Chapter 274 - 273: Beauxbatons, Part 5: The Library.

France. Beauxbatons.

Severus studied the fountain, which stood over ten meters tall, with a hint of disappointment on his face. This was where the labyrinth had led him.

It was entirely ordinary, built in the same Gothic style as the rest of the castle. At its summit stood a statue of a winged woman holding a rose, her kind face strongly reminding him of a certain witch.

But there was nothing special about it except for the material and the animation charms placed on the sculpture. The variety of surrounding flowers, however, made it a wonderful spot for relaxation, as evidenced by the benches arranged around the fountain.

As Severus drew closer, he almost immediately sensed a familiar magical signature. "Flamel said he experimented extensively before creating the Philosopher’s Stone, and now it’s clear where one of his less successful attempts ended up..." Stopping before the fountain, he bent down and scooped up some water. "Almost identical, but the concentration of life force and magic is about thirty percent lower, and..." He took a small sip and nodded to himself. "No, it doesn’t affect the core at all and can’t sustain human life. It’s more like a simple General Restorative Potion, only slightly better. The healing effect fades quickly once the water leaves the fountain. Nothing special... though, what did I expect? That he’d left another Philosopher’s Stone lying around?"

Smirking, Severus raised his gaze to the statue, in whose chest he sensed a source of life force. "Judging by the flows of magic into the earth and the traces they leave throughout the garden, this is most likely what sustains the labyrinth and possibly serves as another source of magic for the core... or perhaps all the magic and life force flow directly to the core, which then distributes them?" After a few seconds, he shook his head. "I’d like to study this unfinished Philosopher’s Stone, but it would be disrespectful to Nicholas. And I’ve satisfied my curiosity. Now only the library remains, and then I can finally leave this country." Turning, he headed back toward the passage. "I also need to decide where to go next, but before that, I have to finish the birthday gift for a certain little witch..."

As he walked toward the exit, a pair of white, lifeless eyes watched him unblinkingly, returning to their usual position only after he had disappeared around a corner in the labyrinth...

At the same time, in the teachers’ area, two women who had already found common ground, with no trace of their earlier awkwardness remaining, gazed into a lake where all the relaxation zones were displayed in small squares that gradually filled with children.

The students quickly claimed nearly all the private spots, some in groups, others alone, enjoying the silence.

Nagini watched them and felt a flicker of envy.

Here, children could rest peacefully and enjoy more freedom. At Hogwarts, by contrast, students had almost no time to rest, nor any suitable place for it except the common rooms. To keep students from roaming the castle, teachers deliberately assigned heavy workloads, and students sometimes had to pore over books until midnight.

She had seen it with her own eyes.

*It’s true. If there were even one place like this in that gloomy castle, studying would be so much easier...*

"Professor, I didn’t expect to see you here today," came a surprised female voice. Its owner was a short, attractive woman of about forty, with straight red hair falling to her shoulders and freckles covering her cheeks and nose.

"I’m giving our guests a tour. And isn’t it Jacques’s turn to be on duty today?" Olympe narrowed her eyes sharply, making the teacher break out in a cold sweat and smile awkwardly.

"He has the day off..."

"He doesn’t have any extra classes today. He’s probably holed up with his experiments again..." Olympe clicked her tongue in irritation. She was nearly twice as tall and towered over the nervous woman, creating a rather intimidating sight. "After class, tell him I’ll be waiting in my office. And he’d better show up. I’ll fire him!"

"Yes..."

"And you, stop covering for him."

"I’m not..." But under that stern gaze, she wilted completely and lowered her head. "I’m sorry..."

"Learn to separate work and personal life."

"Yes..."

"It seems I’ve come at a bad time?" came a calm male voice, making the poor teacher jump and turn toward the other guest.

"No, we’re done. So, how do you like the fountain?"

"Well... to be honest, I expected more," Severus admitted, walking past the red-haired woman. "But Mr. Nicholas’s stories, combined with the overall atmosphere, had raised my expectations. And I’ve seen more majestic fountains in the Muggle world, though for one that’s over six hundred years old, it’s magnificent." Stepping beside Nagini, Severus looked down at the lake’s surface. "Apparently we’ll have to wait until they leave the labyrinth before we can explore everything..."

"Severus, I’ll look at everything myself. You’d better go to the library so you can finish before evening..." But he cut her off, pressing a finger to his lips and winking playfully, which flustered her. If they’d been alone, that would have been one thing, but doing it in front of others was deeply embarrassing.

"I promised to keep you company, and I’ll keep my word. I can always read the books later." At those words, the teacher felt a stab of genuine envy.

*Why isn’t Jacques like that...?*

"The next lesson starts in twenty-three minutes, so how about some tea?" Olympe suggested, hoping to distract her friend from dark thoughts and to calm the couple down a bit.

"We’d love that, and I just happen to have some honey with me." It was diluted to about the strength of a restoration potion, of course, but even so, the taste was dozens of times better than ordinary...

After a brief tea party, once the children had left the garden, or rather, had been ejected from it, they resumed their walk, which stretched on for another hour before they returned to the teachers’ area.

In that short time, they managed to visit many places: from small artificial waterfalls, most of which were excellent illusions, to genuine historical monuments like chapels and cathedrals of various sizes, all at least five hundred years old. Not to mention the greenhouses and the Alley of Memory, where living portraits of the school’s finest graduates, dating back to the sixteenth century, were displayed.

This labyrinth was an astonishing place, the likes of which would be hard to find anywhere else.

But Severus didn’t intend to linger long, for another equally wonderful place awaited him: the library.

