Sunset and moonrise.
The gentle moonlight streamed in through the window, flowing down to the bed and illuminating the two people nestled together.
Perhaps it had been too long, Hermione fell asleep as well.
She leaned against the headboard, her head against the wall, her eyes closed, fast asleep.
Hermione must have been dreaming of something wonderful, because the corners of her mouth turned up slightly, and one of her little hands wouldn't stray too far from Silan's, gently resting on his shoulder.
Everything was so quiet, even the moonlight seemed reluctant to disturb them, only wandering along the edge of the bed.
There was no sound, only the mingling of their breaths.
Silan slowly woke up, and the softness behind his head made him want to nuzzle against it. Then he yawned and recalled what had happened before he went to sleep.
"Oh no, a present!"
He sat up abruptly and touched the small box he used to hold the gifts.
Hermione, who was standing nearby, was awakened by his sudden movement and asked while rubbing her eyes.
"You're awake, Silan?"
"If you're still sleepy, you can sleep a little longer."
Hermione blinked, blushed, and patted her thigh, indicating that Silan could continue resting her head on her lap.
But it was too embarrassing to say, so she didn't dare.
Silan got out of bed and stretched. "Thank you, Hermione, but I've had enough sleep."
"All right."
Hermione rubbed her legs with a hint of regret, preparing to get up.
"Are your legs numb?" Silan asked. "Let me rub them for you."
"It's okay..." Hermione instinctively wanted to refuse, but after hearing "I'll rub it for you," she changed her mind, "Yeah, it's so numb."
Hermione removed her hand and swung her leg at Silan.
Enjoying Silan's leg massage, Hermione leaned comfortably against the headboard, a smile unconsciously playing on her lips, almost bursting out laughing.
To avoid being noticed by Silan, she quickly turned her face to the side and grinned brazenly.
"What's wrong?" Silan asked.
Hermione slowly turned her head to look at Silan, her expression having returned to normal.
She said in a serious tone, "It's nothing."
Although she said this, her eyes darted around evasively.
Silan didn't dwell on the issue. After massaging her legs, she glanced at the time.
Thankfully, it wasn't past midnight.
He took out the small box from his pocket and handed it to Hermione: "This is a gift for you. It was prepared in a bit of a rush, I hope you like it."
Happy birthday, Hermione.
Remembering the "Scar Kiss" she had left on Silan's forehead while he was sleeping, Hermione blushed slightly and whispered, "Actually, I've already received the best gift."
Silan didn't hear her whispered question, "What did you say?"
"Fine."
Hermione quickly blushed and waved her hand, then took the gift box and asked, "May I open it and see?"
"Certainly."
Hermione carefully opened the unassuming little box in her hand.
When she actually saw what was inside, she showed an expression of utter astonishment.
"This is... so beautiful!"
Hermione's voice trembled with excitement.
Inside the box was a delicate necklace.
At the center of the necklace is a sparkling, gem-like blue Crystal, with silvery threads extending from the left and right sides, and several small, exquisite silver-blue sapphires adorning the center.
As the moonlight shone through, the starlight reflected from the necklace filled the room.
Hermione opened her mouth, wanting to say something complimentary.
But after she moved her lips, she didn't say a word.
For the first time in her life, she felt her vocabulary was so inadequate; she simply couldn't describe the beauty of the necklace.
But Hermione could clearly feel her heart racing, her gaze fixed on the necklace, unable to look away, wanting to reach out and touch it but afraid of breaking it.
Hermione was overwhelmed by a series of uncontrollable physiological urges, which made it clear how much she loved the necklace.
"I call it Pure Dream," Silan said.
Upon hearing this name, Hermione glanced at Silan's forehead instinctively, a pang of guilt welling up inside her.
The dream she just had was anything but pure.
Even before going to sleep, I seem to have done something impure...
Hermione, you're such a bad girl!
"If you'd like," Silan said, taking out the necklace, "I can put it on you."
Hermione snapped out of her daze and nodded blankly.
"Thank you, Silan."
Silan smiled, took the necklace in her hand, moved a little closer to Hermione, wrapped her arms around Hermione's neck from the front, and put the necklace around her neck.
Although they were very close, Silan maintained a respectful distance.
This created a slight distance between him and Hermione.
Hermione stood there stiffly, turning her head away shyly, avoiding looking at Silan.
They were too close.
Once inside, Hermione only needed to shift her feet slightly to be able to press her entire body against Silan.
In fact, that's exactly what she thought.
But the budding romance and certain inexplicable feelings frightened her, as if she were under Leg-Locker Curse, unable to move her feet.
Suppressing her impulse, Hermione subtly sniffed her cute nose, greedily inhaling Silan's scent.
