Chapter 169: A lifetime of learning

Disclaimer:

Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K Rowling.

I own nothing but the original characters I create.

"Dialogue"

'Thoughts'

- Author's notes -

Chapter 169: A lifetime of learning

"Ah! And then what happened?" Lily asked. After drinking half a bottle of wine worth a small fortune, she was listening with rapt attention to a story being told by the old twins.

Harry, on the other hand, had to content himself with a glass of water since he was not 'technically' old enough to drink alcohol, and that was the only thing these two old guys had in the house.

"Hoho, it's nice to have a young beauty listening to our old stories."

"Yes, how long has it been since our last visitor?"

"You know… if you moved your business to the main street, you two would have no lack of clients." She didn't understand why such incredible craftsmen had their shop in such a hidden place.

"My dear, that is just not possible."

"Indeed, this shop cannot be moved from here, and… neither can these two old men. We will remain here until our time is up." The two had a sad expression on their faces as they spoke.

"But why is that?" Lily asked.

"The shop cannot be moved because it's on top of a focal point," Harry explained.

"The young Lord knows…."

"That is correct. The quality of our work would not be the same in a different location. This is the best spot in the city."

"By focal point, you mean a place where magic is more concentrated, right?" Lily asked.

"Yes," Harry answered.

"Magic is everywhere, but it doesn't just sit in place; instead, it flows like a massive river. Sometimes, two or more of those rivers will meet at the same location."

"Yes, I know about that. Most wizard family homes are located in places like those, and Hogwarts is supposed to be on top of a massive one," Lily commented.

"Correct, my dear."

"Our craft requires being close to one of these high magical density points."

"Magical communities always thrive if they are built at the center of one of those focal points."

"People also call them convergence points."

Harry's expression changed when he heard that word. Not because he was unaware of that concept, but hearing that word out loud reminded him of something.

'A convergence point… that's the same way the time book referred to the points where the wall between two realities was at its weakest and it was then possible to cross… like what happened to me at the end of the year.'

Now that he thought about it, those two concepts may have some correlation. Hogwarts, Diagon Alley, and the train station were the places where he had been a witness of a convergence taking place, and those are also focal points with high magical density… especially Hogwarts.

'Am I overthinking things? Or could they be related?...'

Unaware of his internal musings, his mother continued the conversation with the old twins.

"So that's why you chose this spot. Very clever. But… I assume a lot of people would also want to be here, right?... wait." As soon as she asked that question, she recalled all the broken wands in the front garden.

"Many have wanted our space, yes."

"Many have tried… and failed." They chuckled.

"But we didn't choose this place."

"Yes, Lady Pomora had good senses…." The old men said.

"Lady Pomora?... you mean the witch who first came here?" Lily asked, still remembering clearly the story Harry told her.

"Yes, she was a wonderful witch…"

"Indeed… she allowed us to build our house right next to hers."

"You mean… your ancestors? Because she lived here like fifteen hundred years ago." Lily was confused.

The two old men smiled.

"Lady Pomora took these two foolish old men into her house after we escaped from Rome."

"It's been so long… we went by a different name back then...but we still remember her like it was yesterday."

"That's impossible! You can't be THAT old… right?" Lily thought that maybe she had misheard them because of the wine and turned to look at Harry.

"There are many ways to extend one's life… but they always come with a heavy price," Harry said.

"Wise words, young Lord."

"And a heavy price we have paid…" A myriad of emotions were concealed in their words.

"Do you regret it?" Harry asked.

"No," the two of them said at the same time.

"Then it was worth the price." Harry nodded.

Lily felt that she was missing something important.

"Thank you for your kind words, young Lord," the two of them said.

Lily wanted to ask why they kept calling her son 'young Lord'. At first, she thought they were just being polite to an heir from a noble family, but would two wizards this ancient even care about English magical nobility?

They never referred to her as 'Lady', even though she is the Lady of House Potter.

"We should get going; it's getting late," Harry suggested.

They had to return to the inn and pick up their things before going to the designated spot to use the Portkey.

"Wait! But… I have so many questions. You two have been alive for over a millennium… the amount of wisdom you must have is…"

They laughed at hearing this.

"My dear… we have indeed seen and learned many things in our long life."

"But we have also forgotten just as many."

"What do you mean? That you don't remember anything?" Lily asked.

"We wouldn't say 'anything'…. we know a great deal about the crafting of staffs and a few other topics."

"But the human mind is very limited in how much it can store, even with the help of magic." They explained to her.

"But surely there is something important you must have learned after all this time." Lily insisted.

"There are some things, of course. Wisdom comes and goes…"

"But your instincts honed over the years will only improve."

Lily raised an eyebrow.

"Your instincts?... that's it?"

"Do not underestimate a person's instincts... especially ones honed over extreme periods of time."

"It is thanks to those instincts that one is able to discern things that others would miss, like gauging the power of an individual, regardless of how innocent they could look." They both glanced momentarily at Harry.

"Those are the kind of things..."

"That allows us to live this long."

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