"Did you have a good Christmas, Albus?"
Perenelle smiled and welcomed her friend into the hall. "If you'd like, you can come spend Christmas with us."
"No, Perenelle, I think it would be nice to stay in school and celebrate the festival with everyone." Dumbledore looked around and didn't see his old friend, so he asked, "Where's Nico?"
"He's in the study, chatting with Albert through a two-way mirror." Perenelle smiled kindly. "Nico is always happy when he chats with Albert. He is indeed a knowledgeable and smart child."
"Well, Albert is indeed very clever," Dumbledore said without comment.
He walked across the hall and appeared in front of the study. Nico was sitting at the desk, chatting with Albert in the two-way mirror.
"Oh, Albus, you're here!"
Nico heard footsteps and when he looked up, he saw Dumbledore just walking into the study and greeted him with a smile.
"What were you talking about just now?" Dumbledore asked. "I've rarely seen you smile so happily."
"Well, Albert told me some things about Hogwarts School." Nico said as he finished talking with Albert and followed Dumbledore out of the study.
"What happened at school?" Dumbledore raised his eyebrows slightly. "What happened? I'm curious about what could make you so happy."
"Albert said that Professor Quirrell in your school might have been controlled by the Imperius Curse. Whenever he has free time, he would hang out in the restricted corridor on the fourth floor. It seems that he is looking for an opportunity to secretly steal the Philosopher's Stone that you placed in the school." Nico sat down on the sofa and told Dumbledore about the topic he and Albert had just chatted about.
"Oh, Professor Quirrell!"
Dumbledore raised his eyebrows slightly. He certainly knew that Professor Quirrell was suspicious, but he really didn't expect that Professor Quirrell could be easily seen through by his students.
"Did you tell him about the Philosopher's Stone?" asked Dumbledore.
"No." Nico shook his head. "I asked him how he knew about the Philosopher's Stone. He said that Harry Potter accidentally entered the restricted corridor last time, and then he asked him about me for some reason." Nico had no intention of hiding anything and told Dumbledore what he knew. "This matter is linked to the things you left in the school, so it's not difficult to guess the truth. He even thinks that the Philosopher's Stone is fake."
"Mr. Anderson is indeed very smart." Dumbledore sighed and said, "I didn't expect that he could deduce such a result based on just this little information."
"It's really amazing, but your Professor Quirrell..." Nico picked up the black tea that Perenel had just brewed, took a sip, smiled and shook his head.
"I heard that Professor Quirrell is so annoyed by Albert's questions that he doesn't even want to see him anymore." Perenelle found this very interesting.
"It seems that you are ready to choose him as your successor?" Dumbledore added two sugar cubes to the tea and said after stirring.
Nico really cares about Albert, otherwise why would he tell him these things
"It's always good to find someone to inherit my knowledge. It would be a real pity if this knowledge was lost for no reason." Nico sighed.
He had lived for hundreds of years and had met quite a few geniuses, but there were not many who suited his taste like Albert.
"Are you going to give up the Philosopher's Stone?" Dumbledore was slightly surprised. He had actually discussed giving up the Philosopher's Stone with Nico.
Nico said at the time that the timing was not right.
"Nico and I have discussed this, and it would be nice to slowly die like ordinary people." Perenelle reached out and held Nico's hand. They did not have any fear of death. The two of them had lived too long, and their bodies were no longer young due to the erosion of time. Living too long also made them tired. Without mutual dependence, they would not even be able to support each other through this long time.
"It feels like I can finally go to bed after a long day." Dumbledore sighed softly. After living for a century, he was no longer young, and the long life also made him tired, but he could not stop to rest. There were some things he needed to complete.
"Albus, you are not as old as us." Nico said with a smile, "It's a bit too early for you to feel these things now."
"Albus, perhaps you should consider retiring from the school and starting to enjoy a peaceful life," Perenelle said.
"The timing is not right," Dumbledore shook his head.
"Oh, I can probably guess the reason." Nico nodded, "But you should leave this matter to the young people. The savior you chose is not bad."
"Harry still needs time." Dumbledore shook his head. "I need to help him share some of the pressure while I'm still alive. Not everyone is as good as Mr. Anderson."
Regarding the question of the crown, Dumbledore felt that Albert must have some speculation. Perhaps he didn't know about Horcruxes, but he must have thought about it in that direction.
"He is indeed very good," Perenelle said. "He is indeed a very confident and lovable child. I heard that he invented a card game and originally intended to give it to us as a Christmas gift. Unfortunately, his owl could not deliver it."
The LeMays viewed Albert more as a grandson.
"I know about this. Mr. Anderson mentioned it a long time ago." Dumbledore heard Perenelle mention this and recalled it carefully. "The Christmas gift he gave me this year was a pair of wool socks."
"What a thoughtful child, isn't he?" Perenelle said with a smile. "Finally you don't have to worry about receiving a bunch of books again this year."
"However, Albert's situation is very similar to yours. He said that he also received a pile of books this year." Nico suddenly remembered something and said with a smile.
"It seems that the time has come." Dumbledore whispered softly, "Is it because of Mr. Anderson?"
"Not exactly. I feel like the time has come." Nico said, "We have indeed lived too long and have experienced most things in the world. Death is indeed an exception. As you said, death is just another great adventure."
For Nico and his wife, with the Philosopher's Stone, no matter how much wealth or how long they want to live, they can get what they want. In fact, they don't have much to cherish in this world anymore.
The appearance of Voldemort and Albert filled in the last two pieces of the puzzle, allowing Nico to finally make some kind of resolution.
Of course, it doesn't mean that Nico and Perenelle are ready to die immediately. They plan to store some elixirs of immortality and then slowly face the final death like ordinary people.