Nicolas Flamel Was a Ship-Pushing Mastermind Too / The Philosopher's Stone Is Kept by Its Creator ...

Nicolas Flamel turned around, trembling, picked up the chalk, and wrote a conversion equation on the blackboard.

Raw materials → (blackening) → dead matter → (conversion) → products

"Alchemists studied and analyzed the substances used as raw materials, breaking them down into their smallest possible components. They then recombined these components to obtain new substances completely different from the original materials... This transformation between substances is the core of ancient alchemy."

When interpreting the transformational form, Nicolas Flamel wrote a word directly above 'raw material' for understanding.

Above 'dead matter' and 'products', he wrote the words 'decomposition' and 'reconstruction' respectively.

Thus, the original transformational process became 'understanding → decomposition → reconstruction', a relatively simple but highly generalized process.

As Nicolas Flamel said, what is being transformed in this process is matter. As for the magic that wizards value so much, it is actually just a reaction condition in the process of 'decomposition → reconstruction'.

"That smallest substance, which ancient alchemists called the 'first element,' constitutes all existence in the universe. And when these elements begin to combine and move, they exhibit four fundamental properties, which are the four elements that people are familiar with: earth, water, fire, and wind."

The three of them, Harry, knew about the four elements that Nicolas Flamel mentioned, since Harry himself had already mastered the element of water.

Furthermore, the Four Houses of Hogwarts consciously use these elements as symbols; for example, Ravenclaw House, where the three of them studied, is represented by the element of wind.

"Therefore, the reason why ancient alchemy was almost lost is that modern wizards have lost the ability to manipulate the four elements. As a result, they cannot substantially change matter and can only use solidification spells to add some simple magical properties to objects."

As the lesson progressed, Nicolas Flamel's tone became tinged with a hint of melancholy. "In this day and age, there's probably only one wizard left who can control the elements..."

He quietly looked up at Harry, his eyes seemingly filled with endless anticipation.

(P. S. First of all, I apologize. This chapter is to make up for yesterday's chapter. Something came up and I couldn't update the last chapter. Also, there will be Sanmiao updates as usual after today. I've been tied up with a lot of things lately and haven't been feeling very well. Please forgive me~)

Chapter 246 Nicolas Flamel also came from a CP background.

To be fair, Nicolas Flamel may have been a great alchemist, but he was hardly a good teacher.

His lectures are very similar to Professor Binns's; they both give self-indulgent speeches, completely disregarding whether you can understand them or not, just throwing out all the knowledge points at you.

The problem is that ancient alchemy and the History of Magic are two completely different disciplines.

Professor Binns could lecture in a dry manner because the knowledge points of History of Magic are all static. No matter how the teacher explains it, the students only need to memorize them and recite the entire text from memory during the exam.

However, ancient alchemy was a highly hands-on discipline directly linked to majors such as chemistry and pharmaceuticals. If such a course were taught using a dry, rote learning method, it would be an incomprehensible mystery to students.

In fact, Hermione felt like she was listening to gibberish.

She is indeed a top student certified by all the teachers at Hogwarts, but Hermione's learning method relies heavily on pre-study. If the knowledge is completely unfamiliar, she cannot fully grasp it upon first encountering it.

Faced with Nicolas Flamel's series of concepts, such as the 'first element' and the 'four elements,' Hermione was momentarily overwhelmed.

"Oh, dear Miss Granger ...I'm sorry, but I think with your current knowledge, you can only barely understand some aspects of modern alchemy. Ancient alchemy really isn't suitable for you."

Nicolas Flamel, who was giving a lecture, clearly noticed Hermione's difficulty, but instead of being tactful, he bluntly concluded that Hermione simply couldn't learn it.

"But..." Nicolas Flamel's blatant disdain made Hermione feel quite uncomfortable.

When has this genius girl, who has always considered studying her forte, ever been looked down upon like this?

