It was so silent that only Nick Flamel could hear the faint noise.
"No, I can't give that back to Albus…" Nick Flamel shook his head in refusal of the old witch's offer, and gently touched the ring on his left hand, on which the black jewel was dazzling.
If Dumbledore had been there, he would have been surprised to find the ring in perfect condition, unlike Nick Flamel, who claimed it took him two years to repair.
However, the Resurrection Stone had not damaged the core, so it was easy for an alchemist master like Nick Flamel to remove the minor effects.
This was said deliberately because, after a period of research, Nick Flamel discovered that the Deathly Hallows contained an astonishing amount of energy, comparable to that of the Philosopher's Stone.
The more he studied it, the more alarmed he became.
Dumbledore's zeal for the Deathly Hallows also worried him.
Nick Flamel, who had read the book, was well aware of the Deathly Hallows, and, having studied them over the past few days, did not think that gathering all three would be enough to solve Dumbledore's predicament.
The Resurrection Stone did not have the ability to truly bring a person back to life, and could serve as a catalyst to upset the fragile balance of the moment, so he preferred to have it buried with him in death.
However, Ivan's work on the New Age Declaration caused Nick Flamel's original belief to waver.
Strong and unrestrained forces generally cause unrest, but they can also be turned into sharp swords…
"Forget it. Let fate decide!" Nick Flamel hesitated, then sighed. He didn't have long to live anyway, and he couldn't manage the wizarding world, so he left it to his descendants.
With this in mind, Nick Flamel's furrowed brows relaxed and he looked at the elderly witch with a calm expression. He removed the ring from his finger and began to speak.
When I'm done with my last task, I'll join you!
The old witch faded, but before she vanished, she smiled and nodded in response to Nick Flamel.
…
At the same time, at Kingdom Cross Station in London,
With a spatial shift, Ivan materialized in an alley near the station.
[Ding, after practice, Phantom Transfiguration/Apparition has been upgraded to Level 6 (13/6400)]
"Did you upgrade your Apparition? That was fast!" Ivan exclaimed, glancing at the skill bar.
It seemed that frequent long-distance teleportation these days was quite an exercise… No wonder he felt that the consumption of this spell had decreased a lot recently and was getting better at using it.
If he had the time to practice more, he might try to practice Instant Transmission in battle.
Yvonne thought about this as she carried her suitcase and owl coop towards Kingdom Cross Station.
They had been in a hurry when they arrived, so there was still a full fifteen minutes before the train departed.
It would not have mattered if they had been late and missed the Hogwarts special.
He wasn't Harry or Ron, so he could just Disapparate to Hogsmeade and go back to school via the secret passage, which would be much quicker than taking the train!
After entering the station, Ivan headed straight for Platform Nine and Three-quarters, and was surprised to find Harry, Hermione, and the Weasleys waiting for him.
Because of her line of sight, she saw Ivan first.
The little witch's face lit up at first, and she wanted to step forward, but then she thought better of it, and she hesitated, pursing her lips and looking very unhappy.
"Hey, Ivan! Over here!" Harry and the others quickly noticed Ivan's presence and waved.
"It's been a long time, Harry!" Yvonne smiled and opened her arms to hug him.
George and Fred joined him, laughing and squeezing him and Harry between them.
Ivan barely managed to break free and looked helplessly at the Weasley brothers, who were jumping around. He casually asked, "George and Fred, how's your research going?"
"It was fantastic! Our Skiving Snackboxes and Automatic Quills were selling like hotcakes, and we had so many orders during the summer holidays that it took us ages to get enough stock…
And the portable marsh we told you about last time, which we've modified to turn the Great Hall into a marsh! If Filch confiscates our stock again, I'll sneak one into his office…"
George was so excited about the toys that he talked about them.
"Cough, cough…" Fred, who was next to him, quickly coughed to remind him.
George felt a chill down his spine and turned his head with a slight shiver. Mrs Weasley was staring at him with her hands on her hips and a dark expression on her face.
"George…I thought you promised me that your toys would not trouble the professors at school!" Mrs Weasley exclaimed angrily.
As a result of their previous agreement, she reluctantly agreed to let the Weasleys research joke products, but not without conditions! George promised her that the toys they made were harmless and purely for their own amusement.
"Mom, that's what George promised you. I'm Fred… He never said anything about it to me. You should've scolded him!" George guiltily played the usual identity swap game, selling Fred without hesitation in an attempt to get away with it.
Fred looked at him angrily, and the two soon began to fight.
In the end, neither of them managed to get away with it, and they were severely reprimanded by Mrs Weasley, attracting the attention of a group of Muggles passing by.
Ivan looked at George and Fred, who were being scolded, and felt a little embarrassed. He thought that Mrs Weasley had accepted the fact that they had made those magical objects.
"All right, Molly! It's getting late, the children should be on the train!" Arthur Weasley called out to Molly, trying to calm her down.
Immediately after, everyone lined up in twos and threes to enter the nine and three-quarters stations.
Yvonne wanted to go in with Harry and Hermione, but she was deterred by Hermione's fierce glare.
Bewildered, Ivan had to go in with George and Fred.
"Get ready, time is limited, you'd better hurry, three… two… one… charge!" Mrs Weasley gave the password.
Ivan took the lead, carrying his suitcase and his owl cage, and crashed through the walls to reach the Wizarding Station.
As the train was about to depart, the station was very lively and noisy. Seven or eight young witches and wizards crowded in front of the train to wave goodbye to their parents.
Two or three seconds later, George and Fred came through the back wall.
"I'm sorry, George, I shouldn't have asked…" Ivan apologized.
"It's all right. It's not your fault. It's Mom's fault for interfering too much…" George waved his hand dismissively.
Fred also smiled and said, "I guess we'll have to come up with a code next time!"
"Right! Then Mom won't find out." George patted Fred on the shoulder and said excitedly, "You're a genius, Fred!"
"That goes without saying! Did you just find out today?" Fred raised his eyebrows.
The two of them laughed and joked around. Their exchange of blame and angry banter did not seem to have affected their relationship.
Or perhaps they were just putting on a show to fool Mrs Weasley, which did not work.
(PS: Regular updates will resume this month, please vote for recommendations…)