Moreover, Hermione still remembered that during the first Charms class, someone had asked Professor Flitwick if it was possible to change the color of the Lighting Spell, to make the wand emit red light.
At that time, Professor Flitwick's answer was negative, saying that it would alter the very nature of the spell. Even if it were possible, the incantation would be entirely different, essentially becoming a different spell altogether.
Hermione found it hard to believe that Kael could create new spells in his second year.
She glanced in the direction of Hufflepuff; Kael was chatting and laughing with others.
"Is the difference between wizards really that vast?" Hermione sighed dejectedly.
The feast began shortly afterward. Thinking about this matter, Hermione didn't even notice what she was eating.
Once she almost stuffed a candle hanging above the table into her mouth, but fortunately, Harry stopped her in time.
...
After a sumptuous dinner, the next morning, everyone packed their luggage to head to King's Cross Station by train.
Mikel and Ryan also left. During this Christmas holiday, the dormitory was once again left with only Kael.
Having grown accustomed to the daily hustle and bustle in the morning, the sudden quiet was quite unsettling.
With fewer people around, Kael didn't go to the auditorium for breakfast but instead grabbed some food from the kitchen for a quick bite in the common room.
When Conna arrived at the common room, Kael was studying a stone.
"What are you doing here so early?"
Conna curiously leaned over for a look.
At this moment, Kael was holding his wand, gesturing at a white pebble on the table.
With each wave of his wand, some fragments fell from the pebble.
"Are you engraving the stone?" Conna asked, puzzled.
"Sort of." Kael, eyes fixed on the pebble, replied without turning his head.
Conna watched for a while but never figured out what Kael was carving.
Not only was one side bigger than the other, but it also lacked any pattern, looking like a random piece of debris.
Did Kael spend so much time just to create this?
Conna felt she finally discovered something Kael wasn't good at.
She patted Kael on the shoulder reassuringly and left the common room, holding back laughter.
Even though she wanted to stay and watch Kael's awkward spectacle, unfortunately, she had to rush to finish her homework.
The amount of second-year homework was quite a bit more than last year, and three days felt tight.
Meanwhile, Kael, focused on tinkering with the stone, hadn't noticed Conna had left.
He carefully sanded off some extra parts based on memory, finally satisfied, and picked it up to examine in the sunlight.
"Perfect, mission accomplished!"
Kael brushed off the dust, then gently tapped the stone with his wand.
In the blink of an eye, the pebble in his hand turned a clear, sparkling red, glimmering like a ruby in the sunlight.
Kael stood up from the sofa, rubbed his wrist, and laughed, "How does it look, beautiful, right... hmm, where did you go?"
Only then did he realize Conna was no longer in the common room.
"Did she go to do homework so early?"
Kael shook his head and returned to the dormitory to fetch his suitcase.
Because the last time he left his suitcase, Kael hadn't purposely locked the passage door inside, and as soon as he opened a crack, a furry black shadow rushed out and disappeared in an instant.
But Kael wasn't at all flustered; he calmly took the ruby from earlier and waved it, counting silently.
"One... two..."
In less than two seconds, Kael felt his arm suddenly weigh down.
A furry little creature clung to his arm, staring intently at the ruby.
It was the Niffler he'd brought from Newt, and because of concerns it could cause a mass theft incident at Hogwarts, Kael had kept it locked in his suitcase.
Now, it was Christmas holiday, and with fewer people around the castle, it could come out to play for a while.
Over the past few months, the Niffler had grown several sizes larger than before, and its fur had turned completely black, resembling a moving Bludger.
But this "Bludger" was polished.
Kael used his other hand to pluck the Niffler from his arm. Despite this, it stayed fixated on the ruby, swinging its little legs eagerly in mid-air.
"You run pretty fast; no wonder Newt has to look for you every day."
Kael scratched the Niffler's chin, laughing, "What do you think, do you like it?"
The Niffler nodded vigorously, pointing at the ruby with longing eyes.
"You have good taste; if you like it, look at it more."
After saying that, the Niffler in Kael's hand inexplicably paused, then struggled more vigorously, whining plaintively.
The sound was pitiful beyond measure.
"I never said I'd give it to you," Kael raised his brows, "Young as you are, you've got nerve. This thing is a magic stone, and I still need it, so just look at it."
…Magically created stones, or magic stones, fair enough.
But the Niffler didn't care about such logic; it only knew that this was the shiniest thing it had ever seen.
It reached into its pocket and quickly pulled out a handful of miscellaneous small items.
A button, a piece of broken glass, some shiny candy wrappers, a few Sickles, and one... Galleon.
"I wondered where my Galleon went the other day—it turns out you took it." Kael rubbed the little creature's head.
He had indeed visited here a few days ago, but never noticed when this little guy took the Galleon.
He really had no clue.
And that button... It was the type he used on the clothes he had asked a house-elf to make for a Troll.
Just how did this little creature snatch it off?
The Niffler hesitated for a moment, reluctantly handing them all to Kael.
Kael laughed, "Are you trying to trade with me?"
The Niffler nodded.
"Sorry, I refuse. My item is very precious, and even adding all these up won't do."
The Niffler struggled again, letting out disgruntled squeals.
But Kael just firmly shook his head and casually tossed it aside.
A moment later, it darted back and pounced on Kael's arm.
Kael threw it again, it came back again...
Eventually, Kael even tied a string to the stone and started playing a game of Niffler-fishing in the dormitory.
It was, in fact, a lot more fun than fishing.