Chapter 32

"Therefore, it's very reasonable that someone would want to steal the Philosopher's Stone," Hermione said. "Who wouldn't want something that could grant eternal life and produce unlimited gold?"

"But if such things are possible, why aren't more of them made?" Hermione asked, puzzled.

Albert replied, "I think it's not that they don't want to, but that they can't."

"Why? Since you can achieve the first, what's the difficulty in achieving the second once you master the method?"

"When I was researching Nicholas Flamel in the family library, I read several books on the practice of alchemy. Although I couldn't understand much, I remember one thing very clearly: the essence of alchemy is the principle of equivalent exchange."

Albert paused to let Hermione acknowledge his point before continuing, "Now think about it. From the perspective of equivalent exchange, what kind of thing could extend life against the laws of nature and simultaneously change the nature of matter to create gold?"

Hermione thought for a moment, then suddenly covered her mouth with her hands as if frightened.

"I also thought about it. Such a powerful effect could only be achieved at the expense of another life."

"But... but Nicholas is a friend of Professor Dumbledore. He shouldn't be someone who commits such a heinous act."

Albert realized that Hermione had misunderstood him. "I didn't say Nicholas was a murderer. However, when he created the Philosopher's Stone, there was a massive outbreak of plague and smallpox in Paris, where he lived.

Considering the scientific level of that time, infectious diseases caused a large number of deaths. For example, the Black Death outbreak in 1353 had a mortality rate in Paris 40 times higher than usual, and during the smallpox outbreak in 1418, at least 60,000 people died in Paris within a month and a half. It's possible that the loss of these lives could have contributed to the creation of the Philosopher's Stone, though such opportunities were very rare."

"I remember there was a paragraph about this in our primary school history class."

Hermione nodded in agreement. "Then let's write a letter to Harry now to inform him that we've found something. This way, he and Ron won't have to worry about it during the Christmas break."

"I think they might have forgotten about it long ago," Albert complained.

In the end, since Hermione had something to do, Albert returned home and wrote a letter detailing what he had discovered about Nicholas Flamel. He sent it to Harry and Ron via owl.

As Albert had expected, Harry didn't use the holiday to search for information. He and Ron enjoyed their break and didn't think much about Flamel.

The dormitories were entirely at their disposal, and the common room was much less crowded than usual, allowing them to take some of the more comfortable chairs by the fire.

When they received Albert's letter, they sat there, eating as much as they could, like bread, pies, and mushrooms, while planning to get rid of Malfoy, although those plans were unlikely to succeed.

"Hey Harry, there's a letter outside." Ron saw an owl perched outside the window, tapping on the glass, with a letter on its feet.

Harry opened the window, and a gust of wind hit his face. He took the letter and then broke off a small piece of buttered bread to feed the owl.

After the owl ate the bread, it flapped its wings and flew away.

"Who's the letter from?" Ron asked.

Harry tore open the envelope, looked at it, and told Ron, "It's from Albert. He said he and Hermione found some information about Nicholas Flamel and will tell us when they return from their holiday."

"See? I told you that Albert and Hermione, being avid readers, are better at this sort of thing. Leave it to them," Ron said, lounging lazily in his chair.

Harry was surprised at how quickly Albert had obtained this information and asked Ron, "How did Albert get this information so quickly? We searched the entire Hogwarts library and found nothing."

Ron replied, "Well, it's because of the Black family library where Albert lives."

Harry asked, "Is his family that large? I remember your family is noble; don't you have a library?"

Ron said, "The Black family is more powerful compared to mine. That's why. But the Black family started losing power after that tragedy 11 years ago and Albert's father went to prison."

Harry said, "Oh my god, all this happened to Albert and I didn't know?"

Ron said, "Huh? Didn't Albert tell us on the train?"

Harry replied, "Well, I felt dizzy during my first meeting with Albert, so I couldn't focus well on what he was saying. What I remember is that he mentioned his father was in prison."

Ron said, "He mentioned that... that person killed his entire family that day and came to Hogwarts to learn magic to avenge them."

Harry asked, "Ron, stop being so cryptic. Who is this person you're talking about?"

Ron said, "I can't say. My mum told me that if I say his name, he'll come and kill me. But I mean the person who killed my parents."

Harry asked, "Huh? Are you talking about Voldemort?"

Ron shuddered at hearing the name Voldemort.

He rushed over to where Harry was sitting, put his hand over Harry's mouth, and said, "Shh, don't mention that name. You'll die."

Harry laughed when he saw Ron's fear for the first time.

Harry said, "Haha, what's wrong with you? Hagrid told me Voldemort wouldn't return, so don't be too scared."

After some discussion, Ron began teaching Harry how to play Wizard's Chess, which is very similar to regular chess but with living pieces, making it feel more like commanding an army in battle.

The problem was that Harry, using pieces that belonged to others, wasn't as skilled as Ron, who used his grandfather's magical chess set.

These chess pieces criticized Harry's chess skills, making him feel dizzy.

After sending the letter to Harry, Albert returned to his boring schoolwork in the few days before Christmas, and also practiced the Breakthrough Charm, hoping to reach at least the second level before the end of the Christmas break.

During breaks, he decorated the house, repaired some broken items in the storage room, and dealt with more and more broken things.

On the day before Christmas Eve, Albert decorated the dining room for a celebration with Kreacher.

Kreacher polished all the windows to remove dust, and also cleaned the table and chairs for the celebration.

In the afternoon, Albert decided to go out for a walk since he had been doing his homework for a few days and hadn't gotten out.

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