A familiar and comforting taste...
Hermione glanced at Silan out of the corner of her eye.
He was so focused on putting the necklace on her that he didn't notice anything amiss.
"It's my birthday today, so it's okay to be a little greedy, right?" Hermione thought to herself, sniffing the air again.
Actually, Silan had already noticed it.
Fortunately, before leaving the Alchemy Workshop, I habitually used a Scourgify on myself.
It shouldn't have any strange smell.
Silan initially intended to pretend she knew nothing, but seeing Hermione's eyes darting around and her nose twitching at the perfect moment, she found it rather cute.
So, with a mischievous grin, she asked, "What's wrong, Hermione? Do you have a cold?"
Hermione, who was sniffing intently, suddenly froze. She pinched herself quietly and then said calmly, "It's nothing, my nose just feels a little uncomfortable."
Hermione didn't know was that, although she spoke with a serious expression, a blush had already spread to the tips of her ears.
Seeing Hermione, who was clearly incredibly shy but was trying to appear calm, Silan couldn't help but laugh, but she didn't tease her any further and changed the subject, saying, "Let's look at the necklace."
Hermione at the necklace around her neck in the mirror in the room.
Perhaps afraid of breaking it, she only dared to touch it lightly with her fingers.
Looking at the exquisite necklace in the mirror, Hermione smiled with immense satisfaction, yet also asked with a touch of heartache, "This... must be very valuable, right?"
"No," Silan shook her head. "I made the alchemical tools myself; they didn't cost much."
Silan's words acted as a thread, connecting everything that had happened before.
Why didn't Silan go to class today?
Why am I so tired?
Why is there a scar on my forehead...?
Hermione had the answers to all her questions.
It was to make a birthday present for myself.
Hermione understood everything.
Those deep feelings of love are always hidden and silent, yet they carry immense weight.
Now, the necklace is even more valuable to Hermione.
It's absolutely priceless!
Hermione immediately wanted to take off the necklace and hide it away, never letting it suffer even the slightest bump.
"I'm going to buy a safe and keep it safe!"
"Keep it safe?"
Silan was taken aback, thinking, "I can't keep this safe."
If I were to store this away, wouldn't all my efforts be wasted?
He quickly advised against it, saying, "I would prefer you to carry it with you."
"But..." Hermione hesitated, "I'm afraid I'm clumsy and I'll break it."
Silan pressed her hand on Hermione's shoulder, looked into her eyes, and said earnestly.
"Don't worry, Hermione, I'm here. Lifetime warranty."
Lifetime warranty?
"Does this mean... you'll be with me forever?" Hermione couldn't help but let her imagination run wild.
Perhaps touched by those words, Hermione blushed and nodded, putting the necklace on snugly.
"You just said it's an alchemical tool," Hermione changed the subject, "Does it have any special uses?"
"Of course, I've cast Transfiguration Spell on it, and many other Spells as well. As long as you carry it with you and think about it, it can transform into many small animals."
Silan explained the purpose of the necklace to Hermione.
You can try it yourself.
Hermione pressed her hand to the necklace on her chest and, following Silan's instructions, silently uttered, "Lark."
The moment this thought crossed her mind, the necklace on her chest suddenly transformed into a blue ribbon of light.
In the blink of an eye, the band of light converged in the air to form a blue lark.
As soon as the lark appeared, it flew around the room once, then landed lightly on Hermione's shoulder and sang a song in its melodious voice.
"This is absolutely amazing!"
Hermione clapped excitedly, then enthusiastically transformed the necklace into birds commonly found in the Forbidden Forest, such as magpies, nightingales, and canaries.
Their songs are all very melodious and pleasant to listen to.
How pleasant it would be to conjure up a little bird to sing a song for you when you're tired of studying!
But the more Hermione, the more she felt sorry for Silan.
To create something so exquisite and beautiful undoubtedly requires a great deal of time and effort.
"Oh, right, it can also turn into a rooster," Silan casually revealed the necklace's main function, ""and if there's a fish tank, it can also turn into a goldfish."
In fact, whether it's transforming into a bird or a goldfish, these are all unnecessary designs added by Silan.
The purpose was to cover up the fact that the necklace could turn into a rooster.
After all, he couldn't let others know that he now knew there was Basilisk at Hogwarts.
Hermione covered the necklace with her hand with pity and sincerely thanked Silan.
"Thank you, Silan. I really like it."
The stars in the sky are shining brightly.
The girl's eyes also shone brightly.
... Divider Line...
I'm still too kind.
This chapter is almost 3,000 words long; it should be split into two chapters and presented as an extra chapter.
Sigh, honest people always suffer.