"Brief Encounter with Firenze"

"Brief Encounter with Firenze"

A few days passed in which Stephen was quite busy defending himself from the Minister and the purebloods, who were practically trying to take everything away from him.

As Stephen Strange, the Ministry demanded all his magical research, using the argument that it was "for the good of the British wizarding world" and that the Ministry's researchers could do a better job.

As Tony Stark, the pseudonym he used to create his company, he was under pressure from the endemic pseudo-nobles, who wanted him to make public the creation runes for the television, the Magicphone, and all the alchemical tools he had invented. Supposedly, his monopoly was unfair to the competition.

The ironic thing was that these so-called nobles already had a monopoly on most magical goods in England.

—Son, are you sure you don't want your grandfather to give you a hand? It's not good for your health to be under so much stress —said Perenelle over the Magicphone, as she frequently made video calls to check on her grandson at school.

—No, Grandma, I'm fine. If Grandpa helps me now, how will I ever stand out on my own in the future? —Stephen said, trying to reassure his concerned grandmother.

—Alright. But take a break every now and then and go visit Fleur. I haven't seen her in a while —Perenelle said, remembering the lovely girl.

—She's probably at school, Grandma. You know she can't leave until the holidays. Dumbledore makes exceptions sometimes because Grandpa is on the board, but I don't think she's that lucky. Besides, she was mad last time, so I don't want her to hit me —Stephen said, though his last words grew quieter and quieter until they were barely audible.

—Aish, this boy. Call her and apologize immediately —Perenelle said with a frustrated sigh.

—What? But I didn't do anything! The reporters started calling us the "invincible couple," and I just said we weren't a couple —Stephen said, exasperated.

—You really are a fool, boy. I'm leaving before you give me more gray hairs. Call her and apologize before Halloween, or you'll regret it —Perenelle said, completely ignoring the fact that she was already full of gray hair, and then she hung up, leaving Stephen with words still in his mouth.

—Alright, Halloween is next month… Damn —Stephen muttered.

From time to time, to clear his mind, he would go out for walks, even at night. Sometimes, he watched the Golden Trio with curiosity.

It seemed that yesterday they had encountered Fluffy, the three-headed dog guarding the traps.

By the way, those traps wouldn't stop a Death Eater—they were designed for students. The final trap alone was enough for anyone else who sought the Stone.

Meanwhile, the students were very curious, and by the second day, a couple of Gryffindors had already tried to sneak in. Even the twins had attempted it.

Stephen also crossed paths with Quirrell several times but kept his distance. Not out of fear or anything like that—Quirrell, in his current state, wouldn't stand a chance against him—but because he reeked of garlic and dark magic. It was repulsive.

—He seems more and more corrupted. The time for him to start hunting those poor unicorns must be approaching. I should do something to save them —Stephen thought, as he began devising countermeasures to prevent the creatures from being harmed or, at the very least, killed.

So he started sneaking into the forest to find unicorns and place protective enchantments on their horns. At first, they attacked him immediately, until they realized he meant no harm—quite the opposite. They were very intelligent, and they understood everything Stephen explained to them.

—Don't worry. This is a light magic rune that will put your body in a suspended state if you're in mortal danger until I arrive to heal you. Try to be careful—there's someone dark lurking around, understood? —Stephen said while stroking a young unicorn.

—Protect the foals well, make sure they don't go out for a while, alright?

—Hrrr —the largest unicorn snorted in response, moving its head as if nodding.

—I'm off. Be careful —Stephen said, then left.

As he walked through the darkness, he heard the sound of hooves approaching.

Uncertain, he turned around, thinking the unicorns wanted to ask him something. But as he looked more closely, he realized the approaching figure was a young centaur. He had very light blond hair, a tawny body, and a white tail. His eyes were astonishingly blue, like pale sapphires.

—You shouldn't be here, traveler —the centaur said.

—Really? Are you going to start with that whole thing about how I don't belong to this world and should go back to where I came from to avoid altering history and all that nonsense? —Stephen said in a mocking tone.

—No. Traveler, since you arrived here, the world and the stars have accepted you. You are part of this world. I was talking about this place. This is where the acromantulas hunt —the centaur said, unfazed by Stephen's tone.

"Ah, um, sorry. I was just leaving. Apologies for my tone," Stephen said, apologizing for the way he spoke.

"I know what you did for the unicorns. The forest itself is grateful. I am Firenze. I know we will meet again, traveler," Firenze said before departing.

"That seemed odd. Supposedly, centaurs only speak ambiguously and in vague words. But if it's Firenze, it makes more sense. He still looks quite young," Stephen said as he continued on his way to the castle.

"Shit, I've been so busy with the unicorns these past few days that I forgot to call Fleur. Seriously, instead of calling her quickly, I took even longer. I think I'm dead," Stephen muttered to himself, beginning to tremble as he realized delaying it wasn't a good idea.

"Alright, no more excuses. I'll do it right now," Stephen said, pulling out his phone—completely unaware that it was 11 p.m., which meant it was already midnight in France.

As he nervously called, pacing back and forth, someone finally picked up.

"Hello, belle. Were you asleep?" Stephen asked softly.

"Yes. What do you want?" replied the voice on the phone, sounding annoyed.

"I called to apologize," Stephen said, his voice growing softer as he leaned against a wall.

"Oh really? Apologize for what? For not talking to me for weeks? For making me embarrassed at the tournament? Or perhaps for something else?" Fleur's voice grew more irritated with each word.

"For both, belle. I never wanted you to be embarrassed, but what did you expect me to say? And I couldn't call you because I was afraid you were still mad," Stephen admitted, feeling guilty.

"You know, sometimes you're an idiot, Stephen Flamel. I'm going back to sleep. It's too late, and I have classes to attend. When you find a better way to apologize, you can call me again," Fleur said before hanging up.

"Haa, I don't understand women," Stephen sighed before turning around and heading to his room, only to find the twins peeking their heads out.

"Trouble in paradise, boss?"

"Need some love advice, boss?" the twins asked, grinning.

"Get lost, idiots, before I tell the professor who stole Filch's supplies," Stephen said before entering his room.

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