Since returning home, the Flamels have had a relatively easy time.
The couple had always remained aloof from most affairs of the French Wizarding World. The existence of the Philosopher's Stone gave them that capital.
After giving their statements at the Ministry, and subsequent visits from Minister Rousseau to sound out Nicolas, ensuring he held no dissatisfaction towards him or the current Ministry due to the incident, they were left in peace without further disturbance.
As for those newspaper reporters blocking the door all day?
Nicolas had plenty of experience dealing with such people.
The main door they blocked was just one of the apparent exits of the Flamel Residence. Having served as a safe house for Dumbledore's people in the past, the Flamel Residence naturally had more than one exit.
However, for two days after his chat with Severus, Nicolas hadn't felt like going out.
He first wrote a letter to Dumbledore, informing him of his safety and, incidentally, explaining the true circumstances of the incident in the letter.
The events in France might fool the politicians, but they certainly wouldn't escape Dumbledore, who is far away in Britain.
And neither Grindelwald nor Nicolas had thought this matter could be hidden from him, so this did not violate the agreement between Nicolas and Grindelwald.
In less than half a day, Dumbledore sent a reply.
Regarding the matter of Nurmengard, he didn't say much, but he showed great curiosity about his subordinate, Severus Snape.
What surprised Nicolas was that Dumbledore actually didn't know where Severus was going next or what he was going to do!
This astonished him greatly.
When Severus visited him with Dumbledore's letter, he had thought that everything, from coming to see him now to what he said he would do later, was personally instructed by Dumbledore.
Now, learning that Dumbledore was unaware of Severus's subsequent plans, Nicolas weighed his options internally and ultimately chose not to tell Dumbledore about the exchanges he had with Severus at home.
The reason for not telling was that Nicolas himself wasn't very clear about where Severus was going or what he planned to do next.
He could only vaguely guess some of it.
Therefore, since Severus had not taken the initiative to disclose his intentions and had not informed Dumbledore from the beginning, Nicolas finally chose to keep this secret for Severus for the time being.
In his subsequent reply to Dumbledore, he explained his observations and assessments of Severus's magical power and finally suggested that Dumbledore try using the signed scroll.
As for where Severus went afterward, he simply said he didn't know either.
The day after ending his correspondence with Dumbledore, Nicolas finally grew tired of staying at home.
He and his wife were involved in numerous charitable endeavors for Muggles alongside the Wizarding World.
During this period, the affairs of the wizarding world were difficult to focus on due to those jackal-like reporters, but obviously, there were far fewer concerns on the Muggle side.
Thus, the Flamel couple disguised themselves and began appearing in welfare hospitals and orphanages around Paris.
Until one evening, Mrs. Flamel went home to rest at dusk, leaving Nicolas alone. He cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself, concealed his form, and walked among the Muggles.
He enjoyed thinking and observing in this manner.
The expressions of joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness displayed by the people around him at every moment were all seen by Nicolas.
Sometimes, he would secretly help job seekers retrieve lost resumes, allowing them to experience amidst frustrated and sad.
Other times, he would punish pickpockets, making them inexplicably walk into police stations holding their day's haul to turn themselves in.
Sometimes, he would trip up robbers, making them fall flat on their faces.
However, in most situations, he couldn't change much more.
Nicolas understood very clearly that no matter how long he lived, he couldn't do much more for this world.
Many people said that when one lives long enough, as an immortal, one should have grown accustomed to the regrets of this world.
But this clearly didn't apply to Nicolas.
No matter how long the years have passed, he has always been the same as his initial self, holding a heart of compassion for everything in this world.
It was precisely because of this that he had become close friends with Dumbledore back in the day and why he and his wife always had things to do throughout their long lives.
As night gradually deepened, Nicolas found a quiet place and looked up at the star-filled sky.
Two hundred years ago, he had learned some astral divination from a centaur.
