A room with elegant decor.
"Teacher, I really didn't expect to run into you here."
Lucien looked at the energetic old man in white robes standing before him.
After taking the Vigor Reappearance Potion, the signs of age accumulated over centuries had vanished from Nicolas Flamel's appearance.
He now looked like a man of around a hundred years old, which was not considered particularly elderly among Wizards.
"I was just flying around in the airship and happened to wander here," Nicolas said with a smile, holding half a bottle of fizzy iced cola. "I didn't expect to run into you out in the wilderness either. Isn't Christmas almost here?"
Lucien had been on his way to the next Norwegian Ridgeback habitat when he spotted the familiar silhouette of the airship in the sky and decided to pay a visit.
"I'm looking for Norwegian Ridgebacks."
"Oh," Nicolas nodded and did not ask for further details.
He bit down on the straw, took a long drink of the iced cola, and let out a loud burp, looking thoroughly satisfied.
"Being able to eat and drink whatever I want like this... it's a feeling I haven't experienced in a very long time."
"No wonder Albus is so obsessed with sweets..."
Nicolas shifted into a more comfortable position and asked with great interest,
"Has anything interesting happened at Hogwarts this term? I've been drifting around in the sky, so I'm rather out of touch."
Lucien picked out some of the major events and recounted them.
At first, Nicolas listened with amusement. But when the conversation turned to the Chamber of Secrets, the Basilisk, the subsequent attacks, and Lucien's involvement, the legendary alchemist gradually sat up straight.
After hearing everything, he hesitated for a moment before speaking slowly:
"Lucien, isn't your Hogwarts a bit dange... too lively? Last year, a Dark Wizard sneaked into the school, and this year, there's a thousand-year-old Basilisk."
"Hmm. Would you consider transferring to Beauxbatons? The paperwork would be very easy to arrange."
Nicolas genuinely found the situation absurd.
He wasn't surprised by the existence of a Basilisk or a Dark Wizard. After all, he had lived for over six hundred years. There was little he had not seen.
But this was a school, a place meant for students to learn. And it was supposed to be Hogwarts, the safest magical school in the world, with Dumbledore himself in charge.
For such enormous incidents to occur two years in a row, Nicolas could not help but worry about his last student living in such an exciting environment every day.
He knew Beauxbatons inside and out. There were no major incidents there every year. Moreover, the Defence Against the Dark Arts position at Beauxbatons wasn't cursed, and dangerous individuals couldn't simply sneak into the school.
Besides, given Nicolas's status in the French magical world and his influence over Beauxbatons, arranging Lucien's transfer would be a simple matter.
"Thank you, Teacher," Lucien said politely, declining the offer. "But I've grown quite accustomed to Hogwarts. Besides, Headmaster Dumbledore told me that next term, Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang will hold an Interschool Tournament, and it will be hosted at Beauxbatons. I can experience it then."
Seeing that Lucien still had no intention of transferring, Nicolas nodded.
"Very well. Decide for yourself. If you run into any difficulties, write to me immediately."
He paused, as if suddenly remembering something.
"By the way, have they decided on the events for this Tournament yet?"
The question itself was ordinary enough, but Lucien recalled his earlier conversation with Dumbledore, and his expression became slightly odd.
After hesitating for a moment, he answered:
"I heard from the Headmaster that the event proposed by Beauxbatons seems to be Alchemy."
The moment he finished speaking, Nicolas stopped drinking his cola. Slowly, he lowered the bottle.
"Albus intends to have you represent Hogwarts in this competition?"
Although Lucien had not answered yet, Nicolas seemed to understand everything from his expression alone. The corners of his mouth twitched slightly.
"Hmm. Does he think that sending you, my student, to Beauxbatons to win an Alchemy competition would be particularly entertaining to watch?"
Lucien had not expected Nicolas to guess everything immediately.
He suddenly felt rather awkward. Nodding didn't seem appropriate, but neither did denying it.
Did these legendary Wizards who had lived for centuries all share some mysterious mutual understanding?
Seeing that Lucien was too embarrassed to respond, Nicolas laughed and waved his hand dismissively.
"Albus is still the same as he was when he was young. Hmm, he certainly has ideas."
"Go and visit Beauxbatons. There are many interesting things there, and when the time comes, make sure you show them what you're capable of..."
Nicolas's attitude relaxed Lucien. These old Wizards truly had remarkable mindsets.
Looking at his student, Nicolas suddenly remembered something.
"Speaking of which, shortly after you left last time, Headmistress Maxime of Beauxbatons happened to visit. She even brought a little girl with her. Her name was rather unique. I think it was Fleur..."
Lucien also recalled the brief glimpse he had caught during the summer holidays.
The exceptionally tall woman had naturally been Olympe Maxime, while the other girl, who seemed to be glowing, was Fleur.
It had been the first time Lucien had ever seen a person who appeared to emit light. But considering Fleur's partial Veela heritage, perhaps that was a special trait granted by her bloodline. The question was whether it also came with additional magical abilities.
There were many Wizards in the magical world who possessed unusual bloodlines.
The legendary Wizard most frequently spoken of, Merlin himself, was rumoured to have had half-nightmare blood flowing through his veins, allowing him to master forms of Magic that ordinary people found difficult or impossible to learn.
Lucien was particularly interested in this field because Salazar's legacy at Hogwarts focused primarily on the body and the soul, using the Wizard's own magical circuits to explore magical talent.
If that field could be developed further, perhaps it would be possible to achieve an Animagus transformation into magical creatures, or even allow Wizards to acquire some of those creatures' special abilities.
"Lucien, do you think I should hold a funeral for myself?"
"Um... what?"
The sudden question completely disrupted Lucien's train of thought. For a moment, he genuinely thought he had misheard.
Hold a funeral for himself?
And wasn't this topic changing a little too quickly? Weren't they just discussing Beauxbatons?
Lucien's bewildered expression made Nicolas realise how shocking his words had sounded, so he quickly explained:
"Didn't I ask Albus to spread the news that the Philosopher's Stone had been destroyed? That should discourage those with malicious intentions from continuing to seek me out. But if we're going to do it, we might as well do it properly. If I hold a funeral and invite enough people to attend and report on it, wouldn't it be much more convincing?"
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