Time returned to the day Horatio left the orphanage.
Though he looked cool as he resolutely walked out of the orphanage, he looked utterly pathetic when it came to finding somewhere to live.
Left with no choice, he stayed in a second-floor guest room at the Leaky Cauldron, grumbling about London hotels. "What bullshit about minors needing a guardian to check in? Where am I supposed to find a guardian?"
As a Chinese person at heart, Horatio deeply longed for a home of his own. To that end, he asked Tom, the pub owner, whether there were any suitable houses for sale.
Unfortunately, no Wizards had been willing to sell their little homes lately, so Horatio could only squeeze into the Leaky Cauldron. If Wayne Stark had found out that the esteemed young master Horatio was living in such a filthy, shabby pub, his jaw would probably have hit the floor.
The day after Horatio received Harry's deed of sale, an owl crashed through his room window and delivered a letter to him.
The letter was an invitation from Dumbledore, inviting Horatio to stay somewhere for a while. An address was enclosed as well: Ottery St Catchpole.
Though puzzled, Horatio packed his luggage, mounted Nut, and set off.
In a forest on the outskirts of Ottery St Catchpole, Dumbledore was already waiting for him.
Horatio followed Dumbledore deeper into the woods until they reached a two-story wooden house. When he pushed open its door, Horatio saw someone he had never expected to see.
"Teacher Nicolas, why are you here?" Horatio stared in surprise at Nicolas Flamel and Perenelle, who were sitting on the sofa in the wooden house's living room as though they had been waiting for a long time.
"I came to see you, little fellow, and to give you one final lesson." Nicolas Flamel shakily rose to his feet, walked over to Horatio, and patted his head.
The moment Horatio heard the words "final lesson," he seemed to realize something. He hurriedly said, "Teacher Nicolas, I still have the Philosopher's Stone. You can use it to brew an Elixir of Life." With that, he took the Philosopher's Stone from his pocket and handed it to Nicolas Flamel.
Nicolas Flamel gently pushed Horatio's hand back and shook his head. "Do you know this house? Perenelle and I built it over two hundred years ago. No matter how many times it has been renovated, it is still over two hundred years old. Its only remaining purpose is to burn itself down and become a foundation for a new house. That is inheritance."
"I had always been searching for an heir. Then, when Dumbledore brought you before me last time, I knew it was time for me to leave." Nicolas Flamel looked at Horatio kindly. "Don't be sad for me. The Horatio I know is a lawless little rascal who is happy every day."
Horatio turned his head away in dissatisfaction. "Who said I'm sad for you? My eyes just feel a little uncomfortable."
Over the following days, Nicolas Flamel taught Horatio everything he had learned in his life, including Human Alchemy, which he had previously refused to teach.
As Horatio's Alchemy steadily improved, Nicolas Flamel's health worsened by the day.
A month later, Pheobe and Madam Maxime arrived as well. By then, Nicolas Flamel and Perenelle were already bedridden and unable to rise. More and more people came, including Newt Scamander and his wife, Jacob Kowalski and his wife, and others.
That day, Nicolas Flamel called Horatio to his bedside and said, "Child, I will not urge you to become a kind and upright person. What I want to tell you is that I hope you follow your heart and do what you believe is right." Then, before many friends and relatives, he handed Horatio a ring and a key.
Afterward, he closed his eyes and left the world forever together with his wife, Perenelle. Every woman present wept bitterly.
Horatio did not cry. He told everyone that he had decided to bury Nicolas Flamel and Perenelle in a cemetery near Beauxbatons Academy in the Pyrenees Mountains of Southern France—where Nicolas had loved all his life, where the two had first met. They would depart early the next morning.
That night, Dumbledore walked out of the wooden house and found Horatio sitting on the roof, staring blankly at the moon. Dumbledore quietly came to his side and silently kept him company.
After a long while, Horatio asked, "Professor, why can some people clearly keep living, yet still face death so calmly?"
"Child, death is merely another great adventure. The more you fear death, the more terrible things will happen."
"I don't understand."
"You will understand someday."
"Where do you think Teacher Nicolas and the others will go? Another world?"
"I don't know, child. But it must be a wonderful journey."
After saying that, Dumbledore stood up and patted Horatio on the head. "Get some rest early, child. Tomorrow, we still have to hold your teacher's funeral." Then he turned and left the roof.
"Professor, you must not die. I still have your deed of sale. Even if you die, I'll revive you and make you keep working for me." Horatio's voice came from the rooftop.
Dumbledore stopped in his tracks. "Child, everyone will die someday. You cannot..."
"At least live until you see me grow up."
Dumbledore fell silent for a moment, then answered with a smile, "All right. I promise you."
The next day, Horatio prepared Nicolas Flamel's body and followed everyone as they Apparated to a cemetery beside Beauxbatons Academy.
After burying Nicolas Flamel and Perenelle together beneath a ginkgo tree, Horatio used Alchemy to make a tombstone. On it were written: "Nicolas Flamel, the greatest alchemist of this century, and his wife, Perenelle Flamel."
When everything was done, he stood before all their friends and relatives, silently lowering his head to look at the gravestone.
His back looked like a kite with a broken string, as though he might drift away at any moment. Seeing this, Pheobe stopped crying, quietly walked to his side, and took his hand.
As warmth spread through his palm, Horatio saw two souls emerge from the grave.
One was handsome and gentlemanly; the other was young and beautiful. They looked just as they had when they first met in their youth.
They waved at Horatio, clasped each other's hands, and slowly walked away into the distance.
Seeing this, Horatio raised his magic wand toward the sky. A faint glow shone from its tip, like a light of blessing offered in farewell.
Everyone present copied Horatio's gesture and gave Nicolas Flamel their final blessings.
After the funeral, Horatio gave the key to Madam Maxime and kept Nicolas Flamel's ring for himself. Madam Maxime expressed her gratitude.
After bidding farewell to Pheobe and the others, he returned to Devon with Dumbledore.
Watching the place where Horatio had disappeared, Pheobe said firmly to Madam Maxime, "Headmistress, after I graduate, I'm going to find him."
Madam Maxime said nothing and merely nodded.
Pheobe remembered what Perenelle had told her that day: "If one day you meet someone you would rush toward like a moth to a flame, then put on this ring and pursue him with determination."
Pheobe took out a ring identical to Nicolas Flamel's from her coat pocket and resolutely put it on.
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