Chapter Forty-Six: The Opportunity to Learn Alchemy

"Professor, I'd like to borrow a few books from the library," Siwen said.

"What sort of books do you want to borrow?" Professor Slughorn eyed him suspiciously. "At your age, it's not appropriate to be reading the dangerous books in the Restricted Section."

"I'm interested in alchemy, and I'd like to learn more about it," Siwen replied. He was truly craving for the Suspended Ring—since it didn't exist in this world, he'd just have to make one himself!

"I advise you... Ah, alchemy, is it? Well, that's no problem! You don't even need to use this reward; if you had just told me, I'd have signed for you anyway." Hearing that it wasn't a book on Dark Magic, Professor Slughorn breathed a sigh of relief and replied generously.

There was no end to the number of young Slytherin witches and wizards curious about Dark Magic, and most of them came from excellent families. To avoid offending them, Professor Slughorn was rarely able to turn such students down. So when Siwen mentioned wanting to borrow books, his first instinct was that yet another Slytherin was trying to get their hands on Dark Magic. Especially considering Siwen had only been at Hogwarts for a week and was just eleven years old—far too young to be exposed to anything as corrupting as Dark Magic.

He had been about to warn Siwen of the dangers of the Dark Arts when Siwen said he only wanted books on alchemy, which made Professor Slughorn immensely relieved.

"Hogwarts once offered courses in alchemy, but because the subject is so difficult to get started in, and alchemists are so rare, the classes never achieved much. In the end, it became impossible even to find a professor to teach it, and so the course was eliminated..." Professor Slughorn explained the situation to Siwen in detail, leaving Siwen's scalp tingling.

"Is it really that difficult?" Siwen asked.

"Alchemy is a discipline for lifelong study. Seven years at Hogwarts is far too little to do it justice," Dumbledore said, standing up. "Even the introductory language for alchemy—Ancient Runes—takes more than several years to master. So, Mr. Rozier, if you truly wish to study alchemy, your best course would be to begin with Ancient Runes."

"Runes?" Siwen muttered, looking puzzled.

"Ah, that reminds me! Speaking of alchemy, I simply must introduce you to Professor Dumbledore. He has a deep friendship with the alchemical master Nicholas Flamel, and he himself is a renowned alchemist!" Professor Slughorn enthusiastically strode over to Dumbledore, threw an arm around his shoulders, and came over to Siwen's bedside. "Albus even attended the International Alchemy Conference in Cairo as a student and won a gold medal for groundbreaking contribution! Any questions you have about alchemy, you can go straight to Professor Dumbledore."

"Wait a moment, Horace," Dumbledore said, looking rather bewildered. "As I recall, the reward for Mr. Rozier was your responsibility. How has it suddenly become mine?"

"You'll agree, Albus," Professor Slughorn said confidently.

Then he turned to Siwen. "Siwen, would you like to use your reward to have Professor Dumbledore guide you in alchemy?"

Siwen glanced at Dumbledore and saw him shaking his head with a wry smile.

"Of course I agree! That's an enormous gain for me!" Siwen replied excitedly. But seeing Dumbledore's expression, he still felt the professor might refuse. "But would Professor Dumbledore really be willing?"

"That's not for you to worry about," Professor Slughorn said with a wave of his hand.

Then, fixing Dumbledore with a fierce look, he said, "Two bottles of potion!"

"That many!" Dumbledore's interest was clearly piqued; he spread out his left hand, fingers wide.

"Don't even think about it, Albus," Professor Slughorn said, frowning and glaring at him. "Three bottles, at most!"

Dumbledore shrugged nonchalantly. "I don't really mind, but you should consider whether you'll be able to keep your promise to your students in front of them. Think about that."

"Albus Dumbledore, don't push your luck!" Professor Slughorn growled through gritted teeth.

"Four bottles! No more!" He held up four fingers.

"Deal!" Dumbledore instantly gripped the four outstretched fingers. "No takesies-backsies, Horace."

Realizing he'd been tricked, Professor Slughorn stormed out, fuming.

"Albus, I'm leaving Siwen in your hands!" he called over his shoulder before striding off with a flourish.

With nothing further to discuss, the other professors excused themselves as well, leaving Dumbledore alone in the infirmary to fulfill the promise he'd made to Professor Slughorn.

Siwen, sweating nervously, looked on and asked, "Professor, will Professor Slughorn bear a grudge against me because of this?"

Dumbledore laughed warmly. "Don't worry about it! Horace is an old fox—he acts all ruffled just to squeeze a few more favors out of you. There's no need to feel any pressure."

Is it really all right to say it so plainly...? Siwen was at a loss for words.

"I wouldn't recommend you start with any advanced alchemy books from the Restricted Section," Dumbledore continued. "I think you should begin with Ancient Runes. That's the foundation of alchemy."

As he spoke, he borrowed a piece of parchment and a quill from Madam Daralef in the infirmary office. With a flourish, he wrote down a few book titles, signed his name, and handed the parchment to Siwen.

Siwen took it and saw the bold, elegant handwriting:

"Permission is granted for the student Siwen Rozier to borrow: Introduction to Ancient Runes, Explanations and Classifications of Ancient Runes, and The Evolution of Language. —Albus Dumbledore"

"Um, Professor Dumbledore," Siwen said, somewhat embarrassed, "is there... any chance that I've already mastered Ancient Runes?"

In fact, not long after arriving in this world, Siwen had realized that the language system here was no different from that of his previous world. The geographical distribution was much the same, so languages like English, Chinese, and French were all mutually intelligible.

Siwen had been quite a scholar at Kamar-Taj, learning many languages in order to read a wide variety of books from different time periods. Many of the deeply complex works in the Kamar-Taj library were written in highly magical scripts—seal script, Sanskrit, or Runes.

Coincidentally, this new world also used runes in ancient times to record events or engrave magical inscriptions. And just like other widely spread languages, the Ancient Runes here were identical to those he had known before!

"What?" Dumbledore was stunned, his voice growing several times louder. "You say you've already mastered Ancient Runes?"

Siwen nodded innocently, making up an excuse. "I've always loved reading since I was little, and my family's library has quite a few books written in runes. I just kind of... picked it up on my own..."

What does he mean, he 'just kind of picked it up on his own'? Dumbledore's mouth twitched uncontrollably. He himself, as the most gifted student at Hogwarts in the late nineteenth century, had needed considerable effort to master Ancient Runes. And yet Siwen, at eleven, claimed to have fully grasped such a profound and difficult language?

"No, I have to test you," Dumbledore said, taking a deep breath. "If you dare to lie to me, next time you might just find your Transfiguration homework increased tenfold..."

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