Chapter 243. Conversation.
Taking a sip of the hot drink, Severus offered a restrained smile and nodded slightly to Flamel.
"Good tea. Thank you."
"Oh no, not at all. You are my guest, and it is my duty to host you properly," the old man said quickly, his voice quiet and raspy but excited, fidgeting with the rim of his cup.
"Please, address me informally. You are older and far wiser than I am, and I would feel uncomfortable otherwise." Severus met his eyes with a hint of embarrassment, while imperceptibly probing him with Legilimency. *Though his magic is at most comparable to a peak Master, his mental defenses are at the level of a peak Magister. If I push any harder, I'll likely be detected immediately. And I have no desire to fight whoever lives on the second floor. Even if I won, the destruction would be considerable, and alienating such a person is hardly wise.*
"You… I mean, you're right… I keep forgetting that…"
Severus paid little attention to the old man's behavior. Every wizard had their quirks, and Flamel's insecurity and softness were still within normal bounds. He decided to move directly to the main question: the reason for his journey to this country.
"I came at your invitation. Can you tell me about that ingredient now?"
"Ah! I completely forgot! Yes, yes, yes! One moment!" Flamel sprang up and hurried toward the bookshelf to the right of the fireplace with small but quick steps. Stopping before it, he extended a trembling, wrinkled hand. At his touch, one of the books flew from the shelf and settled into his grasp after a few seconds.
"Let me help you." Severus started to rise, seeing that Nicholas was struggling to hold the rather voluminous tome, as if he might drop it at any moment.
"Oh! No, no, no! Please, don't trouble yourself. I'll manage, I'll manage," Flamel said with an awkward smile, returning quickly and placing the book on the table.
"Um… you said he might be one of the most powerful wizards in this world, but… he doesn't seem like it," Nagini said, studying the old man doubtfully. Even the faintest gust of wind seemed capable of knocking him over. Still, he seemed vaguely familiar to her.
"He would truly be the most powerful wizard I've ever met, but he was very unlucky…"
"What happened to him?"
"Perhaps he wounded himself during some failed experiment, or someone else did. Because of that, he can currently use at most five percent of his full power. A tragic fate." For any mage, magical power was everything, and its loss was equivalent to death. Such was the case in the world he came from, and here as well, though perhaps even more so.
"Can you help him? If you can cure him, you'll gain a powerful ally…!"
"It won't work. Such wounds cannot be cured by ordinary means," he cut her off. He decided not to mention the water from the sacred spring.
Nagini was too kind, and she especially worried about him. He understood this better than anyone. If she learned that the old man could be helped with that water, she might refuse to have the curse removed. But Severus was not prepared to waste it on an unknown mage and lower the already slim chance of success.
Sunlight bee honey and water from the sacred spring differed little when treating physical injuries. But when it came to the core, the former stood no chance, unless that honey came from Sunlight Bees at the rank of Grand Archimagus. Even then, it could only heal cores that had not yet reached the rank of Magister, before merging with the body.
Sacred water had no such limitations. In sufficient quantities, it could restore even a completely destroyed core of a wizard at the peak of the Grand Archimagus rank.
However, it would require too much, possibly several dozen liters, while at most a few liters could be collected in a year.
For this reason, over the last thirty thousand years, only one wizard had succeeded. He had once supervised the collection of sacred water and set aside a little for himself. Later, after securing a good position and earning enough money, he was able to purchase the required amount after he was wounded. By drinking it, he restored his mid-rank Grand Archimagus core, using up eight liters in the process.
Nagini was greatly surprised by this answer. Usually he knew everything, but for the first time, Severus had given up and admitted defeat.
"Truly nothing?" she pressed.
"Yes, such wounds are incurable." Only after a few seconds did he remember he was not alone. Raising his gaze, he met a pair of calm, observant blue eyes. "Forgive me. I got carried away talking with Nagini and forgot where I was."
"Not at all, please continue. I'm in no rush," Flamel said with an embarrassed smile, shaking his head as he glanced at Nagini. "Nagini… so she is the very snake, the one chasing that Obscurus… When Albus told me about you, at first I didn't even believe you were still in your right mind. And now I see with my own eyes that you were able to halt the effect of that curse, something even we could not manage in our time…"
"This is only a temporary measure." Severus picked up the book Flamel had placed on the table and pointed to the cover. "…If I can find this ingredient."
