Chapter 449
Letter and Growth
Chapter 449 Reply and Growth
[Dear friend, I sincerely congratulate you on your outstanding achievements at such a young age - the Book of Friends, the Golem, the Communication Pea, and of course, my favorite soft light badge. ]
[These inventions not only prove your talent and hard work, but also let the world see your love and persistence in this subject, which really makes me feel very gratified.]
[Today, too many young people are obsessed with ancient magic and chasing after the so-called "artifacts" of ancient times, while neglecting the excavation and application of their own wisdom. But you dare to try new technologies and show unique creativity, which is a rare quality. I am full of expectations for your future. ]
[I think you must have understood that studying alchemy is a long and difficult road, and it is always misunderstood and exploited. Many people think that what we are pursuing is turning stones into gold and immortality, but in fact it is not the case. ]
[We pursue a longer life just to have enough time to reach the other side of knowledge. The real alchemy is to find the power that can help the magic world move towards peace, to explore the mysteries of the world, to understand the essence of life, and to help those in need.]
[When the ancient wizard first used a crucible to melt metal, the firelight illuminated mankind's desire for eternity and truth. Thousands of years have passed, and we still have to ask: Where is the boundary between matter and consciousness? What kind of changes can magic and fire bring to the world? ]
[Dear Wade, in July this year, when you are on vacation, maybe you would like to visit my manor? We can sit at the oak table and discuss the mysteries of alchemy together. I am happy to listen to your confusion and share my experience. I believe that your young thoughts will definitely surprise an old scholar like me.]
Yours faithfully, Nick Flamel
……
Wade had read the letter over and over again five or six times. An indescribable excitement surged in his heart. He couldn't help but clench his fists hard, and he wished he could fly to Nick Flamel's estate right now.
Even without considering the other party's achievements and reputation in alchemy, just thinking about the other party's age made him look forward to this meeting.
Nico Flamel is now 667 years old. When he was born, the Ming Dynasty in the East had not yet been established. This man is simply living history.
Wade excitedly turned around the room twice, then sat down at the table and wrote a reply letter seriously -
[Dear Mr. Nick Flamel: I feel extremely honored and excited to receive your letter... I am very much looking forward to the opportunity to visit your estate... Thank you again for your encouragement and support...]
When he put down his pen, Wade considered the reply he had written. He felt that his excitement was beyond words. His handwriting was also very lively, even a little too lively.
Uh... doesn't it seem a bit flattering?
Wade hesitated for a moment, then wrote another formal reply, this time with a more serious tone.
[Dear Mr. Flamel... I am deeply honored and look forward to your invitation... Thank you for sharing your valuable experience and wisdom with me. I will arrange my itinerary properly to ensure that I can arrive at the manor on time... I look forward to receiving your advice and guidance...]
While waiting for the letter paper to dry, Fiona came in with a plate of freshly cut fruit.
When she put down the plate, she stuffed a piece of apple into her mouth. Seeing that Wade was writing something, she asked vaguely, "Wade, you haven't gone to school yet, and you already have homework?"
"No, I'm writing back to Mr. Nick Flamel." Wade picked up an envelope and said as he wrote the address: "He invited me to visit his estate during the summer vacation."
"Nick Flamel?" Fiona felt that the name sounded familiar, but she couldn't remember it for a moment. She tilted her head and looked at the two pieces of letter paper that Wade had placed on the table. Suddenly she reached out and said, "This is better."
She was referring to the first reply letter.
Wade was stunned for a moment, then explained why he wrote the letter again:
"I feel that the tone of that letter is too casual and seems not serious enough. A good alchemist should be calm and serious. If he is noisy like a child, how can people trust him?"
"But you are still a child!" Fiona thought about it and nodded to confirm her idea: "Anyway, if it were me, I would want to receive the first reply letter."
Wade asked, "What if we receive a second letter?"
Fiona thought for a moment and asked instead of answering, "This Mr. Nick Flamel must be a very remarkable man, right?"
Vader nodded, "One of the greatest alchemists the world has ever seen."
