https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-820-The-Power-of-the-Phoenix-Elixir/13013213/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-822-The-Failed-Memory-Extraction/13013218/
Chapter 821: Forbidden Knowledge
Chapter 821: Forbidden Knowledge
To create the Philosopher's Stone, the most crucial ingredient is the ashes left behind after the Phoenix's rebirth, a fact Kyle was well aware of, especially since he had contributed to the creation of the very stone before him.
However, what Kyle didn't anticipate was the need to use this particular item for its restoration.
"I no longer have the ashes of the Phoenix's rebirth," Kyle said. "I only took half, and the last time, I gave it all to you. The remaining half is with Snape, and it was also made into the Phoenix Elixir."
"I know," Nicolas nodded. "But Dumbledore's Phoenix is with you, isn't it?"
"What's the use of that?" Kyle asked. "Didn't you say before that to make the Philosopher's Stone, we need the ashes left after the natural rebirth of the Phoenix? It's only been a few years since the last time Phoenix resurrected, and we can't just keep waiting."
Kyle wasn't sure how long it would take for a Phoenix to naturally rebirth, but he was certain that the interval would not be short. If a Phoenix were to rebirth every few years, its ashes wouldn't be as precious.
"Oh, you misunderstood," Nicolas said, turning to Kyle. "When making the Philosopher's Stone, there are indeed strict requirements for the materials. But if we're just getting it to function again, there aren't as many restrictions. Any ashes will do, and it doesn't have to be from a natural rebirth."
"This..." Kyle hesitated.
Despite knowing that rebirth wasn't a big deal for Phoenix, it merely meant a period of weakness, and it would recover after a few months.
A few months of weakness in exchange for the chance to save Dumbledore seemed like a very worthwhile trade.
However, for some reason, perhaps due to some psychological factor, Kyle strongly resisted this decision and had no idea how to broach the subject with Phoenix.
Nicolas noticed Kyle's hesitation but didn't rush him. He calmly said, "You have two weeks to consider. In two weeks, I'll finish rewriting the runes, and then it'll be time for the Philosopher's Stone..."
Nicolas waved his hand, preparing to send Kyle out.
But just then, a golden-red figure appeared in mid-air, and Phoenix landed on Kyle's shoulder, rubbing its head feathers against his ear.
"You heard everything?" Kyle asked.
Phoenix nodded.
"Then you decide," Kyle sighed. "If you're not willing, we can think of other ways... like asking Newt or checking Dumbledore's vault."
Phoenix didn't speak but flew to the nearby table, its feathers shimmering as it transformed into a blazing fireball.
The fireball was bright but not hot, and it didn't affect the wooden table at all.
"Now you don't have to worry," Nicolas said.
"Yeah," Kyle nodded, feeling relieved by Phoenix's decision.
After that, neither of them spoke, and Nicolas used a camera-like device to record the entire process of Phoenix's rebirth.
It didn't take long, perhaps just a few seconds. After the flames subsided, a deep brown pile of ashes remained on the table, and a featherless chick poked its head out of the ashes.
Kyle reached out and placed it on a soft velvet cushion inside a box, surrounding it with various precious herbs like mandrake leaves, cloak fern, and withered fig root, to aid Phoenix's recovery.
"Cheshire," he warned the eager Feline beside him. "Don't go near it, or you'll get beaten up later, and I won't be able to stop it."
Feline took a small step back, then looked up with disdain, jumping gracefully onto a nearby book, its long tail swaying above Phoenix's head.
Kyle noticed that Phoenix didn't seem to mind, so he didn't pay it any mind.
After finishing his task, he turned his attention to the pile of ashes on the table. Nicolas had already collected them into a bottle.
“The quality is not great, but it's barely passable.”
He handed the bottle to Kyle, who immediately noticed the difference.
The ashes he had obtained earlier were beautiful. At first glance, they appeared black, but when held up to the sunlight, countless brilliant golden specks of light could be seen hidden within the darkness.
However, the ashes before him were just black. Kyle had to turn the bottle for a good while before he could vaguely see a faint flash of light, like the tightly sealed stars in the London sky.
“Does this really not affect its use?” Kyle asked.
“No, the essence of the Philosopher's Stone is still there,” Nicolas explained. “Now, we just need to get it functioning again.”
“Wait a moment,” Nicolas turned and took another crucible from the shelf behind him.
