The Butterfly Effect, Rita Skeeter

Crimson flames burned, and sparks drifted away.

Lucien and Dumbledore suddenly appeared in the Headmaster's Office.

Fawkes, who had brought the two back, flapped his wings and nestled into his nest to doze off.

"So, you've seen the core of Hogwarts ' magic now. What are your thoughts?"

Dumbledore sat down in the large headmaster's chair, conjuring up tea and snacks as he asked Lucien across from him.

Lucien pondered for a moment, then took out a multicolored crystal ball from his pocket; the emotional energy contained within it had reached the limit of the container.

Some time before the Basilisk incident, Dumbledore had promised him that he could see the core of Hogwarts ' magic.

Dumbledore only had time to fulfill this promise after he finished dealing with all the events happening inside and outside the palace these past few days. After all, the Basilisk incident had caused quite a stir, and the reactions from all sides had left the old man exhausted.

"It's truly astonishing. The magical core has sustained this ancient castle for over a thousand years; the methods employed by the four Founders are truly remarkable."

Lucien twirled the crystal ball in his palm, paused, and then said hesitantly:

"However, I feel that the emotional energy and magic accumulated at the core might be a bit redundant?"

As long as the young wizards remain active within the castle, the core will automatically collect their dissipated emotions and magic for the castle's daily operation.

However, according to Lucien's observations, the input is actually greater than the output.

It is conceivable that the situation has remained largely the same for thousands of years, thus the accumulated emotions and magic power are vast and boundless.

Dumbledore used his headmaster's authority to extract some of the emotional energy and gifted it to Lucien, directly filling the crystal ball and meeting the minimum standard for crafting Sorcerer's Stone.

Taking a sip of steaming hot, sweetened black tea, Dumbledore leaned back comfortably in his chair, showing no intention of putting on airs as the headmaster. These past few days had kept him incredibly busy, and he was finally able to relax.

Upon hearing Lucien's reply, Dumbledore chuckled:

"Are you still thinking that those emotions and magic are just being left unused and are being 'wasted,' and could be used for much better purposes?"

Lucien scratched his cheek with his index finger, feeling a little embarrassed that Dumbledore had guessed part of his thoughts.

The purest and most suitable main material for the Sorcerer's Stone is the soul energy left behind when a human dies, but in this day and age, it is difficult to find such a large-scale "collection opportunity".

Nicolas's alternative was to collect emotions, which are the colors of the soul, and can still be used after being purified and refined according to the method.

To be honest, Lucien was quite intrigued to suddenly discover that Hogwarts Castle actually harbored such a vast treasure trove of emotions.

"Ahem, Principal, I have indeed thought that way, but the school has been established for a thousand years. There must have been people who had similar thoughts during that time, but those emotions and magic still exist, which means there are corresponding limitations or difficulties?"

Seeing that Lucien had quickly grasped this point, Dumbledore, put down his teacup, and said:

"First, there's the emotion; actually, there aren't many ways to utilize this special 'material'."

Dumbledore finished speaking, Lucien realized that the methods Nicolas had taught him for collecting and refining emotions were quite complicated, and he had never heard of treating emotions as "materials."

"Secondly, there's the magic. That magic doesn't belong to any one person; it's the magic accumulated by generations of young wizards over the years, collected and preserved through a special core. It's too complex."

Lucien's doubts were all resolved: the purer the magic, the better, and the sources of magic in the core of the castle were ridiculously numerous.

"Headmaster, so the efficiency of those magical powers is very low, barely enough to maintain the daily operation of the castle, such as changing the staircase?"

"More or less," Dumbledore swallowed the sweet Chocolate Frog, "And mobilizing them requires the headmaster's authority. You can try it if you want to be the headmaster someday."

Lucien felt ashamed, realizing that the position of principal was still a long way off.

After exchanging a few casual words, Dumbledore suddenly asked:

"By the way, Lucien, would you be interested in studying at another school for a while?"

Go to another school for exchange?

Does Hogwarts have this project?

Seeing the puzzled look on Lucien's face, Dumbledore began to explain:

"A few days ago, Olympe Maxime, the headmaster of Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, wrote to me, hoping to organize a tri-school competition in conjunction with Hogwarts and Durmstrang, primarily for exchange and also as a warm-up for a larger event..."

