After seeing Ivan off, Nick Flamel sat on the sofa in the living room with the plans, sipping his morning tea and thinking about how to improve the device.
At that moment, there was a loud thumping sound on the stairs nearby.
Nick Flamel turned his head in surprise and saw a seventy-centimeter-tall robot jumping down the stairs, holding a book.
Perhaps it was because it was too short and too anxious, the little robot lost its balance and fell heavily on the next step, rolling all the way down.
The alchemical creatures that formed the robots screamed in panic and grabbed at their companions. However, due to the inertia, many of the creatures were flung away, and when they finally hit the ground, they shattered into pieces…
Nick Flamel shook his head at the sight. It seemed the alchemical creatures would have to be improved.
The scattered turnip heads panicked for a few seconds before regrouping.
However, they did not come together. Instead, they moved like ants, lifting the thick booklet and slowly moving it towards Nick Flamel.
"What's this?" Nick Flamel asked as he curiously picked up the booklet. He was intrigued by the picture on the cover.
The New Age Manifesto?
Nick Flamel frowned at the name of the booklet.
The smaller alchemical creatures chattered on, and although it sounded like nonsense, Nick Flamel could hear exactly what they were trying to say.
"So it was you guys who found it in the corner of Harles's room…" Nick Flamel nodded, thinking that Ivan must have forgotten it…
Nick Flamel drew his wand, intending to cast a spell to alert Dumbledore to his presence so that Fox could retrieve it and return it to Ivan when he arrived.
Nick Flamel hesitated when he saw the picture on the cover.
The ease with which he carried it and the strange patterns it made reminded him of the catastrophe that had spread across Europe decades ago.
When Grindelwald rose to prominence in European wizarding circles, he often preached his ideas through speeches and pamphlets.
It seemed likely to him that the New Age Declaration was the same thing, and Nick Flamel was worried that Yvonne might have been duped.
After all, a fourteen or fifteen-year-old young wizard was in the process of developing his or her views of the world, and could be easily influenced by extreme beliefs, thus leading to his or her downfall. Nick Flamel, who had every intention of taking Ivan on as a student, could not be left alone.
With that in mind, Nick Flamel tried to open the book and read the introduction.
[We should judge a wizard by his level of magic, not by his blood… —Ivan Hals]
Nick Flamel's face changed slightly when he saw the introduction and the signature.
Nick Flamel had previously thought that this copy of the New Age Declaration had been given to Ivan by someone with the intention of bewitching and influencing him, but the opposite was true. The contents of this booklet were written by Ivan himself, and it seemed that he intended to use it to illustrate some sort of idea…
"Anti-bloodism, huh?"
Nick Flamel raised his eyebrows. He seemed to have guessed something from the foreword. After a moment's hesitation, he continued reading.
The more he looked at Nick Flamel, the more serious his expression became, but he soon adopted a thoughtful expression.
This was because he found that the contents of the New Age Declaration did not simply oppose pure-bloods, nor did it have the intention of killing a pure-blood wizard. Instead, it advocated equality and minimised the advantages and influence of pure-bloods.
Nick Flamel was also interested in some of the ideas it contained, which dealt with the shortcomings of the modern wizarding world and seemed to incorporate some of the Muggle ideas.
Nick Flamel paid no attention to any of Ivan's apotheosis pages, as individual worship was the most common tactic used by emerging powers.
"I can't believe Hales has such a profound mind at his age…" Nick Flamel lamented as he slowly put the book down.
It is not unusual for a young wizard to have a sudden idea about changing the wizarding world, but it is rare for Ivan to be able to analyse the reasons behind it and offer solutions.
"Genius?" Nick Flamel muttered to himself.
He thought back to his conversation with Dumbledore last year, and wondered why the most powerful white wizard in Britain was so interested in Ivan Hals, and even fearful of him.
Now he understood…
During the past month and a half, Ivan had been gentle and polite, like a precocious boy, and if not for this copy of the New Age Declaration, Nick Flamel would never have guessed that Ivan was hiding such ambition!
This level of disguise and forbearance was truly shocking!
"No, that's not right. I don't think it's an act." Nick Flamel shook his head and rejected the idea. He was over six hundred years old and had his own way of judging people. There was no way a young wizard in his teens could fool him.
There is no conflict between being ambitious and being polite…
"Sadly, it's still too young…" Nick Flamel sighed as he looked at the book on the table.
The concept of disregarding one's blood status and comparing one's abilities to others was too idealistic. It was fine to shout slogans, but there was a lot of resistance to truly implementing it in the wizarding world.
Of course, in Nick Flamel's opinion, this was a small matter. With Ivan's talent, the wizarding world would be unbeatable in ten years.
It is important that Ivan wants to revolutionise the wizarding community and promote communication between Muggles and wizards, which will cross a lot of people's boundaries and break centuries of Muggle-wizard understanding, with unpredictable consequences.
The signing of the Statute of Secrecy to insulate the wizarding community from Muggles is not just a British or European initiative, but a consensus of the wizarding community as a whole!
Over the course of hundreds of years, many smart people could see that the balance of power between wizards and Muggles was tilting towards the latter.
There is no shortage of wizards who want to fight and break tradition, and Grindelwald is only the most radical in nearly a hundred years!
All of them, without exception, failed…
Those in power who put out the flames of reform are certainly no fools, for the isolation of the Muggle and magical worlds is the gentlest and only feasible measure they can think of!