More than half of the allotted time for the free Alchemy session had already passed. After completing his planned work for the day, Lucien returned to his temporary dormitory at Beauxbatons for a short rest.
He had just settled onto the sofa by the window when an invisible ripple shimmered through the air in front of him.
Lumen silently appeared, a small, delicate cloth pouch hanging from its chest. The auspicious clouds surrounding it stirred gently, carrying a rolled-up parchment letter forward until it floated in front of Lucien.
"Master, a letter from Mr. Scamander," Lumen's ethereal voice sounded directly in Lucien's mind. Then, with a hint of anticipation, it asked, "Would you like to reply now? If not, may I go explore the mountains for a while? You can summon me whenever you need me."
Lucien reached out and took the letter, then waved a hand at Lumen. "Go ahead. Stay safe."
Ever since arriving in this new environment, Lumen had been eager to explore the mountains surrounding Beauxbatons, just as it had been when it first entered the Forbidden Forest at Hogwarts.
Lumen nodded happily before disappearing in a flash.
Lucien tore open the envelope bearing the familiar handwriting and quickly scanned its contents.
As he read, an unmistakable look of delight appeared on his face.
They had found her!
Mr. Scamander had found Nagini in the forests of Albania!
He continued reading, but the brow that had only just relaxed soon furrowed again as he let out a quiet breath.
The letter mentioned that Nagini had suddenly lunged at Newt during their attempt to communicate. Fortunately, the alchemical amulets Lucien had given him in advance had activated in time, allowing Newt to subdue and take her away without any real danger.
Lucien's fingers unconsciously rubbed the fine parchment.
According to the original timeline, Voldemort should not yet have had the opportunity to turn Nagini into a Horcrux.
However, it was difficult to say whether the changes Lucien had introduced, especially after beating Voldemort's remnant soul into such a miserable state the previous year, might have accelerated or delayed the Dark Lord's plans to create new Horcruxes.
Perhaps because Lucien had severely injured him, Voldemort would need even longer to recover his strength, thereby delaying his plan to turn Nagini into a Horcrux?
Lucien shook his head and put those speculations aside for the moment.
In any case, he first needed to confirm Nagini's current physical condition.
Once the competition at Beauxbatons was over, he could pay Mr. Scamander a visit. Alternatively, he could wait until the summer holidays. The matter was important, but it was not urgent.
Lucien's thoughts then turned to Voldemort's other Horcruxes.
In the original story, Voldemort had created seven Horcruxes in total: Tom Riddle's diary, Marvolo Gaunt's ring, Slytherin's locket, Ravenclaw's diadem, Hufflepuff's cup, Nagini, and Harry himself.
Lucien stood up and walked over to the desk. He pulled out a blank sheet of parchment, picked up a quill, and began writing quickly, organising the information he knew.
Diary: Already in Dumbledore's possession. (Circled)
Gaunt's Ring: Should still be in the abandoned Gaunt shack. (Hmm. Need to find an opportunity to warn Dumbledore about the curse on the ring.)
Slytherin's Locket: In the possession of Kreacher, the House of Black's house-elf? (Question mark)
Ravenclaw's Diadem: Still in the Room of Requirement at Hogwarts. (Circled)
Hufflepuff's Cup: In the Lestrange family vault at Gringotts? (Question mark)
Nagini: Found by Newt, possibly not yet a Horcrux. (Circled)
Harry: ...
The parchment was soon covered in circles and question marks.
Looking over the list, Lucien realised that he could no longer remember the exact details of certain timelines. Some of the Horcruxes would still need to be located and confirmed personally.
For example, finding Slytherin's Locket would first require tracking down the elderly house-elf belonging to the House of Black.
But the ancestral home of the Black family was not a place he could easily enter.
The portrait of former Hogwarts Headmaster Phineas Nigellus Black would certainly know how to return to the old family home, but asking him directly would most likely earn Lucien nothing but a cold rebuff.
Still, that was not a major problem.
Lucien lightly tapped the parchment with the end of his quill.
In a few months, the only remaining legal heir of the House of Black, Sirius Black, who had been wrongfully imprisoned, would successfully escape from Azkaban.
When that happened, Lucien could simply go straight to him.
He was not worried about being unable to find Sirius.
According to the original plot, Sirius's first priority after escaping would be to find Harry.
When the time came, all Lucien needed to do was wait near Harry...
Use Harry as bait?
The oddly fisherman-like thought startled Lucien. The corners of his lips had just begun to rise when he frowned instead.
His gaze fell once more on the name written on the parchment.
Harry.
Lucien drew two heavy circles around the name, his brow tightening.
How was he supposed to deal with the fragment of Voldemort's soul inside the boy?
Was he really going to follow the original story and let Harry face death, allowing Voldemort himself to "kill" him once?
No. There was still too much risk involved.
After all, Lucien had already caused many changes to the original timeline. If even one step went wrong, the consequences could be irreversible.
Was there a better way...?
...
Inside the private Alchemy classroom Beauxbatons had prepared for the contestants, the air shimmered faintly with the flow of magic.
The various precision instruments had already stopped operating. At the centre of the workbench lay a lightweight notebook, its cover shimmering with dark silver and mysterious blue light.
Lucien stood before the table, steadily tracing the final few arcs with his wand.
Pure magic transformed into visible silver threads of light, flowing from the tip of his wand and seeping gently and precisely into the dizzyingly complex magical engravings along the edges of the notebook.
The patterns lit up one after another, like veins being filled with life, before finally converging at the centre of the cover into a stable and harmonious composite rune array. The light flashed once and then faded, leaving behind a deep, extraordinary lustre.
"It's almost over."
Lucien lowered his wand and murmured to himself.
He was referring to the final free Alchemy segment, which was nearly finished. Once the contestants submitted their respective alchemical works and the rankings were determined, this trip to Beauxbatons would come to a successful conclusion.
He was also referring to the repayment of the loan for the Emerald Tablet fragment, which was nearing completion.
________
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