Chapter 179: Times Have Changed
Ryan hadn't even taken a seat. He knew his little scheme hadn't fooled Nicolas Flamel, so as his teacher began to reprimand him, he immediately poured a drink.
"Have some of this, sir, clear your throat. I hear the fruit juice at Beauxbatons is one of a kind. If you don't like juice, I can get you a bottle of champagne. If champagne won't do—"
"This is about your actions. Stop changing the subject!" Nicolas Flamel slammed his hand on the table.
Ryan spread his hands. "I just figured it was useless to tell her, right? Squibs, people who have magic but can't use it, are very likely to have a magical overload under extreme emotion. That is dangerous."
"But," he continued, "they'll be holding my specially-made wands. Any casting medium's primary function is to help control magic. So, if the Squibs' internal magic becomes chaotic during the experiment, my wands will channel it away. There won't be any safety issues. After a few repetitions, they might even get the hang of casting..."
"I know you're confident in the participants' safety," Nicolas said, his voice firm. "But I'm warning you, you must treat all people as people, as important people. You can't just treat everyone who isn't in your inner circle as... consumables."
"Professor, you wrong me! How could I treat people as consumables?" Ryan cried, feigning injustice. "At most, I'm just treating them like... crops! And I'm the one providing the fertilizer!" He was an expert, after all, in how to treat people as expendable and make them grateful for it. He was already exercising extreme self-control, and even this tiny bit of his true nature was too much for his teacher.
If I unleashed everything I've seen and learned in my past life, wouldn't this whole world just explode? He didn't see the problem. The safety risks had been considered and defended against. The participants would get to shed decades of misery and gain the power of magic. In his old world, this would be considered a grand act of charity, no less virtuous than helping old ladies cross the street every day!
"People are not crops!" Nicolas's voice was stern. "Whether wizard, Muggle, or magical creature, every intelligent life has the right to live with dignity and basic equality. By hiding this information, by using their desire as bait, you are luring them into a risk they can't properly assess! You are violating their rights!"
He was schooling his disciple. His apprentice was brilliant in every way, but this one flaw—he was too radical.
He emphasized his words, "Hiding information, using an information gap to mislead, using benefits as bait... this is not what an alchemist should do! I heard from Albus that you were so open with him you even dared him to use Legilimency on you. Why can't you show that same honesty to all wizards?"
Ryan fell silent. He trusted Dumbledore because he'd known him for two years; he was trustworthy. He trusted his friends because he didn't believe they would stab him in the back. But to trust a complete stranger...
"I can't do that, Professor," Ryan admitted. "But I will explain the situation to Madame Maxime. And when the Squibs arrive for the experiment, I will explain the full story to them. After hearing all the conditions, they can choose to stay or leave. And I will give them appropriate compensation."
Nicolas and Perenelle looked at each other and shook their heads, though there was no anger in their expressions.
Perenelle spoke, her voice gentle. "Child, the more people you trust, the more people will trust you. You don't need to worry about betrayal. In the current magical world, very few can afford the cost of betraying you. You must remember: you have the capital for trial and error. You can afford to try."
I have the capital for trial and error... Ryan was stunned. He knew he was a big shot in the magical world, that the power he'd gathered could change the world's very currents. And yet... his mindset was still hopelessly stuck, as if he couldn't afford to make a single mistake.
"Professor, Madam... I understand. Thank you for teaching me."
"Then go find Madame Maxime," Perenelle said, her soft voice holding an unchallengeable authority.
"Yes."
Watching Ryan leave, Nicolas said to Perenelle, "Brilliant! I genuinely didn't realize he was so worried about being betrayed."
"Some of his thinking is very dynamic, but other parts are very rigid," Perenelle analyzed. "It's related to his upbringing. He must have grown up in an environment where he had to be cautious, where he couldn't afford to make mistakes. At least, that's what everyone in his environment taught him. Albus said the boy was an orphan, which seems to fit."
"Is life in England really that oppressive now?" Nicolas wondered, feeling like an old fossil who couldn't understand the modern world. The sun, it seems, truly has set on that old, radiant empire.
Guided by the portraits on the walls of Beauxbatons, Ryan found Madame Maxime in a garden gazebo, talking on her Communicator.
"Yes, I need some Squibs. That's right. Don't tell them the specifics, just that we can let them experience what it's like to cast magic."
"...My thanks. Don't worry. Mr. Nicolas Flamel and his student are presiding over this experiment. There are no safety issues."
Ryan felt a pang of shame. To avoid trouble and explanations, he had hidden information, but Madame Maxime had trusted him completely. That trust was likely due to Nicolas, but it was still directed at him.
"Madame Maxime," Ryan said, stepping forward as she ended the call. He explained what had just happened.
"So, that's the situation. I didn't mention the risks or the safety measures. It might have been misleading to the people who come to participate... and it betrayed your trust. I am very sorry."
Maxime looked at the boy's clear discomfort, which was most apparent when he said the word "trust."
Trust must be very important to him. She wasn't angry. In her opinion, hiding information was commonplace in the wizarding world. Not seeing through it was simply a lack of her own ability.
But the Flamels... she thought, they're trying to groom their apprentice into a... saint. A saint who would be honest and true to everyone, at all times, regardless of age, sickness, strength, or wealth.
Madame Maxime realized the Flamels were playing a very long game. And she decided to take a hand in it, to bind this future "saint" to Beauxbatons.
"This is indeed a serious matter," she said, her tone grave. "Beauxbatons and I are not the issue, but Mr. Flamel's six-hundred-year reputation cannot be tarnished. It's a good thing you've told me the truth now, so we have a chance to remedy this."
"Your actions... they reflect badly on Mr. Flamel's reputation. You wouldn't want this story getting out, would you?"
Ryan: ???
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