Dumbledore's utterly serious tone made Lucien's eyes widen in rare astonishment.
What exactly was Old Dumbledore talking about?
The fragrance of tea and sweets lingered within the Headmaster's Office.
Lucien stared blankly at the smiling old wizard.
Could it be that now that the stress of the past few days had finally dissipated, Old Dumbledore had started to let himself go?
Then again, perhaps not.
Dumbledore was always calm and composed in major matters, but in everyday life he occasionally came out with bizarre and abstract remarks.
Remembering that the man before him was, after all, an eccentric old wizard, Lucien smiled helplessly.
"Headmaster, regarding this competition..."
Dumbledore waved his hand.
"Don't worry. After you return from the exchange competition, I'll fill another emotional crystal sphere for you. If you win, I'll fill three."
That would mean several more Philosopher's Stones.
Having only the one Nicolas Flamel had given him was rather inconvenient, since he constantly had to remove and reinstall it.
Putting on a troubled expression, Lucien hesitated before saying,
"If I win, could you make it five?"
Dumbledore froze.
He clearly hadn't expected Lucien to bargain with him, and immediately burst into laughter.
"No problem."
"This is merely an exchange competition. It won't be very large in scale, and it's estimated that it can be held sometime next term..."
After discussing the competition for a while longer, Lucien bade Dumbledore farewell and left.
After Lucien left the Headmaster's Office, Dumbledore opened a drawer and took out the old diary, his fingers brushing over the marks left by the Basilisk venom and the cuts inflicted by the sword of Gryffindor.
The distinctive Elder Wand appeared in Dumbledore's hand, and strands of Magic, almost invisible to the naked eye, extended from its tip and probed into the Horcrux's surface.
Time passed.
Eventually, Dumbledore set down the wand, removed his half-moon spectacles, and gently massaged his temples.
Tom not only refused to communicate with Dumbledore, but had also sealed off the core of the Horcrux itself, making progress painfully slow.
This was a Horcrux, an object belonging to the realm of the Dark Arts.
Although Dumbledore's own talent in the Dark Arts was formidable, he had never pursued that field to its utmost limits.
After the tragedy of those years, he had deliberately restrained himself, and his research into the Dark Arts had gradually diminished.
"Someone skilled in the Dark Arts..."
If there was a wizard in the world with sufficient mastery of the Dark Arts, someone who could advise Dumbledore regarding Horcruxes...
Dumbledore's thoughts slowly drifted toward Nurmengard.
Time quickly passed, and the Christmas holidays arrived.
Ministry of Magic.
"Mr Fudge, I thought this matter would be handled by the Auror Office. I didn't expect you to take care of it personally."
"Oh, these Alchemical items concern the safety of our Aurors, so naturally I must pay close attention. Lucien, it's truly astonishing that someone your age can create items of such quality. It's the work of a genius..."
"You flatter me. It is a blessing for the Magical World to have a responsible Minister for Magic like yourself..."
As Lucien and Fudge exchanged pleasantries, they made their way toward the exit of the Ministry.
Almost as soon as the holidays had begun, Lucien had received an invitation from Fudge, who wished to discuss in person the Ministry's purchase of the defensive Alchemical items Lucien produced.
The Ministry of Magic already had relatively stable Alchemical partners, but Lucien's products were of superior quality and offered stronger functions.
Moreover, Fudge wished to strengthen his relationship with Lucien.
In any case, the Ministry would not immediately replace its existing suppliers. Their market share would merely diminish over time.
Naturally, Lucien was delighted to gain the Ministry of Magic as an official customer.
Aside from wealthy pure-blood families who cherished their lives and had more money than sense, the largest buyers of defensive Alchemical items were Aurors.
Compared with ordinary witches and wizards who led peaceful lives, Aurors faced dangers and accidents far more frequently during missions, so an additional layer of protection was always welcome.
Lucien and Fudge walked through the lobby, chatting and laughing.
At that moment, a pair of jewel-encrusted spectacles observed the two of them from afar, though their owner was primarily interested in Lucien.
Rita Skeeter had not expected that a simple visit to the Ministry would allow her to run into the biggest sensation of recent days.
The events at Hogwarts had caused an enormous uproar throughout the Magical World.
A thousand-year-old Basilisk had actually been hidden within the castle!
That Basilisk had nearly been used by a villain to bring about a horrifying tragedy, only to be stopped by a student.
By coincidence, several young witches and wizards among the spectators had enjoyed taking photographs and had captured many moments of the battle.
These photographs spread rapidly, and the most famous and widely circulated image depicted:
On a pitch-black, stormy night, surrounded by white lightning and golden flames, a young man wielded a longsword and charged toward the Basilisk.
Rita thought the young wizard who had taken the photograph was extremely fortunate. To capture such a breathtaking image at such a young age, he seemed to have the makings of a reporter.
It was also thanks to the widespread circulation of that photograph that Rita recognised the young man beside Minister Fudge at first glance.
Lucien!
After Lucien parted ways with Minister Fudge, Rita patted her elaborate yet stiff curls and walked towards him, her high heels clicking across the floor.
Stopping in front of Lucien, Rita put on a professional smile and was just about to speak when—
"Rita Skeeter, right? May I ask what you need?"
Lucien spoke before she had the chance.
He had noticed her gaze earlier and, after a moment's thought, had guessed her identity.
It wasn't difficult.
The woman before him was simply too distinctive.
Her blonde hair was styled into large, rigid curls, which looked rather awkward when paired with her prominent jaw.
The fingers clutching her crocodile-skin handbag were thick and broad, almost like a man's hands, yet they were adorned with bright red nails at least two inches long.
Most importantly, there were those spectacles.
The moment Lucien saw the jewel-encrusted frames, his first thought had been that they were hideous.
Combined with the rest of her appearance, the name immediately came to mind.
Having her identity guessed before she could even introduce herself, Rita's smile stiffened, though she quickly recovered.
"Hehe, I didn't expect Mr Grafton to know who I am. What an honour."
"It's like this. You've become very famous in the Magical World recently. I'm a reporter for the Daily Prophet. I was wondering whether I might be able to interview you?"
Lucien did not answer immediately.
Rita, however, waited patiently.
She considered it perfectly normal for such a young genius to be arrogant or eccentric.
Even if the interview failed today, it didn't matter.
Rita had already planned to transform into a beetle and sneak into Hogwarts later.
That way, she could uncover Lucien's true personality and perhaps gather even more interesting information.
It was only because the Basilisk incident had been resolved just as the Christmas holidays were beginning that Rita had not rushed over immediately.
Now that she had run into Lucien by chance, there was no harm in asking.
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