Chapter 69. Knowledge is Priceless
"Of course not. If you weren't lying in a hospital bed, I could even spar with you and let you test my progress." Lynn was relieved to see that Professor Fawkes was alright, so he said with a dismissive smile.
Professor Fawkes chuckled.
"I'm old and weak now, I can't withstand the torment of a young man like you."
He then stopped smiling, his expression suddenly becoming solemn as he earnestly thanked Lynn.
"Thank you, Lynn. I owe you my life. If it weren't for you, I'd probably be lying in a coffin buried in the ground by now."
Lynn waved his hand.
"It's alright, Professor. Didn't you invest in my education and teach me magic in the first place? So you don't owe me anything, it evens out."
Dumbledore was still nearby, and Lynn didn't dare reveal that he was learning dark magic from Professor Fawkes.
Professor Fawkes shook his head.
"One thing at a time. I initially invested in you so you could become my lab assistant after graduation. What? Are you regretting it now?"
Lynn innocently spread his hands.
"Of course not. I don't even know what I'll be able to do after I finish learning magic at Hogwarts. Professor, you'll have to take care of my food and lodging."
"Haha, you're still as funny as ever. Of course I'll take care of your food and lodging. I'm just afraid that by then you'll have achieved enough and won't want my shabby laboratory anymore."
He smiled and turned his gaze to Dumbledore, not saying a word, just looking at him.
Dumbledore coughed knowingly twice and patted his back.
"I'm getting old, not good enough anymore. My back and legs can't take it without going out for a walk. You two chat, I'll go for a stroll outside."
The greatest white wizard of the 20th century, a recipient of the Order of Merlin, First Class, President of the Wizarding Union, and Headmaster of Hogwarts, was being disliked for being in the way in a hospital room. Who could he complain to?
After the inconvenient Dumbledore left, Professor Fawkes began to say what he really wanted to say to Lynn.
"Do you remember what I told you in the Forbidden Forest?"
Lynn shook his head decisively: "No, I've forgotten everything."
Professor Fawkes chuckled at his reaction.
"It's no use forgetting. I'll just tell you again. You don't need to be involved with those things in Gringotts.
Once I'm fully recovered, I'll go there to complete the handover procedures for the vault, and then I'll give you the keys. As for my house in England, go visit it whenever you feel like it.
Don't forget to take all the data with you. As for the laboratory in Iceland... those things are too dangerous for you right now, and there's no rush..."
Lynn watched him ramble on like he was making his final arrangements, and he sighed with a headache.
"Stop, stop, Professor, aren't you still alive and well? Why are you thinking of having me inherit your family business again?"
"I'm all alone now, Lynn." Professor Fawkes looked at him.
"Having avenged my great enemy, I basically have no other thoughts. At most, there are those experiments I did with my friends that haven't been completed yet, but I already gave up on those things once back then.
Even if I had the thought of picking them up again, it doesn't matter when I start. So, I plan to travel around after I recover."
"You're not going to continue being a professor at Hogwarts?" Lynn asked, frowning.
"I barely escaped death, why would I go back?" Professor Fawkes raised an eyebrow and smiled.
"I never wanted to be the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor; I wanted to be the Spellcaster professor.
If Dumbledore hadn't been desperate and begged me, I would never have taken this risk."
"Besides, those kids don't like me, so I won't bother them."
"Then where are you planning to go, Professor?" Lynn asked.
Professor Fawkes seemed to only now begin to think about where he wanted to go, and after thinking for a moment, he said...
"I guess I'll travel all over England first. I really like Muggle society; their inventions and lifestyles seem far more advanced than those of the wizarding world.
After that, I'll go to France and Germany. I heard there's been some unrest in the Soviet Union lately, so I won't go. Then I'll go to Asia. After visiting China once, I've been craving their food."
"Don't you spend money traveling? If you give me your entire fortune, what will you do?"
"Don't underestimate wizards, Lynn." As if remembering something, he suddenly became excited.
"When I was searching the world for Wilkes, I saw people on the streets of Muggles making money using magic tricks. They call it magic. I can do that too!
I can travel the world while pretending to be a magician on the streets. Wouldn't that be interesting?"
Lynn looked at his enthusiastic expression and couldn't bear to stop him. Professor Fawkes was right; if a wizard could worry about money in Muggle society, that would be too un-magical.
"Don't feel like you're getting something for nothing." Professor Fawkes could see that Lynn was resisting something. "I'm just an old man, I might die any day now. Who will get those things?
If you don't take them, they'll only end up benefiting those greedy goblins. They've made a lot of money off the dead, and you're the one who deserves them the most."
Lynn remained silent.
He never felt like he was helping Professor Fawkes with anything; on the contrary, he had always been indebted to him.
Now that Professor Fawkes was even going to give him his entire fortune, Lynn wouldn't feel comfortable taking it.
But now that the professor had said that, it would be pretentious for Lynn to refuse. He thought for a moment, and then said…
"How about I keep that vault for you? If you change your mind later, or take a liking to that child and want to adopt him, I'll return it to you. As for those dark magic materials in your house in England…"
Lynn said matter-of-factly, "I'll accept them. After all, you're my teacher, and it's only right that you impart knowledge to me."
In the end, Lynn was still coveting Professor Fawkes's dark magic knowledge. Although he hadn't personally witnessed the area-of-effect Killing Curse or the Vanishing Spell, he had seen the vast swarm of spider corpses and the clearing space the size of a football field created by the Vanishing Spell!
What were Galleons?
For wizards, knowledge was priceless.
Professor Fawkes seemed to see through his thoughts, smiling and shaking his head.
"No, Lynn, as I said, deciding to invest in you was probably the best decision I've ever made."
Read 60+ advanced chapters ahead on Patreon!
patreon.com/Horizons685
(End of Chapter)