Is There Really No Eternal Life?

Nicolas only stayed in the cabin for one day before leaving.

He also had to rush to the Moscow Bolshoi Theatre to watch ballet and opera.

This Christmas holiday, in addition to Swan Lake, there will also be a performance of the theater's crown jewel—the opera Eugene Onegin.

Nicolas's way of regulating her mood... is quite unique.

He truly is a role model for us all; he knows how to enjoy life.

William has learned another new skill after using a water gun.

If he's feeling down in the future, he can go watch similar shows—like the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.

Of course, this kind of relaxation method may only have a one-time calming effect.

It wasn't because William lost interest after watching it once, but because Hermione... just killed him.

Nicolas's actions show that he wasn't actually that heartbroken.

The Book of Alchemy was unlocked, but the desired result wasn't obtained... it's a mixed bag of joy and sorrow.

There may be some disappointment, but I was mentally prepared for it.

He valued appreciating the present moment more than death.

In his words:

If you cannot stop death, then never let the ending overshadow the brilliance of the story.

Nicolas decisively and gracefully left.

The Book of Alchemy will remain with William for now. He's going to Moscow, and it wouldn't be safe for him to carry the book with him.

He will come to pick it up before the Christmas holidays end.

Leaving it with William is essentially for his use, so he can continue his research.

William took the Book of Alchemy and began to do a lot of copying with Hermione, recording the items they wanted to create.

The third part of the Book of Alchemy has been unlocked.

He conceived of many magical items, and the methods for making them might be found among them.

In short, there's nothing it can't do, only things you haven't thought of.

William also found out how to make the Portkey and began trying to make Portkey on his own.

Portkey is an enchanted item that can teleport anyone who comes into contact with it to a designated location.

It has a bit of Doraemon teleportation portal feel to it.

Portkey is a bit safer than Floo Powder because using Floo Powder requires the fireplace to be connected to the Floo Network.

The Floo Network is monitored by the Ministry of Magic. In other words, your every move is under their watchful eye.

If the Ministry of Magic doesn't want you to use it, the Floo Network will automatically disconnect.

As for the Portkey, theoretically, it is also subject to monitoring.

It is overseen by the Portkey Office Department of Magical Transportation at the Ministry of Magic. The creation of a new Portkey requires authorization from the Ministry of Magic.

However, the Ministry of Magic has no way of detecting whether anyone has made unauthorized Portkey.

They can be made secretly without being discovered.

Just like the Albania Portkey smugglers, they exploited this loophole.

William and Hermione, however, wouldn't care about this law.

They had long since transcended the realm of violating school rules, and were now racing down the path of illegality, running faster and faster than ever.

Secretly making a Portkey is no big deal.

William started practicing and tried many things.

The greater the distance, the more difficult it is to successfully create. The Portkey itself, however, is not of much concern.

He practiced for several days before he could basically make it successfully, and then he prepared to connect it to other houses.

To date, William and Hermione own four houses.

In addition to this home in Ottery St Catchpole, he also owns homes in Paris, Venice, and the Godric's Hollow.

The houses in Paris and Venice were bought during the summer vacation.

Godric's Hollow was purchased with Dumbledore's help.

When choosing a place to live, the principal suggested Godric's Hollow. After all, it used to be his home there.

Although William had never been there, he still bought it as another safe house.

The two houses abroad are too far to visit for the time being, so the only house in Godric's Hollow that can be furnished is the one I need to furnish.

This way, even if someone surrounds the house, they can still escape safely.

Hermione designed it for a long time and came up with a very good solution.

She chose the storage room door as the Portkey, as it was inconspicuous and wouldn't affect the overall layout of the room.

Next to the storage room, there is a button that can be turned.

When the pointer points to a blank space, opening the door reveals only a storage room.

Turn the button again, and the pointer will point to Godric's Hollow, and the door will turn blue.

Touching the wooden door will trigger the Portkey, taking you to the house in Godric's Hollow.

The buttons also feature signs for Paris and Venice.

The entire design is ingenious and also extremely demanding on the wizard's crafting skills.

But William was a master Alchemy, and such a design came naturally to him. If all else failed, Book of Alchemy would provide a solution.

It took the two of them two days to finish the preparations.

Two days before the end of the Christmas holidays, after dinner, William decided to make Portkey.

Under Hermione's expectant gaze, William pointed his wand at the wooden door and uttered with practiced ease, "Portus."

The wooden door emitted a blue light and vibrated the floor loudly. After a few seconds, it became still again.

"Did it work?" Hermione asked cautiously.

"It seems to have succeeded. Let's go take a look," William said.

Hermione nodded and took his arm. The two touched the blue door and then vanished into thin air.