When Hermione saw Luna Lovegood's performance on the other side, Hermione became even more furious. "And what about her? I admit I can't fully understand the ancient alchemy, but this girl clearly wasn't even listening!"

She stretched her arm over Harry and waved it vigorously in front of Luna Lovegood's eyes, causing a flicker of confusion to return to the latter's unfocused gaze.

"Uh... is get out of class over?"

Well, Luna Lovegood was actually asleep with her eyes open the whole time.

"See?" Hermione said triumphantly, crossing her arms over her chest as she glanced at Luna Lovegood, who was still somewhat dazed.

Hmph, with three people attending class together, I'm definitely not the worst one...

"Haha, you cute little Prophet, I knew you'd fall asleep."

Surprisingly, Nicolas Flamel was quite lenient with Luna Lovegood for her obvious daydreaming in class.

It was as if he knew all along that Luna Lovegood would fall asleep in class.

"Damn it, this is so unfair..."

"Hermione, you can't be rude to your teacher." Harry, sitting in the middle, quickly grabbed Hermione and forcibly pressed the academically gifted girl, who was about to explode, back into her chair.

Nicolas Flamel was clearly doing it on purpose. He never intended to teach Hermione ancient alchemy from the beginning, which is why he adopted this attitude, hoping to discourage Hermione.

He and Perenelle, this elderly couple whose combined age exceeds 1,300, probably have no intention of extending their affection to Hermione, and would absolutely not indulge her out of consideration for Harry.

Therefore, if Miss Granger were to really throw a tantrum now, Nicolas Flamel would probably use it as an excuse to send her home.

In that case, she would suffer a greater loss than gain.

"Teacher, you probably have many other books here too. If you really don't want to attend class these days, you can stay here to read and do your homework."

Harry appeared to be giving Hermione a serious warning, but in reality, he was constantly using his eyes to advise her and comfort her against acting rashly.

He also took the opportunity to change how he addressed Nicolas Flamel, hoping that Flamel would be pleased and might stop making things difficult for Hermione.

"I... I understand. Mr. Flamel, I'm very sorry for my rudeness."

Given their mutual understanding, Hermione easily grasped Harry's meaning, and in order to stay there, she had no choice but to swallow her anger.

"It's alright, I don't mind at all," Nicolas Flamel laughed nonchalantly. "And like the doctor said, if you really find it boring, you can go read a book."

"I understand," Hermione nodded in agreement, but she didn't move at all.

Should I go to the side to read a book, and then give them both space to be all lovey-dovey?

What a joke!

After the recent incident, Hermione finally understood that Nicolas Flamel's explanation of ancient alchemy was a pretense; his real intention was probably to use the opportunity to bring Harry and that Loony together!

So... she won't back down~

Thinking of this, Hermione couldn't help but glare fiercely at Luna Lovegood... Hmph, we'll see.

Anyway, all I have to do is nod, and my status as your fiancée will be officially confirmed. Do you think I'm afraid of a little brat like you surpassing me?

"Um... Grandpa, I don't understand something. I can't understand what you're saying at all, so why do you insist that I learn these things?"

Feeling Hermione's somewhat piercing gaze, Luna Lovegood was also a little uncomfortable, but unlike Hermione, she didn't need to consider Nicolas Flamel's favorability, so she directly raised her questions.

"Little Prophet, it's okay if you don't want to listen to this boring stuff. Anyway, the doctor is here. Once he learns it, you'll naturally learn these things too."

Sure enough, Nicolas Flamel was incredibly tolerant of Luna Lovegood. When answering her questions, the old man's wrinkled face almost blossomed like a flower.

Harry realized that Nicolas Flamel was simply telling him all those dry and difficult definitions of ancient alchemy.

As for Luna Lovegood... she was probably just brought in to add some romance to his life and incidentally create a romantic pairing.

