Forbidden Knowledge

To make the Philosopher's Stone, the most important ingredient was the ash left behind after a phoenix's rebirth. Kyle had known that for a long time; after all, he had played a part in creating the Philosopher's Stone before him.

What Kyle had not expected was that repairing it would require the same thing.

"I don't have any phoenix rebirth ash left," Kyle said. "I only took half. I gave all of it to you last time, and the other half was with Snape. It was made into Phoenix Potion too."

"I know." Nicolas nodded. "But Dumbledore's phoenix is with you, isn't it?"

"What good does that do?" Kyle asked. "Didn't you say before that only ash left by a phoenix's natural rebirth could be used to make a Philosopher's Stone? It's only been a few years since Fawkes last underwent rebirth. We can't just keep waiting, can we?"

Kyle did not know how long it took for a phoenix to undergo a natural rebirth, but one thing was certain: the interval could not be short. If they rebirthed every few years, the ash they left behind would not be so precious.

"Oh, you misunderstood." Nicolas looked at Kyle. "When making a Philosopher's Stone, there are indeed strict requirements for the materials. But if it's only a repair, there are not so many restrictions. Any ash will do—it doesn't have to come from a natural rebirth."

"This..." Kyle suddenly hesitated.

He knew perfectly well that a single rebirth was not a big deal for Fawkes. At most, it would be weak for a while, and after a few months, it would recover.

A few months of weakness in exchange for a chance to save Dumbledore was an extremely worthwhile trade, no matter how he looked at it.

Yet for some