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Chapter 132 — Was He Hit With the Imperius Curse?!
Nicolas Flamel's thoughts shocked Perenelle so much that she covered her mouth in disbelief.
"Oh my goodness… how could you even think something like that? You do remember we're both over six hundred years old, don't you?!" she exclaimed.
"...…I'm not asking you to give birth, Perenelle," Nicolas said quickly, waving his hands. "I was thinking of adopting an heir.
What do you think of this idea—
What if we adopted the second child of the Potters? The younger twin of Harry Potter. Darren Potter."
He leaned closer, eyes shining with a sudden, almost youthful enthusiasm.
"Wouldn't it be wonderful to raise a child again?"
Perenelle stared at him as if he had grown antlers.
He hurried on.
"You love children. You always have. The little ones in our family—back then—you always tried to take them home with us." He sighed. "But every single one of them… their minds were already impure. Even as children, they coveted the Philosopher's Stone.
I wanted to keep it to use for ourselves, naturally. I had no intention of giving it away. But they were our descendants, so I was willing to pass on the method of its creation."
His expression darkened.
"But none of them learned it. And worse—they suspected I was lying to them. That what I gave them was fake."
He exhaled heavily.
"That disappointment… that betrayal… it was too much. So I closed the manor. No more visitors, no more apprentices, no more family prying at our door."
Perenelle nodded somberly. She remembered that era—how angry he had been.
"By the time I was willing to see people again—maybe thirty, forty years later—our family had vanished," Nicolas continued quietly. "The Flamels had run out of money, wandered, scattered, suffered… and the last of them died because he trusted the wrong friend."
He clenched his fist.
"I avenged him. But from then on… life became dull. Gray. I was only three or four hundred years old, and already I regretted living so long."
Perenelle reached over and squeezed his hand.
"You had only me left to care for," she whispered. "And only you for me."
"Yes." Nicolas nodded. "When you wanted to stop using the Stone, I still wished to go on. And you stayed with me. But when the Stone finally lost its effect… I thought of creating something else to prolong life."
Perenelle's eyes widened. "You never told me that."
"I didn't." He smiled weakly. "Because the moment I saw how relieved you were to let go… I stopped."
They sat in silence for a moment, memories passing between them.
"Then Dumbledore asked for the Stone. And we let it go," Nicolas said softly. "I thought I was done with ambition. Until…"
He looked at Perenelle, almost embarrassed.
"Until I heard him tell Dumbledore that he dislikes immortality. That living forever isn't appealing to him at all."
Perenelle blinked in surprise. "A child said that?"
"Yes. Darren Potter." Nicolas nodded vigorously. "And that… made me curious. Competitive, even. I wanted to see if he was lying. How could anyone dislike immortality?"
He shook his head.
"So I looked into his spiritual world."
Perenelle gasped.
"You WHAT?! Nicolas Flamel! Are you insane?! Do you know how dangerous that is?!"
"Believe me," he said dryly, "I realized that rather quickly."
He described everything—the pristine spiritual world, impossibly pure for any wizard. Clean skies, fragrant air, bright sunlight, a metaphorical bridge representing courage and sacrifice.
A mind with no malice. No corruption. No darkness.
Even Merlin wouldn't match such a spiritual landscape.
Perenelle was speechless.
"And then," Nicolas continued, "I saw Darren himself. In a nightgown, smiling gently. As he walked, the entire world became brighter."
Perenelle silently clutched at her heart, overwhelmed just hearing it.
"I felt ashamed. And confused. And then he asked me why I looked unhappy—told me to share, because he didn't know me anyway. Such pure kindness." Nicolas chuckled. "So I shared my doubts about immortality."
"And what did he say?" Perenelle whispered.
"He said: 'If you want to live forever, then live forever. If you don't, then don't. Life and death are part of the cycle of the world.'"
Perenelle stared.
"That simple, and yet… so profound." Nicolas closed his eyes. "It shook me."
He continued describing the encounter—how Death itself appeared, how Darren pushed him off the bridge to save him, how shockingly touched he felt when Darren defended him:
"What kind of coward attacks an old man? Come at me instead!"
Perenelle's breath caught.
"And when I asked him why he saved me… he said—"
Nicolas swallowed.
"He said: 'You remind me of my grandfather.'"
A soft silence filled the room.
Perenelle finally whispered, "…Nicolas… did you fall in love with him?"
"No!" Nicolas yelped. "No, no! Not like that! I just—"
He exhaled deeply.
"I just realized what I've been missing. Family. A child. Someone to pass on our life's work to. Someone who won't be corrupted. Someone who… might genuinely love us in return."
Perenelle looked at him for a long moment.
Then she asked, slowly:
"Darren Potter… the child who dislikes immortality?"
"Yes," Nicolas said hopefully.
She took a deep breath.
"You won't forget, will you? We're going to die together. I do NOT want to live forever again."
"I know," Nicolas said quickly. "I'm not asking to prolong our lives. We stop using the Stone. We grow old naturally. But we still have years left. Why not fill them with joy?
Even without immortality, we could raise an heir. Darren is kind, pure-hearted, an orphan, and he isn't even the Potter family's main heir. If Dumbledore leads the proposal and the portraits agree, we add 'Flamel' to his name—he doesn't even need to give up 'Potter.'
We pass him everything we learned. All our books. All our discoveries. And if he can't learn alchemy—he can preserve everything until he finds someone who can.
And Perenelle…" Nicolas smiled gently. "You would be so happy taking care of a child again."
Perenelle looked torn, but her heart was softening.
"A… a truly kind child…" she murmured. "For the last years of our lives…"
Nicolas nodded eagerly.
Finally—finally—Perenelle sighed and shoved his shoulder.
"Well? What are you waiting for? Write to Dumbledore! Ask him to consult the Potter portraits and make sure the boy himself is willing!"
Nicolas practically leapt for his parchment. He scribbled an excited, messy letter, enchanted it, and sent it straight to Dumbledore's desk.
"It's not enough," Nicolas said immediately. "We also need to meet Darren ourselves. First, to see if he truly suits us. Second, to let him get comfortable with us.
We should read books—on how to get children to like you! Maybe create the perfect welcoming environment!"
Perenelle rolled her eyes, though she couldn't stop smiling.
"Honestly… you're acting like you've been hit with an Imperius Curse."
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Hogwarts — Headmaster's Office
Dumbledore stared at Flamel's letter in stunned silence.
"…Nicolas wants to adopt Darren?"
He rubbed his temples.
Just a month ago, Nicolas had loudly declared children were "mischievous, noisy gremlins" and that he couldn't stand them.
Now the same man was praising children as "the purest beings in the world."
Dumbledore narrowed his eyes.
"…Has Nicolas Flamel been hit with the Imperius Curse?"
He blinked at the parchment.
"…No, really. Has he?"
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