Severus called over Harry, who was munching on cookies, and had him take out the pocket watch bought at Borgin and Burkes for 20 Galleons in front of Nicolas.
This silver pocket watch, when used in conjunction with a Revealing Charm, could accurately pinpoint its own location. According to Borgin, this item was supposedly an alchemical creation of Nicolas himself, but most of its functions were damaged, hence the low price.
However, Severus never believed a single word from that unscrupulous rchant.
When doing business with Borgin, you might get a good deal, but he would never lose out!
Now was the perfect opportunity to have Nicolas himself take a look.
Upon taking the silver pocket watch from Harry's hand, a look of realization dawned on Nicolas's face.
"So it's this."
Seeing his expression, Severus was taken aback. His first thought was that he had genuinely stumbled upon a bargain!
'Was this really one of Nicolas Flal's forr creations?'
However, Nicolas's next words left Severus uncertain.
"This is Brad Benjamin's work, or rather, one of a batch of items he created."
"Benjamin? Who is he?" Severus asked.
A nostalgic look appeared in Nicolas's eyes as he recalled, "He was a Beauxbatons graduate I t in 1950. He had remarkable talent in alchemy and had already achieved success at a young age. More importantly, he had plenty of ideas."
"You're a potioneer, so you understand that for both alchemy and potions, the key to so creations lies in the birth of an idea."
"Benjamin was Muggle-born. His parents were ordinary people who had served as radio operators during the Muggles' war, so he was also well-versed in Muggle communication technology and hadn't forgotten those skills after entering the wizarding school."
"So after achieving success in alchemy, he realized how astonishingly backward wizards were in terms of information transmission."
"Despite magic having a longer and deeper history of developnt than Muggle technology, the ans of information transmission were still limited to owls and the Floo Network."
"Owls are inconvenient, slow, and unable to achieve instant communication. The Floo Network is even worse… connecting a fireplace to a usable Floo Network requires permission from the Ministry of Magic, and fireplaces aren't always available."
"As for Muggle radio and later inventions like landline telephones, they also had their limitations."
"So, at that ti, he conceived the idea of creating an alchemical device that wizards could carry with them for instant communication anyti, anywhere."
Hearing Nicolas's explanation, Severus's expression changed.
Lupin, standing nearby, looked excited. He, too, had grasped the vision of the alchemist Benjamin through Nicolas's words.
"That's brilliant! If such a thing were truly developed and patented, he would surely gain both fa and fortune!"
Harry, who had also been listening to Nicolas's account, tilted his head and looked at the pocket watch, puzzled. "But the Wizarding World doesn't have such communication pocket watches now. Even this one was bought by Professor in Knockturn Alley."
"What prevented Mr. Benjamin from succeeding?" Severus also asked.
Nicolas's voice was filled with regret as he said sorrowfully, "Because he died."
"Died?" Severus, Lupin, and Harry all widened their eyes in unison.
"He proposed the idea for the pocket watch in 1967. Later, in 1970, to apply for several alchemy patents in the UK and visit alchemists in England, he settled in Oxford for the following few years."
Hearing this and connecting it with Nicolas's earlier introduction of Benjamin's background, Severus already understood.
"Those were the years when the Dark Lord was most active in Britain."
Nicolas nodded, "Yes, his background brought him trouble. In fact, many people wrote to him at the ti, urging him to leave that dangerous place as soon as possible and return, including ."
"But he made a new discovery in a wizard cetery in Wales. According to him, if he could decipher the alchemical techniques found in the cetery, he could realize his ultimate vision."
"Then, just a few days later, he was found by a group of Death Eaters. After that, news of his death ca from the British Ministry of Magic."
After Nicolas finished speaking, the room fell into a somber silence.
Severus seed lost in thought, Lupin shook his head with a sigh, and Harry's face turned pale. He clearly hadn't expected such an ending.
"This pocket watch you bought from Knockturn Alley is likely one of his failed attempts during his experints."
Nicolas, who had clearly co to terms with this long ago, continued examining the incomplete old pocket watch, "Even as a failure, it should be one of his final batches that were close to success. It has a high level of completion, the positioning function is already functional. All that remained was adding instant communication, which he was trying to achieve. It holds significant alchemical value. You definitely got a bargain spending 20 Galleons. If you took this to the Alchemists' Association, many there would likely be willing to pay over five tis that amount for it."
"It's just that too much ti has passed without any maintenance, causing the positioning function on this watch to also have defects... I might be able to help you make so minor repairs to make its positioning more accurate and tily."
Lupin and Harry were still imrsed in the regret of Mr. Benjamin's untily death… a case of falling before fulfilling his ambition. Harry, in particular, gained a more intuitive impression of the Death Eaters as a group.
The destruction these people wrought on the Wizarding World was far greater than what t the eye!
Severus, having collected himself, expressed his thanks and then asked, "Did you not consider continuing his research afterwards?"
Nicolas shook his head softly, "I am too old now. In recent decades, I've produced very few new alchemical breakthroughs. My mind is becoming muddled, and even the Elixir of Life cannot slow this change."
"Moreover, after Benjamin's death, no one knows whether those villains took away or destroyed the research materials he left behind. Continuing this research beca very difficult."
Just as they reached this point in the conversation, Mrs. Flal, accompanied by Draco, called them for lunch.
Thus, the discussion about the pocket watch's origins ca to an end.
But it was clear that Harry didn't just treat this as a story to be heard only at the Flal Residence.
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