"That should be a bit annoying?" Fiona speculated, "Because he must have received too many similar letters."
Wade frowned slightly, pursed his lips, and compared them carefully.
"Ved, it is much better to express your thoughts and feelings in the most authentic way than with long honorifics."
Fiona smiled and said, "And if someone likes you, they will like you no matter what. It has nothing to do with the writing style you use."
Wade sighed, "We haven't met yet. First impressions are important."
"That person has already sent out the invitation, so why would this letter be his first impression of you?"
Fiona smiled and said, "He must have heard about your invention and your experience a long time ago, so he thinks you are someone he can discuss problems with! Think about it, isn't that right?"
After Fiona left, Wade carefully looked over the two letters he had written. The more he read, the more he felt that the overly formal and polite language seemed cold.
After hesitating for a moment, he finally stuffed the first reply letter into the envelope.
……
"Nic Flamel...Nic Flamel..."
When Fiona returned to the living room, she couldn't help muttering to herself, trying to remember where she had seen this name.
"What are you talking about?" Ferdinand asked curiously.
"Ferdie, do you know who Nick Flamel is?" Fiona said, "He sent Wade an invitation letter and made the kid so anxious - I've never seen him like this before!"
Ferdinand was stunned: "...Nic Flamel?"
"Yeah!" Fiona stroked her chin and said, "I always feel like I've heard someone say..."
Ferdinand was speechless for a moment, then he took out a book called "The Secret and Practice of Alchemy" from the bookshelf, opened it to the first page, and pointed to the part introducing the author to her.
"An immortal master of alchemy... the only great wizard known to have successfully created the Philosopher's Stone... who has lived for more than 600 years..."
Fiona covered her mouth in surprise and looked at her husband. After being surprised, her eyes suddenly showed a bit of worry: "The advice I gave to Wade just now...could it be wrong?"
Ferdinand asked, "What suggestions?"
Fiona explained the whole story. Ferdinand thought about it and said with a smile, "No, you are right. When dealing with elders and teachers, sincerity is the basis of any relationship. Wade cared too much about the other party's evaluation and failed to think things through."
"That's great." Fiona patted her chest and said with relief, "I was really worried about delaying his business."
"No." Ferdinand said gently, "My dear, you are so smart that you have found the best choice just by intuition."
Fiona blushed slightly, leaned in and kissed her husband's cheek, and whispered, "Marrying you is also my best choice, Ferdie."
...After writing his reply to Nick Flamel, Wade looked at the time and saw that it was still early, so he continued writing and wrote letters to express his gratitude to everyone who participated in his rescue.
Although he basically had a friend list to contact the other party, and some of them had already bought communication peas, those convenient methods could not convey enough respect and gratitude like a handwritten letter.
Halfway through writing, Ferdinand also came into the study with a glass of milk.
He did not disturb Wade who was writing at his desk, but stood beside him and read quietly for a while. Seeing that Wade's letter did not have many fancy words, but was full of care and sincerity, he could not help but smile with satisfaction.
But after quietly walking out of the study and standing in the corridor, Ferdinand couldn't help but sigh again.
"Is Mr. Grey in trouble?" Dobby stood in the corridor, looking up and asking with concern: "Can Dobby help?"
Ferdinand shook his head, smiled bitterly and said as he walked:
"Dobby, do you think all parents are so weird?"
"When he was young, I was afraid he wouldn't be able to learn to walk. When he could run and jump, I was afraid he would run too far and I couldn't see him."
“I was afraid he would make mistakes, but he learned so quickly and so well that I felt frustrated.”
Dobby looked at him blankly, with question marks almost appearing on his head.
Ferdinand laughed, took Dobby's hand and went downstairs, asking, "Dobby, have you ever learned to read and write?"
"A little," Dobby said shyly. "When I was at the Malfoys', the older elves taught Dobby a little, but I don't know much... I'm sorry."
For some reason, he suddenly felt very ashamed and couldn't help but lower his head to apologize.
"It's okay. I can teach you from the beginning... starting with the alphabet, then words and sentences." Ferdinand said gently, "Reading and writing are windows to the world. They are very useful. You must learn them well."