Although it was useless in most matters, as divination was generally a talent one was born with, and couldn't be forced, over these two hundred years of experience, he had managed to stumble upon a few successful revelations by sheer luck.
And this time, in the dark, he seemed to see some unusual stellar trajectories.
Guided by that strange sensation, he began to move again, eventually arriving at a Paris metro station named after a famous battle.
Here, Nicolas discovered a very interesting animal.
It was a large dog with pitch-black fur.
From the moment it listlessly lay there, Nicolas began observing it.
He could actually see, in the eyes of this creature that seemed utterly unrelated to any magical beast, emotions that only humans could display.
Worry, anger, confusion, remorse...
This astonished Nicolas greatly. He no longer wandered elsewhere but stayed there, observing this peculiar black dog.
Although the black dog seemed indifferent to its surroundings, as if aware that its current self only deserved to be in such a dump-like place, its gaze held only disregard when looking at other stray dogs.
It was like a person looking at a group of unrelated animals.
And when homeless people disturbed it, it showed complete disdain and aversion.
Even though these emotions were negative, they were clearly only exhibited when facing one's own kind.
Subsequently, the drunkard called [Hant] discovered it and began sharing his beer with it.
When the beer was first poured into its mouth, the black dog's eyes clearly showed shock and resistance.
But soon, such conflicted emotions vanished from its eyes. It seemed to accept the numbing effects of alcohol with peace of mind, just like many drunkards at the beginning.
They all needed this kind of thing to help them escape reality.
The black dog also began to indulge itself. It drank wildly with Hant beside it, completely losing any semblance of an animal and acting just like a real person!
If, at this moment, the one beside it wasn't a drunkard but a person of normal consciousness, they would surely notice its peculiarities.
A dog liking to drink alcohol, while uncommon, isn't exactly strange.
But a large black dog, stretching out a front leg, drinking with a drunkard while slinging an arm over his shoulder like a person, that was more than just strange.
It could be called downright bizarre!
Witnessing this scene, Nicolas began to ponder.
His brain, somewhat slowed by old age yet still clear and logical, was thinking.
After a long while, he blinked, having thought of something, and casually lifted the Disillusionment Charm on himself.
The sudden appearance of an old man in this chaotic subway station at night didn't attract anyone's attention.
But Nicolas was certain that the black dog had alertly noticed him the moment he appeared.
It had clearly already drunk a lot, as the pile of beer cans on the ground was like a small mountain. The drunkard called Hant had spent all his money on alcohol, and after that, still unsatisfied, the black dog itself had taken the initiative to steal from other homeless people, even earning loud cheers and encouragement from Hant.
Yet, even so, its seemingly innate wariness allowed its intuition to overcome the numbing effects of the alcohol, and it stared at Nicolas!
Nicolas didn't avoid its instinctively fierce gaze. Instead, he slowly approached the black dog and looked down at it.
They stared at each other like this, man and dog, for a long time. Hant beside them couldn't hold on any longer and passed out drunk.
"If you have no home to return to, why not come with me?"
Nicolas smiled, softly issuing an invitation to the black dog.
The black dog, unknown whether it could still think rationally, hesitated for more than ten seconds after hearing Nicolas's words before shakily getting to its feet and following the old man.
The man and dog slowly left the subway station like that.
"Hey! Don't just pee on the cobblestones, go under the tree."
From afar, one could still hear Nicolas lecturing his new friend.
…
"I've been traveling with Lulu for five years!"
In the Albanian forest, within the valley's Troll Tribe…
After an afternoon of preparations, Severus and the others finally had a grand feast in the evening.
The Trolls' celebrations were uniquely different. Each held a large club, hopping and stomping around the roasted Yellow-Horned Goats, making the once peaceful valley tremble as if struck by an earthquake, startling countless birds and small animals.
They could eat and sleep heartily. Each Troll finished a whole Yellow-Horned Goat around the bonfire, and then most of them fell asleep on the spot, not caring whether they were in their crude wooden sheds or not.
