"This is Postman Crystal..."
In an alchemy workshop in France, an elderly alchemist whose hair and beard were snowy white-and who, at first glance, looked more like Dumbledore's brother than Aberforth did-examined Tris's Astral Teleportation array disk for a long while before speaking in faint disbelief.
"How is there still any of this around?"
"Is there something special about it?" Tris asked.
He wanted to find someone to reproduce a Star Chart Disk, then teach Astral Teleportation to his father or mother so they would have a last resort for protecting themselves in a crisis.
The Astral Teleportation Array did have a serious drawback for ordinary users: it was extremely difficult to pinpoint a destination accurately, and a careless mistake could leave them hundreds of meters, or even several kilometers, off target.
But its extraordinary range, its resistance to ordinary isolation magic, and the fact that it could not be tracked through normal Apparition all gave it considerable advantages. Overall, it was still very useful.
However, judging by the memories of that unfortunate fellow from before, the crystal used to make this Star Chart Disk was exceptionally rare. Even that organization of Dark Wizards had only managed to acquire this single piece.
Tris had asked around Diagon Alley, but no one had recognized it. Only after asking Ollivander had he reached the tentative conclusion that it was a product of alchemy.
Ever since Hogwarts had discontinued its alchemy classes, Britain had not produced a decent alchemist in centuries, apart from Dumbledore. Wizards might live long lives, but not usually for hundreds of years.
Tris regretted his decision.
Had he known, he would have simply asked Dumbledore at school. Now he had no choice but to make the troublesome trip to France and see whether anyone could produce it.
After considerable