Archaeologists at Hogwarts

Chapter 159 Nick Flamel

Like a dark phantom flashing past, the door of an ordinary house opened and then closed gently without attracting the attention of any passerby.

Toby was wearing a large black witch robe with his hood still on. He was holding a wand and had appeared in the foyer. Every move he made showed a sense of caution.

After walking out of the foyer, Toby came to the large living room. It could be seen that this was once a place used to study alchemy. Various instruments were placed everywhere, and smoke was slowly rising.

There is more than one living room, and there is no doubt that the house has been cast with a traceless stretching spell. Toby walked through the long corridor cautiously and slowly. He suddenly heard an unusual noise coming from the end of the corridor, and immediately pointed his wand there.

.

A wizard all in white slowly poked his head out. He was too old to look like, his eyebrows and hair were all white, and his skin was paler than the dead.

"Coffee? Or tea?"

Nick Flamel asked with a smile, as if he was talking to a familiar friend, rather than facing an intruder who might kill him at any time.

Toby remained silent for a while. He saw the tea bag in Flamel's hand from a distance. He slowly put down the wand and strode towards another small and comfortable living room. He saw that the tea bag had already been brewed on the retro-style coffee table.

I had a cup of tea and two snacks.

"Did you know I was coming?" Toby turned around and asked.

The extra snack was obviously prepared for him.

Flamel took it upon himself to help Toby make the decision. He put the tea bag in the tea cup filled with hot water and lifted it up little by little. He moved very slowly. It was estimated that it would take ten minutes before he could put it on the coffee table.

Toby simply took the tea cup and helped the old Flamel sit down on the sofa.

"When Albus returned the Sorcerer's Stone to me, I knew you would come to me one day."

Flamel smiled and said, his eyes flashing with inquiry: "What did you do to the Philosopher's Stone? I can't detect it at all."

"It's skeletal algae."

Toby sat on the seat on the other side of the coffee table, looking at Flamel under his hood: "I got it in the city of Loch Ness. It is probably extinct in the magical world. It is very good."

Tracking methods used.”

"That's it." Flamel said with satisfaction. He slowly stretched out an arm and wanted to lift the tea cup in front of him to take a sip, but Toby held him down across the coffee table.

"Mr. Flamel." Toby said in a low tone: "I'm not here to chat with you, nor am I here specifically to answer your questions. I want to know why you and Principal Dumbledore insisted on destroying the Philosopher's Stone.

?”

Flamel's temper was still so good that he simply took his arm back and stopped drinking tea.

"Oh, you said exactly what Albus said."

"The principal mentioned me?"

"Yeah, a student who gives him a lot of headaches, that's how Albus usually describes you."

When it came to Dumbledore, Toby became less anxious.

He was silent for a while.

"Is it just a headache?" He said: "If you have to compare it like this, the principal is indeed a headache. In order to avoid arousing the principal's suspicion, I refrained from looking for you during the entire vacation, and I didn't find you until today.

The right time, the perfect opportunity to escape."

Flamel asked with interest: "Can you tell me more about it?"

"Forget it." Toby said: "After all, I don't know many clues, I just saw a pair of eyes. But I am indeed very interested in the heir of Slytherin. I will find a way after finishing these things.

Go solve it. Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets sounds very tempting."

"So you really plan to do archeology at Hogwarts?" Flamel seemed to know Toby very well. He asked with a smile: "I have heard that some of your experiences are mixed with ancient relics, including ancient magic.

And magic circles, and ritual magic—can you help me?"

Toby did not refuse. He followed Flamel's line of sight to the bookshelf. Some of them were books he was familiar with - including "Ancient Magic" he had written, as well as various magazines in which he had published articles, and many places.

They've all been tagged, and I've obviously read them more than once.

"I have made a very interesting discovery." Flamel struggled to open the pages of the book, but his tone sounded a little excited: "I have carefully read your research on magic circles and ritual magic, and found that it has many similarities with alchemy.

