Chapter Ninety-Three: Dumbledore’s Letter

"Why do they all like giving me books so much?"

Early the next morning, Sivin was standing by the Christmas tree, silently grumbling as he looked at the pile of gifts beneath it.

Most of the presents were wrapped in flat, rectangular shapes, so that one could tell at a glance what they held without even opening them.

At that moment, Sivin was holding two identical hardcover editions of Magic Theory, his face full of resignation.

The two matching books had been given by Abraxas and Morby respectively, and it was impossible to know whether they had planned it together or simply thought alike. Gome sent him a copy of Fundamentals and Advanced Studies in Alchemy, which at least suited Sivin's tastes.

He passed over the gifts from the many classmates he did not know well and picked up Elsiona's box, one of the few presents that was not a book.

The box was exquisitely wrapped in a red-and-white Christmas style and tied with a pink ribbon. When he opened it, he found chocolates of various shapes inside.

He popped one into his mouth on the spot and found that it tasted quite good.

Then he turned to Miranda's gift. Hers was also a flat rectangular package, which left Sivin faintly displeased.

He thought to himself that he had carefully chosen such a refined pair of glasses for her, and yet was she treating him like an acquaintance by casually giving him a book?

With irritated hands, he tore off the wrapping and saw the book inside, then widened his eyes.

Rather than a book, it was more like a very hefty leather notebook. On the cover, in neat and graceful handwriting, was written a title: The Book of Spells!

Sivin's mood changed at once from annoyance to delight, and he took out the enclosed instructions to read them.

It turned out that Miranda had deliberately finished compiling this "spell notebook" before Christmas, adding a good deal of newly learned material and revising some earlier inaccuracies. She had also used the name Sivin had suggested, The Book of Spells, as its title.

More than that, Miranda had specially cast a self-made enchantment on the first page of the notebook: if one spoke the spell's incantation and then named the spell one wished to look up, the corresponding page number would appear automatically on the opening page.

"What a marvel, it even has a search function." Sivin clicked his tongue in admiration, marveling over it again and again.

Then he closed The Book of Spells and lightly snapped his right fingers.

With a soft pop, the house-elf Millie appeared before him.

"Millie is at your service, Master Sivin!" Millie said with a bow.

"Millie, I have something for you." Sivin smiled, handing her The Book of Spells. "Take this notebook to the family bookstore in Diagon Alley and give it to Steward Stott."

After a brief thought, he took out a sheet of parchment, wrote a few notes on it, and tucked it into the book.

"Show Steward Stott this note, and he'll know what to do," Sivin said.

After Millie Disapparated away, Sivin's brief excitement lasted only a few minutes before he returned to his earlier helplessness. He began opening his Christmas gifts in a rather vexed mood...

After unpacking who knew how many books, something sudden happened: a parchment envelope slipped out from the pile of presents.

The envelope caught Sivin's attention. After all, such a thin envelope could hardly contain any gift, unless it was something like the voucher he had given Professor Slughorn.

He picked up the envelope first and saw the words written on it:

"Christmas Gift for Mr. Sivin Rozier — A. D."

A. D.? Professor Albus Dumbledore?

Curious, Sivin opened the envelope and found a golden card inside, bearing an address: 21 Montmorency Street, Third District, Paris, France.

France? What did that mean? Sivin was a little stunned, having no idea what Dumbledore was up to.

Fortunately, the envelope contained more than just the card. There was also a sheet of letter paper, upon which two passages of bold, elegant, and handsome handwriting had been written—

"Mr. Rozier: After this period of study, and judging from your mastery of ancient runes, I believe I am no longer qualified to teach you any further or deeper knowledge of alchemy. Therefore, I shall recommend someone to you, and present you with a letter of recommendation and this address as your Christmas gift. The owner of this address is my friend, the alchemy master Nicolas Flamel."

"I shall secure for you half of the Christmas holiday to study alchemy with Nick. Whether you win his favor will depend on yourself. If you agree, you may tap the lower right corner of this sheet with your wand, and I shall instruct another friend of mine to meet you at King's Cross Station on the third day after Christmas. Yours sincerely, Albus Dumbledore."

After reading the letter, Sivin was so astonished that he could hardly close his mouth, and a look of intense delight spread across his face.

Nicolas Flamel was unquestionably the most famous alchemy master in the world today, perhaps even the greatest alchemist in history.

If he could gain the chance to study under him, Sivin felt that he might truly be able to create the suspending ring he had long desired.

Though he still had some doubts about why Dumbledore believed he was no longer fit to teach him alchemy, Sivin could not care less at the moment.

He even wanted to rush straight to Paris and meet Nick Flamel at once!

...

The three days of waiting passed in the blink of an eye, and Sivin had already packed his things in eager anticipation.

"Are you really going to France? You've only been home for a few days!" Sandrine said as she smoothed the wrinkles from Sivin's clothes, complaining all the while.

"Mom, this is a very important opportunity for me," Sivin said with unwavering resolve. He had simply been craving a suspending ring for far too long.

"If you ask me, that Albus Dumbledore means nothing good." Because Dumbledore's meddling had forced Sivin to leave home during the Christmas holidays, Sandrine was deeply displeased with him, and she said through gritted teeth, "I think he's still entangled with Grindelwald! All he ever does is hide himself away in that Hogwarts castle."

Sivin shook his head helplessly. He truly did not know why Dumbledore, the only wizard capable of opposing Grindelwald, would not step forward himself to stop the Dark Lord.

But after a semester of acquaintance, he trusted Dumbledore's character, and was willing to believe that perhaps Dumbledore really did have some unspeakable hardship.

"Then I'm leaving, Mom," Sivin said to Sandrine.

Seeing that his mind was made up, Sandrine could only wave at him reluctantly and say, "Take care of yourself in France!"

Sivin nodded and took Millie's hand.

With another soft pop, they appeared in an alley outside King's Cross Station.

Then, following Dumbledore's instructions, he walked to the station entrance and fastened the green scarf embroidered with the Slytherin crest around his neck.

After sending Millie back, Sivin began to wander in thought.

What sort of person would Dumbledore's friend be? Would he be difficult to get along with?

While he was distracted, a man with a head of shaggy brown curls and a face covered in freckles walked over.

"Are you Sivin Rozier?" he asked.

...