allendalepharm Chapter 182, Section 181: Timeline, The Beginning
Chapter 182, Section 181: Timeline, The Beginning
Chapter 182, Section 181: Timeline, The Beginning
In the corridor.
No one could hear the conversation between Ririm and the little nightingale.
While they were sharing their opinions about Ian, Ian had already arrived outside the alchemy professor's office. Nicholas Flamel's office door was much easier to find than Yaserkin's.
This is largely due to Nicholas Lemaire's willingness to accept all students' requests for guidance, and his willingness to spend his time on students who were not particularly gifted.
His teaching approach was significantly different from that of the previous alchemy professor, Arthur King, and he did not adopt different inclinations or teaching methods for students with different talents.
to be frank.
Professor Arthur King, who suddenly resigned, was highly polarized among his students, receiving far less praise than Nicholas Lemaire's teaching among those who were less gifted.
Thinking about it, it's understandable. Saying things like "You don't even know this?" or "Wasn't my explanation easy to understand?" might sound sarcastic to people who aren't particularly outstanding.
Ian understands Kim Jong-un quite well, but in terms of dedication to the teaching profession, Nicholas Lemai is indeed much more serious and responsible than Kim Jong-un.
"Knock knock knock~"
Before the easily accessible door, Ian gently knocked on the wooden door. He heard no sound from inside the office, indicating that Nicholas Lemaire was not conducting any dangerous experiments.
"Knock knock knock~"
After waiting for a while without a response, Ian knocked on the office door again. He believed that Nicholas Lemay wasn't asleep; after all, people over seventy or eighty years old don't get much sleep anyway.
Not to mention this centuries-old living fossil... This wasn't the first time Ian had come to see Nicholas Lemère in the middle of the night, so he had a general understanding of Lemère's biological clock.
This is not.
After knocking on the door several times, he heard footsteps inside. Soon, the footsteps approached the door, followed by the sound of someone turning the doorknob.
"Strange... Is the automatic gate switch malfunctioning?" Ian, who had been to Nicholas Lemaire's office many times, had just begun to have this slightly puzzling thought.
next moment.
The door opened.
He finally understood why—it wasn't that Nicholas Lemès's device had malfunctioned, but rather that the person in the room wasn't Nicholas Lemès with access to the room.
"Harry Potter?"
Ian's expression faltered slightly when he saw who opened the door. Yes, that's right, the figure that came into view after the door opened was none other than the Savior, who was now in Slytherin House.
His jet-black, slightly disheveled hair covered the scar on his forehead. Even after going to Slytherin, Harry Potter didn't seem quite comfortable with the compliments people gave him about being the savior.
"Good evening, Ian..." Harry Potter was clearly taken aback when he saw Ian, but he quickly recovered, scratched the back of his head, and greeted Ian.
"Good evening, Harry. Isn't it rest time now? What are you doing in Professor Nicolas Flamel's office?" Ian looked at Harry Potter with considerable surprise.
The Savior who didn't go to Gryffindor seems even more unruly than if he were. At this time of year, even upperclassmen don't dare to wander around outside casually.
Not to mention the freshmen who just enrolled this year, no, tonight... Ian has only seen two such young wizards before, one is Harry Potter in front of him and the other is Ririm whom he just met.
Even he himself wasn't this audacious!
Faced with Ian's suspicious gaze.
Harry Potter's expression grew increasingly embarrassed. "Actually, I had clogged the toilet in my dorm room, and then I was forced to go to the washroom in the hallway to continue having diarrhea."
"That's where I met Professor Flamel. He said he was interested in my scars, so I went with him to his office to help him with his research." Harry Potter was clearly embarrassed by this embarrassing situation, but after finishing, he couldn't help but defend himself.
"I think I must have eaten too much at the dinner party." He emphasized his situation, trying to exonerate himself and blame his stomach for the clogged toilet.
Simultaneously.
This guy also explained why he, as a freshman, would appear in Nicholas Lemay's office, which was supposed to only offer courses to upperclassmen.
"..."
to be frank.
Ian didn't care at all whether Harry Potter was a Horcrux or not; he was only curious about whether Master Nicholas Flamel had identified Harry Potter's Horcrux identity based on the scar on his forehead.
"What did Professor Lemaître say?"
He tentatively asked the question.
Harry Potter shook his head, somewhat bewildered.
"Professor Lemaître hasn't said anything yet. He was called away by Headmaster Dumbledore and asked me to wait for him in his office." Mr. Savior's tone carried a sense of helplessness.
It was obvious he had been waiting in this office for a long time. Perhaps he was so tired that he had even taken a nap, which could be seen from the speed with which he opened the door for Ian and the sleepiness in the corners of his eyes.
"Alright, let's wait together. I also have something I'd like to ask our alchemy professor." Ian then stepped into Nicholas Lemaire's office.
Compared to the previous semester.
Numerous changes have occurred in Nicholas Lemaître's office.
The room was bathed in soft, warm light from chandeliers adorned with shimmering gemstones on the ceiling. These lamps emitted a gentle, non-glaring glow, illuminating the entire space while subtly preserving its mystique. The walls were covered with various alchemical manuscripts, ancient maps, and scrolls depicting strange symbols.
In the very center of the room stood a huge oak desk, with several open books scattered on its surface, interspersed with dried plant specimens and fragments of minerals that shimmered with an eerie light.
On the desk lay a set of exquisite alchemical tools, including a silver crucible, a delicate test tube rack, and various flasks and mortars, some yellowed and some brand new, as if revealing Nicholas Lemay's recent research—unfortunately, Ian was unable to understand this part of the content.
Although his alchemy skills were already quite good, there was still a considerable gap between him and Nicholas Lemaire.