The crucible was much smaller, only the size of a fist, and it looked like a toy for children, but inside it also contained a potion, a bright, crystalline pink liquid.
Nicolas reached out, and Kyle immediately handed the bottle to him.
The Phoenix's ashes, along with the now-dull Philosopher's Stone, were placed into the crucible.
The potion bubbled, and the original pink immediately turned into a deep red, then lightened.
Nicolas reached out again.
Kyle immediately guessed what he wanted to do, after all, the last time he was sent out like this.
"Wait," he said immediately. "Can I watch from the side? I promise not to disturb you."
This was the process of repairing the Philosopher's Stone, even though it wasn't the creation process, it was still a rare sight. Kyle naturally wanted to take a closer look.
Not for any other reason, but purely to learn some techniques.'
"I understand, but no..." Nicolas shook his head. "It's still too early for you. Do you know the principles of alchemy?"
"Of course," Kyle said. "Equivalent Exchange, no contact with the divine realm, and no human transmutation."
He had just read these in Busbaron.
"Strictly speaking, the Philosopher's Stone belongs to the divine realm. It's Forbidden Alchemy." Nicolas said solemnly, "Early exposure to these things will cause you to unconsciously fall into them. This knowledge is like a Golden Ship in the ocean, tempting you to approach it, as if you could touch it with your hand, but you'll never be able to reach it."
"Because the Golden Ship itself is in the sky. What you see is just its shadow cast into the ocean. Then, in a long pursuit, you slowly disappear into the ocean, splashing a wave, and then returning to calm."
Listening to Nicolas' words, Kyle shivered involuntarily.
He just wanted to learn some techniques, who would have thought it would be so dangerous. With the Golden Ship and the ocean, he had to learn it."
"Okay, I understand." Kyle chuckled and walked towards the door.
But after taking a few steps, he couldn't help but turn back and ask, "Is the 'God' that Nicolas mentioned a real existence?"
"Why do you ask?" Nicolas said with interest. "You should have heard of it. In the 'Tales of Beedle the Bard', there's a story about three brothers, and within it, aren't there three sacred artifacts related to God?"
"But I feel that they are more like three powerful alchemical items. It's just that after being passed down for a long time, some mysterious legends have emerged."
Kyle thought for a moment and said, "I've seen the legendary artifact, the Invisibility Cloak. Or I've seen all three artifacts. Compared to them, I still find Ravenclaw's Diadem more incredible."
"Then do you know how Ravenclaw's Diadem was made?" Nicolas continued to ask.
"I don't know." This time, Kyle shook his head.
"I don't know either." Nicolas said softly, "But last time I asked Rowena Ravenclaw about her memories. How did she make the Diadem?"
"What did Ravenclaw say?" Kyle asked curiously.
"She didn't know either." Nicolas smiled, "That memory didn't contain much information. It's also possible that Rowena Ravenclaw did it intentionally. She only remembered that the Diadem was the result of a coincidental alchemical success, but that alchemical process was actually a failure."
"Oh..." Kyle hesitated, "But weren't we discussing the issue of 'God'? Why did we suddenly talk about the Diadem?"
"Because this is the trace of God's possible existence, including those incredible alchemical items. I'm sure I can't make the Diadem, I can only make a poor imitation... which I would melt again in ten minutes."
Nicolas said, "I can't truly figure out their origins, so I can't answer your question either."
Kyle listened with a dazed expression. By the time he came back to his senses, he was already in the living room.
He rubbed his slightly swollen forehead.
If he had known, he wouldn't have discussed these things with Nicolas. He didn't know why, but he felt like he had listened to two days' worth of magical history, receiving too much information.
But after careful consideration, it was still just those few sentences.
He could somewhat understand now why Nicolas didn't let him watch the process of repairing the Philosopher's Stone, and also the saying about the Golden Ship and the ocean... This thing was indeed a bit abnormal.
Kyle shook his head, trying to shake off all the messy thoughts.
"Sir, do you need help?" House Elf Tata appeared beside Kyle at some point, her tennis ball-sized eyes staring at him without blinking.
"If possible, could I have a glass of lemonade?"
"As you wish, sir." Tata snapped her fingers, and an empty cup appeared in her hand. Several golden lemons jumped into the cup and quickly withered.
"Sir, your lemonade."
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"Thank you." Kyle took a sip, the sour and bitter taste caused his entire face to wrinkle involuntarily. But at the same time, the messy thoughts in his mind calmed down a little.
