Ian hesitated, unsure of how to tactfully explain that he had already designed self-operating alchemical guardians capable of thrashing most students in a duel.
"Take your ti," Nicolas Flal said warmly, misreading the silence. "I'll be around Hogwarts for a good few years yet."
He hadn't the faintest idea how far along Ian truly was.
"Professor…"
Seeing Flal turn to study the Mirror of Erised, Ian decided it was best to be direct, at least a little.
"I've actually been trying to replicate the Room of Requirent," He said casually, and with a snap of his fingers, began pulling out piles of notes. Thousands of parchnt sheets, densely inked with diagrams, magical sequences, and annotated rune circles, spilled from his pouch like a cascade of ancient secrets.
Nicolas Flal stared down at the mass of docunts.
"?????"
He fell into stunned silence.
Suddenly, Flal realised he'd vastly underestimated the boy Dumbledore had spoken so highly of.
At that mont,
"I did say he was extraordinary," Albus Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eye, glancing over from Voldemort's remains with a soft chuckle.
"…"
Nicolas Flal opened his mouth in so sort of retort, but nothing ca out.
'Extraordinary? This child looked like he'd started his magical education in the womb!'
Flal realised he knew almost nothing about the boy standing before him.
"What year are you in?" He asked, his voice laced with disbelief.
"First year, Professor," Ian replied, trying his best to maintain an innocent and respectful air.
"And when exactly did you begin studying alchemy?"
Nicolas's eyelid twitched involuntarily. He'd clearly expected Ian to be several years older, perhaps even a NEWT-level student, given his knowledge.
"About a week before term started, I think?" Ian scratched his head thoughtfully, unable to recall the exact mont he'd begun.
"…"
Nicolas Flal fell silent once more.
He couldn't help but study the young wizard before him again, emotions stirring in a way they hadn't in decades. In his own first year of magical and alchemical education, he had barely managed to master the basics of Ancient Runes! Yet here stood a boy of eleven, already delving into the secrets of the Co and Go Room left behind by one of the Founders!
'Your magical power is already so extraordinary, where on earth do you find the ti to study alchemy?'
Nicolas Flal's gaze finally settled on Ian's remarkably composed face, handso in a refined sort of way, and he pondered silently, unable to discern what area of magic this child might not excel in.
'So much for the universe being fair!'
"Your classmates are definitely going to feel overshadowed when you grow up," Nicolas Flal blurted suddenly, unable to suppress his own feelings of envy. He firmly believed no wizard could be good at everything, there had to be a flaw sowhere.
"?????"
Now it was Ian's turn to look bewildered.
He had the odd impression that Nicolas Flal's remark was more vicious than any hex Voldemort could have thrown at him.
"Don't fret. If such issues ever arise, alchemy provides certain… redial charms," Nicolas Flal added cryptically, crouching down to examine the thick sheaf of parchnt Ian had spread on the ground.
"So, Professor…" Ian said, schooling his features into a reserved expression. "Do I have the qualifications, and the honour, to learn alchemy from you?"
Nicolas Flal looked up with an even more complex expression than before.
'You're already researching one of the greatest enchanted rooms in Hogwarts, and you're still humbly asking about qualifications? If you don't qualify, who in the wizarding world possibly could?'
"Of course, there's no problem. In fact… it may be my honour instead." Nicolas Flal's voice softened, his eyes glinting with renewed purpose.
The old alchemist had reached a mont of clarity.
Just as the greatest witches and wizards of the past sought apprentices to pass on their knowledge, so too had he yearned for soone to continue the path he could no longer tread, to see the magical frontiers he never reached.
And this boy, this remarkable young wizard, might very well be that person.
Perhaps fate truly had not abandoned him, perhaps it had sent him a successor before he left this world.
Nicolas Flal had trained many in alchemy, but never had he found a true heir to his life's work.
"Perhaps it's him…" Nicolas Flal thought, his heart suddenly alight with hope.
