Christmas is approaching. One cold morning in mid-December, Hogwarts awoke from its dreams to find several feet of snow covering the ground, with hard ice on the lake. The Weasley twins were punished for enchanting snowballs to chase after Quirrell, smacking into the back of his hood.
Ryan couldn't help but feel admiration for the Weasley twins' courage in humiliating Quirrell, who was hiding Voldemort's face.
As the holidays approached, some classes felt a bit overwhelming. Take Professor Snape's Potions class, for example. The classroom, located underground, had no heating, causing every breath to form a visible cloud of white vapor. Ryan shivered in the cold, enduring Snape's biting sarcasm that was colder than the temperature in the room.
"I really feel sorry for those people," Draco Malfoy said defiantly during Potions class. "They have to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas because their families don't want them."
But Harry didn't seem bothered. In fact, he looked relieved. Being away from the Dursleys for Christmas was far too exciting for him to care about Malfoy's words.
A week earlier, Professor McGonagall had asked students whether they were going home for the holidays. Harry and the Weasley twins chose to stay. Harry was thrilled to avoid the Dursleys, while the Weasley twins stayed behind because their parents were visiting Charlie in Romania.
Hermione and Ryan decided to go home for Christmas. It was their first time being away for such an extended period. They reassured Harry and Ron, who were staying at school, that they would bring gifts for them and expected their gifts in return.
In the past two weeks, Ryan, Hermione, and others had researched extensively but still couldn't uncover the identity of Nicole May. However, this didn't dampen their excitement for Christmas.
With Christmas break finally upon them, Ryan grabbed his schoolbag after breakfast and joined his classmates heading to Hogsmeade station.
After walking through the wrought-iron gates of Hogwarts, decorated with winged wild boars, they walked ten minutes to the platform at Hogsmeade Station. The Hogwarts Express was already waiting.
The train car wasn't crowded, so Ryan and Hermione found an empty compartment. Soon, Longbottom joined them.
Ryan tried to relax, but Hermione, ever the diligent student, immediately took out her homework. Seeing this, Ryan and Neville put away their wizard chess game and started on their own assignments.
After a long day of travel, the train finally arrived at King's Cross Station. There, they met Neville's grandmother. She was deeply grateful to Ryan and Hermione for helping Neville at school, which made them feel somewhat embarrassed.
After bidding farewell to Longbottom and his grandmother, Ryan and Hermione took a taxi to their respective homes. Before parting, Hermione reminded Ryan to ask his father about Nicole May's origins. If Ryan found anything, he should let her know.
When Ryan arrived home, he was greeted by the warm scent of dinner. His parents had prepared a lovely meal, and Ryan felt a deep sense of family warmth.
After dinner, as Ryan and his parents chatted about school life and what had been happening at home, they discussed his father's latest novel. The good news was that Lambert's new book was selling well, and his upcoming book signings would keep them busy during the Christmas season.
Ryan spent the evening reading, then decided to go to bed early. The long train ride had worn him out.
The Christmas break was cheerful, despite the usual homework. Ryan spent hours on the phone with Hermione, discussing the assignments. However, most of his time was spent enjoying his family's company and practicing with various mechanical structures around the house. He was determined to improve his skills with the "Winter Home Industrial Manual."
What made it even better was that practicing magic in the world of Myriad Realms was unnoticed by the Ministry of Magic through the heald, providing Ryan with ample time to refine his magical abilities.
As Christmas approached, Ryan met Hermione at the community library. Over the phone the previous day, Ryan had told her he had discovered Nicole May's identity.
Finding answers wasn't as difficult as it seemed when you already knew what you were looking for. Once Ryan learned that Nicole May was a medieval French alchemist, the search for her information became much easier.
Ryan didn't wait long before Hermione arrived, dressed in a blue down jacket. She sat across from him and asked eagerly, "You said you've found the answer. How did you do it?"
Ryan replied, "I asked my father when I got home. He mentioned that he had looked up the name while writing a medieval fantasy novel, but couldn't remember the specifics. So, I looked into his research materials and found these documents."
Ryan opened his schoolbag and pulled out a stack of papers. He pointed to one of the pages, reading aloud:
"Nicholas Flamel, a famous French alchemist from the 14th century. His most renowned achievement was creating the Philosopher's Stone, which allowed him to transform mercury into gold. Legend also claims he used it to gain immortality. Though public records indicate he died in 1427, his grave was later found empty, suggesting that he may have lived far longer than previously thought."
Then, Ryan took out a map of Paris. Hermione leaned forward to inspect it.
"What's this map?" she asked.
Ryan pointed to a circled location on the map and said, "This is the address of Nicole May's former residence in Paris—51 rue Montmorency. So, we now know that Nicole May was a French alchemist from the Middle Ages."
"I was thinking the same thing," Hermione replied quietly. "There must be a Philosopher's Stone hidden there." She paused, then added, "When we were in the library last time, Harry mentioned that on the day we went to Diagon Alley, Hagrid had a small bag from the deepest part of Gringotts vaults. He suspected that it might be hidden under a trapdoor. Given its size and the circumstances, it's very likely that it's the Philosopher's Stone."
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