Twelve, Tulip Street Apartment

On the northern slope of a hill somewhere in Scotland, in a place unknown to most, stands a house. That is the home of Sera Harishis, a renowned and eccentric wizard whose existence is little known.

Today, Sera Harishis had a rare guest: an elderly man with a white beard walked briskly towards her. He stopped at the door and knocked on the wooden door.

A moment later, the wooden door was opened from the inside.

"I hope I haven't kept you waiting too long, Sera!" the visitor greeted the host.

"You're always so punctual," Harishis said with a smile. "However, a lot of people were disappointed when you didn't come to the party last time."

"Nicholas has some business to attend to," Dumbledore said vaguely. "He's temporarily tied up. Hello, Mr. Anderson."

"Good morning, Professor Dumbledore." Albert nodded slightly to the old man who appeared in the entryway. "Is Mr. Nicolas Flamel really still alive?"

"Yes. But we'd better not discuss this here." Dumbledore winked at Albert and said, "He's in some trouble right now."

"Alright, I know what you're worried about. My Intruder Charm didn't detect anyone else around. Of course, if you're still worried, you can use my Emergency Passage!" Harishis understood Dumbledore's concerns.

After all, the other party is Lord Voldemort, so it's always good to be cautious.

"Emergency Passage?" Dumbledore raised an eyebrow slightly.

"You definitely know this place, come with me." Harishis led them to a storage room with a cabinet.

"The Vanishing Cabinet?" Albert asked.

"Yes, Vanishing Cabinet."

"I didn't expect you to still have such an old relic here." Dumbledore reached out and stroked the Vanishing Cabinet, then turned his head and asked, "By the way, is this thing still usable?"

"Of course, I checked it not long ago." Harishis was somewhat annoyed by Dumbledore's questioning.

"This stuff was popular when the Lord Voldemort were rampant last time. Let's start from another place." Harishis gestured for Albert to go first.

Albert stepped into the cabinet, and after it closed again, he felt a sense of weightlessness, as if he were descending in an elevator. The cabinet quickly reopened.

Upon exiting, Albert found himself in a dusty room, the air in this wretched place was terrible, and an Fiendfyre provided light on the wall.

Shortly afterward, Dumbledore and Harishis emerged from the Vanishing Cabinet.

"I dare say you haven't tended to this place in a long time," Dumbledore said, looking around.

"It's been a long time since we've used it," Harishis said with a smile. "We're underground now, so we can just Apparition directly from here."

"Mr. Anderson, please take my hand," Dumbledore said to Albert beside him. Harishis also reached out his hand, and the three of them grabbed each other's.

The next moment, the three of them disappeared.

After Albert recovered from the discomfort caused by Apparition, the air around him became fresher, and they found themselves in an alleyway of a city.

"Sir, is this really alright?" Albert could sense that Dumbledore was using the Disillusionment Charm on him, and the icy chill quickly spread from the top of his head to his entire body.

"What."

Dumbledore didn't react for a moment.

"I can't use magic outside of school," Albert reminded him helplessly. "I don't want to receive another warning letter from the Ministry of Magic."

"Haha, you're right. Those guys at the Ministry of Magic who hold positions without doing their jobs are always unreliable." Harishis clearly didn't like dealing with those guys at the Ministry of Magic either.

"Don't worry, they know you'll be with me today," Dumbledore said, blinking. "Besides, the law always has loopholes; usually, you have to restrain yourself and abide by it."

Albert sneered repeatedly, but said nothing more.

The law does have loopholes, but how many of those loopholes were created by those who drafted the law for their own benefit? The saying "the magistrate is allowed to set fires, but the common people are not allowed to light lamps" will never be outdated, no matter where you are.

"Come with me!"

Dumbledore gestured for the two to follow, and he led Albert across the street into a nearby bustling apartment building. As they reached the corner of the Third Floor staircase, Dumbledore stopped and rhythmically knocked on the wall, as if knocking on a door.

After a few seconds, Dumbledore led the two through the wall and they appeared in a corridor that seemed to have no end.

"Welcome to Twelve, Tulip Street Apartment," Dumbledore said softly.

When Dumbledore mentioned Twelve, Tulip Street Apartment, a red wooden door appeared out of thin air in front of Albert.

"Is this the effect of the Fidelius Charm'?" Albert was experiencing this for the first time and found it quite amazing. Just now, Dumbledore's words must have been a leak to them.

"You actually know this spell too." Dumbledore gestured for him to follow.

After the doorbell rang, the wooden door opened from the inside, and an elderly, thin man appeared in the doorway, smiling at the three of them.

"Albus, you've arrived."

The old man quickly shifted his gaze from Dumbledore to Albert, and gave him a kind smile.

"There's no one watching the other side anymore, so it should be safe for now," Dumbledore entered the room. "However, you should still be careful."

"Albus, are you sure you don't want to stay for a cup of tea?" Perenelle asked, peeking out from the kitchen.

"No, I have other things to do," Dumbledore politely declined.

"Are you Sera Harishis?" Perenelle said. "It's been a long time."

"About twelve years," Harishis said. "I heard you've run into some trouble."

"Yes, a completely undeserved disaster," Perenelle said, looking at Albert. "I think this must be the amazing Mr. Anderson, right?"

"Magic?"

Albert suddenly didn't know what to say.

"Yes, a very talented kid," Harishis said with a smile. "Of course, he's also quite amazing."

"Sit down, child, don't be so formal," Nicholas said. "Would you like something to drink?"

"Black tea, thank you."

"And you, Sera?" Nicholas asked again.

"Same."

"I remember you preferred Pumpkin Juice."

"People change, and so do their interests."

The elderly man waved his magic wand and brewed them two cups of black tea.

"I see a young Dumbledore in you," Perenelle said, offering two pastries. "When we met him, he had just graduated from school and was full of talent."