vncnus Chapter 79 The First Formal Meeting with Nico
Chapter 79 The First Formal Meeting with Nico
Chapter 79 The First Formal Meeting with Nico
Karen followed Professor Castor through the castle corridors and staircases after leaving the Potions classroom, their hurried footsteps echoing crisply on the floor.
"Professor, why does Headmaster Dumbledore suddenly want to see me?" As they turned a corner, Cullen finally couldn't help but ask.
Professor Castor's lips curled into a slight smile. "It's not Dumbledore who wants to see you." He lowered his voice. "Nico Flamel just arrived at Hogwarts; it's him who wants to see you."
Karen's heart suddenly raced, and his fingers unconsciously reached for his breast pocket, where the mysterious parchment Nico had left him three years ago was kept with him at all times. They arrived at the stone beast at the entrance to the headmaster's office, and Castor, his lips twitching slightly, uttered the command: "Cockroach Pile."
The stone beast immediately leaped aside, revealing a spiral staircase behind it. Karen followed the professor up the automatically ascending stairs.
He felt his heart pounding in his chest. He was about to see the legendary alchemist again, and this time, perhaps he could unravel the mystery that had troubled him for so long.
Upon entering the headmaster's office, Karen's attention was immediately drawn to the scene in the center of the room—Dumbledore was standing beside his desk; and opposite him, an elderly man with silver hair was facing away from the door, intently observing something on the desk.
"Ah, Cullen," Dumbledore's gentle voice rang out, "I'm glad you've come. I think you know this gentleman?"
The silver-haired old man turned around, and Karen's breath caught in his throat. Those wise eyes, with a gentle yet sharp gaze, were those of the same old man he had met three years ago at the Mayflower Memorial.
"Mr. Nicolas Flamel," Karen said softly, her heart pounding in her chest.
Nicolas Flamel smiled slightly, his wrinkles smoothing out. He was as thin as Karen remembered, yet radiated an indescribable energy. "We meet again, Karen Hawthorne." His voice was surprisingly spirited, a stark contrast to his aged appearance. "Three years have passed; you've grown quite a bit."
Karen instinctively touched the parchment in his breast pocket, the scroll of gift Nico had left him, which remained undeciphered to this day. "Mr. Lemaître, I've kept this you gave me—"
"I know, son, I know," Nico interrupted him gently, turning to Dumbledore. "Albus, may I speak with Cullen alone? About Lucian."
Dumbledore nodded. "Of course, Nico. Castor and I have something to discuss." He gestured to Castor, "Shall we go to the next room?"
Castor nodded and left the office with Dumbledore.
As the two professors left, the office fell silent. Phoenix Fox let out a melodious chirp, flew down from its perch, and landed on Karen's shoulder, its warm feathers gently brushing his cheek.
"Fox likes you," Nico said with a smile, gesturing for Karen to sit down. "That's a good sign."
Karen settled carefully into an armchair, Fox's weight giving him a strange sense of security. "Mr. Lemaître, about Lucian Sinclair—"
"Just call me Nico, kid." Nico sat down opposite him and took out an object from his pocket that Karen recognized all too well—the experimental journal they had found in the secret room. "First of all, I want to thank you for finding this. I never expected to see anything related to Lucian again after all these years."
Karen held her breath as she watched Nicole's aged fingers gently trace the words "Nicholas Flamel II" on the journal cover.
“You must have many questions,” Nico said, looking directly into Cullen’s eyes. “Why would a Slytherin call himself ‘Ravenclaw’? Why does his research on the Eye of Truth resemble your Eye of Reality?”
Karen nodded, her grey-blue eyes unblinking. "Professor Castor said that Lucian and you have a good relationship?"
“Friend, student, fellow traveler.” Nico’s voice was filled with nostalgia. “Lucian was one of the most talented alchemists I’ve ever met. His specialty was ancient runes, but before that—” He paused. “He was a genius of spells.”
Nico flipped through the journal and pointed to a page with intricate rune diagrams: "Do you know what this is?"
