Mastering One's Own Life and Death

The view inside the door was completely different from what I saw when I first entered the house.

That door led the two to the LeMay Couple' actual residence.

"It's amazing!" Albert murmured.

"It's just a simple little trick, Mr. Anderson." Nicholas appeared before Albert without warning, smiling as he led the two into the hall.

Albert still remembers the layout of the house vividly; it was exactly the same when he first met Nicholas.

"Is it some kind of magical teleportation technology, or has it folded space itself?"

Albert was very Nicholas about how Nico had managed to do it. He hadn't felt any discomfort when he passed through that door, so it was highly likely that this place was simply set up the same way as the last house.

This reminded him of the Room of Requirement at Hogwarts, which is also a magical room.

"No, it's not teleportation. I'm just hiding this place." Nicholas turned his head to look out the window and explained, "There's actually a house here. If you come in through the front door, you'll enter another house. But to get into this place, you need to use a rather special method."

"That Silver Card?"

"Yes, that's actually a password," Nicholas explained. "This place is protected by the Fidelius Charm. As long as you don't climb out of the window, no one will be able to detect your presence. What others see from the outside is just the view of another house."

"Is that House-elf the gatekeeper?"

"In a way, that's true," Nicholas nodded. "I know you're curious about these things, but that's just because you haven't mastered this knowledge yet. Once you do, you'll find that these are just some simple tricks!"

"If possible, I hope to learn this from you," Albert said eagerly.

"Perhaps we should sit down and have a drink," Nicholas said, looking at Albert. "Then we can talk about this more."

"Milk tea, right!"

Perenelle placed a cup of freshly brewed milk tea in front of Albert.

Albert picked up his teacup, smelled the aroma of the milk tea, took a sip, and murmured, "It's been so long since I've had such delicious milk tea."

"Those things should arrive in France tomorrow." Sera looked at the greatest alchemist of all time, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back.

"What's wrong?" Nicholas asked.

"I heard you're planning to give up the Philosopher's Stone?" Sera asked with a complicated expression. "Is that true?"

"Yes, it's true, I'm going to destroy the Philosopher's Stone."

"What a pity!" Sera's tone was tinged with disappointment.

"No regrets, Sera." Perenelle placed a cup of black tea in front of Sera and said calmly, "We've lived too long. It's finally time to rest!"

"The meaning of life lies in death," Albert said softly. "Living too long, watching the people, things, and events you know gradually disappear, can sometimes be a form of torture!"

"Mr. Anderson sees things very clearly," Nicholas said with a smile. "It's just that he lacks the energy that young people should have."

"I definitely hope I can live a long time, until I'm tired of living, and then I'll die," Albert said earnestly.

"Taking control of your own life and death?" Nicholas looked at Perenelle and suddenly laughed. "That feeling is really good, very good."

Sera took a sip of her black tea and drifted into a brief reminiscence.

Back then, as a young man, he met the LeMay Couple through his teacher's introduction, and he wasn't as outgoing as Albert was.

Later, he continued to correspond with the LeMay Couple, and often visited them to seek their advice.

He gradually gained some expertise in alchemy.

At the age of thirty-five, he finally took over his current job completely.

For Sera, the Nicholas were friends and teachers, and the fact that they were about to leave him made him quite sad.

He couldn't help but feel a little resentful towards Dumbledore.

Nicholas's abandonment of the Philosopher's Stone must be related to him.

"Don't worry, Sera, we're not going to die yet," Perenelle reassured her softly. "We're still storing up the Elixir of Life, enough for us to live for another five or six years so we can take care of everything after we're gone."

"Five or six years, perhaps you can live longer," Sera suggested. "If your knowledge and wisdom were to disappear like this, it would be a loss to the entire Wizarding World."

"Five or six years is enough time for us to teach Mr. Anderson most of what he knows," Nicholas said softly, trying to comfort him. He understood how much those people valued the transmission of knowledge, and Nicholas was happy to help Albert.

"I can teach you many things, but there's one thing I'm afraid I can't help you with: Divination and Prophecy require talent. Without that talent, no matter how much effort you put in, it will be difficult to master it," Nicholas reminded him.

"Please rest assured about that."

Albert nodded to indicate that he understood. "I also have some talent for Divination, and I can already predict some clues about the future."

"Can you Prophecy?"

Nicholas was not surprised by this, and summoned his crystal ball, allowing Albert to try to make Prophecy.

"Prophecy the outcome of tomorrow's International Wizard's Chess Competition!" Sera suggested with a smile. "Perhaps you'll see yourself win the championship!"

"I think that's a bit difficult."

Albert began to focus his attention on the crystal ball, which was far more effective than his own. The mist inside the crystal ball began to dissipate, revealing a scene of a hand holding the Wizard's Chess Championship trophy high.

"Alright, if you don't want your Wizard's Chess Competition tomorrow to be boring, don't try to peek at the ending." Nicholas reached out and wiped the image off the crystal ball. "Knowing the predetermined future will make you bored with what's to come."

"Um."

Albert agreed with Nicholas's point of view: if he knew he had lost, would he still continue to participate in the Wizard's Chess Competition?

I doubt it!

If you know you're about to win the final championship, you'll lose the excitement you feel when you finally win.

The two had a hearty lunch at the LeMay Couple. Albert stuffed the two brick-thick books that Nicholas had given him into the Transfiguration Lizard Skin Bag, and then left the Nicolas Town with Sera, heading to the Wizard Street of the capital, Paris.

They will stay there for the night, awaiting tomorrow's International Wizard's Chess Competition.

As the champion's recommender, Albert can directly participate in the 32-16 knockout stage without going through the selection process. However, while enjoying the convenience, there are also some disadvantages. If he loses too badly in the competition, the reporters probably won't hold back.