And so, over the next stretch of time, Avada behaved himself and stayed quietly at the orphanage. Aside from chatting with friends, looking after the younger kids, and exchanging a few letters with his friends at Hogwarts, he spent nearly all his time buried in Nicolas Flamel's alchemical notes.
At first, he'd been a little worried that diving straight into the research notes of a top-tier master like Nicolas Flamel—while knowing next to nothing about alchemy—would be far too difficult.
After a careful look, though, he realized he'd worried for nothing.
For one thing, since this book truly was Nicolas's "lifelong" notebook, it naturally included his early, fumbling learning records from when he was still a beginner. And foundational material from over six hundred years ago was actually rather simple by modern standards. Not only did Avada encounter no obstacles while studying it, he was even able to follow young Nicolas Flamel's original line of thought, gradually grasping the ingenuity and inspiration of a true genius—greatly benefiting his own learning.
Secondly, he wasn't as ignorant of alchemy as he'd thought. In fact, he'd already completed a rather crucial portion of the groundwork: Psychodynamics.
Since alchemical creations are meant to be used, how they synchronize with their owner is an unavoidable issue. As a result, nearly all branches of alchemy involve the expression and application of mental energy. In this regard, Avada could already be considered a master.
And thirdly, he was very good at choosing his research topics.
To better leverage the advantages of his Magical Perception, he chose to study the structure of wands as an alchemical product. The wand in his own hand was the perfect reference material, allowing him to achieve twice the result with half the effort. Moreover, wandmaking knowledge largely revolved around herbs, potions, magical creatures, and mental energy—barely touching on subjects like Ancient Runes that he hadn't yet studied.
As one of the world's foremost alchemical masters, Nicolas Flamel naturally had deep research into wands and maintained a good relationship with the Ollivander family. In fact, if he'd wished, he could easily have become the finest wandmaker in all of France, rivaling Ollivanders themselves—he simply lacked the interest.
According to the book, Nicolas Flamel had indeed personally crafted several powerful wands. While none could compare to his friend Dumbledore's Elder Wand, they were all vastly superior to ordinary wands.
…
With Voldemort—the final boss—defeated, life seemed to suddenly become… ordinary.
And so, ordinary days passed, until at last the students welcomed an equally ordinary new school term. Avada, too, very ordinarily charged into the station, intending to find an ordinary compartment to sit in, and then—
"Harry?! Ron?!"
After pulling open a compartment door, Avada staggered backward several steps, staring at the people inside in disbelief.
"Is there a problem?"Harry blinked innocently and in confusion. "Shouldn't we be on the train? Were we secretly expelled? Or… were we actually killed by Voldemort and we're ghosts now?"
Ron waved his hand back and forth in front of Hermione's face. "Hermione? Hermione? Can you see us?"
"…"
Hermione rolled her eyes and ignored her idiot friend, then looked at Avada with some confusion as well."Yeah, Ken—why are you so surprised?"
"Ahem—nothing," Avada said quickly. "I just didn't expect you to be sitting so close to the front… You used to prefer seats further back, didn't you? How was your holiday?"
"Brilliant!"The topic immediately distracted them, Harry in particular lighting up. "After buying books in Diagon Alley, I stayed at Ron's place for a while. Uncle Vernon and the others couldn't wait to get rid of me… Ron's family is amazing!"
"Then congratulations on integrating even further into the wizarding world," Avada replied.
They chatted for a bit longer before Avada politely declined their invitation to stay in the compartment and took his leave. The moment the door slid shut behind him, the doubt in his eyes could no longer be hidden.
"Dobby didn't go to find Harry? And he didn't block them outside the station either?"
"Why would that be? Did he never hear about Lucius's plan—or did Lucius never bother clearing out his Dark magic items at all?"
"That doesn't make sense. In the original timeline, Lucius panicked and dumped his Dark artifacts just from hearing that Voldemort had been defeated. This time, Voldemort was outright sealed, with no chance of a comeback—he should be even more terrified!"
"Could it be… that the diary never existed in the first place?!"
"Did I really end up in the wrong world?"
"After all, even the Chamber of Secrets vanished. Maybe this kind of thing isn't impossible…"
"Forget it. Overthinking won't help. Once we reach the school, I'll warn Dumbledore first, then take Harry to check the Chamber entrance. But if the Chamber truly no longer exists, how do I even confirm whether the diary exists at all?"
A chill crept into Avada's heart. Unknown threats were far more frightening than dangers laid bare.
Lost in uneasy thought, he found an empty compartment and sat down. Sure enough, not long after, Cedric, Baron, and Cho arrived.
"What's wrong? You look really troubled," one of them asked almost the moment they stepped inside.
"Probably nothing," Avada said, rubbing his temples and shaking his head. "I just have a bad feeling lately… like something's going to happen next term."
Baron's pupils shrank—he knew Avada possessed precognitive abilities and wouldn't make baseless claims.
By contrast, Cedric and Cho were far less concerned."Maybe it's just because you spent an entire year next to Voldemort," Cedric said. "That kind of pressure doesn't just disappear. What's it called again… post-traumatic stress disorder?"
"My dad told me about it. There's an old Auror at the Ministry named Moody who's like that. He spent his whole life fighting Dark wizards, and even after retiring, he never relaxed. Always thinks a Dark wizard's going to jump out and attack him. He checks his food for poison three times before he'll even eat."
"So how's his retirement, then?" Cho asked curiously. "Did Dark wizards really come after him?"
"The result?" Cedric shrugged. "In over ten years of retirement, he hasn't even seen a single Dark wizard's hair."
Turning to Avada, he added reassuringly, "So what you should do now is relax and enjoy the peaceful life you earned yourself. Voldemort's been completely defeated—who could possibly threaten Hogwarts now?"
Avada sighed. "What I'm worried about is whether Voldemort really has been completely defeated…"
"That's even less of a concern," Baron said, finally relaxing as well. "He's in Professor Dumbledore's hands. No one can rescue him. And didn't the Headmaster say it himself? Voldemort's been fully secured—there's no chance of escape."
"…I hope I'm just overthinking things," Avada said, shaking his head.
He stopped dwelling on it. For now, all he could do was prepare as best he could.
(End of Chapter)