A failed attempt

Alchemy was originally developed to turn base metals into precious ones, especially gold. Later, other avenues of research emerged, such as creating a universal cure, finding the Philosopher's Stone, and creating artificial humans.

To this day, Nicolas Flamel was the only person in the field who had achieved the goals of turning stone into gold and attaining immortality.

Over the course of its development, however, all sorts of wondrous objects had appeared, such as the Pensieve, the Time-Turner, and the Vanishing Cabinet.

Although these objects had nothing to do with alchemy's three ultimate goals, they still possessed extraordinary properties.

Cyrus used a spell to spread out the Invisibility Cloak.

He had carefully read quite a few books on alchemy over the past several days, so spotting what made this cloak unusual was not difficult. For a start, its material was completely different from that of ordinary cloaks.

Ordinary invisibility cloaks were made from the fur of a Demiguise, a silver, ape-like magical beast, but the cloak in Cyrus's hands felt much colder to the touch.

"The Demiguise is the only magical beast capable of turning invisible. Its ability represents zero in runes. If this cloak isn't made from Demiguise hair, what could it be made from?"

Cyrus raised his wand, and a faint light shone from its tip. As it fell across the transparent cloak, the weave immediately became visible.

Countless runes were embedded in the weave.

Cyrus clearly made out "teiwaz" and "algiz." The former signified immortality, while the latter signified protection.

In ancient times, runes were commonly used on alchemical creations. These symbols possessed immense magical power, but that power could not be released through incantations. Inscribing them on magical objects was a more effective way to harness it.

But there was another problem: runes were obscure and difficult to understand. They were far more than merely a foreign language. In fact, even people who understood their meanings might not be able to resonate with them and awaken the magic within.

Nowadays, the study of runes had become something akin to translation, as though they no longer had any use beyond archaeology.

"There really is a powerful Disillusionment Charm hidden within this cloak."

A powerful spell and an imperishable material-perhaps the combination of the two was what kept the cloak's magic from ever fading.

Cyrus suspected that the Elder Wand worked in a similar way.

The Elder Wand was made from elder wood and Thestral hair. Elder trees were rare, but they could still be found if one truly searched for them. Yet despite Gregorovitch's repeated attempts to copy the Elder Wand, he had never crafted a wand that could rival it.

Cyrus suspected that the secret to the Elder Wand's power might lie in its curse itself.

Both Dumbledore and Harry believed that once the Elder Wand's previous owner died a natural death, its power would be destroyed. That would happen because the wand's curse had been broken, leaving this legendary wand as unremarkable as an ordinary one.

Then Cyrus set the cloak down.

He could not keep the cloak for very long, and completely unraveling its mysteries in just a few days was impossible. Researching how to make the Philosopher's Stone was more important.

Opening Nicolas's notebook and skipping past the dreams and revelations, Cyrus found this passage.

"The Philosopher's Stone is the oldest, most mysterious, or least known thing, the most incomprehensible in nature, blessed by heaven and divine. It is the mystery of mysteries. It is the power of virtue and God, the limit and purpose of all things beneath heaven, the ultimate and inconceivable result of all the sages' labors. It is the perfect essence of all elements, an indestructible substance that no element can harm or destroy, the fifth element. It is a dual and living mercury possessed of its own spirit,

capable of treating all unstable and imperfect metals. It is eternal radiance, an elixir that can cure every illness, the phoenix graced with the glory of heaven, the most precious treasure among all riches, an essential possession of all nature." "The ingredients for the Philosopher's Stone are mercury, sulfur, salt... They must be refined through the four elements-heat, cold, dryness, and moisture-to break down the elements within and without the substance..."

Cyrus poured the mercury into the cauldron, then lit a fire.

"Fire represents heat and dryness-water represents cold and moisture-"

As he stirred the cauldron continuously, his magic flowed into the mercury. Then he added sulfur, lumps of salt, and earth.

"Earth is heat and moisture..."

The contents of the cauldron began to boil, their color slowly turning scarlet.

The Philosopher's Stone was indeed scarlet according to the records, but the mixture before him refused to take shape. The flames kept burning, boiling the water in the cauldron and driving out the cold and moisture, until only a tiny amount of scarlet powder remained.

Cyrus pinched some of it between his fingers, but sensed no trace of life within it.

"It failed."

He was not particularly discouraged and continued leafing through Nicolas's notes. But even Nicolas Flamel himself did not understand exactly how he had succeeded.

For centuries, he had tried to recreate that miracle, yet he had never succeeded a second time.

The formula for the Philosopher's Stone can't possibly be this simple. Nicolas's manuscript probably won't be much help, Cyrus thought.

Some unforeseen accident or coincidence must have occurred while Nicolas Flamel was making the Philosopher's Stone-one that even he had failed to notice.

In the wizarding world, sometimes even a gust of wind or a ray of sunlight could affect the outcome of alchemy or potion-making. Sometimes, even sound was a crucial factor.

For instance, practicing to become an Animagus required dew untouched by sunlight, and the first clap of thunder in a storm had to serve as a signal.

Cyrus felt a growing sense of urgency. He could indeed come back to life without using the Philosopher's Stone, but that would only be possible if he absorbed all of Ginny's life force. And if he did, Ginny would certainly die.

But he had long since come to regard Ginny as his friend. He could not sacrifice a friend's life for his own resurrection.

If nothing else works, I'll just have to absorb some of her life force and leave.

If he still could not successfully create the Philosopher's Stone by the end of the school year, he would have to leave Hogwarts in the state he had been in during the film.

No, he might even be in worse shape than in the original story.

Ginny's condition in the original story had been far too dangerous. Her life had all but hung by a thread.

"Perhaps I need to find another host."

Cyrus put away the cauldron.