The disassembled Fountain of Beauty hovered in mid-air, held together by countless precise threads of magic. The initial bright glow of power gradually settled into a soft, steady light, gently illuminating the surrounding area.
Faced with Fleur's groundhog-level shriek, Lucien calmly tapped his wand to fine-tune the fountain's components while murmuring reassurance:
"Relax, it'll all go back together just fine."
Fleur always seemed so poised and elegant—how on earth did she manage to let out a scream that sharp and piercing? It caught him off guard so badly his eardrums practically stung.
Huh. He'd heard that when a full Veela gets angry and shifts into her bird-like form, her screech can mesmerize or terrify anyone who hears it—on par with the cry of a mature Mandrake.
Maybe it's some kind of inherited racial talent?
After a brief pause, Lucien added, "I cleared this with Madame Maxime beforehand."
That one sentence worked better than any long explanation. The tension on Fleur's face melted away almost instantly.
At Beauxbatons, Madame Maxime commanded absolute respect. Her approval was the final word.
If the headmistress knew about it and had given permission, then whatever looked like "destruction" right now clearly had a good reason behind it.
Once she calmed down, Fleur's curiosity completely overtook her unease. Her eyes locked onto every move Lucien made.
With a few light taps of his wand, the lids on several floating containers popped open at once.
The first ingredients that drifted out were ones Fleur recognized easily: shimmering moonstone powder, concentrated essence of beauty rose oil, dragon-gold threads finer than hair yet incredibly strong…
Classic alchemical materials, all of them.
But the containers seemed bottomless. A steady stream of strange and varied substances kept pouring out.
Pretty soon, Fleur couldn't keep up. Some she'd only ever seen in blurry illustrations in old textbooks—like the pearlescent mermaid-scale paste.
By the time the last few items emerged, she was completely lost.
Slowly flowing shadow essence; a handful of odd seeds with swirling clouds trapped inside; a small vial of gas that kept shifting colors…
She stared with those striking blue eyes wide open, utterly unable to name any of them.
Only after the containers finally stopped did Fleur venture, a little uncertain but hopeful, "Lucien… are you modifying the Fountain of Beauty?"
When he nodded, pure delight sparked in her eyes, and her words tumbled out faster with excitement:
"Did Monsieur Nicolas Flamel ask you to…?"
The Fountain of Beauty was one of Nicolas Flamel's masterpieces, after all, and Lucien was his personal apprentice.
It was only natural for her to assume Nicolas had taught Lucien the fountain's alchemical secrets. The thought of witnessing something passed down from that legendary alchemist made her heart race.
In the French wizarding world, Nicolas Flamel's name had been a living myth for over six hundred years.
But then a flicker of worry crossed her face. If Lucien was about to perform some secret alchemical technique, was it really okay for her to stand here watching? Should she step away?
On second thought… she didn't even recognize half the ingredients. Hardly in a position to steal any secrets.
"Um… should I leave for this part?"
Lucien was quickly inventorying the floating materials when he heard the hesitation in her voice. He glanced over.
The girl's gaze was darting everywhere, her fingers nervously twisting the hem of her robes, and the faint silvery glow around her kept flickering—like a bulb with a loose connection.
Apparently Veela aura fluctuates with their emotions. Does the same thing happen with part-Veela?
Looking at the spread of alchemical supplies and the suspended fountain pieces, Lucien had a pretty good guess what was bothering her. Without pausing his work, he said,
"No need. It's fine if you stay. If you've got questions, feel free to ask."
Fleur blinked. "Oh… really?"
She hadn't expected him to be so straightforward.
Lucien's wand flicked again, sending several time-sensitive ingredients straight to their spots, where they immediately began melting and fusing.
"My teacher always said the knowledge and skills he passed on to me—if someone genuinely wants to learn and is capable of it, there's no harm in sharing them with others." Lucien spoke casually, as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world.
At Nicolas Flamel's level, petty concerns about secrecy or school rivalries simply didn't matter anymore. He was happy to see his legacy carried on.
Of course, Nicolas had also seriously warned Lucien that alchemy is a profound and "dangerous" art. Anyone he taught needed to be evaluated for talent, ability, and character.
Nicolas's verdict on Fleur? Outstanding alchemical gift. Personality-wise, a touch proud, but otherwise solid.
In other words, if Lucien felt like mentoring her, she'd make a promising student.
Fleur, of course, knew exactly who "my teacher" meant. Those gorgeous blue eyes widened again, brimming with disbelief and a shy, flattered thrill.
Before she could find the right words, Lucien moved on to the next step.
With a sharp flick of his wrist, a vast yet perfectly refined surge of magic poured out, splitting into countless finer control threads and glowing runes that slipped precisely into every hovering component and ingredient.
At the same moment, the tips of the fingers gripping his wand lit up with water, fire, and earth elemental runes all at once, shining in harmony.
In that instant, every element contained within the fountain parts and materials—and even the free-floating elements in the surrounding air—sprang joyfully to life, moving in perfect order under Lucien's direction.
Fleur felt that strange resonance from him again, clearer and stronger than before, carrying an indescribable warmth and pull.
Under the dual influence of immense magic and activated elements, the wildly varied ingredients began transforming in wondrous ways: some fused together to forge brand-new components, others turned into streams of light that etched intricate runes inside the fountain, and still others directly replaced older sections of the original structure…
A complete, methodical "operation" on the Fountain of Beauty was unfolding before her eyes.
What Lucien displayed wasn't just an absurdly huge reserve of magic—it was an effortless, intimate command of multiple core elements.
The revolutionary alchemical scene left Fleur, who prided herself on being well-read, utterly speechless.
She was completely lost in the "art" formed by magic, elements, and the transmutation of matter.
Slowly, the light drew inward, settling and condensing.
The countless suspended pieces, guided by threads of magic, slid together with perfect precision, fusing seamlessly.
The familiar, graceful Fountain of Beauty stood whole once more beneath the night sky, quietly in its original place.
The gentle sound of flowing water returned. Clear fountain water trickled along the newly etched magical grooves in the basin walls, rippling under the moonlight with a livelier, more dreamlike sheen than ever before.
The very moment the water began to flow again—
[Ding! Fountain of Beauty upgrade complete!]