Chapter 107 Devonshire
South West England,
Devon.
There is an old manor on the inaccessible banks of the Exe River.
The manor is surrounded by mountains and rivers, hidden in the dense forest, no Muggles or wizards can enter it without permission.
In the center of the manor stands a pyramid about 30 meters high, made entirely of pure gold, shining brightly under the moonlight.
The four sides of the pyramid are engraved with spells written in ancient runes, Phoenician, Egyptian hieroglyphs, and Sumerian cuneiform. The tower body is not only soft, but extremely strong.
From a distance, the pyramid does not have a spire, but on the top of the tower, there is actually an invisible alchemy room, which can only be reached through the hidden entrance of the pyramid.
In the alchemy room, a stooped old man with beard and hair like snow, wearing an extremely loose white robe, with bare feet, floating half a meter above the ground.
In front of him is a workbench, filled with various test tubes and metal conduits, like blood vessels, connected to a huge crystal ball.
The old man raised his magic wand and flicked it a few times. In the crystal clear crystal ball, there were waves of magic ripples, and the magnificent vision inside could be clearly seen:
The stars are shining brightly, and countless starlights are clustered and gathered to form a river, as if the entire galaxy has been copied.
The old man was observing the M78 nebula in the distant constellation of Orion, with a look of joy in his eyes, and said with a smile in ancient Greek: "Eureka (discovered)!"
At this moment, a thick book with a phoenix statue printed on it flew over, the lock on the book popped open, and pages of yellowed paper were slowly turned over.
There is a photo with a name on each page, and finally stopped at "Albus Dumbledore". The old man stopped his hands, turned his head and said softly:
"Good evening, Albus."
"Nicole, I'm very sorry to interrupt your 'Eureka' moment, but I have something to talk to you about." The portrait of Dumbledore in the photo said: "Are you free tonight?"
"Free, Albus, I was in the prophecy ball an hour ago and saw this." The old man smiled and said, "See you in five minutes."
The book flew back into the cabinet again, and Nico floated forward to a shelf where a quaint stone basin stood.
The mouth of the basin is engraved with ancient runes, and inside the basin, there is a memory that looks like fog but not fog, and if water is not mercury, it swirls gently and ripples.
This is a pensieve that can be used to hold thoughts and memories.
The old man drew out his wand, and brought the tip of the wand close to his temple. A small wisp of memory was hooked on the tip of the wand, and he threw it into the Pensieve.
On the base of the Pensieve, there is also an eye-catching time engraved: 19001992
On that huge shelf, there are six Pensieves lined up side by side. Since the fourteenth century, Nico has replaced a new Pensieve every one hundred years.
Nico snapped his fingers, and the pointer in the bronze turntable on the door rotated from the "alchemy room" to the "study room".
The scene in the entire room also changed instantly:
The alchemy equipment disappeared, and the alchemy room became a study room filled with the smell of tobacco, smoky wood and tea leaves.
Nico sat on the chair, and he picked up a pipe made of oak. After being rubbed for a long time, the pipe exuded a round luster of vermilion.
The old man pinched the shredded tobacco with his fingertips and rubbed it lightly. After sparks came out, he threw the shredded tobacco into the pipe. He took a deep breath and exhaled a series of gray smoke rings.
The smoke ring floated unsteadily into the air, taking the shape of magical creatures such as dragons, thunderbirds, and phoenixes, and flew out of the window.
When a bag of tobacco was burned out, there was a knock on the door, not too early and not too late. Nico hooked his hands, and the door creaked open.
After the old man waved his hand to disperse the smoke in the study, he leaned back on the high back chair, raised his head, and stared at the dusty Dumbledore.
"Good evening, Albus." Nicol motioned Dumbledore to sit down, and asked, "Long time no see, there is still some time before my funeral, are you impatient for today?"
The old man joked, "You won't cry this time, will you?"
Dumbledore sat down on the dark hand-chiseled dragon leather chair made of black walnut, he smiled and said:
"Nico, this is not the first time I have attended your funeral, and I won't be as rude as last time."
"It's not rude." The old man couldn't help laughing and said:
"But you were indeed the first wizard to attend my funeral, dressed in black and with a wreath. I almost thought I was really dead."
Ni Ke tapped the table lightly with his pipe, grinned and said:
"I still remember your expression at that time, still crying for me, and then saw the goblin rock band come out..."
