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The handwriting on the note was neat and clear.
So neat that it looked like printed text.
It bore no trace of personal calligraphic style— it absolutely wasn't sothing Ian had absentmindedly stuffed into his robes, nor could it be a fragnt of runes he had transcribed himself.
While his handwriting wasn't ugly, it was nowhere near this chanically precise and devoid of individuality. And given his age, there was no way he could have forgotten transcribing such a segnt of runes due to so mory lapse.
"rlin's beard! I've encountered sothing foul!" Ian warily picks up the note from the floor. The fact that this thing had seemingly materialized out of thin air in his pocket sent a shiver down his spine.
Who could have slipped this note into his pocket without him noticing?
Staring at the faintly shimring runes on the parchnt, Ian had a strong premonition, this might very well be the exact fragnt he had been searching for: the anchoring runes within the Resurrection Stone.
"This is the segnt…"
Though Ian had already morized the runes on the Resurrection Stone, he still pulled out the stone to compare. The runes on the note indeed matched a portion of the stone's inscriptions, which only made the situation more unnerving. After all, the only living person who knew Ian was studying these runes was Grindelwald.
"Did Aurora's grandfather already decipher what I needed?" Ian quickly dismissed the thought. He doubted Grindelwald could work that fast.
Besides, the man had no reason to deliver the answer in such a cryptic manner. If Grindelwald had made progress, he'd have summoned Ian to his office, handed over the results, and then demanded half an hour of praise— that was his style.
"Dumbledore doesn't know I have the Resurrection Stone, and Aberforth is unlikely to be involved either."
Clutching the note, Ian ntally reviewed everyone he had interacted with that day.
First, he ruled out the students. Most of them could barely cast a Jinx without trembling, let alone decipher the secrets of a Deathly Hallow.
Quirrell, possessed by Voldemort?
Unlikely. If the Dark Lord knew Ian had the Resurrection Stone, and that its soul was gone— why would he have been smiling during their earlier conversation?
Snape?
Even less likely.
Snape's expertise lay in potions, not alchemy. The man was obsessed with stirring cauldrons— he hadn't even noticed the peculiarities of the Marauder's Map back in the day.
"Then there's that mysterious Alchemy Professor… Arthur King."
Ian knew the na had so significance, but no one could confirm whether Professor King had chosen it himself during so teenage phase of grandiosity, much like Tom Riddle rebranding himself as Voldemort. In the West, it wasn't uncommon for people to alter even their surnas for various reasons.
Besides, Professor King had no way of knowing Ian was studying the Resurrection Stone. Their brief encounter in the library hadn't involved any such revelation. Unless the man could divine the impossible, there was no explanation.
Hogwarts was full of hidden talents, but none so absurdly overpowered.
That wasn't to say the Alchemy Professor was above suspicion, but Ian couldn't fathom how he'd know what Ian needed, let alone solve the problem in a single glance.
Most crucially, a near-stranger had no reason to help Ian anonymously.
What was the motive?
Did they find Ian… adorable?
That thought was even more terrifying.
"This is bizarre and absurd…"
After racking his brain to no avail, Ian accepted that the note's origin remained a mystery. But he was certain that soone was lurking in the shadows.
Was it a sche? Or genuine assistance?
"Only one way to find out!"
Bold as ever, Ian strode to his workbench and pulled out one of his counterfeit Resurrection Stone prototypes from his pouch.
Even if this experint ruined all his remaining prototypes, he still had reserves of the peculiar stone from the Twilight Zone.
Alchemy, after all, was about trial and error— as long as the test subjects weren't himself or his acquaintances.
"You! Assist . Grind these into powder!" Ian summoned his Dentor assistant and began his verification in the Room of Requirent.
Whether the mysterious note's runes were accurate or not, testing was the only way to know. The worst outco would be failure— which is nothing new.
"Next ti I enter the Twilight Zone, I'll test the runes on a small animal first."
Ian wasn't taking chances. Not only would he use animals to verify the runes' effects, but he also decided to transcribe directly from the Resurrection Stone itself— bypassing the note entirely.
This was to avoid any undetectable tampering in the note's runes.