"Albus has already told me about this, and I roughly understand what you intend to do. But this method is very dangerous, and there is a great chance that you…"
"Don't worry. I am confident in my abilities." His firm gaze and the certainty in every word brought a look of surprise to the old man's wrinkled face, followed a moment later by a nostalgic smile. "But may I ask if you know where it might be found?"
The Grimoire had already studied the book and found nothing about the plant's current location. The last recorded place dated back to 203 AD, and the book itself was merely a copy transcribed from stone tablets Flamel had discovered in his youth, as noted in the preface.
There was an addendum in the book from Nicholas himself, who had visited that place but found nothing, something he greatly regretted.
Flamel withdrew into himself for nearly a minute, only occasionally blinking and breathing. Severus was somewhat puzzled by this reaction but did not rush him, simply waiting for an answer until finally the old man spoke.
"In my book, I lied when I wrote that I found nothing. In truth, I accidentally fell into a cave a few kilometers from that location and discovered about a dozen such plants — possibly the last remaining after the purge our ancestors carried out," Flamel murmured with a sad sigh. "They feared the poison these plants emitted and decided to destroy them completely to protect themselves."
Hearing this, Severus's eyes lit up, and Nagini grew incredibly excited. After a few seconds, he composed himself and looked at the old man with a far more serious gaze.
"What do you want in exchange for their location?"
"To talk. Nothing more. You have interested me from the day your book on Defense Against the Dark Arts fell into my hands: your knowledge, your reflections, your methods of solving problems, your thoroughness, and the accuracy of your collected information. I learned a great deal, especially about the development of Muggles, whom I had never observed."
"After that, I began following your work, reading every article and book you published. You are the first person in fifty years to rekindle my interest. I would like to speak with you, and also to ask permission to use your books at Beauxbatons and introduce this subject into the school curriculum."
"I am deeply flattered by your praise, and I have no objection. Above all, I wrote those books to reduce the mortality rate among wizards, who are already few and grow fewer each year. That they might spread to this country as well would be the greatest reward for my work. However, the Black family handles the publication of books in this country, so you will need to approach them. For my part, I will help in any way I can."
Hearing his answer, the old man's wrinkled face smoothed out, and he nodded with gratitude. He extended his palm toward a cabinet, and after a few seconds, what looked like a booklet flew out, landing on the table. When it opened, Severus saw it was a map of France.
"They are right here." Flamel pointed to a spot almost in the center of Paris. "I last visited them fifty years ago to check the charms I had placed. Though their poison cannot reach people on the surface, I wanted to secure them further. After all, responsibility for these plants lies with me…"
By the end of his speech, Flamel's expression had grown quite peaceful. Severus had seen such a look many times, and it meant only one thing.
"By the end of this century, my wife and I wish to end this unbearably long life and embark on a new adventure called death. Since you need it, I would like to entrust that place to you rather than destroy it. This was also one of the reasons I wanted to meet you: when I learned from Albus about the ingredients you were seeking…"
"I will gladly accept this responsibility and watch over that place in your stead."
"Ah… what a relief. Thank you, Mr. Prince."
Severus had stopped paying attention to Flamel's manner of address, which shifted between formal and informal. His thoughts were occupied with the final ingredient, and he had intended to visit the location the old man pointed out anyway. It was quite famous in France.
"Don't you want to learn anything from him?"
"No. I've told you before: let the past remain in the past. I don't want to know anything." Though Nagini's voice sounded calm, traces of anxiety lingered in it, along with the doubt Severus clearly sensed. He understood perfectly what she feared.
The fear of losing her current self, her feelings, and Severus himself. She was afraid that if she remembered everything, she would become a completely different person, her past self, who might have had feelings for someone else. That last possibility frightened her most of all.
Severus did not press the issue. He gently stroked the top of her head to calm her.
"All right. I won't bring this up again, since that is your decision."
"…Thank you."
Severus turned his attention back to Flamel, who was still watching them with the same interest.
"Ask your questions. I'll try to answer each one." At that, the old man's eyes shone, and his face seemed to have shed a hundred years. "I used to wonder why so many warriors compare mages to dragons. Now, from the outside looking in, I think I'm beginning to understand…"
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