Harry Potter and the Great Old Ones

Chapter 257 Request
“Alright, alright, we’ll talk about what happens after you graduate,” Nicholas Lemay interrupted. “But before that, I think we should first forge you an arm and an eye.”

“Okay, okay, thank you, Mr. Lemaître,” Thierra said.

“So, what are the requirements?” Nicholas Lemaître asked. “Let’s start with the arm.”

“My arms…” Tiera thought for a moment, then said, “First of all, I want my arms to be indestructible.”

"Hmm." Nicholas Lemay wrote something in his notebook. "That's the basic requirement, but 'indestructible' is a bit too much... Nothing is indestructible... I'll change it to 'unbreakable,' which I can manage. Anything else?"

“Yes, yes, yes, I wish my right arm had made me incredibly strong,” Tierra said.

“Immense strength is a bit of an exaggeration… well, let’s increase your strength then,” Nicholas Flamel said. “But you’re a wizard, what do you need such immense strength for?”

“Well…” Tiera thought for a moment and said, “I just feel that the wizarding world is not very peaceful right now, and you know, I don’t have much practical combat experience. If I get disarmed one day, I can still charge in with my arms outstretched.”

“Hmm, that makes sense,” Nicholas Flamel said. “Anything else?”

“And another thing is that I want to be able to mount weapons on my arms,” Tierra said.

"Weapons...?" Nicholas Lemaire stopped writing with his quill and asked in surprise.

Even Dumbledore, sitting next to Tyrell, stroked his beard and looked at Tyrell thoughtfully.

“You know, my practical experience is pitifully small,” Tierra emphasized again. “You also know that Voldemort is extremely hostile to Muggle wizards, and given that I was once controlled by him, I think that in Voldemort’s eyes now, I am no different from a damned little fly that betrayed him. After Voldemort is resurrected, he may not care about other Muggle wizards, but I believe that he will definitely crush me first.”

“That makes sense,” Dumbledore said. “You certainly don’t have much combat experience, so it’s understandable that you want to defend yourself this way. So, what kind of weapon do you want?”

“First, my forearm,” Tiera said. “I want an alchemical shield to open up on the back of my forearm. Normally, it’s just like a normal arm, but when I need it, it can open up instantly with just a thought, a shield that can cover my whole body and protect me from dark magic spells like the Death Curse.”

“Hmm,” Nicholas Flamel said.

"Then I hope that a cannon can be ejected from my inner arm if necessary, but instead of a Muggle rocket launcher, it can spew out fierce flames."

“Hmm,” Nicholas Flamel said.

“And then there’s my hand. I hope my hand is just a regular hand, but when it really matters, it can transform into a Gatling gun…” Tiera paused, then asked, “You know what a Gatling gun is, right?”

“I understand, please continue,” Nicholas Flamel said.

"It's a Gatling gun that comes out of my palm, capable of firing ordinary magic that petrifies everything, removes your weapons, knocks you unconscious, and so on," Tiera said.

“Hmm,” Nicholas Flamel said.

“And then there are my eyes,” Tiera said. “I hope my eyes can give me super vision, that is, the ability to see far, to magnify, to see microscopically, and ideally, the ability to see through invisibility and illusions, and to keep my mind sharp. Oh, and lastly, and most importantly… I hope I can shoot the Avada Kedavra curse from my right eye.”

"Hmm," Nicholas Flamel said, "Anything else?"

“That’s it,” Tierra said. “Well, then it’s the indestructible arm and the eyes with superhuman vision,” Nicholas Lemay said.

Tierra: ...

Wait, that's it?
"And there are shields, Fiery Cannons, a Gatling gun for defense against black magic, and a magic eye that can see through invisibility and illusions and shoot out death curses..." Tiera said.

“Ah, Thierra…” Nicholas Lemaître sighed, “What I meant by my request was…”

“What color or shape do you want your arms to be? What color do you want your eyes to be?” Nicholas Lemay said, “instead of asking what function you want your arms and eyes to have.”

“Perhaps I can increase your strength and hardness, increase your power, and also give your eyes excellent vision, the ability to penetrate, or even a little bit of the ability to see through illusions, but… alas, but…” Nicholas Lemaire sighed again. He realized that he had sighed more today than he had in the past few hundred years. “But the cursed Gatling gun? The Fiery Cannon? And the Death Curse Eye? None of these are possible.”

"Why?" Tierra asked in disappointment. "Aren't you the most skilled alchemist in the world? Can't you even do this?"

“I’m talking about the most accomplished alchemist, not the god of magic. I’m not Merlin,” Nicholas Flamel said. “My alchemical skills are limited to the level of ‘human’ at best.”

“Merlin? So Merlin can do these things?” Tiera asked.

“I…I was just using an analogy.” Nicholas Lemay realized he might have let something slip and awkwardly tried to cover it up. “Of course…I mean I believe he can definitely do what you’re asking for, but not me.”

“Wait, Mr. Lemaître, you’re talking as if you’ve met Merlin,” Thierra suddenly asked.

Merlin's notebook only records in detail his experiences before becoming a god, and doesn't even provide much information about his own ascension ceremony. Merlin was born in the early 11th century and became a god at around two hundred years old, which is between the 13th and 14th centuries.

This year is 1994. Nicholas Flamel is approximately 669 years old, meaning he was born in 1325, came of age around 1345, and rose to fame between the 13th and 14th centuries. The Philosopher's Stone was very likely forged during this period, coinciding with Merlin's ascension to godhood.

And coincidentally, Merlin and Nicholas Flamel were the only two people in the Middle Ages who ever forged the Philosopher's Stone.

Furthermore, given the exceptionally talented young wizard mentioned in Merlin's notes, Tyella has reason to believe that Nicholas Flamel encountered Merlin around the time of Merlin's ascension to godhood, and may even have personally participated in Merlin's ascension ceremony as an accomplice.

If—and I mean if—he could pry information about Merlin's ascension to godhood from Nicholas Lemma, or even if he could obtain concrete details about the differences between Merlin's life before and after his ascension—

This will have immeasurable value in shaping one's future choice of a deification ritual.

However… we can’t rush things now, Tiera thought—

Tierra now felt somewhat fortunate—

Fortunately, he didn't steal Merlin's unfinished Philosopher's Stone, but instead swapped it with Merlin's. Furthermore, Dumbledore destroyed a different, fake Philosopher's Stone, meaning that Nicholas Flame likely already saw Merlin's unfinished stone. In fact, if Flame had indeed collaborated closely with Merlin, he might have recognized the unfinished stone and kept it for himself.

Tierra believed that Nicholas Lemai must have many questions for her.

It just so happens that Tierra also has many questions for Nicholas Lemai.

The second update is here! Please vote with your monthly tickets and recommendations!
Thanks to Overclocking Piledriver for voting in May.


(End of this chapter)