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Karen leaned closer to examine it, and his Eye of Truth activated automatically. The runes seemed to come alive in his eyes, displaying a three-dimensional magical structure. "A blueprint for some kind of visual enhancement device?"
"We're getting closer." Nico nodded approvingly. "This is Lucian's Eye of Truth—an alchemical artifact based on the concept of the Eye of Truth. Of course, it's not exactly the same as your innate ability."
Karen's eyes widened in surprise: "He knows about the Eye of Truth?"
“I know, but I’ve never seen it with my own eyes.” Nico’s finger traced the annotations on the chart. “He learned about the description of this ability from me and then tried to replicate its function using alchemy.”
Nico turned to another page, which featured an exquisite drawing of a crown, surrounded by dense notes. "This is his most important discovery during his time teaching at Hogwarts, the intellectual legacy of Ravenclaw."
"Ravenclaw's legacy? Isn't it the tiara?" Karen couldn't help but ask.
A flicker of surprise crossed Nico's eyes. "You know about the crown? That's right. But Ravenclaw left behind more than just the crown; more importantly, her treasure trove of knowledge. Lucian discovered this secret during his teaching career, and although he didn't find the physical crown, he believed—" Nico paused, a nostalgic glint in his eyes, "...that knowledge itself is the true crown."
Cullen was somewhat at a loss for words. A Slytherin, yet inheriting Ravenclaw's legacy—it was simply "unbelievable, wasn't it?" Nicole seemed to read Cullen's thoughts. "Two Slytherins have inherited Ravenclaw's mantle. Although I haven't spent much time at Hogwarts, I know that the Sorting Hat's decision is never absolute, Cullen."
Ravenclaws pursue intellect, while Slytherins crave achievement; sometimes, these two paths lead to the same destination.
He pointed to a peculiar symbol on the last page of the journal—an eye-shaped pattern surrounded by five ancient runes. "This was Lucian's final design. He believed that by combining alchemy and ancient magic, he could create a device similar to the fusion of the Eye of Truth and the Crown. But just as he was about to complete his research—..."
"He's gone missing in Egypt," Karen added.
Nico's expression turned serious: "Yes. In 1953, he discovered an unrecorded tomb in Egypt, supposedly related to Hermes. He sent me a last letter saying he had found a key fragment of the experiment, and then I never heard from him again."
Karen's thoughts raced. Lucian's research, the design of the Eye of Truth, Ravenclaw's intellectual legacy—all of these seemed to be connected in some way, but he couldn't see the whole picture yet.
"Nico," he hesitated, "do you think Lucian is still alive?"
The old man was silent for a moment, a trace of sadness flashing in his eyes: "I don't know, child. The magical world is full of miracles, but also full of dangers. What Lucian is pursuing is very powerful, very mysterious, and naturally very dangerous as well."
A moment of silence filled the office. Then, the door opened softly, and Dumbledore and Castor entered. Fawkes leaped from Cullen's shoulder, tracing a golden arc through the air.
"How did the talks go?" Dumbledore asked gently, his eyes gleaming with curiosity behind his half-moon spectacles.
Nico closed the journal: "Very productive. Karen is grasping Lucian's research very quickly." He turned to Karen, "We'll discuss the parchment I gave you in more detail next time we meet. Now, I think you have a lot to digest."
Karen nodded, then suddenly remembered a question: "Professor Dumbledore, do you recall Lucian Sinclair?"
Dumbledore pondered for a moment, his long, slender fingers stroking his silver beard: "To be honest, there wasn't much direct contact."
"When he was in school, I was busy with other things." Cullen noticed Dumbledore's gaze briefly sweep over Castor. "And during the years he taught, I was traveling around Europe dealing with some troubles. But from what I know, Lucian is a peaceful person with a great curiosity and thirst for magic."
Dumbledore paused, his blue eyes looking directly at Cullen: "It's interesting, he's a lot like you, except he's a Ravenclaw soul sorted into Slytherin."
