"Young master, I'll return now."
Nodding, Sean said to Aldrich: "Go ahead. Please take extra care of those children at the orphanage. They are our future foundation and need to be well cared for and taught.
Also, I have an idea. When my achievements become greater in the future, I'll talk to Hogwarts about sending those children from the orphanage to study at Hogwarts. Compared to the master-apprentice education at the orphanage, I think Hogwarts' education should be better."
"But, young master, this might not guarantee the children's loyalty. They..."
Waving his hand to stop Aldrich from continuing, Sean looked at him and said: "Loyalty isn't something that can be achieved through simple control. Give them a bigger stage, a better future, and the warmth of home. It's not impossible to gain their loyalty. Besides, even if they want to leave and venture out, there will always come a day when they're tired and weary, and then they'll still want to come home, won't they?"
Aldrich looked at Sean. This was the first time he couldn't think of flattering words, and the first time he truly felt from the bottom of his heart that being able to leave the Bulstrode family and follow Sean alongside those children was really, truly wonderful.
"Of course, don't tell the children this news yet. Wait until it's confirmed before telling them. We wouldn't want to get their hopes up for nothing."
During his last visit to the orphanage, Sean had actually heard some of those children's thoughts. Although the adult wizards at the orphanage didn't want them expressing these feelings in front of Sean, they were still children and inevitably revealed some of their inner thoughts. So Sean knew clearly that they longed greatly for Hogwarts.
"Yes, young master."
Looking at Aldrich, who was obviously no longer composed, Sean smiled, patted Aldrich's shoulder, then turned toward Hogsmeade.
Aldrich watched Sean from afar until his figure disappeared into the falling snowflakes, then turned and transformed into a vortex, vanishing from the spot.
When coming here, although it was snowing, the snow accumulation wasn't so heavy.
But when returning, both Hogsmeade and distant Hogwarts were completely covered in white. Looking from afar, Hogwarts was draped in silver, creating a rare beautiful scene.
Since he was already in Hogsmeade, Sean simply bought some things to take back, mainly sweets.
When leaving Honeydukes, Sean suddenly remembered that there seemed to be a secret passage in Honeydukes. However, since he had registered when coming, it would be hard to explain if he didn't register when returning, so he didn't explore anything and decided to do it next time. Besides, not only Honeydukes but also the Hog's Head Inn had passages leading to Hogwarts. He could explore those later.
Returning to Hogwarts, he distributed some sweets to the first and second-year Slytherin students who were looking at him expectantly, then took a small portion back to his room and casually placed it on the table.
"You're back? Next time remember to take me along. I haven't been to Hogsmeade yet."
Looking at Kulkan sprawled on the bed, Sean smiled and said: "I'll take you next time. This time I was specifically going to Gringotts in Diagon Alley to retrieve something. I had to use Apparition and go through Gringotts' security checks, and there's even a dragon there, so it wasn't suitable to bring you..."
"Wait, you said there's a dragon in Gringotts?"
Kulkan, who had been sprawled on the bed, immediately perked up. She raised her head to look at Sean, her red vertical pupils filled with longing for dragon blood, dragon meat, dragon sinew, dragon bone, and dragon brain.
"Next time, take me to Gringotts."
"No!"
"You're cold, cruel, and unreasonable!"
Glancing at Kulkan, Sean rolled his eyes: "You're the one being truly unreasonable."
As soon as he finished speaking, seeing Kulkan obviously sulking, Sean helplessly said again: "Alright, alright. There will probably be dragons at Hogwarts next year. At worst, I'll get you some then. If that doesn't work, I can buy some for you."
Hearing this, Kulkan immediately perked up. She looked at Sean and said: "Then I want fresh ones, like the basilisk before. Fresh ones."
"Fine, fine."
"I knew you were the best."
At dinner, Sean ate with Blaise and the others.
Blaise spent the entire time talking about this year's Quidditch matches. Since Sean wasn't very good at this topic, he focused wholeheartedly on eating.
After dinner, Sean bid farewell to Blaise and the others, went directly to the third floor, and sat in the previous classroom, using Scourgify to clean up the classroom environment a bit.
Seven o'clock sharp.
Antonius floated out from the classroom doorway, went directly to sit beside Sean, looked at him with a smile, and asked: "Sean, last time we talked about writing to Master Nicolas Flamel, right?"
Nodding, Sean said: "That's right, teacher. I mentioned before that I could write to Nicolas Flamel's friend, who might be able to forward it to Nicolas Flamel."
"I see...
Then when we're almost finished, please help me write a letter to him. If we can communicate, that would be wonderful. If not, it doesn't matter."
"I can do that. Should I take out the books now? I retrieved quite a few books today."
"That's not necessary. I know what all those books are. I even know their contents. You just need to take out Fundamentals of Alchemy: Swinburne's Annotations, Mysterious Alchemical Circles, and Initial Interpretation of the Emerald Tablet. Your foundation needs to be properly supplemented and relearned, and these three books can help you greatly."
Hearing the book titles, Sean immediately opened his Undetectable Extension Bag, found the three books, and placed them on the table.
Looking at these three books, Antonius's face showed nostalgia. He reached out, making a gesture of gently stroking the books, but in reality, both Sean and Antonius knew he couldn't actually touch anything.
"I can even remember the feel of touching these three books back then. Quite nostalgic."
Having said this, Antonius refocused his thoughts, reached out, and pointed, causing the books to open automatically. Then he stood up, passed through the desk and podium to reach the blackboard, reached out, and lightly tapped the blackboard, causing lines of text and alchemical circles to appear on it.
"Now, let's begin formal lessons. Please turn to page seven of Fundamentals of Alchemy: Swinburne's Annotations. I will start by teaching you the foundations and essence of alchemy. Given that you already have some foundation, I'll proceed quickly. If you're not focused enough, I'll be angry, so you must pay close attention."