Meeting Nick Flamel

As he spoke, Ivan took out his locket and handed it to Dumbledore. It was damaged, but he thought it might be repaired, so he took it with him.

"Is this… Slytherin's?" Dumbledore asked, raising his eyebrows when he noticed the large snake-shaped mark on the locket.

"I think so… I once went into Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets and saw this symbol. I remember it better!" Ivan replied, half-joking.

"Is that why you tried to open it in Serpentine?" Dumbledore asked, as Sirius's letter covered everything, including Ivan's use of Serpentine to open the locket.

"Yes! It was taught to me by Tom, who told me that it could open Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets, and I thought that since the locket might be Slytherin's, it would work!" Ivan explained, and then went on before Dumbledore could ask.

"Besides, Tom was the one who told me you could speak snake!"

Dumbledore's words trailed off, and his expression turned strange. He remembered that he had never shown this ability in public in his life, and that few people in the wizarding community knew of it, and were unlikely to betray him.

How on earth did Tom hear about this?

Dumbledore frowned, but he did not suspect Ivan of lying to him, as Ivan had no more reason to know that Dumbledore could speak snake than Tom did…

"Professor?"

A voice interrupted Dumbledore's thoughts, and he turned to see Ivan staring at the locket in his hand, worried that he might take it away.

Dumbledore shook his head in amusement and returned Slytherin's locket.

He could see that Ivan was hiding a lot of things from him, but he didn't want to pry.

The important thing is that Voldemort is missing another Horcrux…

As he had suspected, Tom was a rather nostalgic man, preferring to use memorabilia as a vessel and hiding it well.

Ravenclaw's diadem, for example, is hidden in the Room of Requirement's storeroom, which is not only hidden, but also contains a large number of abandoned magical objects.

Putting a Horcrux there was like burying a special piece of sand in a desert. If the Horcrux Diary had not taken the diadem out by itself, he would not have had a clue.

Then there was the cave, which he confirmed to be the place where Tom tortured and terrorised children of his age as a child.

With this in mind, Dumbledore looked at Ivan with some emotion.

If he had not been so certain that Harry was the carrier of the last Horcrux, he would have suspected Ivan of being the child in the prophecy!

A superb talent, great strength, and the ability to destroy Voldemort's Horcruxes three times in a row… although the date of birth and certain details do not match.

Ivan was very well-behaved under Dumbledore's gaze, but immediately stuffed the Slytherin's Locket into his pocket, in case Dumbledore was thinking about it.

The diadem had not been returned since the old professor took it!

Ivan had been brooding over this incident for a long time. After all, these things belonged to the Big Four, and they might be of great use if repaired.

They chatted all the way to the cottage, and when Ivan wondered if he should knock on the door, the panels of the entrance automatically opened.

A large, square passage appeared before them, lined with jagged spikes like the jaws of a great beast, into which they were now entering…

Dumbledore stepped inside, and Ivan hurried to follow.

After they entered, the open entrance automatically closed.

Once inside, Ivan found the hut to be quite large, as it had most likely been widened by an Extension Charm, and there was even the occasional whiff of cold air in the summer.

Ivan looked around and saw a pale blue flame burning in a nearby fireplace, from which the cold air was coming.

Is this… the magical version of air conditioning?

Ivan was surprised to find so many Muggle appliances in the hut, especially the oversized TV on the cabinet, which was so conspicuous that it was hard to ignore.

He would have thought it was some Muggle home if not for the quaint decor.

As Ivan looked around like a curious baby, an old voice spoke.

"Albus… you're here?"

Ivan turned to see an elderly man emerge from behind the curtain.

He had white hair and was wearing a loose robe. His face was so pale that there was no sign of age.

However, compared to his fragile body, Nicolas Flamel seemed to be in good spirits. It seemed that his six-hundred years of training had not taken a toll on his intelligence, but had made him more alert.

"Is this young Ivan?" asked Nicolas Flamel, turning his attention to Ivan after greeting Dumbledore.

"Bonjour, Monsieur Flamel," said Ivan, bowing respectfully.

"Yes!" Nicolas Flamel smiled and nodded, pleased with Ivan's respectful attitude.