"Alright, let me continue explaining the ancient alchemy." After the brief interlude, Nicolas Flamel resumed his lecture. "Because ancient alchemists could control the four elements, they didn't need to use fixed spells to add properties to items. Furthermore, the items they created could be repeatedly refined, and their properties could be freely upgraded and improved."

"In theory, as long as there is sufficient magic power and materials, items created by ancient alchemy will not naturally deteriorate. Such alchemical products, which can be infused with magic power and produce certain specific effects under the drive of magic power, can also be called 'magical devices'. For example, the Sorcerer's Stone I have and the ring on the doctor's hand are magical devices with different functions."

"Ring..."

Upon hearing Nicolas Flamel's words, the three students who were listening to the lesson simultaneously focused their attention on Harry's fingers.

They all realized that Nicolas Flamel knew the exact origin of the ring that Newt Scamander had given Harry!

However, upon seeing the expectation in the eyes of the three, a mischievous smile suddenly appeared on Nicolas Flamel's face.

"Ahem... Ugh, I think I'm a little tired, let's end get out of class now~"

He pretended to be tired and rubbed his aching back, then abandoned the three people staring at him and went back to his room to rest.

"Huh?" *3

Seeing the old man so irresponsibly turn and leave, Hahelu and the other two simultaneously cried out in dissatisfaction.

Intentionally building suspense and digging pits without ever filling them in will only get you razor blades in the mail!

Chapter 247 The Sorcerer's Stone is kept in the hands of its creator.

Over the next few days, Nicolas Flamel used his actions to fully verify Harry's conjecture.

Nicolas Flamel only gave the three of them one cramming session, and then never paid them any attention again. Every day, he would just find all sorts of old books for Harry to read, and once he finished one, he would move on to the next.

It seems this old man knew perfectly well that Harry possessed an innate, extraordinary memory and comprehension ability, enabling him to quickly grasp and understand those tedious theories.

The reason he used that incredibly boring teaching method before was purely to filter people... or to put it bluntly, he was targeting Hermione.

Although Harry probably knew that the reason for doing this was nothing more than another "for your own good" excuse, to be honest, his approach was really annoying.

Moreover, even if Nicolas Flamel continues like this, Harry doesn't think he can achieve his goal. Instead, he will only further complicate the relationship between the three of them and cause countless troubles for everyone.

So it's true that excessive emotionality is a common problem for powerful wizards. Even a great wizard like Nicolas Flamel is not immune to it, often doing things on a whim that leave people speechless.

After much deliberation, Harry, as one of the parties involved, finally decided to have a serious talk with Nicolas Flamel.

He couldn't let Hermione suffer like this forever. Besides, even though Luna Lovegood was the one being favored, she certainly wouldn't be happy if the relationship between the three of them remained this delicate.

So that night, after the two girls had fallen asleep, Harry tiptoed out of the room...

"Teacher?"

However, as soon as he entered the living room, he discovered that Nicolas Flamel was standing in the corner, observing the changing smoke inside the crystal ball.

The other person had even brought a hearing aid, which clearly meant they had guessed that Harry was going to see them. So Harry didn't hesitate and approached them confidently.

"Very good. Although this 'teacher' wasn't from the bottom of my heart, I'm already very gratified to hear you call me that again." Nicolas Flamel looked at Harry with kindness, and the expectation in his eyes made Harry unable to bring himself to question him.

Seemingly aware of his predicament, Nicolas Flamel spoke first, "Doctor, you must be quite unhappy with this bad old man of mine these days..."

"Teacher, it's not that I'm dissatisfied with you. After all, I know you're doing this for my own good, but I feel..." Harry carefully chose his words, trying not to hurt Nicolas Flamel's feelings, "Your approach might have been a bit too hasty. It's obvious that this is difficult for all three of us to accept."