Lucien was understandably surprised. An exchange match?

This isn't in the original story. Could it be that Beauxbatons was so far away, how could the changes he caused have affected that area?

The butterfly effect?

Could the flapping of a tiny butterfly's wings possibly trigger a storm on a vast ocean thousands of miles away?

As for the grander event, Lucien immediately guessed that it was the famous Triwizard Tournament.

The Goblet of Fire.

Lucien was quite interested in this unexpected exchange match, because its creation seemed to have a distant impact on him.

"Principal, is the competition location Beauxbatons? And what are the competition events?"

Dumbledore nodded.

"Indeed, it's in Beauxbatons; the scenery there is very beautiful. As for the competition events, they haven't been finalized yet, but Principal Maxime's suggestion is..."

As he spoke, Dumbledore suddenly smiled and looked at Lucien, slowly uttering a single word:

"Alchemy."

Alchemy?

This is quite advantageous for Beauxbatons.

Lucien remembered talking to Nicolas about that magic school. Thanks to Nicolas's sponsorship and support, Beauxbatons ' Alchemy Class was among the best in the world.

However, since this is just an exchange match, a trial run to pave the way for the future Goblet of Fire, the importance of winning or losing isn't that great...

As Lucien, he noticed the expression on Dumbledore's face and suddenly had a premonition, asking as if guessing:

"Principal, you're not planning to send me, are you?"

Dumbledore shrugged.

"Is it not allowed? Lucien, you've made so many alchemical tools this semester, it's just a small favor. Besides, you just showed signs of interest in this competition."

Lucien opened his mouth, feeling that Dumbledore's conversation today was specifically to wait for him here.

"Um, Principal, may I ask why I was chosen?"

Although Lucien had a general idea in mind—that his alchemy skills were good enough to put Dumbledore at ease, and that young people should go out and broaden their horizons and enjoy life—...

"The reason is that I think it would be very interesting to see Nicolas Flamel's students represent Hogwarts and win a match focused on Alchemy at Beauxbatons ' home ground."

Dumbledore's matter-of-fact tone made Lucien's eyes widen for the first time.

What is Dumbledore saying?

The aroma of black tea and pastries filled the Headmaster's Office.

Lucien stared blankly at Dumbledore was smiling.

Could it be that after days of pressure, Dumbledore has suddenly relaxed and started to let loose?

No, that's not quite right either. Dumbledore is usually calm and composed when facing important matters, but he occasionally makes such strange and abstract statements in his daily life.

Remembering that this was also a "strange old man," Lucien gave a helpless smile.

"Principal, this competition..."

Dumbledore waved his hand.

"Don't worry, after you come back from the exchange competition, I'll fill another emotional crystal ball for you. If you win, I'll fill three."

That would allow me to forge more Sorcerer's Stone. Having only one Sorcerer's Stone given to me by Teacher Nicolas is still inconvenient; I have to constantly remove and reinstall it...

Lucien looked troubled and hesitated before saying:

If we win, can we fill in five?

Dumbledore was taken aback, not expecting Lucien to try and bargain with him, and then burst into laughter:

"No problem."

"That's an exchange competition, it won't be very large-scale, and it'll probably take place next semester..."

After chatting about the tournament for a while, Lucien said goodbye and left.

After Lucien left the Headmaster's Office.

Dumbledore opened the drawer and took out the old diary, his fingers tracing the marks on the cover from the Basilisk Venom and the Sword of Gryffindor.

The Elder Wand, with its distinct segments, appeared in Dumbledore's hand, with fine magical threads, barely visible to the naked eye, extending from its tip and probing into the surface of the Horcrux.

As time passed, Dumbledore put down his wand, removed his half-moon spectacles, and gently rubbed his temples.

Tom not only refused to communicate with Dumbledore, but also directly sealed the core of the Horcrux, making Dumbledore's progress very slow.

This is Horcrux, belonging to the realm of Dark Magic.

Although Dumbledore himself possessed great talent in Dark Magic, he ultimately did not reach the pinnacle in this field.

After experiencing the tragedy of that year, he began to restrain himself and studied Dark Magic less and less.

