Chapter 259: The Inscription.

A Week Later.

Setting aside the brush, Severus felt his feet lift off the floor as he rose several meters into the air, examining the completed magical circle with a critical eye.

“No mistakes… but I’ll need to double-check everything again before the ritual,” he muttered with a tired sigh, stowing the floating brush and red paint in his pouch. He turned and headed toward the table where a covered cauldron stood.

*The potion is just as ready as the Time-Turner.* After storing that as well, he took out a notebook and slowly sank into an armchair.

*It’s already late. Tomorrow morning will be the best time, and I should rest before such an important matter. I need to be as alert as possible, both mentally and physically… anything could happen, and I must react instantly, whatever comes…*

He withdrew a white sheet of paper from the booklet, opened it, and channeled magic into it.

“Good evening, Mr. Prince.” After a few seconds, a calm but energetic elderly voice emerged, and a rather familiar face appeared on the sheet: none other than Nicholas Flamel.

“You’re quite late…” Flamel began with his usual innocent smile, but then he stopped short.

“I’ll conduct the ritual tomorrow.” That single sentence made him freeze, and then the smile vanished from his face, replaced by a frown.

“You wanted to see this, so I contacted you.”

“So, you’ve already finished… this… so quickly.” He didn’t know how to respond to the news; after all, they had only recently finished the adjustments to the ritual, and Severus was already prepared to put it into practice.

“I’ve already dragged this out for a very long time, and now I’m confident everything will work out.”

“I see. Will you allow me to observe?”

“Yes, and your opinion would be helpful. I’ll be waiting for you tomorrow morning. You’ll find the portal in my room: say the word ‘Flame,’ and it will transport you to my laboratory immediately.”

“Very well, thank you.” Flamel nodded gently.

“Then I won’t distract you further. Go get some sleep,” he added, noticing the dark circles under Severus’s eyes. His slightly lethargic voice made it clear he hadn’t slept in a very long time.

“That’s exactly what I was planning to do,” Severus replied with a forced smile, running a hand over his face and shaking his head.

“By the way, I assume you haven’t been following the news these past few days, so I’ll bring you a newspaper tomorrow.”

“I would be most grateful.”

“And your friend managed to escape from prison after all.” Strangely enough, this news didn’t surprise Severus at all. Someone like Tom couldn’t simply be held by ordinary shackles and cages, even ones that blocked magic.

“You don’t look surprised,” Flamel added, raising an eyebrow.

“It was expected. If he hadn’t been able to do it, I would have been surprised. As it is, this isn’t news, but I won’t refuse the newspaper, and you should be careful as well.”

“You needn’t worry about us. We still have some fight left in us. My wife and I will lay low a dozen characters like your Voldemort. Just let them try,” Flamel replied cheerfully, patting his chest, which made the corners of Severus’s lips curl slightly.

“Stop it already, you old ruin! Can’t you see the young man is tired, and here you are chattering away at him! You can talk later!” Perenelle scolded him sternly, also appearing in the frame. Nicholas lowered his head in embarrassment and laughed awkwardly, while she continued looking at Severus with concern.

“We will definitely come tomorrow. Now, end the conversation and go to sleep.”

“Then, have a good evening, and see you tomorrow…”

Ending the conversation, he folded the sheet again and placed it in the notebook, then tossed the notebook itself back into his pouch.

*I’ll have to think about a more compact storage solution in the future…* Touching the slightly bulging pocket of his trousers, he unbuttoned another button on his shirt and headed for the exit.

*I remember there were some unique individuals who managed to create decent-sized storage spaces out of simple jewelry. When I’m done with this matter, I should think about that too…*

Opening the door, he was met on the threshold by Nagini, who looked straight into his eyes.

“I’ve finished. Tomorrow at twelve, we’ll conduct the ritual, so let’s go to sleep.” Dropping to one knee with his usual smile, he gently ran his hand over her head, then picked her up and draped her across the back of his neck.

“What did you do today?”

“You already know…” Although she was glad that perhaps tomorrow her most cherished wish would be fulfilled, it was hard for Nagini to watch Severus work for her sake, giving it his all, while she herself couldn’t help him or repay him in any way, not to mention everything he had already done for her over the years.

She simply didn’t know how she could ever repay him for everything. Such thoughts constantly ate away at her, and his tired appearance only made those unbearable feelings worse.

“I’m tired of telling you that you think too much,” Severus said with a heavy sigh, walking over to the open window, where a pleasant breeze blew and a beautiful view of the starry sky greeted him.

“Such a mood won’t do any good for tomorrow’s ritual. On the contrary, it could lead to failure and your death, which would greatly upset me, so stop it. By doing this, you’re killing the mood not just for yourself but for me as well,” he added lazily, closing his eyes.

“And you stop reading my thoughts and emotions. You know very well that I can’t just suppress them so easily,” she answered gloomily, resting her chin on his shoulder.

“That’s why I call you my conscience. Because if it weren’t for you, I would definitely have become someone no better than Voldemort, or perhaps even worse. You’ve already done so much for me, and honestly, I’m tired of bringing it up myself. You really are lacking in… cynicism, perhaps…”

“If you want cynicism, go to that witch,” Nagini snorted with a note of irritation, drawing a couple of chuckles from Severus.