"I know everything you're saying, but I really can't help but worry." Nicolas Flamel sighed helplessly. "You know, Doctor, your personality is exactly the same as it used to be. You're serious and perceptive at the same time, and your emotions are incredibly direct, especially when it comes to feelings like 'love.' Your attitude is much clearer than those agonizing, lovelorn men and women."

"But this raises a problem: the order in relationships really affects you. Especially now that Miss Granger is involved... Of course, I'm not saying she's bad. Everyone knows how excellent Miss Granger is, and I've been blaming myself for what I've done these past few days. But... her existence is precisely the biggest problem!"

"But I don't understand, why do you and Professor Perenelle both have to be so fixated on the past?"

Now that things have come to this point, if Harry still can't figure out what happened to him, then he's really too slow-witted.

Harry Potter, who possessed sight, hearing, and sound thinking abilities from birth, was not only a time traveler but also a reborn individual.

To be precise, in his previous life, he traveled from the Great Celestial Empire to the world of Harry Potter; then, in the future, which is now unknown, he traveled back in time to the past of the Harry Potter world, and for some reason, after his past memories were sealed... he was reborn.

In his past life, he had a very close relationship with Luna Lovegood, or to put it bluntly, they were probably lovers. The two of them traveled back in time together and met the Scamander and the Flamel couple under the aliases of 'Doctor' and 'Prophet'. In the end, they both became disciples of the Flamel couple.

Of course, Harry also knew that the time-travel journey must have been quite unpleasant; after all, the scenes he saw in the Mirror of Erised were truly nauseating...

But those are all things of the past.

He knew that Tina supported the Harlequin Cage pairing, and he also knew that the Flamel couple were very fond of Luna Lovegood, but they couldn't force him to go and rekindle his relationship with Luna Lovegood just because of that.

Even if Luna Lovegood herself doesn't object, what should Hermione do?

"No... this isn't over yet!" Before Harry could finish speaking, Nicolas Flamel erupted in uncontrollable emotion. "Doctor, those things aren't just in the past; they're also the knot in your and the little Prophet's destiny! If you don't accept it, if you don't untie the knot that's already tied in a dead end, then one day the little Prophet will..."

Click!

With a sudden, sharp crack, to Harry's astonishment, Nicolas Flamel's head drooped down strangely, as if his neck had been mysteriously broken!

"Teacher?!"

"Don't be afraid... Doctor, I'm okay~"

Seeing this, Harry hurriedly tried to take out his wand to treat Nicolas Flamel, but the latter suddenly used his hand to lift his head back up.

He grinned slightly at Harry, as if to reassure Harry, but the smile that appeared despite his dislocated neck only sent chills down one's spine.

"Okay... but why did you suddenly do this?" Harry asked, suppressing his surprise and confusion.

"This is the punishment for revealing a secret, Doctor..." Nicolas Flamel's voice became noticeably distorted after his neck was broken. "The events of that year, including you and the little Prophet, and everyone who knew about them, were all bound by some invisible force. Neither of us could reveal information that transcended time to the other, or we would be severely punished! That's why Newt and Tina had no choice but to keep it from you... But I'm different!"

Nicolas Flamel, supporting his completely broken neck with one hand, began rummaging through drawers with the other, eventually pulling out an irregular crystal that resembled a ruby.

Based on his remaining memories of the original book, Harry was able to recognize that the thing was the real Sorcerer's Stone.

"This is the Sorcerer's Stone, Doctor. You should have heard of it." Nicolas Flamel confirmed Harry's guess. "Two years ago, on the eve of your enrollment, Albus advised me to keep the Sorcerer's Stone in his vault at Gringotts, but I refused. Because I need the Elixir of Life to sustain my life. As you have seen now, even if my body is broken, even if my flesh suffers a fatal injury, the Elixir of Life will keep my soul firmly bound to my body, preventing me from dying."

"Only with this broken but fearless body can I barely break free from the shackles of that power and convey some important information to you and the little Prophet!"

Chapter 248 Therefore, there are no "what ifs" in life.