"Yes, sir." Dobby's eyes sparkled, and he said excitedly and gratefully, "Dobby will not let Mr. Gray down!"
……
A few days of vacation passed in a flash, and on Sunday evening, Lupin came to pick up Wade to go to school.
The luggage had naturally been packed long ago and stuffed into the closet. Fiona reluctantly helped him straighten his collar and said, "Take good care of yourself, write letters often... Don't let me worry."
"I understand," Vader whispered.
“Don’t run away from school like you did before, relying on your ability to turn into a peregrine falcon. The wizarding world is not peaceful right now,” Ferdinand also warned.
"I know, I'll be fine." Wade went forward and hugged his parents, saying, "Goodbye, Mom and Dad, I'll miss you."
Fiona held back her tears, smiled and nodded, saying, "Me too."
"Dobby." Vader squatted down and said to the new member of the family, "I leave my parents to you."
"Yes!" Dobby puffed out his chest and said, "Leave it all to Dobby! Don't worry, Mr. Wade!"
"Let's go."
Lupin allowed Vida to hold his arm, and they Apparated away together.
After a slight dizziness, Wade found himself in Hogsmeade. The roofs of the village were covered with thick snow, as if wrapped in a white velvet blanket. Some shops had sconces installed at the door, and the colorful magical flames made the village particularly beautiful.
"Actually, I can Apparate, too, Remus." Wade thought about it and felt there was no need to hide it from him, so he said.
Lupin was startled and asked in surprise: "You taught yourself?"
"Of course not." Wade said, "Professor Dumbledore taught me last semester."
"That's good." Lupin breathed a sigh of relief, and then reminded: "Yes, but don't use it in public. There are too many people watching you, and this spell can play an unexpected role at a critical moment."
"I understand." Wade nodded, paused and then said, "How is Mabel adapting?"
"Very good." Lupin smiled. "She doesn't talk much, but she's easy to get along with. She just always likes to rush to do housework... and she has already learned three simple spells."
"That's good," Vader said in surprise.
Although he himself seemed to learn spells easily, Wade knew that many students would take a week or two to learn a spell. For example, they reviewed the Levitation Charm that they had learned in the first grade before the Christmas holiday.
Wade decided to visit Mabel first before going to school. The two walked towards Lupin's house together. The surrounding environment became more and more remote. Only the lights in Lupin and Sirius's house were on nearby.
After arriving at the place, Wade saw that Marchionne was also sitting in the living room. Because she didn't want to see strangers, Mabel hid in the room upstairs. Sirius was entertaining the guests with a dark face.
"Marchioni?" Wade was surprised at first, then understood: "You are here for Liujing's matter, right?"
He had actually explained it once in the letter before. When he saw the other party, he apologized again: "I'm sorry, I must have caused you a lot of trouble."
"Oh, as long as it doesn't interfere with everyone watching Goodnight Sweetheart, it's not a big deal." Marchionne shrugged and said with a smile, "I just came to check on you and make sure my genius alchemist is okay."
"Uh... don't you want me to help you solve the signal hijacking problem?" Wade asked in surprise.
"Solve? Why do we need to solve it?"
Marchionne poured himself a glass of mead and said casually:
"After this is resolved, the next person that the Wucui Party will come after might be me... Or worse, they might come after you again and produce their own Liujing, snatching away at least half of my market."
"It's so good now. I make my money, they build their reputation, we don't interfere with each other, and we both get what we want."
Marchionne raised his glass, winked, and said slyly.
"Aren't you worried that the Ministry of Magic will cause trouble for you?" Sirius raised his eyebrows and asked.
"Oh, I've already looked for it."
Marchionne leaned against the cabinet and said casually, "But I can't solve this problem. What should I do? Please ask the Ministry of Magic to send someone who can solve it. I will definitely cooperate... Since they can't solve it either, then this is not my problem, but the Ministry of Magic's own problem."
Marchionne smiled and drank the wine in his glass.
Vader couldn't help but laugh.
(End of this chapter)