The Great Hall at Hogwarts.
Lucien sat at the long table, leisurely eating breakfast.
There were only a few students around.
Most had gone home for Christmas, and since there were no classes during the holiday, the ones who stayed were either sleeping in or busy unwrapping their presents.
Just as Lucien was about to lift a spoonful of lean meat porridge to his mouth, he heard someone calling his name urgently.
"Lucien!"
"Lucien, thank goodness you're here."
Harry and Ron ran up to him one after the other.
Harry clutched the Chocolate Frog card with Dumbledore's portrait, anxiously thrusting it toward Lucien.
"Lucien, look—quickly! I said Nicolas Flamel sounded familiar, and it turns out I saw him on a Chocolate Frog card!"
Lucien calmly took the card and glanced at it.
Hmm, not bad—they noticed.
His effort hadn't been wasted.
As long as he used this as a reason to let Harry learn about the Philosopher's Stone, he could then go straight to Dumbledore.
He needed to get in contact with the Philosopher's Stone early, use it to refine potions, and repay the loan.
"You two are incredible, finding a clue on a Chocolate Frog card."
Lucien reached out and patted Harry's shoulder, offering appropriate praise to the two young wizards.
But Harry frantically waved his hands.
"No, no, we just got lucky—the Diricawl helped us!"
At Harry's words, the spoon Lucien was lifting paused mid-air.
No… what was that?
Diricawl?
"Oh, I'll tell you, I'll tell you, Lucien—this morning…"
Ron couldn't hold back and immediately recounted the whole incident to Lucien.
He even repeated word for word what George had said about the "Diricawl."
"Lucien, I'm planning to go to the Owlery later. That owl might still be there!"
"How about it—want to come along? If I get Galleons I can't finish spending—oh, no—good luck! I won't forget you!"
Seeing Ron so excited, practically ready to rush off immediately to search for the "Diricawl,"
Lucien quietly took a sip of porridge, momentarily unsure where to even begin commenting.
George and Fred must have pranked Ron quite a lot.
But why did Ron still trust those two so completely?
Wasn't it Lucien himself who had helped them—while transformed into an owl?
Diricawl?
Meeting an animal that brings good fortune on Christmas, and by offering it food and drink, one would enjoy a lifetime of prosperity and never worry about daily needs?
Well… in the wizarding world, haha, any legend could seem believable.
Wait…
Those kindergarten stories of animals developing spirits and repaying kindness.
Fox spirits, clam spirits, snake spirits—various creatures transforming into human form.
Could this be connected to Animagus lore…?
Lucien shook his head, pulling his drifting thoughts back.
"I won't go. I still have some books to finish."
Hearing this, Harry and Ron weren't surprised; they were already used to Lucien's studious nature.
"Oh right, Lucien, did you get our Christmas presents?"
Lucien nodded; he had already seen them.
Students generally gave sweets or books, while the professors' gifts were more varied.
There were Transfiguration toys that could change into several shapes, a packet of safe magical plant seeds, ancient spell manuscripts, Potion recipes… What surprised Lucien a little was that even Quirrell had sent him a Christmas present.
Although it was just a very ordinary magic notebook, its contents were completely normal—nothing unusual and nothing remarkable.
Hmm, he should still bring it to Dumbledore and have the old man check it for him.
Just in case Quirrell—or Tom—had slipped something inside as a trap…
Tsk tsk, the material Quirrell had been teaching during recent tutoring sessions had leaned more and more toward the Dark Arts.
Although he didn't talk much, and would never state anything outright, his intentions were… well, obvious.
He probably wanted to lure Lucien into learning the Dark Arts, pushing him further and further down the wrong path.
Then, by using that to threaten him or keep him hooked on the Dark Arts, Lucien wouldn't get in the way of their plans.
But Dumbledore already knew about this.
Speaking of which, Dumbledore had sent him a special permit, allowing him to borrow many books from the Restricted Section—except for a few extremely dangerous or evil ones.
Actually, Lucien had always felt that the way books were classified between the Restricted Section and the regular library shelves was unreasonable.
For example, some books in the Restricted Section were openly sold at Flourish and Blotts.
And a book containing instructions for brewing Polyjuice Potion was placed in the regular library section, freely available for young wizards to read.
Of course, Hagrid had also sent Lucien a Christmas present.
To be honest, Lucien especially liked it.
Hagrid had sent him a dozen bookmarks made from all kinds of materials—Diricawl feathers, Streeler shells, unicorn tail hair, and more.
The bookmarks were crafted in a simple, rustic style, but Lucien could genuinely feel Hagrid's thoughtfulness.
He knew those materials were all gathered by Hagrid in the Forbidden Forest.
Among them, the one he cared about most was an almost transparent bookmark.
Calling it "transparent" wasn't quite right—it was actually visible, yet Lucien simply couldn't see it.
Because it was a bookmark made from Thestral tail hair.
Hagrid had specifically mentioned that one in his note, worried Lucien might overlook it.
Thestrals are very special magical creatures; only those who have witnessed death can see them.
So they were once regarded as symbols of ill omen.
And Lucien had not yet personally witnessed a true, unforgettable human death.
"I received them. I like all your gifts."
"Oh, and Ron, the sweater your mum knitted for me, I think it's very nice. It's warm and comfortable. Please thank your mum for me."
"I'll visit during the summer holidays."
As he said this, Lucien even pulled open his robes, revealing the starry-blue sweater underneath.
There was also a large "L" on the chest.
When Ron saw this sweater, he actually showed a hint of envy.
"Why is your sweater colour so nice and well made…"
Hearing Ron's complaint, Lucien couldn't help but smile softly.
"Oh right—speaking of Nicolas Flamel, I was just about to tell you about this."
Lucien pulled a large, heavy, worn-out book directly from his pocket.
Then he drew his wand, gave it a wave, and the pages rustled before settling on a specific section.
Harry and Ron were already used to Lucien pulling all sorts of strange items out of his pockets.
The two of them leaned in to look at the book.
"The Philosopher's Stone can turn any metal into pure gold, and can create the Elixir of Life, which grants immortality to anyone who drinks it…"
"The only known Philosopher's Stone belongs to the famous alchemist and opera lover, Mr. Nicolas Flamel…"
"Nicolas Flamel celebrated his six hundred and sixty-fifth birthday last year…"
As they read, Harry and Ron's eyes grew wider and wider.
They exclaimed one after another:
"The Philosopher's Stone!"
"Pure gold!"
"Elixir of Life!"
"He lived to six hundred and sixty-five!"
Harry and Ron exchanged glances, each seeing shock and disbelief reflected in the other's eyes.
Ron muttered, "No wonder… no wonder Hermione made us read piles of modern wizarding history. All those related books made my head hurt…"
"Yeah, how can someone who lived over six hundred years ago be considered modern…"
Harry suddenly had an idea—he wanted to go to the library and look up more information about Nicolas Flamel.
The Philosopher's Stone was simply too unbelievable for a child.
Turning lead into gold… eternal life!
Harry felt that the regular library section probably wouldn't have detailed records, so…
That Invisibility Cloak!
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