Kyle shook his head again, returning the empty cup to Tata, and asked, "How long will Nicolas need?"
He was just asking casually and didn't expect the elf to give him an exact answer.
But Tata didn't hesitate and spoke directly, "Master said that if you have something to do, you can leave. He will look for you after he finishes his work."
"It's fine, I can wait here," Kyle said.
"This is the Master's intention," Tata hesitated, "He believes that during this time, it's best for you to leave the estate, and it's also for the safety of the Master."
"My safety..." Kyle was taken aback, then immediately understood what it meant.
Did Nicolas suspect he would peep?
This was too underestimating his character... Moreover, even if he had such an idea in Nicoleme's alchemy room, it would be impossible to succeed.
Kyle felt helpless.
But since this was Nicolas's intention, he didn't plan to insist.
To be honest, he did have something else to do.
"Then I'll head back to Hogwarts," Kyle said, "Remember to tell him that I'll be waiting for him there... No, just write me a letter."
"Wait a moment, sir."
Tata stopped him and took out another bottle. Inside was the drink he had on the first day, a beverage that resembled raspberry juice.
"This is what Master Tata is giving to you, sir. You should drink one bottle every morning and before going to bed."
"I've been wondering about this. What is it?"
"Tata doesn't know," the house elf said, flapping its large ears, "But Master spent a long time preparing this for you, and he said it will be of great help."
"Alright," Kyle took the drink.
He didn't ask why there was only one bottle. For Nicoleme, creating a bottle with a replenishing charm was too easy.
Kyle put away the drink and left the estate with Tata.
"Then, see you next time,"
Kyle said, "Fox, let's head back to Hogwarts..."
There was no response.
"Oh!" Kyle patted his forehead, he had forgotten that Fox had just undergone rebirth, and it couldn't fly out and take him back via apparition.
With no other choice, Kyle walked a distance forward and reached a spot outside the protective magic. He then apparated himself.
Although there was a chance of being detected by the Ministry of Magic, there was no other option at this time. He couldn't walk back either.
Kyle chose to apparate to Hogsmeade, specifically the second floor of Hog's Head Inn.
Here, various wizards apparated daily, making it the safest place he could think of.
"Hey, I'm not a fireplace. Renting a room costs fifty Galleons. How will you pay?" a disdainful voice said in his ear, "Hurry up and decide."
The speaker was Aberforth... or more accurately, his portrait on the second floor.
"I'll have Professor Dumbledore pay when he returns," Kyle blurted out.
Charging fifty Galleons for a temporary stay... This was faster than robbery, and he didn't want to pay this amount.
"This bar does not offer credit," Aberforth added, feeding the goat in the portrait some grass, "Hurry up, or I'll call for help."
"Wait, how about five times the amount later?" Kyle suggested.
Aberforth: "..."
"Make it ten times, and scram. Don't waste my time doing business." Aberforth's expression changed, "By the way, I'll remind you that there are more people downstairs these days than usual, and many have become regulars."
"Understood, I'll pay ten times the price," Kyle said.
Since it wasn't the weekend, it couldn't be a Hogsmeade visitation day. Those in Hog's Head Inn must have other intentions. Being regulars meant they had been there for several days.
Unless they liked the bar, they must have ulterior motives.
Aberforth was reminding him to be cautious and maintain his cover.
Indeed, the service was excellent after paying ten times the price. It was worth it.
But Kyle didn't plan to leave from downstairs anyway.
He came to the window on the second floor, and pointed his wand at his forehead. His body began to shrink and transform, and his robe became distorted, as if cut neatly by scissors and reshaped into brown feathers.
Soon, Kyle disappeared from his original spot, but on the windowsill of the second floor of Hog's Head Inn, a new owl appeared.
Human Transfiguration, the main content of fifth-year and above, allowed one to transform into an animal, a table, or other objects.
Although not as perfect as Animagus, and with time limits, it had no restrictions like Animagus, allowing transformation into anything.
During the Triwizard Tournament, Viktor Krum transformed into a shark for the Black Lake task.
But he only transformed halfway, with only the upper body as a shark.
But this time, Kyle's transformation was complete.
It was his first time doing this, and the process was simpler than he imagined.
Kyle examined his new body, a wonderful feeling, light and weightless. He tried flapping his wings, almost falling the first time, and bumping into the window frame the second time. But on the third try, he finally succeeded in flying.
...
(End of Chapter)
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