"Dumbledore's worried you'll be affected by the Horcrux because—"
Before Nicolas Flamel could finish his sentence, Adam had already pulled a transparent case from his small coin pouch. Inside the case lay an exquisite golden locket, engraved with a lifelike snake. The serpent's body was twisted and coiled, with two emeralds set in its eyes that refracted an eerie light.
The moment Adam took out the case, a jarring ticking sound filled the workshop. Nicolas raised his hand, and the sound gradually stopped.
"You really didn't have to... put it in a container of alchemical bomb primer," Nicolas said, looking at the case and the yellowish fluid it was filled with. "This Horcrux at most can only create illusions or amplify your negative emotions."
Adam's voice grew softer, his gaze drifting to a corner of the room. "There was no other way. When I got the locket, that was the only container I had that felt safe."
"I'm starting to understand Albus now," Nicolas sighed, pointing to a scroll with a golden phoenix feather on it. "No wonder he used a good half-page of parchment trying to convince me not to teach you how to brew these things."
He paused, then asked, "Can you guarantee this case won't explode?"
"Of course," Adam promised confidently. "It definitely won't explode within a fifty-meter radius of the case."
"What about outside of fifty meters?"
"Probably not..."
Nicolas's expression grew strange as he stared at the locket. "I believe you can see that this locket is a special kind of container. It has an eternal quality, which allows anything stored inside it to remain completely unaffected by its surroundings. That's likely why Voldemort chose to make it a Horcrux."
"So no matter how much primer you put together, an explosion won't destroy this locket."
"It'll just destroy the person holding it," Adam mumbled quietly.
Nicolas looked as though he wanted to say more. He regretted teaching Adam alchemy, but in the end, he simply sighed and commanded a mechanical arm to take the transparent case and remove the locket.
"Are you going to erase the piece of Voldemort's soul inside it?" Adam asked, staring at the locket.
"Of course," Nicolas replied, putting on a pair of intricate, gear-filled glasses. "Albus and I agree that we should try to preserve this precious alchemical artifact from a thousand years ago. After all, there are many ways to destroy a Horcrux directly."
He focused intently on the locket in the mechanical arm's grasp and took out a piece of parchment, using a quill to carefully record the magical runes on its surface. He intentionally slowed down, adding notes in many places so Adam could understand.
Despite his efforts, Adam could only half-understand the dense symbols and marks. They made him feel dizzy, much like the parchment Professor Rowena had given him before, the contents of which were far beyond his current level of comprehension.
He was only shaken out of his trance when the door to the workshop was pushed open. Mrs. Flamel came in to urge them to have dinner. Adam realised he'd been staring at the locket's runes for the entire day.
"You're just like Nicolas when he was young," Mrs. Flamel said, ruffling his hair. "He'd often stay in his workshop for days at a time and wouldn't come out."
She handed him a cup of tea, smiling.
Adam politely took the cup and thanked her. He took a sip, and the cool, minty taste helped to ease his fatigue.
"I actually have plenty of potions," Mrs. Flamel continued, "but I think it's better for a young wizard your age to get a good night's sleep. Otherwise, you might not grow to your full height."
Shirley, who had been holding a slice of Opéra cake, froze. The beautiful cake, soaked in coffee syrup with three layers of chocolate buttercream and topped with a thin layer of chocolate and gold flakes, looked delicious. After a moment of hesitation, she pushed the cake toward Adam with great resolve.
"Did you put mint and evening primrose in this?" Adam asked, holding his teacup.
"I also added a little bit of vitality flower petals," Mrs. Flamel explained, nodding with satisfaction. "Newt sent them over when he saw this rare plant in the rainforest while he was writing his book."
Adam thoughtfully looked at the teacup and noticed the petals had settled into an upside-down triangle shape. He was relieved when no circular pattern appeared.
"That symbol means 'opportunity'," Mrs. Flamel said, looking slightly surprised. "This falls into divination, but you'd better confirm it."
Adam, who didn't quite understand, followed her instructions to tip the cup upside down onto the saucer and turn it clockwise to drain the tea leaves. Although he spun it with all his might, the few petals continued to float and ultimately maintained their original shape.
"What does this mean?" Adam asked, confused.
Mrs. Flamel smiled at Shirley, who cleared her throat and began to explain in a serious tone. "This is a branch of divination called tasseography, where you observe the patterns left by tea leaves in a cup. For example, an anchor represents a journey or a new start, and a broom represents a sudden change."
"The triangle symbol in your cup represents an opportunity, hinting that an unexpected opportunity will appear soon."
"How soon?" Adam asked gravely.
Shirley rolled her eyes and poked his cheek. "How am I supposed to know?" she said, annoyed. "Besides, your symbol is upside down, which means the opportunity could be hiding danger."
"What if it's an opportunity hidden within the danger?" Adam asked, tilting his head.
Mrs. Flamel noticed that when Adam dodged Shirley's poke, he accidentally bumped the teacup, causing the handle to point toward Shirley. Her expression changed slightly as she reminded them, "Tasseography is an ancient form of prophecy, and the position of the tea leaves matters. For example, the bottom of the cup symbolises past influences."
Shirley and Adam both sat back down obediently, but neither of them noticed that the teacup had been turned. This made Mrs. Flamel sigh. She knew that any attempt to change a prophecy would likely only push it toward fulfilment.
"Shirley, do you remember the crystal ball I taught you to use today?" Mrs. Flamel asked, changing her approach.
Shirley nodded and took a clear crystal ball from her small pouch. Holding it in her palm, she faced Adam and whispered something. Adam sat obediently in his chair, as Mrs. Flamel had instructed.
By the time Adam started to feel sleepy, the crystal ball in Shirley's palm suddenly gave off a soft glow. But a look of confusion was plastered across Shirley's face. She looked at Mrs. Flamel and said, "The crystal ball is completely blank."
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