“And what did I say that’s so funny?”

“Nothing, and in a way, you’re right, you know… you two just complement each other perfectly…”

“Huh?!”

“One: a hot-tempered, selfish, bloodthirsty beast who keeps trying to caress me with Cruciatus, and the other: calm, understanding, kind, and also a cutie when she’s palm-sized.”

“Hey! I’m always cute!”

“Who’s arguing? To me, you’re always cute, but when you’re that small… I just want to squeeze you.”

“Since you yourself understand that she’s a bad person, why…?”

“Love… for the first time in my life, I’ve fallen in love… and… I can’t do anything about it…”

“I… even if you don’t choose me, I will still never leave you!” Nagini hissed, determination in her voice, looking straight at him while feeling deeply embarrassed.

“And I won’t back down! Understood?! Don’t even think you can get rid of me when I become human again!”

“I… don’t even know what to say…” Coming from someone who had spent his entire past life consumed by thoughts of revenge, such open words were so unexpected that even his mask of calm cracked, something that, of course, didn’t escape her sharp gaze.

“I’m listening!” Raising herself slightly to his eye level, she squinted, trying her best to hide her emotions.

However, instead of an answer, a chuckle escaped his lips, turning into uncontrollable laughter after a few seconds.

“Damn! No one has ever put me in such an awkward position before. One to nothing, in your favor.” Stepping away from the window, he poked the cheeky snake on the snout. “All right, have it your way, but I doubt you’ll succeed.”

“You won’t know until you try!” Then she murmured, deeply embarrassed, “And… there’s always another choice, which your mother hinted to me about… but… no!”

“What did you say? I didn’t quite understand…”

“NOTHING!”

And when Severus, surprised by such a reaction, decided to look into her memories out of curiosity and find out what she wanted to say, he encountered a barrier that, to his surprise, he couldn’t simply get past. Although he was curious about what she was hiding there, he decided not to break through by force, as that would simply be unseemly for him.

“All right, let’s go to sleep already…” He began stroking her head, using magic to enhance the sensations and add a vibration.

“Mm…” Under his caresses, Nagini truly began to melt, and the problems started to fade into the background…

—

The next day, early in the morning, with a quiet pop, Nicholas and Perenelle appeared in the center of Severus’s laboratory and curiously examined the large, half-empty room. One half was covered with translucent glass, behind which lay an enormous magical circle, and the other half was divided into zones for artifact crafting and potion brewing.

Meanwhile, Severus was studying the magical circle, and behind him, Nagini watched tensely from behind the glass. She did not immediately notice the guests arrive, completely absorbed in her thoughts.

But when she saw them, she wasn’t surprised at all. Severus had already warned her they would come.

“You should follow the young man’s example: see how orderly it is here?!” Perenelle began scolding Nicholas again, but he paid absolutely no attention to her words, heading with interest toward the wooden cabinets in the left corner of the half designated for artifact crafting, where materials were kept, or more precisely, various ores found by Severus and acquired at Shafiq’s various auctions.

“Hmm?” Flamel’s gaze settled on a large dark blue crystal with purple veins.

“This crystal… it’s from the Magical Jungle… from the forbidden part…?” he asked with a nervous smile, not expecting to see such a marvel in this place.

“Yes, a souvenir from my teacher,” Severus replied calmly, passing through the transparent screen.

“Have you been there too?”

“Yes… we… have been there…” Somehow, pain filled his voice as he said this, and even Perenelle clenched her fists tightly, lowering her head to hide her expression.

“Tell me, did he see anything strange there…?”

These words surprised Severus, but outwardly, he paused to think before shaking his head in disappointment.

“I don’t recall anything like that.”

“Is it possible to meet with him?”

“Well…”

“Mr. Prince! I beg you, this is very important!” Flamel said, completely serious, grasping Severus’s hand firmly and looking straight into his eyes.

“All right, I’ll talk to him.” Severus finally gave in under such pressure.

*Perhaps he saw something in that place, or maybe even Devils, but this reaction… it’s quite strange…*

“Thank you! Oh! I beg your pardon.” His usual awkward smile returning, Flamel quickly released Severus’s hand and stepped back.

“It’s nothing, and I think he’d find it interesting to talk with someone his own age.” Severus shook his head, rubbing his wrist, but the next moment, a shiver ran down his spine.

He spun around sharply, his entire body instantly covered in dark flame, and the floor beneath them began to turn into magma before their eyes.

The Goujian sword he had found earlier in China appeared in his hand, every character on it gleaming.

Startled, Nagini and the Flamels all vanished from the room at the same instant.

But no matter how hard he searched for the source of that dangerous sensation and that deeply familiar dark aura, he found nothing.

Yet Severus didn’t let his guard down and continued scanning his surroundings warily, until he heard a sound behind him.

He jumped sharply to the side and turned around… and froze. On the floor lay a blood-covered Time-Turner, and in the air hung a slowly disintegrating inscription, written in the only language he knew (a language he had invented that only two people knew), bearing the words: “DO NOT LET FLAMEL NEAR THE MAGIC CIRCLE!”