✭ Chapter 77 ➜ Sour Grapes ✭

The vials were thumb-sized, containing a golden potion that shimmered like molten gold — dazzling and enchanting.

After careful observation, Kyle was certain that this vial contained Felix Felicis.

Felix Felicis, also known as Liquid Luck, was arguably the most complex potion in the wizarding world. The precious ingredients were just the beginning — more importantly, it took six months to brew, and any mistake during that time meant starting over from scratch. Each tiny vial was worth a fortune.

"Where did you get this?" Kyle asked, turning to face her.

"It's a Christmas gift from Professor Snape, our Potions teacher." Kanna replied with confusion, "What's wrong, didn't you get one?"

Hearing this, Kyle felt a surge of jealousy.

Forget Felix Felicis — Snape hadn't even given him an empty vial.

"Um..." Kyle asked, struggling to keep his voice steady, "Did you know Professor Snape before?"

Kanna shook her head, then nodded, "I'd heard Mom mention his name before, but I'd never met him before coming to Hogwarts."

Kyle gave her a thoughtful look.

Prince, huh?

When Snape first awarded points to Kanna, Kyle had sensed something was off, but he'd assumed they just knew each other casually and hadn't thought much of it.

But now, he realized he was wrong. Even if they were just acquaintances or good friends, Snape wouldn't give Felix Felicis as a gift to Kanna. Even Malfoy had never received such treatment.

This proved that he must have some deep connection to the Prince surname.

Kyle pondered for a moment. The surname seemed familiar, but he couldn't quite place it. The only thing he could think of was Princeton University — but that had nothing to do with the wizarding world.

After thinking for a long while, he finally gave up.

He held up the glass vial and asked, "Do you know what this is?"

"Cold medicine?" Kanna said uncertainly.

Kyle shook his head, "No, this is Felix Felicis."

"...Pfft... Kyle, are you still half asleep?" Kanna burst out laughing, "Although this potion looks like Felix Felicis, I don't even know Professor Snape — why would he give me something so precious? It's impossible."

"How is it impossible?" Kyle gently shook the vial, "What other potion has this liquid gold appearance?"

Kanna still shook her head, "Professor Snape is a Potions master. Changing a potion's color wouldn't be difficult for him. Maybe this is just a Christmas surprise he prepared for everyone — it's probably cold medicine inside."

Kyle tried explaining several more times, but she always found a counterargument, until even he started to doubt himself.

He could understand her reaction. Honestly, if this vial had appeared among his own gifts, he wouldn't have believed it was Felix Felicis either. He would have assumed it was some special poison Snape had brewed, disguised as Felix Felicis just to trick him into drinking it.

At that point, it would probably be Kanna insisting it was Felix Felicis while he kept arguing against it. Same logic.

So Kyle didn't say anything more.

Actually, confirming whether the vial contained Felix Felicis — or making Kanna believe it — would be simple: they just needed to figure out the relationship between Snape and the Prince surname.

But before that, it would be better if he kept the vial safe. Kanna was always losing things, and this vial might be next. If it really was Felix Felicis, regret would come too late.

He looked at her and said, "Can I keep this vial for now?"

Kanna clapped her hands carelessly, "You can have it if you want."

Kyle quickly refused, "Let's not go that far — I'm worried you'll cry your eyes out with regret later."

He was joking — he wasn't the type to take advantage of situations, he just had slightly less integrity than others.

"I won't cry..." Kanna wrinkled her nose, clearly displeased with his choice of words, "If I say I'm giving it to you, I definitely won't regret it. Even if you try to return it, I won't take it back."

Kyle shrugged noncommittally.

If only he had something to record with right now — he would definitely record everything she just said. Then wait for the perfect moment to play it on loop in the common room for a whole day.

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After leaving the common room, Kyle went to the library and stayed there until noon.

The Christmas feast was sumptuous, with a hundred plump roast turkeys, mountains of roast meat and potatoes, large platters of sausages and buttered peas, and — surprisingly — even some roast pies.

Every few steps along the table, there were piles of wizard crackers which, like Christmas trees, were an essential part of Christmas.

Kyle picked up a cracker in front of him and pulled the string at the bottom. With a bang like a firecracker, an elegant lady's hat with lace trim and tassels drifted down before him.

He glanced around furtively before stuffing the hat into his transformed lizard skin bag. Perfect — next year's Christmas gift for Professor Snape.

Emboldened, Kyle pulled several more crackers. The loud pops reminded him of two-step firecrackers you could safely drop without fear of injury — making them incredibly fun to play with.

By the time the feast began, a small mountain of prizes had accumulated beside him.

His haul included six different men's and women's hats, two wizard chess sets, three rubber wands, various peculiar gadgets, and — somewhat alarmingly — a pile of what appeared to be cockroaches. Unsure whether they were real, he kept them safely contained in a transparent box, positioned well away from himself.

The house-elves' cooking proved exceptional as always. Kyle carved some meat from the enormous turkey and crafted his own pizza using roast flatbread, meat sauce, and sausages.

Following the turkey came the flaming Christmas pudding, filled with hidden treasures — Kanna's portion revealed a silver Sickle.

Kyle cut into his own pudding with anticipation, catching a glimpse of yellow...

He set down his knife, knowing he couldn't cut further — the mango sauce would spill out if he did.