Flying Away from Death

In an apartment in Devon, Nicholas is sitting in an armchair reading a book, his gaze occasionally drifting to the mechanical clock by the fireplace. He is waiting for a friend to visit, but there is no doubt that the friend is late.

A moment later, there was a knock on the door.

"Albus, it's rare to see you late."

The apartment owner opened the door and greeted the old man outside with a smile. Only this old friend could knock on the apartment door without triggering any defensive magic.

"There were watchers," Dumbledore explained his lateness. "Several Muggle were under the influence of the Imperius Curse, and it took me a while to get rid of them."

"It seems Voldemort has indeed set his sights on the Philosopher's Stone." Nicholas said with a helpless expression.

"He'll never get in, will he?" Perenelle greeted the other man with a smile. These two had lived for centuries; what hadn't they seen? "Yes, he's still very weak, and it'll be difficult for him to even break through the outer Protective Magic," Dumbledore nodded. "However, he's still a problem."

For the LeMay Couple, life wasn't significantly affected. They rarely went out anymore; while the Elixir of Life kept them alive, their bodies had become frail with age.

The incident occurred a month ago. Sensing an impending threat, Nicholas hurriedly left France and returned to his apartment in Britain, protected by the Fidelius Charm.

The other party did not give up and still made his way to Britain, only to be thwarted by the Fidelius Charm.

Later, Dumbledore told Nicholas that the people searching for them were likely Voldemort, who probably wanted to use the Philosopher's Stone to restore his powers.

This is not good news.

The LeMay Couple needed the Elixir of Life created from the Philosopher's Stone to continue living; once the Philosopher's Stone was taken away, their lives would come to an end.

They contacted Dumbledore, who offered to help them resolve the problem.

If Voldemort were to regain his power with the help of the Philosopher's Stone and rise again, the entire Wizarding World would likely never have a day of peace again.

"However, how come you have time to come over? I remember today is the day of the alchemy gathering." Nicholas glanced at the purple invitation on the fireplace. "Sera will probably be very unhappy. I promised to attend the gathering last time."

"I've participated a few times before, but I found it boring and stopped going." Dumbledore added three sugar cubes to his black tea. "It's been a long time since any new people have joined."

"It seems you haven't been paying attention to this for a long time. Sera told me he found a wonderful child, just as wonderful as you were back then." Nicholas seemed unconcerned about Voldemort.

"I know him. His name is Albert Anderson. He's a very talented boy and very skilled in Ancient Runes." Dumbledore hadn't paid much attention to Albert, but he still had a deep impression of him. "He's a bit like me. He often keeps in touch with famous wizards. Hertok even suffered a great loss in front of him."

"Hertok?" Nicholas thought for a moment, then exclaimed, "Oh, I see! It's that child!"

"You know him?" Dumbledore was surprised that Nicholas knew Albert.

"We met once at the opera house in France, and Hertok even Divination me about the Gold Card," Nicholas explained.

"What happened to them afterward?" Perenelle was more concerned with the outcome. "Did Hertok get his Gold Card back?"

"Yes, they eventually reconciled," Dumbledore a smile. "Hertok helped Mr. Anderson clear up the misunderstanding."

"We know why you're here. If you really need it, we can give you a Philosopher's Stone." Nicholas sighed softly, steer the conversation back on track. The Philosopher's Stone was far too important to them; losing Philosopher's Stone meant death, and they wouldn't risk it.

Of course, Nicholas was aware of how much his friend valued Voldemort, and he didn't mind lending Dumbledore.

"This." Perenelle placed the Philosopher's Stone in front of Dumbledore.

"Is this a fake?" Dumbledore very surprised, because he had seen the Philosopher's Stone before, and this one in front of him was almost identical to the Philosopher's Stone he had seen.

"Yes, it's a failure!" Nicholas grinned. "Even you wouldn't be able to tell the difference, right?" In truth, the success of the Philosopher's Stone was largely due to an accident. Even Nicholas couldn't replicate it. Although he created a similar Philosopher's Stone Philosopher's Stone, he couldn't replicate its effects.

"That's a good idea," Dumbledore said suddenly after examining the stone closely. "However, it's not the right time yet."

"Isn't it time yet?" Nicholas repeated, puzzled.

"Yes, it's not time yet," Dumbledore said. "I need to lure Voldemort out and see what he's really like. You know, almost no one can live like him, like a ghost, yet not a ghost."

"As far as I know, there is a case that corroborates what you're saying." Perenelle recalled past events, "According to records, the Foul Herpo was the first recorded Dark wizard to create Horcrux."

"Foul Herpo?" Nicholas frowned slightly, clearly recalling unpleasant memories.

"We encountered him about two hundred years ago." Perenelle's voice drifted further and further away. "Herpo the Foul somehow found out about us and wanted to take the Philosopher's Stone. It wasn't a pleasant thing. Later, with the help of some friends, we defeated Herpo the Foul."

"Is Herpo the Foul dead?" Dumbledore asked.

"I don't know, maybe he's dead." Nicholas shook his head and said, "After that, we never heard from him again."

Horcrux.

Dumbledore was naturally aware of this mysterious and evil Dark Magic, and there were books about Horcrux in the Hogwarts library.

Of course, Dumbledore had no evidence to prove that Voldemort created the Horcrux.

Later, during the years Voldemort disappeared, Dumbledore discovered traces of Voldemort in the forests of Albania. All indications suggest that Voldemort's survival despite being struck by a rebound Avada Kedavra Curse was likely due to the Horcrux.

This is not a good sign. A wizard who possesses Horcrux cannot be completely killed unless the Horcrux is found and destroyed.

Even if an ordinary wizard creates Horcrux, it poses little threat. Once their physical body is destroyed, they will become extremely weak and ultimately be left to live a humble life.

But even if a powerful wizard like Voldemort becomes weak, it's only temporary; he can always find many ways to regain his strength.

"What's wrong? You don't look well." Perenelle looked at Dumbledore with concern.

"If that's the case, then it's really bad news," Dumbledore sighed. "From what I know of Voldemort, that madman probably created more than one Horcrux."

"That's impossible," Nicholas said, frowning. "Cutting off the soul would make it very unstable, creating a lot of Horcrux, unless he's gone mad."

"Yes, Voldemort was indeed a madman, just think of the new name he gave himself."

Flying away... to death?