Victor Wick stayed at the Leaky Cauldron for a few days before packing his bags and moving out.
Instead of settling in a wizarding enclave, he purchased a house in a remote Muggle neighborhood.
Moving was a trivial matter for a wizard.
After setting up his new home, Victor retreated into his study.
Resting on his desk was the very thing Voldemort desired above all else: the Philosopher's Stone.
Interestingly, even though Dumbledore knew he had the Stone, the Headmaster hadn't pressured him to hand it over or even asked about it.
Clearly, Dumbledore had done this on purpose; knowing Victor's interests, he was giving him a chance to study the artifact...
"Let's see what secrets the Philosopher's Stone holds..." Victor said with excitement, pulling out his uniquely shaped keyboard.
The Stone's powers were legendary: it could produce the Elixir of Life and turn any metal into pure gold...
This was how Nicolas Flamel, the legendary alchemist, had lived for over seven centuries and amassed such immense wealth.
Victor gave the Stone a gentle nudge.
To his eyes, the dull red stone suddenly sprouted dense lines of Ancient Runes...
Furrowing his brow, he scrutinized the sequences, meticulously identifying the Runic patterns.
"This is... incredibly complex!"
Victor marveled as he tapped his fingers against the strange keyboard on his desk.
A pale blue light screen materialized before him.
Referencing the Runic sequences on the Stone, he began to deconstruct them in the form of code, drawing upon his vast knowledge of Ancient Runes.
*Click-clack-clack...* Victor's fingers flew across the keys.
Characters began to populate the blank blue screen one by one...
=================================
# philosopher_stone_config.ini
[ALCHEMY_SETTINGS]
core_runes = ᚠ, ᚱ, ᛟ
energy_balance_threshold = 100
transform_efficiency = 99.9%
eternal_potion_duration = eternal
...
==================================
Ten days passed in the blink of an eye.
Victor, sporting dark circles under his eyes, struggled to stand up as his vision momentarily blurred.
'Damn... I lost track of time again...'
He quickly grabbed a bottle of Invigoration Draught and downed half of it in one go.
He had spent the last few days deconstructing the Ancient Runes on the Stone day and night. Though it was physically draining, the knowledge gained was immense.
The most frequent Runic clusters on the Stone represented life energy, balance, and transmutation—phrases of incredible sophistication.
Victor could even restructure these clusters into entirely new healing spells.
It was hard to imagine how Nicolas Flamel had devised such brilliant combinations in the first place...
With no energy left for thought, he tucked the Stone away and collapsed onto his bed, falling fast asleep.
...
He had no idea how much time had passed before he finally woke up.
Rubbing his aching temples, he struggled to get up and made a resolution he had probably made a hundred times before.
"I can't keep doing this. Forgetting to eat and sleep is taking a toll..."
That being said... Victor still found himself back at his desk, carefully reviewing the results of his deconstruction.
After correcting a few errors, he nodded slowly.
"This should be right now... Theoretically, with the right materials, I could replicate the Philosopher's Stone..."
Suppressing his excitement, he ate a quick meal and took a long, relaxing hot bath. Once he was back in peak condition, he returned to his study.
Victor rubbed his hands together and opened his trunk, rummaging through it with a loud clatter.
Ten minutes later, he had laid out all the necessary materials on his desk.
"Haha! Ten years of grave-rob—ahem—ancient ruin exploration hasn't been for nothing. I actually have all the materials!"
After downing another bottle of Invigoration Draught, he eagerly set to work on the replication.
...
Another week flew by.
Victor stared dejectedly at the dusty, irregularly shaped blob of unknown matter before him.
"This isn't right," he muttered. "The Runic sequences are identical, the materials are the same... so why does it feel like something is missing?"
He had copied everything visible on the original Stone, yet the result was a failure.
He felt as though he had overlooked something crucial, but no matter how hard he thought, he couldn't pinpoint the error.
Suddenly, sensing something, Victor flicked his wand.
The closed window swung open, and an owl swooped in, dropped a letter, and promptly took flight again...
"A letter?" Victor picked it up. There was only a single line written inside.
"Open Vanishing Cabinet No. 5. —Nicolas Flamel."
"A letter from Mr. Flamel?"
He jumped up and rummaged through his trunk until he pulled out a small cubic box, roughly fifty centimeters on each side.
As he pulled the box out, he felt it grow heavier, as if something had just appeared inside.
He hurried to place the box on the table and opened it. The previously empty cabinet now contained a thick stack of manuscripts...
The parchment was old and yellowed, clearly dating back many years.
Resting on top was another letter, the ink still wet.
"...I know you are studying the Stone, and I know you will inevitably run into obstacles. Do not be surprised; by agreeing to Dumbledore's request to have you move the Stone, I was also agreeing to let you study it. As for the problem you are facing, I have already guessed what it is, as I encountered the same hurdle myself. Do not worry; once you read the manuscripts below, all will be clear. You are a lucky lad; it took me over sixty years to find the answer..."
Victor felt a warmth spread through his chest as he finished the letter.
He and Nicolas Flamel had crossed paths many years ago, back when he had first demonstrated his abilities to Dumbledore and before his painful undercover mission had begun.
Impressed by his talents, Dumbledore had told Victor about an old friend who would surely like to meet him.
That friend was none other than the legendary Nicolas Flamel... Victor still remembered those wonderful days.
He and Flamel had spent hours discussing Ancient Runes and alchemy.
Both had benefited greatly from the exchange; it was during that time that Victor had learned alchemy from Flamel himself.
Before they parted, Flamel had even custom-made a "keyboard" for him based on Victor's concepts.
The very one he was using now...
From that day on, they had maintained a regular correspondence, exchanging knowledge.
For convenience, Flamel had sent him a Vanishing Cabinet so they could exchange manuscripts at any time.
However, this friendship had to be cut short the day he decided to go deep undercover...
To avoid implicating Flamel, Victor had intentionally hidden their connection. Aside from Dumbledore, no one knew of their relationship.
Even after the war ended, Victor remained in preparation due to Dumbledore's warning that Voldemort might not be truly dead, and he hadn't reached out to Flamel since.
He never expected that after all these years, when he thought the bond might have faded, Flamel would still be willing to send him his precious manuscripts...
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