."
Kael, amazed, walked over to Nicolas, but his eyes never left the vast orchestra.
"Mr. Flal, this is..."
"Oh, you’re talking about this," Nicolas said with a proud face. "This is the most precious treasure of my long life."
As he spoke, Nicolas got up from the beach chair.
The lodious opera continued, but the orchestra was gone, and the hall transford back to the way it was yesterday.
Kael noticed that so golden symbols on the walls flashed just now.
Those symbols seed familiar to him, as if he’d seen them sowhere... oh, right, Dumbledore’s Headmaster’s Office!
These symbols were almost identical to those on the Pensieve.
"Mr. Flal..."
"We agreed before, call Nicolas."
"Alright, Nicolas," Kael asked, "are these your mories?"
"Exactly..." Nicolas reminisced, "A morable encounter a hundred years ago, I can’t help but want to experience it a few more tis."
"Amazing!" Kael marveled.
A room-sized Pensieve... you could probably only see that with Nicolas Flal.
"This is my proudest creation." Nicolas said, switching to a new piece of music.
Kael looked around; the hall was empty except for him and Nicolas; there was no one else here.
Only then did Kael quietly ask, "Nicolas, does Mr. McPhail have so personal vendetta with Professor Dumbledore?"
"As far as I know... no." Nicolas replied, "In fact, they’re quite good friends, and they’re both ardent fans of ten-pin bowling.
Before you ca here, he even expressed to Albus that he would help look after you."
"Tricking into drinking whiskey?" Kael asked skeptically, "That’s quite a unique way of watching over soone."
"It has nothing to do with Albus," Nicolas laughed, "since Dugald retired, his personality has beco more and more capricious. Not only you, but even Fleur wasn’t spared.
But he apparently forgot Olympe was also here... oh, by the way, maybe this will cheer you up."
Nicolas clapped his hands, and instantly, the hall’s atmosphere changed, the originally lodious music turned into shrill screams, mixed with a series of clear and vigorous knocks.
Kael was very familiar with this sound; it was obviously McPhail’s.
Yesterday, when he entered that potion room, he had heard the sa screams, thus leaving a deep impression.
Kael softly asked, "Could it be Ms. Maxi again..."
"Just as you thought." Nicolas winked, showing a mischievous smile, "I suppose, he won’t be able to go out for a long ti."
Kael chuckled twice along; he believed now that this matter had nothing to do with Dumbledore.
Tricking him was one thing, but Fleur had connections; McPhail even dared to pick on her?
The beating he took was well deserved.
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