Snap! They appeared in a room.

The room was unfinished and bare, with only whiteboards on the walls.

From the window, you can see houses standing on both sides of the narrow alley, their windows adorned with Winky Christmas decorations.

Not far ahead, golden streetlights indicated that the center of the village was there.

"Looks like it worked," Hermione said happily.

She took William's hand, pushed open the door, and went out.

The two strolled along the street, wandering around the Godric's Hollow.

The valley is vast, with a war memorial-like building in the center, half-hidden behind a Christmas tree swaying in the wind, surrounded by colorful lights.

There are also a few shops, a post office, a bar, a small chapel, and across the square, stained glass windows radiate a jewel-like brilliance.

Villagers moved about, briefly illuminated by the streetlights. Fragments of laughter and pop music drifted out as the bar doors opened and closed.

Soon, they strolled to the front of a secluded courtyard.

There was a brass plaque at the entrance with the Dumbledore" written on it in a blurry way.

"Is this Professor Dumbledore's house?" Hermione asked, looking at the house number with a puzzled expression.

"Yes." William looked up at the wall.

From here you can see a large, bare tree with its branches extending into the yard, and several ravens perched on it, cawing loudly.

It sounds extremely unsettling.

Dumbledore spent his childhood here, and after Ariana's death... he never returned to live here again.

"Let's go back, William."

Hermione felt a chill run through her body; she didn't like this oppressive environment.

The two turned back to the house and, using the Portkey, returned to their warm home once again.

Now that they had successfully obtained the Portkey, the two stopped worrying about it and started doing other things to enjoy the last days of their Christmas holiday.

Sitting on the sofa, Hermione pulled William into playing Wizard's Chess.

While at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, William studied with professional players from the national team and developed considerable chess skills.

Hermione was no match for them; after only a dozen or so steps, she had several White Knights devoured.

"You won't give me any leeway!" Hermione snorted twice.

William couldn't help but chuckle and said, "You can take back your move."

"Look at Anne... every time she plays Wizard's Chess with me, she doesn't take back a move ten or twenty times. That's not really playing chess."

Hermione rolled her eyes, and sure enough, picked up her White Queen, tossed it back to its original position, and also picked up a few Black Knights in the process.

The black knights struggled and were thrown into the chess box. They stood with their hands on their hips, clamoring to die on the chessboard.

William's initial advantage in the game immediately shifted to one side.

"You are not allowed to eat my White Queen!" she instructed again.

William chuckled, while Hermione beamed with pride, displaying a smug and playful demeanor that said, "I'm a shameless woman, who cares?"

Then, it's just a constant cycle of taking back moves, stealing moves, and making moves.

Noticing William's absent-mindedness, Hermione whispered, "William, what are you thinking about?"

William moved the Black Queen's position, looked up, and said, "I was just wondering, is there really no such thing as immortality?"

Nicolas may be carefree, but William is somewhat unwilling. He really wants to concoct Youth Elixir of Life.

Before Hermione moved her pieces, she removed a few more black pieces.

She sat up, rested her chin on her knees, and murmured, "William, do you long for immortality?"

"It would be such a pity if a lifetime of hard work were all for nothing, and I simply vanished from the world in the end," William said frankly.

Hermione thought for a moment, then stared into William's eyes. "What if only you can live forever, and I can't?"

William shook his head without thinking:

"Then I'd rather spend my short life with you than see the world's changes alone."

Hermione opened her mouth slightly, looking at the young man with a somewhat unfocused and dazed expression.

William tapped her hand and said gently with a smile, "Stop stealing my pieces, or you'll really only have the king left."

The girl's delicate face immediately turned bright red.

She suddenly blinked, tilted her head back, and breathed softly, "William, haven't you always wanted me to dress you in that kind of outfit?"

"What?"

Hermione, her ears burning red, said with a hint of embarrassment and annoyance, "Maid outfit!"

She gently twisted the hem of her dress, and said shyly, "If you lose this round... I'll let you... wear this tonight."

William took a deep breath, grabbed Hermione's hand, and threw all the white pieces into the box, leaving only the king.

"I lost!"

Hermione was slightly taken aback.

William whispered furtively, "We can play a few more rounds. I have several outfits I'd like you to wear."

Hermione's cheeks flushed bright red and hot, like dripping DiDi candles.

"Satyr!!"

Unable to withstand the boy's intense gaze, she was about to flee.

William stood up, walked over, picked her up, and carried her into his room.

(Please give me your recommendation votes and monthly tickets, everyone.)

Thank you to the generous donors "Coffee Seeds", "Smiling Wind", "The Person Under the Moon Has Passed Away", "Earth Magic Cube", and "This Person is a Newbie" for their generous donations.