It can also be said that they have profoundly influenced alchemy. Perhaps in the distant era, before alchemy appeared, magic circles and ritual magic already existed."

This speculation immediately aroused Toby's interest.

"You mean they're older than alchemy? You mean the ancient Greeks?"

The ancient Greek period was from 800 BC to 146 BC, which was the earliest period that can be traced in the magic world. Many famous wizards appeared at that time, and they are still preserved in the chocolate frog drawings. For example, they can summon

There are giant-sized patron saints [Invincible Andros], prophets [Calchas] and [Mopsus], and the famous dark wizard [Despicable Herbo].

"No," Flamel said, "Maybe it's older than that, maybe it's from the Dark Ages."

The Dark Ages are much older than the ancient Greek period, ranging from about the 12th century BC to the 9th century BC.

This time, Toby showed less excitement. He quickly calmed down, took his eyes away from the book and focused on Nick Flamel.

"But you haven't answered my question yet." He said: "Even if you want to refuse, there is no need to fool me with the Dark Ages. It was a blank period in the magical world, and there is no written record that has been handed down."

Flamel met Toby's gaze. Even though it was covered by the hood, he still accurately found the deepest darkness under the hood and looked directly at him.

"Yes, there are no written records." Flamel said: "But there is still magic handed down. I believe you have seen it with your own eyes, whether it is magic circle or ritual magic."

"Or maybe it's the Philosopher's Stone."

There was a brief silence.

"What did you say?"

Toby's tone became much more serious in an instant: "Didn't you make the Philosopher's Stone yourself?"

"Oh, it's not that serious." Flamel shook his head and said, "I made the magic stone. But few people know its connection with ancient magic. In other words, if you look at it from today's perspective, even

I can be considered an iconic figure in ancient magic, after all, I have lived for too long."

"But the Philosopher's Stone has been destroyed," Toby said.

"That's right." Flamel nodded: "But don't you want to know how the Philosopher's Stone was made? Don't say you are not interested in the Philosopher's Stone, even the mysterious man wants to get it."

"But I also believe that the Philosopher's Stone cannot be copied." There was warning in Toby's tone: "And I vaguely feel that you seem to be setting a trap for me. Although I don't know the reason yet. I am very unhappy.

I wish to say so, M. Flamel, but my patience has its limits."

Nick Flamel sighed, seeming to feel sorry for Toby's choice.

"Okay." He compromised and slowly explained: "All of this comes from part of my past experience. I was not that young at that time and was nearly four hundred years old. I received a commission. This commission

It’s related to a terrible dark wizard—Extis.”

After hearing the name, Toby said in a low voice: "I have heard of him."

"Then it should be easier for you to understand this story." Flamel continued: "I and some people came to a small island, where Extis once lived. It is said that he became mentally ill in the later years of his life.

Abnormality - I have no doubt about this. I have never seen a place so close to hell. It is really terrifying. Please forgive me for not telling you too much truth. Before going to that island, I made a decision.

An unbreakable oath."

"All in all, during the process of exploration, the clues left by Extis made me feel extremely uneasy. I know that one day I will destroy the Magic Stone with my own hands and cannot let it continue to exist. Otherwise,

I will most likely become a madman who cannot die. That would be too torturous."

After listening to all the stories, Toby asked: "Do you know the exact location of that island?"

"Almost no one knows." LeMay did not feel disappointed or frustrated, but expressed joy: "I believe you already know why I said that."

"Of course." Toby whispered: "Of course, of course I know why."

"Azkaban."

"I didn't expect you to have been to Azkaban."

Under Ruoyouruowu's gaze, Flamel said: "So you should know why Albus didn't tell you the reason why he destroyed the Sorcerer's Stone. He didn't want you to get into trouble. The island was cursed."

The Marking Spell is floating alone in the sea and is extremely difficult to find."

"Yes, I know very well." Toby said, but his tone did not loosen at all.