Caution was the parent of safety.
He kept the note to trace its origins later. If he couldn't uncover the stealthy culprit, he'd never sleep soundly again.
His current theory?
The note's deliverer might have been invisible.
An Invisibility Cloak, a Disillusionnt Charm— the magical world had countless thods of concealnt. If that were the case, his inability to pinpoint a suspect made sense.
None of the day's potential suspects had gotten close enough— even Quirrell (Voldemort) hadn't managed to lay a hand on him.
"Then again, there's that lost spell— 'Wizard's Hand'— which conjures an invisible third limb…"
Once his preparations were complete,
Ian, with the Dentor's assistance began his experint. The mindless creature mostly fetched materials and occasionally nibbled on snacks.
"Grind this finer."
Thankfully, Ian's studies in [Ancient Alchemy] spared him the struggles a modern alchemist would face. His techniques leaned toward ancient magical scripts, aligning closely with the Resurrection Stone's craftsmanship.
Yes, the runes on the Resurrection Stone could be considered a form of magical text— distinct from Runes or other ancient scripts. They were a unique "alchemical language" belonging to the creator of the Deathly Hallows.
For now, let's call it "Necro-Script."
Like Ancient Runes, it was a language imbued with magic, but far more potent. Its essence likely represented a manifestation of the Death God's power.
Ancient Runes, in contrast, were the wizarding world's exploration and codification of magic and nature. Both were expressions of power, sharing so underlying principles.
Modern Alchemy, however, was different.
Evolved from contemporary Charms, it only partially retained ancient script traits. Like spells, it was simpler to learn but significantly altered.
"Each has its pros and cons."
Ian's assessnt was objective.
Artifacts crafted via [Ancient Alchemy] could be called "scripted creations"— their magical circuits woven entirely from interconnected magical texts.
Modern alchemical artifacts, anwhile, emphasized layering enchantnts to achieve specialized functions.
No longer reliant on magical language as a foundation, their structure diverged sharply from [Ancient Alchemy]. It was like two branches of the sa discipline, making it difficult for modern alchemists to replicate the Resurrection Stone.
Of course, modern alchemy's stability and accessibility far surpassed its ancient counterpart, otherwise, it wouldn't have replaced it.
"Wand shops are stocked thanks to modern alchemy's efficiency."
This shift mirrored Muggle industrialization.
In many ways, modern alchemy was more practical. It sacrificed so possibilities of the ancient art to lower barriers to entry and improve success rates.
"Modern alchemy's advancent is also tied to ancient alchemy's exorbitant material demands."
Ian glanced at the costly ingredients on his desk.
Without the Room of Requirent and the Forbidden Forest's "free resources," gathering these materials would've cost a fortune. And that was with his [Transcendent Alchemy] trait allowing substitutions— otherwise, so materials would've been outright unattainable.
Like potion ingredients, alchemical components were vanishing.
If Ian's knowledge held, the pinnacle of modern alchemy was Nicolas Flal—a master of both schools who had actively shaped modern alchemy's developnt.
This proved that modern alchemy excelled in certain areas.
That said, Ian suspected Flal had used [Ancient Alchemy] to create the Philosopher's Stone.
Many feats of the ancient art had no modern equivalents. Modern alchemy relied heavily on established enchantnts, making innovation difficult without reverting to ancient thods.
"If I want to study the Philosopher's Stone, I'll need 'No-Nose's' help."
Ian ticulously fused materials into the Resurrection Stone prototype. His rune-carving progress was glacial— each stroke demanded painstaking precision.
Even a small segnt would take days.
Slow. And unforgiving of errors.
This was why Ian hadn't attempted a full replication earlier. Completing the entire stone's inscriptions would've taken months, with no guarantee of success.
Unexpected complications could always arise.
"Blast it! I said grind it by hand, not chew, wait, since when do you have teeth?!"
Ian hadn't failed.
He'd just noticed his Dentor's odd behavior and paused his Necro-Script engraving to pry open its mouth.
"Bloody hell! You do have teeth! Where'd those co from?!"
To his astonishnt, the Dentor's newfound molars were perfect for grinding.
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(To Be Continued…)
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