Castor suddenly spoke, his voice low: "Nicholas, regarding Lucien's discoveries in Egypt, are those documents still available?"
Nico shook his head: "He didn't leave behind much, but I've kept some of his early notes, if you're interested."
At this point, Nico suddenly fell silent, and then the three of them exchanged a knowing glance.
Karen watched as the three wizards exchanged glances, realizing that there was some kind of tacit understanding between them that he had not yet fully grasped.
Just then, a silver instrument on the wall suddenly emitted a soft chiming sound.
"Ah, it's time." Dumbledore glanced at the instrument. "Nicole, the Ministry of Magic will be arriving in ten minutes."
Karen, I'm afraid our meeting will have to end here for now.
Karen stood up, then suddenly remembered something: "Nicole, can I—get that journal back? I want to study Lucian's notes in more detail."
Nico and Dumbledore exchanged a glance, then the old man smiled and handed the journal to Cullen: "Of course, child."
But handle with care, as some of the content is quite sensitive.
Karen solemnly accepted the journal, feeling the subtle magical fluctuations emanating from the parchment. "Thank you, I will keep it safe."
Castor followed her out of the principal's office. On the spiral staircase, he whispered to Karen, "Come to my office tomorrow night with your log. We need to study those runes in detail."
Karen nodded, his heart racing. He had a vague feeling that he was standing on the edge of a huge mystery, and the answer might be hidden in this journal.
It was evening when Karen returned to the Ravenclaw tower. The common room was empty, with only the embers in the fireplace casting a faint red glow. Karen tiptoed to her room and, upon opening the door, found that her three roommates were still awake.
"You're finally back!" Wesley jumped out of bed, his hair as messy as ever. "What does Dumbledore want with you?"
Fabian pushed up his glasses, his black hair gleaming in the candlelight: "We've been speculating for ages, discussing every possibility from your expulsion to receiving a special reward."
Ernesto didn't speak, but his gray eyes were filled with curiosity.
Karen hesitated for a moment, then took the journal out of her robe: "I saw Nicolas Flamel."
All three pairs of eyes widened simultaneously. Wesley gasped. "You mean Nicolas Flamel? The alchemist who's over six hundred years old?"
“It is him.” Karen sat down on her four-poster bed and carefully opened the journal. “He knows the owner of this journal, Lucian Sinclair.”
Fabian immediately interjected, "Did he explain why a Slytherin would sign their name as 'Ravenclaw'?"
Karen nodded and briefly recounted what Nico had told him—about Ravenclaw's intellectual legacy, omitting the part about the Eye of Truth. The three roommates listened intently, even the noisiest Wesley quieted down.
"Merlin's beard!" Ernesto murmured. "A Slytherin inheriting Ravenclaw's legacy? This is simply—."
“Incredible,” Fabian continued, his fingers unconsciously twirling a strand of black hair. “But logically it makes sense. If Ravenclaw values wisdom itself, rather than belonging to the House…”
Wesley pointed curiously to a page in the journal: "What's this? It looks complicated."
Karen looked at where he was pointing—a design drawing of a visual matrix. "A design for a visual enhancement device," he replied cautiously. "Lucian seems particularly fascinated by visual magic."
Ernesto leaned closer to examine the intricate runes: "This design is ingenious. Did he complete it?"
"No, just like we found out before, Lucian disappeared in Egypt." Karen closed the journal, suddenly feeling a wave of exhaustion wash over her. "We need more time to study these notes."
Fabian glanced at his pocket watch: "It's already one in the morning. We have class tomorrow. We should go to sleep."
After lights out, Karen lay in bed, listening to his roommates' even breathing, but couldn't fall asleep for a long time. His thoughts kept returning to Nico's words, to the mysterious journal, and to Lucian Sinclair, this enigmatic figure.
A soul with Ravenclaw's soul, yet sorted into Slytherin; filled with endless curiosity about magic, yet ultimately lost on the path of seeking truth.