Not long after entering the Llogara Forest, Nicolas stopped under a prominent birch tree.
Sirius, who had been refused, was pacing back and forth around Nicolas. He didn't seem to have been soothed into patience by those words… he was still as impatient as ever to find Severus and Harry.
"Aren't you going to that place? Why stop here now?"
"I contacted the Albanian Ministry of Magic. Using my identity as a French National Alchemist, I submitted a request to access the events within the Dragon Nature Reserve in the Llogara Forest."
Nicolas explained patiently, "Although they were puzzled about how I knew so much about this matter, due to the National Alchemist status, they promised to arrange for someone to meet me here. So don't worry, things are already arranged."
Sirius fell silent. He didn't say anything more, but his pacing didn't stop either. Even though Nicolas told him there were plans, he still felt that anything not related to finding Severus and Harry was a waste of time!
Yet now, he clearly had to follow Nicolas, otherwise, he wouldn't even be able to find Harry and Severus's location.
In Sirius's perception, every minute and second felt like a year. But in reality, they didn't have to wait long.
Around 10:30 in the morning, the Albanian Auror who had previously ventured deep underground with Severus to resist the Basilisk, Kabunara, Apparated next to Nicolas.
"Mr. Williams?"
Upon seeing Nicolas, he warmly extended his hand.
Nicolas, clearly not using his real name, also smiled and shook his hand.
"Mr. Kabunara, right? Ah, pleased to meet you!"
"The Ministry said a professional French National Alchemist was coming to assist. At first, I thought it was some fraudster from who-knows-where. But after contacting the French side, I found out it was actually an Alchemy Master coming!"
Kabunara praised.
This wasn't just flattery, because the false identity Nicolas used was the current president of the Alchemists' Association.
Even if his influence in the Wizarding World wasn't as great as Nicolas Flamel's, he was still a well-known alchemist throughout Europe.
Nicolas smiled, not engaging in further small talk, and simply asked,
"Can you take me to the site now? I learned from the liaison that the recent rumors about the Fountain of Fair Fortune are also related to the underground ruins you discovered?"
"Yes! We still haven't fully researched everything underground. But the situation is a bit complicated. Please, follow me first, I'll take you to the site."
It was only then that Kabunara noticed Sirius sitting beside Nicolas. His expression showed some surprise.
"Is this your pet?"
"His name is Black," Nicolas said with a smile, "He follows me everywhere."
Kabunara didn't think much of it. There were plenty of people and dogs named Black in the world.
Kabunara took Nicolas and used Apparition to return to the fir tree. This area had been further sealed off by the Albanian Aurors, with the restricted zone zoomed out.
In recent days, many wizards adventuring in the forest had become curious about this sealed-off area.
Some conspiracy theorists even suspected that the Albanian Ministry of Magic had secretly found the Fountain of Fair Fortune but was hiding the news.
During this time, the Aurors had discovered and driven away quite a few bold intruders.
After bringing Nicolas here, Kabunara didn't pause at all and immediately began descending underground.
However, due to Nicolas's physical condition, they didn't move quickly, and Apparition wasn't possible underground.
This made Sirius even more anxious. Eventually, he simply sprinted down the stone steps, reaching the underground area first.
After Sirius had been wandering around the underground plaza for a long time, Nicolas and Kabunara slowly made their way down.
"The architectural style here resembles that of Ancient Greece,"
Nicolas observed, looking at the stone pillars supporting the ceiling.
"Connected by mortise and tenon or metal pins, and those patterns... later wizards would find it difficult to replicate them so perfectly, even if they tried."
"Ancient Greece," Kabunara was surprised by this conclusion, "So, this place was built as early as before the Common Era?"
Nicolas didn't answer his question immediately. Instead, he continued circling the pillars and even pulled out a magnifying glass from somewhere, studying the details on the stone walls around them.
"These stone pillars were indeed built before the Common Era, but this space wasn't necessarily excavated during the same period."
Sirius, listening nearby, felt nothing but irritation. He simply couldn't understand what use it was to determine when these stones were made.
Fortunately, although the plaza was large, it was also empty. Apart from the pillars and the passage in the ceiling that Severus had initially discovered, used by the Basilisk to go out foraging, there was nothing else.
Kabunara continued leading the way, guiding Nicolas and Sirius to the narrow path leading to the stone mural. After passing the blurred stone relief, which Severus had basically identified as a chicken after encountering the Basilisk, Nicolas stopped.
He raised his magnifying glass. Kabunara, beside him, lit a Wand-Lighting Charm to help him see more clearly.
Nicolas didn't offer any opinion on this stone carving. In the end, he just put away the magnifying glass and gestured for Kabunara to continue leading the way.
They walked through the long passage and finally arrived before the stone mural, which had been cleaned up, with no traces of either the Aurors' or the Basilisk's bodies left.
At the first sight of the knight and the three witches mural, a look of admiration appeared on Nicolas's face.
"This is truly..."
He murmured, moving forward and pressing close to the mural.
Kabunara noticed Nicolas's unusual behavior. Although he didn't know what was happening, he also grew excited.
"Is there something about this mural, sir?"
Nicolas stretched out his aged hand, caressing the surface of the mural, those pigments that had endured who knows how many years.
"The composition of this painting isn't ordinary pigment. Every stroke is a symbol… the most ancient kind, from a time when there was no concept of [Alchemy] as we know it. They were symbols used by wizards to understand the world, to exchange power!"
Kabunara's voice also became excited.
"What can such a discovery bring us?"
"To let us understand how ancient wizards perceived nature, and how they viewed alchemy and magic!" Nicolas said loudly.
This answer left Kabunara somewhat bewildered.
"Uh... just that?"
"That is the greatest treasure, far more valuable than that so-called Fountain of Fair Fortune!"