Chapter 289: Incomplete Top-Tier Alchemy Items

In a brief flash of memory, Nicolas Flamel recalled many things buried deep within his mind.

Moments passed.

"It truly surprises me that there are still two people in this world who can decipher the secrets of the Time-Turner to such a degree."

Although Nicolas' voice carried a tone of amazement, the hidden trace of joy within it was unmistakable.

However, Ino furrowed his brow slightly; he detected another meaning behind those words.

"To such a degree? You mean…"

"Yes! It's incomplete!" Nicolas Flamel naturally took over the conversation.

"To be precise, every Time-Turner is incomplete, just like the Philosopher's Stone—they are all imperfect."

"Incomplete? Imperfect?" Ino's voice suddenly rose a few decibels.

It wasn't due to a lack of control but because what Nicolas had said was too astonishing.

An incomplete Time-Turner, an incomplete Philosopher's Stone.

So, the high-end alchemy in the magical world—it's all defective…

It's hard to imagine what these items would be like if they were actually complete.

Seeing Ino's shock, Nicolas Flamel suddenly chuckled.

"I assume you've only studied one Time-Turner! Just like I did back when I was around two hundred years old…"

Time seemed to rewind to those earlier years when, after spending decades studying it, he thought he had fully deciphered it, only to realize that the sample he had was merely a defective product.

"…Each Time-Turner is different! You might think of it as using a camera to take a picture of a functioning clock. As time naturally flows, no matter how fast the camera's shutter speed, each photo will differ slightly from the last."

With Nicolas Flamel's vivid analogy, Ino gradually understood what he meant but also developed new doubts.

"Mr. Flamel! If we follow your analogy, then behind all of this, there should be a complete clock?"

"Yes! There is a complete clock."

Nicolas nodded naturally and then pointed towards a clock in the room.

"The complete clock behind it is the time that naturally flows in this world. And the Time-Turner—you can think of it as a projection of that time. This also explains why one cannot go back and change things that have already happened…"

"Because a shadow remains just a shadow!" Ino slowly added, finishing what Nicolas left unsaid.

A Time-Turner is like a counterfeit pass, allowing its bearer to briefly enter the house of time.

But inside this house, they can only look and listen but cannot touch anything.

Because the pass is fake, and if the house's owner discovers it, harsh punishment is inevitable.

This also explains why, throughout history, countless wizards have caused irreversible damage by misusing the Time-Turner.

After a while.

"It seems you've understood!"

Nicolas once again picked up the parchment on the table, its alchemical circuit still clearly visible.

"That's why I say it's defective. You can't reconstruct the clock itself from a single photograph, just like the Time-Turner can't truly be manufactured."

Hearing this, Ino asked, somewhat puzzled, "Then how did the Time-Turner come into existence?"

"Who knows!" Nicolas shrugged his shoulders, his tone humorous as he replied, "I'm not even seven hundred years old! You can't expect me to know all the secrets…"

"Alright! You're right!" Ino didn't notice Nicolas' humor; instead, he found it rather reasonable.

Compared to the elves of Middle-earth, who lived for thousands of years, seven hundred seemed relatively short.

However, Ino's unremarkable reaction made Nicolas Flamel feel somewhat uncomfortable.

His usually effective humor seemed to have lost its touch this time.

"Although I don't know much about the Time-Turner, we can discuss another incomplete item later because it's time for my afternoon nap."

As he spoke, Nicolas' gaze once again fell on the parchment. If the earlier discussions on the Two-Way Mirror or the Mirror of Erised were just guidance for a younger generation, then with the introduction of the Time-Turner, he now saw the young man before him as an equal in conversation.

Moreover, despite his youthful appearance, this young man's actual age might not be as simple as it seemed.

Ino didn't notice the shift in Nicolas' attitude, but when he heard mention of another incomplete item, his first thought was the Philosopher's Stone.

He was somewhat surprised by Nicolas Flamel's generosity, but then he thought about how he himself had also been generous, casually sharing the alchemical circuit of the Time-Turner.

Perhaps this was the kind of academic exchange that should exist between alchemists.

…

At the same time, while Nicolas Flamel mentioned his afternoon nap, something else was happening across the sea in England, also involving an afternoon nap.

London, 4 Privet Drive.

Harry suddenly sat up in bed, gasping for breath, still shaken.

After lunch, he had returned to his small room on the second floor as usual.

Ever since the last unexpected incident, he had been trying his best to avoid any contact with Aunt Petunia's family.

However, after returning to his room, with little to do and no one to talk to, his usual way of passing the time was by sleeping.

As for reading books and doing summer homework, that was something for the start of the school year.

But this seemingly ordinary nap turned into a nightmare.

In his first-person dream, he saw a dark wizard with an unclear face brutally murdering a Muggle. The Muggle's corpse was then swallowed by a giant snake, at least one foot thick.

This same dream, this same vision—only this time, Harry didn't choose to keep it to himself. He decided to tell Dumbledore right away.

Unrolling a parchment, he meticulously wrote down everything he had seen and heard in the dream.

After watching Hedwig fly away, he hesitated for a moment, then took out another piece of parchment and copied the contents of his previous letter.

…

Meanwhile, as Hedwig was delivering the letter, far away in Paris, Nicolas Flamel was also waking up from his short nap.

Perhaps due to his frail body, Nicolas didn't immediately sit up after waking but instead turned his head to gaze intently at the figure standing by his bed.

It was a puppet, about three feet tall, resembling a seven- or eight-year-old boy.

"Rick, I may have found a way for you to live…"

However, Nicolas Flamel didn't finish his sentence before being interrupted by the puppet.

"My mission is to stay with you and Perenelle. She's gone now, and my only remaining mission is to stay with you."

Hearing the puppet's response, Nicolas showed a complex expression—both relieved and guilty at the same time.

"Don't you want to live?"

"Live?" A faint smile crossed the puppet's face, but it quickly disappeared.

"Have I ever truly lived?"