"Strange. I'm not catching a cold, am I?"
Shaking his head, Lucien dismissed the minor incident and relaxed against the soft cushions. The tension that had accumulated over the past several days gradually began to ease.
Once the award ceremony was held the day after tomorrow, this Alchemical Tournament would officially come to an end.
Hmm, the first thing he needed to do after returning to Hogwarts was find Dumbledore and collect the "reward" they had agreed upon beforehand: entering the castle's magical core to absorb the emotional energy and stray magic that had accumulated over many years, preparing the materials needed to create a Philosopher's Stone.
Of course, it would not be the complete version of the Philosopher's Stone capable of turning lead into gold and producing the Elixir of Life.
That supreme achievement of Alchemy, involving the mysteries of life and the eternal transformation of matter, was still beyond Lucien's current level. It would require a great deal more study and accumulation.
However, Nicolas had long since taught him a simplified method of creating a Philosopher's Stone.
It was an intermediate result from Nicolas's own research into the true Philosopher's Stone. It could not perform those two legendary functions, but its main value lay in providing a vast and pure source of magical power while also accelerating the reactions and completion of ordinary alchemical processes.
For the current Lucien, that was more than enough.
He was not short of money, was still in the prime of his youth, and could eventually obtain the more effective Apple of Youth for longevity.
The magical energy supply and alchemical acceleration provided by the simplified Philosopher's Stone were exactly what Lucien needed in practical terms.
Moreover, both the material requirements and the technical difficulty of creating it were far lower than those of the complete version.
Lucien took a sip from the teacup beside him. The warm liquid brought a little comfort, but he still could not help sighing softly.
"I really can't stay idle."
Even though his body wanted to rest, his mind felt tightly wound, automatically beginning to sort through the web of plans ahead.
His long-term goal was naturally to search for the Horcruxes Voldemort had hidden in various places and try to eliminate this enormous threat at its source before it inevitably engulfed the wizarding world once again.
What Lucien had always wanted was a quiet life devoted to studying the mysteries of Magic, and the Dark Lord's resurrection would undoubtedly be the greatest disruption to that.
The more immediate concern was his newly acquired annual loan, the Apple of Youth seed.
The repayment task required him to cure three bloodline curses, which would almost certainly force him to study the Dark Arts and curse-related magic in far greater depth.
At present, there was one ready-made patient: Nagini, who had been cursed and transformed into a giant serpent.
At the same time, cultivating the Apple of Youth required an enormous quantity of magical materials, making it yet another long-term and troublesome project. The biggest problem was that some of the required materials were extremely rare, and a few might even be extinct.
The more immediate matter, however, was the Valentine's Day event he needed to organise after returning to Hogwarts, both to create a festive atmosphere and to repay the loan for the Fire Elemental Magic Pattern.
At the thought, Lucien's mind stirred, and a steady flame suddenly ignited in the palm of his right hand with a soft whoosh.
He raised his hand and looked at the flame-shaped pattern flickering at the tip of his middle finger.
"Fire-related magic..."
Elemental Magic Patterns, especially those corresponding to the four basic elements of earth, water, fire, and wind, were immensely useful in Alchemy.
But their most direct and obvious effect was still the enhancement of magic belonging to the same element.
When it came to powerful fire magic, two spells immediately came to Lucien's mind:
Firestorm.
Fiendfyre.
And the two wizards who had brought those spells to their greatest heights were, coincidentally:
Albus Dumbledore. (Dumbledore's Firestorm is the most advanced variant of Gubraithian Fire that can be precisely controlled.)
Gellert Grindelwald. (Grindelwald's Protego Diabolica is the most advanced variant of Fiendfyre he developed.)
"Tsk, tsk." A trace of amusement flashed through Lucien's eyes. "I wonder what kind of interesting 'interaction' there would be if Firestorm met Fiendfyre?"
The sudden thought made him chuckle softly.
Firestorm was advanced white magic, but it was not forbidden.
Once he returned to Hogwarts, perhaps he could simply mention it to Dumbledore and learn it directly.
After all, winning the Alchemical Tournament had brought Hogwarts plenty of honour. Asking for one additional spell as a reward seemed perfectly reasonable, didn't it?
As for Fiendfyre...
That clearly belonged to the Dark Arts, and it was an especially infamous and difficult spell to control.
If Lucien wanted to learn it, he actually had several options.
In theory, he could even ask Dumbledore to teach him directly. After all, the two had long since discussed their views on the Dark Arts. Dumbledore was well aware of Lucien's position: magic was merely a tool, and whether it was good or evil depended on the wizard using it.
Perhaps learning it openly under Dumbledore's supervision and guidance would even make the old man, who always seemed to harbour a certain sense of unease about him, feel a little more reassured?
The image itself was rather strange, though.
The greatest wizard of the age, Headmaster of Hogwarts and a symbol of righteousness, personally teaching a student the Dark Arts?
Lucien smiled and shook his head, dismissing the slightly mischievous thought.
Besides, the Fiendfyre he truly wanted to learn was Grindelwald's signature variant of the Fiendfyre. Protego Diabolica.
The blue flames that man unleashed had been capable of burning all of Paris to the ground.
But how was he supposed to learn it?
Surely he couldn't simply walk up to Dumbledore and tell him that he wanted to learn his former "friend's" signature Dark Arts spell, could he?
Even Lucien found the thought amusing.
What, was he supposed to travel to Nurmengard, sneak into one of the wizarding world's most famous prisons, and secretly ask Grindelwald for lessons?
Or perhaps slip him a copy of Instant Speech and take a few classes remotely?
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