Of course, he had no intention of reading anything there. That would take weeks. They had just as many books as Hogwarts, and the library filled an entire tower. Instead, he planned to copy everything into the Grimoire, then sort through it all and read at his leisure at home.

And though Nagini wanted to keep him company, he persuaded her to stay in the garden.

He could see and feel how much she enjoyed being there, which was no surprise. Given her non-human nature, she was highly sensitive to magic, and the magic permeating the garden was dozens of times denser and purer than the air outside, not to mention the life force hanging in the air.

It was a true paradise for any magical creature; even the fastidious pegasi could stay there contentedly.

So, leaving Nagini in the garden with Olympe, Severus set off toward the eastern tower where the repository of knowledge was housed. But as they passed the dining hall, he and Olympe exchanged surprised glances at the sound of shouting. Listening more closely, Severus’s eye twitched.

"...this thief!"

"He ate my chicken!"

"Where’s my steak?"

"There he is! He’s running toward the exit!"

"Don’t let him escape!"

"Close the doors!"

"Surround him!"

Severus took a deep breath and let it out slowly, wearily shaking his head. He thought of a certain kitten who had followed them, no doubt with "kind words" on his mind, and sensed the creature’s magic coming from within the room.

"Monsieur Severus?" Olympe noticed his strange reaction.

"Apparently my pet decided to follow me..."

"Pet?"

"Yes, a small, inconspicuous, but very persistent thorn..." The shouts from the corridor grew louder and louder until a gray blur shot around the corner.

Olympe didn’t have time to react before a sharp sound came from her right.

"Meow!" She flinched and jumped back, a rather comical sight, and drew her wand. But she froze at the sight of HIM: a small gray kitten who purred and joyfully rubbed his muzzle against Severus’s cheek.

"And how many more times are you going to get me into trouble?" Taking Lucky by the scruff, Severus looked sternly into his eyes, then... exhaled wearily.

Just then, a crowd of very displeased students burst around the corner. But upon noticing the headmistress, they came to an abrupt halt in the narrow passage, some still casting angry looks at the little thief.

"What is going on here?" Olympe finally asked, emerging from her stupor.

"He ate our food!" one of the students exclaimed indignantly, pointing an accusing finger at Lucky.

"And mine!"

"Mine too!"

The accusations blurred together into a cacophony, and Olympe rubbed her temple in irritation.

"Enough: I understand." Her gaze shifted to Severus.

"I apologize for my pet. He simply loves to eat..." He lowered his head guiltily.

"Meow..." Lucky pressed his ears back, folded his paws in front of him, and put on his most pitiful expression, even squeezing out a tear for show. Quite the actor.

The students, seeing this, lost all their fire, staring in amazement at the little rascal.

First he had tormented them for nearly half an hour, then strolled leisurely out of the dining hall with his tail in the air. Now he was behaving like the most innocent creature alive, as if he’d merely knocked over a plate somewhere, nothing more.

But even knowing this, they simply didn’t know what to do, exchanging embarrassed glances, looking for an answer.

So Olympe had to take charge.

"Monsieur Severus, please keep an eye on your pet. Today we will overlook his antics, but next time, you will bear full responsibility for him," she said sternly, and the students nodded in agreement.

"Yes, I apologize again..."

"Um... can I pet him?" a girl of about thirteen asked shyly, surprising the other students.

"Hmm..." Severus turned the insolent creature’s muzzle toward him and, seeing not a shred of remorse, simply tossed him straight into the student’s arms under the shocked stares of the onlookers. "Go ahead. Do whatever you want with him."

"Meow!" Lucky glared menacingly.

"Let’s continue. I’m sure he won’t do it again." Olympe glanced uncertainly at the kitten, then at Severus, but finally gave in.

"All right..." She was worried, not about a trivial mess, but for the children. She had understood at once that this kitten was no ordinary creature and was very dangerous, particularly since even she had failed to track him.

"Don’t worry. He would never harm children, unless they provoked him, of course, and even then he’d simply run away," Severus added, noticing the concern in her eyes. "But..." He watched as the children tenderly fed and petted the wretched creature. "...that’s unlikely to happen. They simply won’t allow it."

Only after those last words did she relax a little. She smiled faintly, watching the joyful children squeeze the little monster, who endured it patiently with a dissatisfied expression.

"Perhaps you’re right..."

The library was not far from the dining hall, only thirty meters away.

At the entrance, to the right and left of the open double doors, stood statues of Merlin and Nicholas, each holding a book.

Inside, the space spanned ten floors connected by stairs and bridges, with bookshelves five meters high lining the walls.

In the center of the hall stood tables for students, as well as a counter behind which sat an elderly woman, calmly reading a book and paying no attention to Olympe and Severus.

Apart from her, there were several surprised students inside who hadn’t expected the headmistress’s visit.

"If you want to find something specific, you can ask Madame Bujot," Olympe said, indicating the woman behind the counter.

"Understood. Thank you. I won’t take any more of your time. I’ve already kept you long enough..."

"It’s nothing. I’m just glad to help such a talented young man and to fulfill Professor Flamel’s request."

"You’re embarrassing me... I’m perfectly ordinary..."

"And when you’re done here, come find me," she added with a measured smile, noting his innocent expression. *Like master, like pet...* she thought with a smirk, before turning and heading back toward the exit.

"All right." After she left, Severus looked up. "I expected fewer books... but..." He eyed the ten floors before him, the corner of his mouth twitching. *Fine... I was prepared for this. I just hope a couple of hours will be enough to copy everything into the Grimoire...* With that thought, he approached the nearest shelf.

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