The wizards' dinner started at the same time as the Trolls'. However, Harry hadn't even taken a second sip of juice from his cup before the Trolls were finished.
But their departure allowed the wizards to enjoy their meal more amicably.
They sat at a wooden table by the lake, which was laden with various foods: soup made from the Glumbumbles that Harry and Draco had caught that afternoon, rabbits and pheasants Lupin had caught in the forest, and kale and turnips Severus had found nearby.
Andrews was telling them about his travel adventures across Europe.
"The first time I met Lulu was in Norway. I wasn't actually focused on Troll Research back then. Don't be fooled by how obedient and manageable these big guys seem under mine and Lulu's control now, with little danger."
"But a tamed tiger in a circus can never change the fact that a tiger is still a wild beast at its core."
"It's the same with Trolls. There's a very rigorous basis for them not being recognized as 'beings' by wizards. In the vast majority of cases, they act like wild beasts, without their own thoughts, ideas, or consciousness, operating purely on instinct."
"Only a very few are exceptions, and Lulu is the exception among exceptions."
Andrews looked very excited, and it can be seen that he cared deeply for his Troll friend.
"Want to know about our first meeting? I was at a wild lake near Hauk in Norway, wanting to visit a Merpeople Tribe living there."
"But my information was clearly wrong. There were no Merpeople in that lake, but there was a Kelpie! I was terrified because my wand was left on the shore… I had no means to deal with it!"
"Just when I thought I was going to die there, Lulu appeared! It was on the shore holding a small fir tree, shouting at me, and it used the branches of that small tree to hook my clothes and pull me from the lake to the shore!"
"My goodness, you simply can't understand how shocked I was at that moment!"
Andrews said animatedly, captivating Harry and Draco.
"I was saved by a Troll! It didn't eat me but used a small tree to save me from the water demon's threat! The first thing I did after being pulled ashore was try to communicate with it in Troll Language. It was indeed completely different from other Trolls, as it could understand me, could think, and even had a kind heart!"
When they heard this, Severus and the other three couldn't help but turn to look at Lulu, who was dragging its companions by their big feet, trying to pull them back into the wooden sheds to sleep.
"It told me it had saved many people there, but those wizards always held onto their beastly impressions of Trolls and ran away as soon as it pulled them out. It felt very lonely. Its own kind couldn't understand it, and wizards couldn't accept it. It had been wandering around Norway and then settled down by that lake."
"Because it found that many wizards, based on rumors they'd heard, came there looking for the legendary oldest Merpeople Tribe, only to nearly lose their lives to the water demon. So it stayed there, waiting to save people."
Severus blinked and he spoke.
"That lake was so strange?"
"Exactly! From Lulu, I sensed this seemed like a trap. So we began our first collaboration then, investigating the lake and the Merpeople rumors together, and finally found the mastermind behind it."
"It was a dark wizard illegally raising a Kelpie! The news about the Merpeople was all fake information he spread, wanting a steady stream of adventurers to provide food for his pet!"
"After this matter was cleared up, you started traveling together?" Lupin asked this time.
Andrews said with a beaming smile.
"I had no reason not to invite it along! It saved me, we worked together to help the Norwegian Aurors solve a case. It had nowhere to go, so why not continue our partnership?"
"It was from meeting Lulu that I officially decided to specialize in Troll Research. After leaving Norway, we traveled through many countries in Europe together, visited many Troll Tribes, observed their lives, habits, and migration activities. We were simply the best partners!"
Severus looked at his heartfelt smile and suddenly remembered something from his memories of the original work, about some books written by Gilderoy Lockhart.
Many of his books were about adventures, especially adventures involving dangerous magical creatures.
Among them were [Break with a Banshee], [Gadding with Ghouls], [Holidays with Hags]...
And also...
[Travels with Trolls]!