"Professor Nicholas Flamel said you are his best student." After Harry Potter closed the door, he followed Ian back to the center of the office.
His tone carried a hint of curiosity.
"Not bad, I do have some talent in alchemy." Ian didn't seize the opportunity to boast, because his attention was already drawn to something else in the office.
All I saw was...
The enormous instrument stood there.
The various incomprehensible markings on the dial, which lacks hands, are clear and bright.
This is, of course, the clock that Ian brought back to the real world from the dreamlike realm. It looks much newer now, perhaps because Nicholas Lemay spent the entire summer figuring out how to restore it.
I just don't know what stage the repair is at.
"Do you know what this is?" Harry Potter noticed Ian's gaze; he had actually been curious about this large clock that took up quite a bit of space for some time.
"If I'm not mistaken, it's a bell." Ian's answer was practically the same as no answer at all; most normal people could tell what it was.
Even though Harry Potter has extremely high myopia, he is not so nearsighted that he goes blind. His past of living with his aunt does not affect his basic understanding of things.
"I meant to ask, do you know what it's used for?" Harry Potter didn't criticize Ian's answer, but instead chose to reflect on his own choice of words and correct them.
He clearly thought the young wizard had misunderstood his question—that's why he's called the kind-hearted Harry; he'd rather believe he hadn't expressed himself clearly than believe Ian was a shameless senior.
"As you can see, a bell, its function is of course..." Ian wanted to spout some more nonsense, but his strong curiosity prevented him from controlling his hands.
As he spoke, he reached out to touch Big Ben. This impulsive gesture abruptly ended his planned attempt to tease Harry Potter.
no way.
It wasn't Ian who wanted to stop.
Rather, he had to stop.
Although he didn't feel like he was being choked, he still encountered an unexpected situation—in front of the ancient and mysterious bell, his magic surged like a wild horse, and without warning, it was drawn by an invisible force and rushed wildly into the huge, ancient bell in front of him.
"What happened?"
As Ian's magic was absorbed, the surface of the clock suddenly burst forth with dazzling runic light, like the most radiant star in the night sky, and a warm and intense light instantly enveloped Ian.
At this moment, Ian's world seemed to be isolated, and he felt as if he were in a completely new dimension, with everything around him undergoing earth-shattering changes in an indescribable way.
Even Harry Potter, who was not far away, disappeared from his sight. Everything around him was so chaotic, somewhat similar to the feeling Ian would experience on the Mystic Night.
of course.
There are also differences.
However, the difference is very subtle.
Ian didn't know how to describe the experience.
He simply frowned.
"Am I being pulled into a dreamlike illusion?" The young wizard felt the magic being drawn into his body and began to try to control his magic to prevent it from flowing towards the bell.
Well, how should I put it?
Perhaps the little wizard's control over his own magic was indeed strong enough, or perhaps the magic that the Great Bell wanted had reached a threshold, so he gradually regained control over his magic.
"Phew~"
The young wizard breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Within his perception.
The magical fluctuations on Big Ben began to weaken.
As the dazzling runes slowly faded, the surrounding phenomena gradually disappeared, and the light and energy that enveloped Ian also slowly dissipated.
"This magic has really drained me a lot. I probably wouldn't have used up this much energy even if I cast Avada Kedavra for an hour straight." Ian rubbed his slightly dizzy head.
He was somewhat relieved that his magic hadn't been overdrawn, and also somewhat annoyed that he shouldn't have been so impulsive as to touch an alchemical artifact that was still under repair.
"Harry?"
Ian, seeing that everything around him was clear, was about to discuss with Harry some issues about concealing the truth when he realized that he couldn't find the Savior anywhere in his sight.
Let alone Harry Potter.
Even the entire office seemed to have undergone a complete transformation.
"What the hell!" Ian was surprised to find himself no longer in his original place, but in an alchemy classroom filled with mystery and fantasy.
The alchemy classroom was spacious and bright, with several ancient magical chandeliers hanging from the high ceiling, emitting a soft and warm light that illuminated the entire room. The walls were inlaid with various strange runes and alchemical patterns, which seemed to possess life, shimmering with a mysterious glow in the dim light.
In the center of the classroom stood a huge alchemy workbench, covered with various precious materials, test tubes, beakers, and complex alchemy devices.
A faint aroma of herbs and metal filled the air.
"This is still Hogwarts, no doubt!" Ian couldn't help but look out the window. The torrential rain was still pouring down, and the swaying shadows of the trees and the surrounding environment indicated that he hadn't been transported to a new world or a new region.
"Have I entered the inner world of Hogwarts?" Ian looked around, his heart filled with surprise and curiosity. He gently pushed open the door and stepped out of the fantastical alchemy classroom.
A familiar corridor came into view.
The ancient portraits and magical ornaments still lined the corridor, silently watching over everyone who passed by. However, although the corridor seemed no different than before, Ian felt an indescribable, subtle change, as if the whole world had undergone some kind of subtle transformation the moment he was enveloped in light.
It's a feeling that's hard to describe.
Or you could say it's just pure intuition.
"These murals still depict the same people, and they haven't turned into any creepy monsters... Maybe it's not the Otherworld?" Ian always felt that this Hogwarts was a bit abnormal.
He pulled out his wand, looking slightly wary.
And at that very moment.
"Hey kid over there, what are you doing up so late at night? Hmm? Does Hogwarts have someone important like you?" A gentle yet slightly authoritative voice suddenly rang in the young wizard's ear.
It came from behind.
Ian immediately turned around.
He saw...those deep blue eyes.
Albus Dumbledore.
Younger version.
[P.S.: The marriage negotiations broke down and have been postponed until the day after tomorrow. The 8000-word article has become 16,000 words.]