Flamel sighed again.

"It seems that my persuasion is of no use. So what should we do next, erase my memory? Or -"

He deliberately left a blank space, symbolizing the ending that he no longer cares about.

"No, let's forget it." Toby stood up and pretended to leave: "Your body is too weak and cannot withstand any spell. I don't want my soul to be polluted because of this. It is already fragile enough.

So fragile."

Before Toby really left, Flamel took the time to ask: "Is this also related to the reason why you are unwilling to take off your hood?"

Toby suddenly stood still, turned around slowly, lifted his hood, and dispersed the smoke surrounding his face.

"I don't like to show my true face to others, as that will leave clues and memories. But this time, I just want to be polite and don't want to scare the owner of the house."

Under the hood is a golden mask that is vaguely integrated with the face. The two faces are intertwined and overlapped. The fine black lines spread to the entire face, beating like blood vessels, vaguely revealing some unknown pattern.

, like a magic circle.

In the face, dark eyes looked at the surprised Nick Flamel. Toby pointed at his face and asked: "Do you think this is also the magic of the dark ages?"

Flamel watched carefully for a while. If it weren't for his inability to move freely, he would have walked over and looked closer.

He ended by asking: "What is the dark age you are referring to? The mask? Or the face beneath the mask?"

Toby put his hood back on, and the black smoke gathered again, hiding his face.

"I think it's a mask from the dark ages, and a soul darker than that."

Toby left as silently as he had come.

Flamel finally had time to enjoy his tea, but his expression was worried.

"What a pity. He is such a stubborn person. I have tried my best to persuade him, but he still refused the Sorcerer's Stone. This is really strange. Do I really deserve to be a student taught by you, Albus?"

A figure slowly walked down from the attic of the house, and Albus Dumbledore appeared with a tired Fawkes. He looked at the direction Toby left, walked to the opposite side of Flamel, and sat on the chair where Toby had sat before.

Go up, pick up a mouthful of untouched tea, and take a sip.

"It tastes good." Dumbledore smiled and said, "Maybe I should be a guest more often."

"If you want, you are welcome at any time." Flamel asked curiously: "But how did you know that he would come today? You should understand what I mean, after the end of the last semester at Hogwarts, any day

He may come."

Dumbledore gently put Fawkes on the coffee table and said: "Because I know my student very well. When Toby was a student, he has been wary of me, very vigilant. There is no guarantee that everything will go wrong."

, he will not take the risk to come to you. It happened that not long ago, the vice-principal of Wagadu was coming to Hogwarts to teach. In this situation that favors school exchanges, the principal of the school must be present.

.”

"Poor Angela, she is probably still kept in the dark by Toby, thinking that Toby is asking her to help with other things, but she doesn't know that her role is just to keep an eye on me.

"

While Dumbledore was explaining, Nick Flamel finally brought up the tea. He took a pleasant sip and exhaled comfortably.

"But what should we do now?" Flamel asked after spending the same time putting the tea cup down: "To be honest, I thought he would do it. He looks really scary. But he is not worried about me.

Will I tell you this?"

Dumbledore maintained his unchanged smile: "This is the genius of my student. He cares more about the results rather than the process. Toby has already got the answer and knows where to go next. As for the remaining questions,

It doesn't matter to him, and he might even find an excuse to get past it - this is his usual style."

"Do you really think so?" Flamel asked doubtfully: "Have you not noticed his current state? It looks very dangerous. Even if he is said to be a dark wizard, some people will immediately believe it."

"Seriously, how can you still laugh now?"

Dumbledore put down the empty tea cup, his blue eyes were bright, and he said in an extremely sincere tone——

"Yes, I don't want Toby to continue to ask why the Philosopher's Stone was destroyed, but many times things often don't develop in the direction we want, forcing us to make choices."

"And I have indeed not been so happy for a long time. Even in the years after leaving England, even after leaving school, Toby still did not ruin his soul."