Recalling the past, Dumbledore smiled knowingly: "I didn't know at the time that there would be a living person to hold a funeral for me, and I even invited the band to sing... love songs at the funeral!"
"Haha... Albus, how old were you then?"
"Thirteen years old."
"It's one hundred and ten years old now." Nico looked at the gray-bearded Dumbledore, and couldn't help sighing, "Looking at your changes, I can feel the years and the passage of time."
"How are your funeral preparations going?" Dumbledore asked with a wink.
"It's good, but when sending out the invitation letter, I found that many old friends have passed away." Nico lifted the pipe and replaced it with shredded tobacco. His tone remained unchanged:
"Some of these wizards are not much older than you, Albus, you need to watch your health, I don't want to go to your funeral someday."
Dumbledore didn't speak, just smiled and said, "How many times is this your funeral?"
"The seventh time. Seven is a magical number. I have a hunch that if I can't find the Stone of Destiny again... this will probably be my last funeral."
Speaking of this, Nico's withered and wrinkled vicissitudes of face were a little dazed.
"I also sometimes feel that my life span is too long, and it's time to sleep in the cemetery."
The old man raised his withered arm, which was too fragile and would break if he was not careful. He smiled lightly and said:
"It's not a comfortable thing to live like this for too long."
The old man was stooped, looked at Dumbledore, and asked calmly, "By the way, how is Tom?"
"He didn't steal the Philosopher's Stone, and returned to Albania, waiting for the next bewitched." Dumbledore thought for a moment and said:
"I observed his state closely at Hogwarts, and I have a general judgment on the reason why Tom is not dead."
Nico leaned back on the chair, and said seriously, "Is it really a Horcrux?"
"It's highly probable...but I haven't got any definite evidence that Tom split his soul."
"If Voldemort really made a Horcrux, of course he would hide it, so how could it be easy for you to find it?" Nicol shook his head.
"But I'm worried... Tom made more than one Horcrux." Dumbledore frowned:
"Over the years, he seems to have become less and less human, whether it's character or appearance. I can only explain this change as the damage to his soul is far beyond the scope of ordinary black magic..."
"That's even more tricky." Nico sighed, "Albus, I'm tired for you.
When you are young, you have to deal with Grindelwald; when you are old, you have to deal with Tom Riddle. "
Dumbledore didn't seem to care. He smiled and said, "Nicole, I didn't bring your Sorcerer's Stone. It's in the hands of Newt's grandson."
His voice paused: "I hope you can invite that child to your funeral."
"Is he special?" Nico raised his head curiously, his eyes lit up.
"Rove's magical talent is unique, and you are an expert in this field... Most importantly, Helena Ravenclaw has been pestering him recently." Dumbledore looked extremely serious.
"Helena probably thinks that child is the wizard who was prophesied to revive her."
"Helena also identified Tom Riddle, but she was deceived in the end." Nick was noncommittal.
"I believe in Cassandra Trelawney's prophecy, but I don't believe in Helena's judgment." The old man said mercilessly:
"She didn't inherit a little wisdom from Ravenclaw, but was extremely stupid. Her mother was killed, which was inseparable from her."
"But Rove found the basilisk left by Slytherin. Newt also told me that he caught a silverfish over nine hundred years old in the library." Dumbledore narrowed his eyes:
"That silverfish may have been left by Ravenclaw."
Nicol raised his head in surprise: "If it's really Ravenclaw, then only Hufflepuff and Gryffindor are left..."
"Yes." Dumbledore's voice was very soft, with a flash of determination in his eyes, he nodded and said:
"Rove has a high probability, but whether he is or not, I will do my best to cultivate him.
I'm old and out of my depth, and if Tom makes a lot of Horcruxes, it could be a long game.
In case I die, a powerful wizard will be needed to take my place. "
Dumbledore raised his head, looked into the distance, and said solemnly:
"Sybill Trelawney's prophecy to Harry and Tom said, 'Both cannot live, only one survives'... I had to be prepared for Harry to fail."
"Of course, I also have selfish intentions." Dumbledore stood up and looked out the window, his face full of bitterness and guilt.
"If Helena, who has been dead for a thousand years, can be resurrected by Rove... Nico, you know my wish for so many years... Arianna."
Nico was silent, and finally just let out a long sigh.
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