But still, curiosity lingered.
"Tell , Ian," He asked, "Why did you choose to replicate the Room of Requirent? It's not exactly the most desirable venture for an aspiring alchemist."
Nicolas Flal had asked not to criticise, but to understand the boy's drive. He believed true mastery ca from original thought, not rely rehashing the brilliance of others.
Ian answered without hesitation, "Because my previous Alchemy professor told that if I wanted to study under him, I'd need to fully understand the secrets of the Room of Requirent first."
For a mont, Nicolas Flal was speechless.
'What kind of Alchemy professor sets such an absurd requirent?'
That's not a test, that's a way of shooing students off!
"I daresay he was politely declining your request, yes… That must be it," Nicolas Flal said after a beat. "In truth, he likely didn't possess the ability to replicate the Co and Go Room himself."
"And yet clearly," He added, glancing at the mountain of runes and parchnt, "You took his polite refusal with perfect sincerity…" Nicolas Flal looked at Ian's bright, hopeful eyes with a complicated expression in his eyes.
He usually wouldn't speak ill of others, but when it ca to apprentices and legacy… he couldn't help but be cautious. He had to ensure this young talent wasn't misled.
Still, he wasn't particularly worried, who, after all, could rival him in alchemy?
It was more a matter of teaching Ian how the world really worked.
Because to be an alchemist…
You couldn't afford to be too trusting.
'One mont you're a bright-eyed apprentice, the next you're trapped in a cursed workshop, bottling shrinking solutions for a dodgy potion peddler.'
That was a lesson he'd learned the hard way.
"Ah? Really?" Ian blinked, feigning surprise even though he privately doubted Nicolas Flal's analysis. But he wasn't foolish enough to contradict his would-be ntor.
"Exactly! That must be it!" Nicolas Flal seized the mont with renewed passion. "I've looked into your forr professor, who always arrived on ti, left the minute the hour struck. Clearly the sort who treats teaching like a clock-in job. Your request would have been seen as nothing more than extra paperwork."
"He's not like ," Nicolas added with a dignified air, "I'm always available. You can pop in for help any ti, even at night. I don't require much sleep these days."
A six-hundred-year-old alchemist.
A legend in the wizarding world.
And yet… There was sothing oddly endearing in the way he promoted himself with such humble insistence.
"Nicolas, about the previous Alchemy professor, actually…" Albus Dumbledore, who had just returned from examining Voldemort's remains, opened his mouth to interject.
But seeing Nicolas Flal's indignant zeal, he hesitated.
In the end, Dumbledore said nothing. Whatever he had learned, or suspected, about Arthur King, he kept it to himself.
So matters were best left for another ti.
"There's no actuality about it! I, the greatest alchemist of this century! Albus, are you seriously suggesting I'm not capable of teaching your student properly?" Nicolas Flal, slightly misinterpreting the situation, gave Albus Dumbledore a sharp look.
"I'd never doubt your capabilities, not for a mont," Albus said quickly, nodding with an affable smile. He knew full well how to soothe the feelings of an elderly wizard.
After all,
The older a wizard gets, the more they begin to resemble a child.
This was a truth well-known among those who'd spent ti around the venerable mbers of the magical community.
"Did you hear that, young man? Your Headmaster knows just how talented I am. Any ti you find yourself free, co and find , I'll be happy to offer you private instruction."
Nicolas Flal barely needed to glance at the parchnt scattered on the floor to gauge Ian's grasp of alchemy. Even so, he found himself silently thankful that he'd co to Hogwarts on a whim for a bit of amusent.
"Yes, I'll definitely co to see you, Professor!" Ian replied, clearly delighted.
While Professor Morgan was another source he could turn to for alchemical insight, that path would only be open after a specific period. Having the greatest alchemist of the age available for consultation at any ti was an unexpected and welco advantage.
(To Be Continued…)
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