Chapter 67: Journey to Paris

Early in the morning, the arrival of a phoenix broke the tranquility of Erwin's house.

Dumbledore's phoenix, Fawkes, brought Dumbledore's letter in the early hours.

Dropping the letter on Erwin's desk, Fawkes couldn't wait to find Velora to play.

Erwin smiled at the bird and opened the letter:

"Dear Gaunt, I'm sorry to write to you only now, and forgive the busyness of an old man who can't retire at over a hundred years old."

"I have already told Nicolas about your situation. He is very happy that there are still young wizards who wish to study alchemy so deeply in this era. He asked me to sincerely invite you to visit his house in Paris, France."

"If it doesn't affect your summer vacation, please visit Nicolas soon. He can't wait to meet you."

"Your headmaster, Albus Dumbledore."

After reading Dumbledore's letter, Erwin was very happy.

The summer vacation was almost half over, and the headmaster had finally brought news of Nicolas Flamel.

The fact that there was no news made Erwin wonder for a while if Nicolas Flamel's Elixir of Life had been used up and he'd gone directly into the ground.

Fortunately, after reading the contents of the letter, Erwin knew that he should leave for France.

Picking up his quill, Erwin wrote letters to his two young friends and the Weasley twins.

In the letters, he briefly introduced his travel plans so they wouldn't worry when their owls couldn't contact him across the country.

He handed the letters to Fawkes, who was pestering Velora, and Erwin sent Dumbledore's bird away.

He decided to set off tomorrow.

He planned to take advantage of today to arrange security measures for his house. Although he had no enemies, it was still wise to be careful.

****

The next day.

Pedestrians came and went on the street, revealing a bustling atmosphere.

A handsome young man was walking down the street, attracting the attention of passersby from time to time, maybe due to his attire that was a bit different.

The boy was Erwin. He walked slowly down the street, came to a café, and walked in.

There was not a single customer in the entire café, as if passersby didn't know that such a store existed here.

Walking through the door, the person standing at the front desk was not human, but a house-elf. Seeing Erwin walking in, the elf hurried to greet him.

Bowing deeply, the house-elf spoke respectfully.

"Master Gaunt? I am the master's house-elf, and the master asked me to welcome you."

Erwin nodded.

"Thank you."

"Please come with me."

The house-elf, Sean, kept his head bowed the entire time and led Erwin through the back kitchen to a rockery.

Suddenly, the rockery split in half, revealing a large gap, and Erwin followed the elf inside.

When the two walked in, the rockery closed again and returned to its original state.

After entering, Erwin found that there was much more inside than expected.

They seemed to be teleported to another place and walked hundreds of meters before they came to a medieval castle.

There were two armored giants guarding both sides of the castle. After seeing Erwin and Sean, they bowed slightly, as if welcoming the guests.

They proceeded all the way to a living room in the castle. There was no one in it, but Erwin felt that something was always watching him, though he couldn't find the source of this feeling.

Erwin looked around. The entire living room was decorated very modernly, with air conditioners, televisions, and electric fans.

It was a bit out of tune with the medieval heaviness of the castle itself.

At this moment, an old voice came.

"Sean, have you brought Mr. Gaunt?"

Erwin turned around and saw an old man in a wheelchair emerging from behind a tapestry on the side.

There was no one behind the old man pushing the wheelchair, and he had no manual control either. The wheelchair just glided over on its own.

‘Very strange…’

Erwin knew that this was Nicolas Flamel.

After walking a few steps to meet him, Erwin said respectfully.

"Hello, Mr. Flamel. I'm Erwin Gaunt."

"Welcome, welcome."

Nicolas Flamel was very pleased and nodded with satisfaction.

Through his conversations with Dumbledore, he already knew how talented the little wizard in front of him was.

Not only was he far superior to ordinary people in spells, but he had also made impressive achievements in the ancient and difficult subject of alchemy.

Last time, Dumbledore had recounted several alchemy problems he and Erwin discussed, which surprised Nicolas Flamel.

Was this truly a field that students could study at such depth?

But what he didn't expect was that he originally thought such a talented wizard would be arrogant and indomitable.

Instead, he was calm, humble, and polite.

It made him see his younger self in him.

"Sean, go and prepare a sumptuous dinner."

Motioning for Erwin to sit down, Nicolas said to Sean, the house-elf.

Erwin found that the sound was not coming from Nicolas Flamel's mouth, but from the wheelchair he sat in, which surprised him.

The elf bowed and left the room to prepare dinner.

In the spacious living room, only Nicolas Flamel and Erwin remained.

Erwin remembered the feeling of being watched just now. He hesitated, then asked.

"Mr. Flamel, when I entered this room just now, I felt that someone was watching me, but..."

Nicolas Flamel smiled, a little surprised by Erwin's keen perception.

He also wanted to test the little wizard in front of him.

"You're right. In this room, there are indeed other beings who have observed you, but whether you can find them or not depends on your ability."

After speaking, he looked at Erwin with a smile, curious to see if he could discover what was watching him.