Chapter 63.5- Doom Days

“I thought we could ignore them. They would learn better with time. It was a mistake. Knowing what I know now, we should have run. Left in the dead of the night. Not left a single trace of ourselves for those creatures— for they lowered themselves beneath beasts in the end.” He took another long breath. Like he was preparing himself for what came next.

“And then one day while I was out gathering ingredients for Perenelle, they struck. Wards were far from advanced at the time, and we had none to speak of, neither of us being competent enchanters at the time. They had planned it perfectly, falling upon her while she was abed, snatching her before she could get to her wand. They took her to the village center, and then the idiots I had held classes before tried to use a transmutation circle to restore the woman’s baby to life at the cost of Perenelle’s. It failed, of course. The silly mundanes. But they kept trying, and then one had the genius idea that maybe they needed to kill ours first. By this time I was just returning home to find my house in disarray” He leaned over, taking his wife’s hand in his, and then his tone changed. Becoming mechanical and emotionless.

“I found them in time to watch them stab my wife through the stomach and kill our baby. Wrought with rage, I smote the man who had done it with a spell I still can not remember to this day. I know nothing of him had remained once I turned my wand upon him. The rest scattered faced with someone ready to defend themselves. But I had arrived too late. Our child was dead for their foolishness, and my rage needed sating.” He said, before looking up to meet my eyes now.

“I had already completed the theory for the philosopher’s stone at this point, but abandoned the idea of making one for the cost was too great. But now Perenelle was in need of the elixir. Nothing we had was strong enough to heal what they had so carelessly inflicted. So in my rage, I decided that I would show them true alchemy. I used the entire city as my transmutation circle. None were allowed to leave as I surrounded it with salt and began the exchange. With my magic, I triggered the volcano. And with my alchemy I reaped their souls and pain, offering them to magic in exchange for an object of immense power”

“The philosopher’s stone” I gasped. Thousands of lives. It had taken thousands of lives to make one. That was why he didn’t care about telling me about it. 79AD was a far cry from 1995. If I killed thousands of muggles, there would be no place I would find to hide where the ministries would not hunt me down to.

“Indeed. And it worked. Perenelle was the first to receive the elixir of life. She was healed, good as new. I mourned my actions, in the end. The catastrophe I had inflicted for my rage. A smaller sacrifice would have been enough to create something to heal Perenelle alone. But when it is late at night and I turn to look at the woman I have loved for almost two thousand years, there is only one thought that comes to mind— worth it.