Ivan was disappointed to learn that the Order of Merlin was still considering a nomination.
However, since he did not refuse, it meant that there was still hope. He reckoned that when the dust settled on Peter Pettigrew, he would receive his Order of Merlin.
While Ivan was thinking about this, he was surprised to see Dumbledore handing him another letter.
Yvonne was baffled. Had she been caught out about something else?
Or some bastard writing to complain about him?
Several possibilities flashed through Ivan's mind. He picked up the envelope and read its contents.
"Nick Flamel?" Yvonne read the gold lettering on the end of the envelope, then looked up at Dumbledore in surprise.
He understood who Nick Flamel was, of course, but it was for this reason that he found it hard to believe. He had no dealings with this world-famous alchemist, so why would he send him a letter?
"Remember the Time-Turner you broke?" Dumbledore asked.
Yvonne nodded, vaguely reminded of her earlier suspicions, and confirmed them. "Mr. Nick Flamel fixed it?"
"Yes! I went to my old friend Nick specifically to ask him for help." Dumbledore nodded, then smiled and continued.
"He was surprised for a moment that you could damage the Time-Turner to this extent…"
Ivan scratched his head in embarrassment. It was all due to the power of the system that the Time-Turner had broken so badly. However, the existence of the system was still an absolute secret, so he would probably have to take the blame…
"So he and I talked a great deal about you, and when I learned that you were also gifted in the field of Alchemy, my old friend wished to meet you… if you would be so kind!" Dumbledore's blue eyes under his half-moon spectacles stared at Ivan, waiting for his reply.
"Of course! I'd be honored!" Ivan was overjoyed and agreed without hesitation.
He had been worried that his alchemy had hit a bottleneck and that he would not be able to progress without someone to teach him, and now Nick Flamel wanted to see him.
"When can we see my teacher?" Yvonne asked quickly.
The speed with which Ivan changed his mind surprised Dumbledore, as he had not yet mentioned that Nick intended to take him on as a disciple…
Dumbledore shook his head helplessly.
"Not just yet, Hulse! You'll have to finish your education for a while, so wait until the summer holidays, and we'll be gone quite a while, so you'll have to convince your mother and be prepared!" Dumbledore said grimly.
Ivan calmed down. Although he felt that his third year classes were optional at his current level of magic, considering his GPA, he decided to be patient and wait until the summer holidays.
Dumbledore took in Ivan's reaction and nodded to himself. He had expected Ivan to be more anxious, but the boy was more patient than he had expected.
"Anyway, the rest is in this letter from Nick. If there's nothing else, you can go back!" Dumbledore said, waving his hand.
"I'll leave you to it, Professor!" Ivan placed the Elder Wand on the table and, after a moment's thought, took out the Time-Turner.
This Time-Turner belongs to the Ministry of Magic, after all, and there is no need for him to force Dumbledore's hand…
Since Nick Flamel was able to fix the Time-Turner, it was likely that he knew how to make Time.
He had called Nick Flamel "teacher" in a deliberately tentative manner, but Dumbledore had not objected, indicating that Nick Flamel wanted to take him on as a student.
With that in mind, Ivan headed out of the Headmaster's office.
Dumbledore glanced at Ivan's things on the table and watched him disappear into the Headmaster's office…
With a rumble at the door, the Headmaster's office returned to silence.
Dumbledore was silent for a moment, then he gently brushed his palm across his desk, and a diary with holes in the middle and a dull diadem appeared on the desk.
"The third!" Dumbledore whispered, holding out his other hand, which had been hidden in his sleeve.
The strange thing was that the palm was charred black and gave off a faint black aura. On the thumb was a ring inlaid with a black gem.
Dumbledore reached out and removed the ring, placing it beside the diadem and staring at the three objects in silence.
Ever since Ivan destroyed the diary and diadem in his first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, he had discovered the secret to Lord Voldemort's immortality: the creation of Horcruxes!
Since there were two of them, there could be a third, fourth, or even more!
This realization caused a chill to run down Dumbledore's spine.
Dividing a complete soul was not an easy task, and so the creation of a Horcrux was extremely wicked, requiring the use of murder and other nefarious means to shatter one's own soul and separate a portion of the soul from the body, sealing it within the Horcrux.
Fully divided souls became extremely unstable, and creating multiple Horcruxes required not only the pain of multiple split souls, but also the emotional impact on the maker.
It could be said that Lord Voldemort was driven to madness to escape death.
Dumbledore muttered this to himself in a mixture of pity and emotion, although the number of Horcruxes meant that Voldemort would be difficult to kill.
After all, as long as there was a Horcrux, Tom would be able to survive no matter what!
Fortunately, the two Horcruxes chosen by Voldemort gave him some hints, which made his search for the remaining Horcruxes much easier!
The Ravenclaw diadem was one of the relics of the Big Four, and the diary was used to record Tom's life as a student.
Since Tom chose these two items as Horcruxes, it is likely that other Horcruxes were not chosen at random, but were more valuable or commemorative.
Aside from the Sword of Gryffindor, Dumbledore suspects that several other artifacts were most likely used as Horcruxes.
He did not forget that Tom had returned to Hogwarts to apply for the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor, and he was surprised to learn that Tom was probably after the Sword of Gryffindor in order to store the Ravenclaw Crown.
"If that were the case, there would be at least five Horcruxes…" Dumbledore murmured to himself, his eyes closed in thought.
Dumbledore's eyes flew open, as if he had just thought of something, and they shone with a strange light.
"No, perhaps six!"