"The Beauxbatons Library was actually built single-handedly by the great alchemist, Nicolas Flamel."
"His goal was to create a massive repository of knowledge for the wizards of Beauxbatons."
"Over time, thanks to steady accumulation and generous donations from alumni, our library's collection has grown to what it is today."
Milosan led the way, making sure to brief Richie as they walked.
"Of course, being an alchemist, Nicolas Flamel also left behind a massive collection of books and original manuscripts on the subject."
"He was hoping that a future Beauxbatons student would eventually master alchemy and inherit his legacy."
"Unfortunately, centuries have passed, and because alchemy is so incredibly dense and difficult to grasp, absolutely no one has ever reached Flamel's level."
"Combine that with the rise of modern magic, and alchemy was essentially shelved."
"Because of that, the actual value of those surviving manuscripts shifted from 'containing alchemical knowledge' to simply being 'Nicolas Flamel's original antiques'."
Milosan sighed deeply. Beside her, Annabelle let out a groan as she reminisced.
"I remember Alchemy being a third-year elective. For that entire year, all we did was flip through these massive, heavy Ancient Runes dictionaries, cross-referencing Flamel's manuscripts to painstakingly translate the alchemical formulas carved into bizarrely shaped containers word by word."
"Honestly, it didn't even feel like we were studying magic. It felt like straight-up archaeology."
"The worst part? Even after translating them, I still didn't understand a single thing, and those formulas literally did nothing."
"Thank God we had the option to drop it in fourth year. If I had to keep taking that class, I would have completely lost my mind!"
The trio followed the castle corridors until they arrived at the grand entrance of the Beauxbatons Library.
Richie looked up.
The doors were incredibly exquisite, seemingly forged from solid metal.
The most striking feature was the series of intricate reliefs carved into the surface—they looked like a hybrid between written text and pictorial symbols.
"Those are the Thirty-Two Fundamental Alchemical Symbols," Milosan explained. "They are essentially the 'keys' that open the door to alchemy for beginners."
"They're also known as the Dual-Layered Symbols. If an ordinary wizard writes them, they can only trace the 'surface' layer, which is strictly for communication and teaching—it has zero practical magical effect. Only a true alchemist can draw out the 'inner' layer of the thirty-two symbols. And that inner layer..."
Milosan paused, her tone growing heavily significant.
"Every single one of those inner symbols possesses power far beyond what you could possibly imagine."
With that, she drew her wand and tapped the tip against one of the thirty-two symbols.
A second later, the massive doors slowly swung inward from the center.
"Please, follow me."
Milosan and Annabelle stepped inside, and Richie, completely hooked, quickly followed.
The interior of the Beauxbatons Library was brilliantly lit. Two rows of high windows ran along the upper walls, perfectly channeling the natural sunlight from outside.
Unlike Hogwarts, which featured row after row of partitioned, free-standing bookcases, all the shelves here were built directly into the walls. They faced inward, stacked continuously from the floor all the way to the ceiling.
But the seating arrangements in the center of the room were the most bizarre part. At a glance, there were at least forty or fifty small, four-person study tables. Beside every single table stood a massive, closed blue flower bud, easily twice as tall as a person.
Currently, the library was entirely empty. The trio walked up to one of the central tables and took their seats.
"Our library might not have the absolute deepest historical archives in the world," Milosan said, "but it is unequivocally the most convenient and the most heavily integrated with alchemy."
She pointed to the towering blue flower bud next to them.
"This is a Magical Muting Blossom. It's engraved with an alchemical formula. When activated by magic, it unfurls its petals. Anything discussed within the perimeter of this desk becomes completely inaudible to the outside."
With a casual flick of her wand, the blossom reacted instantly. Eight massive petals unfurled, completely blanketing the trio and their table beneath a biological canopy.
What was truly mind-blowing, though, was that the petals seemed to not physically exist when it came to lighting. The sunlight from above filtered through them completely unobstructed, leaving absolutely zero shadows on the tabletop.
At the exact same time, a paper crane holding a Directory Guide in its beak fluttered down from the center of the blossom.
"This is a Retrieval Crane," Milosan explained. "Just tell it what book you want to read. As long as it's listed in the Directory Guide, it will fetch it for you. All you have to do is sit here and wait."
"And yes, it can only do this because of its alchemical programming."
Milosan handed the Directory Guide across the table to Richie.
Taking the guide, Richie eagerly flipped it open. The pages were densely packed with book titles, organized into broad, general categories.
Since he was actually sitting in Beauxbatons and had been hearing nonstop hype about alchemy, his curiosity was definitely piqued.
Richie looked up at Milosan.
"When it comes to alchemy... do you have any recommendations, Professor Celine?"
"Haha, just call me Milosan. Treat me like an older sister."
She blinked playfully and took the opportunity to aggressively ruffle Richie's hair again. Annabelle rolled her eyes and slapped her hand away.
"This is my nephew. If you want to be my niece, I wouldn't mind."
Milosan just chuckled.
"I wouldn't totally hate that. I mean, I am younger than you anyway."
Annabelle clenched her fist, ready to swing, and Milosan quickly grabbed Richie to use him as a human meat shield.
"If you've never studied alchemy," Milosan quickly pivoted, "I highly recommend starting with an Ancient Runes dictionary. The vast majority of alchemical formulas are written in Ancient Runes."
"Sure, there are plenty of translated books out there nowadays, but most of them have been filtered and bastardized through multiple translations. It is always significantly better to read and interpret them yourself."
"But honestly? Since you're here at Beauxbatons, we should let you experience our signature method of teaching alchemy."
Milosan looked up at the hovering paper crane.
"I need the Nicolas Flamel Manuscripts: To the Beginner."
Watching the crane flutter off into the stacks, she turned back to Richie and gave him a wink.
"What could possibly leave a deeper impression than studying the genuine, original handwriting of the master alchemist Nicolas Flamel himself?"
Beside her, Annabelle offered a slow, validating nod.
"Just so you know, third-year is literally the only time Beauxbatons students ever get to see an original Flamel manuscript. Every other text he left behind is strictly studied through copied rubbings."
Hearing that, Richie was genuinely surprised.
"If it's that rare and valuable, is it really okay to just let me read it?"
Milosan flashed a slight smile.
"Consider it your payment from Madam Mantha and me."
And an advance compensation...
Milosan didn't say that last part out loud.
Because what Richie didn't know was that the absolute second he left the Star-Wand Dueling Hall, his photo was pinned to the wall right underneath Filius Flitwick's portrait.
And the minute the Christmas holidays ended, the legend of Richie "crushing their home turf" was going to spread like wildfire through Beauxbatons.
When that happened, the Beauxbatons students—especially the underclassmen—were going to grind and train harder than ever before, using him as their ultimate 'role model' and target.
But honestly, doing that was totally underhanded.
Because of that, Milosan genuinely felt like she owed her best friend's cute little nephew, so she figured this was the perfect way to make it up to him.
Since he explicitly wanted to check out some alchemy books anyway, Milosan didn't hesitate to pull the trigger on this decision.