"A person skilled in Dark Magic..."

If we're talking about wizards in the world with sufficient expertise in the realm of Dark Magic, wizards who could advise Dumbledore on Horcrux...

Dumbledore's thoughts drifted slowly toward Nurmengard.

The Christmas holidays arrived quickly.

Ministry of Magic.

"Mr. Fudge, I thought this matter would be handled by the Auror Office, but I didn't expect you to do it personally."

"Oh dear, those alchemical tools are crucial to the safety of the Auror, so I definitely need to pay close attention to them. Lucien, it's truly amazing that you can create such high-quality items at such a young age; it's simply genius..."

"You flatter me. It's a blessing for the Wizarding World to have a responsible Minister for Magic like you..."

Lucien and Fudge were exchanging compliments as they prepared to leave the Ministry of Magic.

Almost as soon as the holiday started, I received an invitation from Fudge, who said he wanted to discuss in person the purchase of protective alchemical tools made by Lucien.

The Ministry of Magic originally had relatively stable alchemy partners, but Lucien's products were of better quality and more functional, and Fudge also wanted to have more contact with Lucien.

Anyway, the original partners aren't going to be replaced immediately; their share will just gradually decrease.

Lucien was naturally very happy to have the Ministry of Magic as an additional official channel.

Protective alchemical tools are purchased primarily by Auror, aside from wealthy and life-conscious Pure-blood families.

Compared to most wizards who lead peaceful lives, Auror face a significantly higher probability of encountering danger and accidents while on missions, so having extra protection is always a good thing.

Lucien and Fudge walked into the hall, chatting and laughing.

At that moment, a pair of eyes peered through a pair of jeweled glasses at Lucien and Fudge, mainly focusing on Lucien.

Rita Skeeter never expected that her trip to the Ministry of Magic would lead to an unexpected encounter with the "big star" who had recently arrived.

The major events that happened at Hogwarts some time ago have already caused quite a stir in the Wizarding World; there is actually a thousand-year-old Basilisk in the castle!

The Basilisk was manipulated by villains and nearly caused a horrific incident, but a student stopped it each time.

As luck would have it, some of the young wizards who were watching liked to take pictures and recorded many moments.

These photos spread quickly, and the most classic and widely circulated one is:

In the pitch-black rainy night, surrounded by white thunder and golden fire, the boy wielded a long sword and slashed at the Basilisk.

Rita thought the young wizard taking the photo was really lucky; he was so young yet managed to capture such a stunning picture, and seemed like a promising candidate to become a journalist.

It was also thanks to the circulation of the photo that Rita recognized the boy next to Minister Fudge at first glance.

Lucien Grafton!

After Lucien parted ways with Minister Fudge, Rita patted her neat but stiff curls and walked towards Lucien in her high heels.

Rita approached Lucien, flashing a professional smile, and was about to speak—

"Rita Skeeter? Is there anything I can help you with?"

Lucien asked before Rita could, having noticed her gaze earlier and quickly guessed her identity after a moment's thought.

This is not hard to guess, because the person in front of you is too "outstanding".

Her golden hair was styled into stiff, large curls, which looked quite awkward paired with her large chin.

The fingers gripping the crocodile skin handbag were large and thick, like a man's, but with bright red nails that were at least two inches long.

The key is still those glasses.

When Lucien saw the jewel-encrusted glasses, his first reaction was that they were ugly. But after considering the other features of the person, he matched the name with the person's identity.

Rita's smile froze when her identity was revealed beforehand, but she quickly recovered.

"Hehe, I didn't expect Mr. Grafton to know me, it's an honor."

"Well, you've become quite famous in the Wizarding World lately. I'm a reporter for the Daily Prophet, and I was wondering if I could do an interview with you?"

Lucien didn't reply immediately, but Rita waited patiently. She thought it was normal for such a young genius to be arrogant or have an eccentric personality.

It doesn't matter if the interview doesn't go well this time. Rita plans to Transfiguration a beetle and Hogwarts later, so she can capture Lucien's true nature and get more interesting information...

However, by the time the Basilisk incident was resolved, Hogwarts would be on holiday, so Rita didn't rush to go. And now that she'd run into Lucien, she figured she might as well ask him.