Chapter 476: Speculation
Chapter 476: Speculation
Fear? Actually, a little... but mostly confusion. Felix couldn't think of any reason why he wouldn't be able to dodge a Killing Curse. In that memory, the green light of the spell was cast directly, with no chance of an ambush. Moreover, Felix thought about his reaction in the memory—
He was completely calm.
Would he really accept death so calmly? He was very curious about this.
Valen gently tugged at his shirt, and Felix looked down, smiling. "It's probably just a prank." He walked into the bedroom, placed Valen in its cradle, and then returned to the office.
The small box that contained the "death memory" lay quietly on the desk. Felix carefully examined it, taking out some packing paper and then a postcard. The front of the postcard featured a picture of Big Ben and a printed maxim: Everyone has the right to choose.
Felix easily determined that this was an ordinary card, possibly from a Muggle newsstand? He flipped it over, but the back was blank.
Who could have sent it? Could it really be a malicious prank?
However, from the message, Felix sensed a hint of goodwill. And when it came to matters of life and death, no one would be careless, at least not him.
He provisionally accepted it as real: someone had witnessed his death and risked traveling back in time to warn him.
At that moment, the golden clock hand was at eleven o'clock. He held the golden clock and placed it on the small table in front of the sofa, along with the postcard. Then he gently waved his hand, and a row of Voice Mirrors and the hot knuts in his ring—everything that could connect him to the outside world—were placed on the table.
Felix leaned back on the sofa, like a silent statue, quietly waiting, occasionally glancing at the golden clock. Time slowly passed, and midnight came and went without anyone contacting him. The quiet night was occasionally interrupted by the chirping of insects, but no one suddenly appeared to call him to an unknown battlefield.
When the clock hand stopped at four o'clock in the morning, he finally moved. It had been exactly five hours since he received the special gift. Felix knew what this meant—under no circumstances that could cause serious damage, the maximum duration for time travel was about five hours.
Someone had undertaken a long-distance time travel!
Felix looked up, staring at the ceiling. The white light from the magical lamp was not blinding, but it made him a bit dizzy. He slowly closed his eyes and, in the next second, appeared in the Mind Chamber on a bronze armchair.
Felix still held the memory in his hand. He threw it forcefully again, and the familiar scene appeared in mid-air, until—
"Avada Kedavra!"
The voice was cold and sharp. He recognized the owner of the voice—it was Voldemort.
"So this is a warning from the future, from an uncertain time, when Voldemort had already returned." Felix murmured to himself. He stared at the scene in mid-air, which was clearly edited to hide the perspective of the memory's owner, but the technique was very crude. For a memory master like him, the loopholes were obvious at a glance.
But recognizing the loopholes didn't mean he could restore the true memory, nor did it mean the information in the memory was fabricated.
The only thing Felix could be certain of was that the owner of the memory did not want to reveal their identity. They were meticulous and not unfamiliar with Memory Magic, indicating that they had studied, practiced, or at least frequently encountered this type of magic.
What else could he deduce? Felix stroked his chin. "Of course, the perspective is also important."
He crossed his right leg over his left and sat in the bronze chair, watching the illusory image at the bottom of the steps. Inside the Mind Chamber, apart from his chair and the dozen steps below it, there was nothing else. It was as if he were sitting in a vast square.
At that moment, Voldemort's incantation of the Killing Curse echoed continuously in the square.
"Avada Kedavra... Avada Kedavra... Avada Kedavra... Avada Kedavra..."
"If Voldemort had returned at that time, then the person who saw all this—does that mean they were a Death Eater? Not necessarily... they could also be Voldemort's enemy."
Felix wanted to find this person and gather more information.
From the existing information, this person—whether male or female—must be closely related to him, meticulous, and possibly someone he had discussed Memory Magic with. Their identity must be special enough to participate in a sudden battle, possibly a Death Eater, an Auror, or some other possibility he hadn't considered yet. The most crucial point was that this person must possess a Time-Turner.
But even as the morning light broke, Felix still had one question that puzzled him: if there was enough time, why did this person risk a dangerous long-distance time travel?
Did they not care about their life? Or was it unavoidable? Was there some special significance to this action?
Felix's feelings were very complex. If all of this was true, and he really did die at Voldemort's hands—or the person who sent the memory believed so—then this action would be akin to altering history that had already occurred, with the backlash from time being unimaginable.
Altering known history was already dangerous enough, and to his knowledge, no one had successfully done so and escaped unscathed, let alone with the added challenge of long-distance time travel.
Don't rush into a decision... Felix reminded himself. He needed to confirm a few things first.
On the morning of June 22, Felix appeared early in the Great Hall. He took his time eating because he was waiting for several people. When Snape appeared in his black robes, Felix smiled slightly and moved to sit next to him.
"You have a Time-Turner", Felix stated with certainty.
Snape stared at him expressionlessly for a moment. "Your sense of humor has deteriorated", he said coldly.
"I was just trying to liven up the atmosphere, Severus", Felix shrugged.
Not him. Felix watched Snape’s retreating back, lost in thought.
The next person was Dumbledore. Felix asked him if the "trick" of deflecting spells with his fingers was a result of his transformation.
"Have you finally reached this stage, Felix?" Dumbledore asked softly, seemingly lost in thought. After a while, he looked up, and Felix was still waiting for an answer. Dumbledore nodded gently. "The so-called transformation, or the shift towards a 'magical creature,' though the terms vary, is essentially the process of delving so deeply into a particular field that a moment of enlightenment occurs, merging all your knowledge and understanding into one."
"When you reach this point, your magic begins to change spontaneously, aligning with your understanding of magic... As for what each person gains, it likely relates to their area of study. My ability to deflect spells is, in essence, a higher form of human transfiguration."
Felix suddenly understood.
Previously, Dumbledore had performed a highly advanced transfiguration on his own hands, one that closely resembled the abilities of certain magical creatures. Names of powerful beings flashed through his mind: fire dragons, manticores, basilisks, chimeras...
This seemed to imply that Dumbledore could break certain magical conventions, such as wizards being unable to transform into magical creatures, even as Animagi. But Dumbledore had undoubtedly touched upon this domain.
Magical creatures... So that's what it means, Felix thought.
He couldn't help but speculate what abilities he might gain upon completing his transformation, something related to Ancient Runes... He began to ponder the characteristics of Ancient Runes, but found it difficult to define them precisely, given the vast number of runic scripts, each with its own unique properties.
A thought struck him. "Vast and varied"… Applying this to himself, did it mean he would become Ancient Runes? This idea seemed to align with the memory he had—Voldemort using the Killing Curse, and he transforming into runic script to dodge.
The thought was truly exhilarating.
However, a new question arose. If he was essentially immortal, why would someone risk time travel? Moreover, he hadn't even completed the transformation process yet, still far from it. Felix estimated that he would have to wait until the end of the summer holidays and the start of the new term to have any hope.
Did this mean that the scene he had seen would only occur in a few months?
Felix put down his fork and knife, leaving the Great Hall with a head full of questions. At that moment, Harry, Ron, and Hermione walked in, engaged in a heated discussion.
"Granger, Potter, Weasley", he hesitated for a moment, then called out to them, "How is your research on the Time-Turner coming along?"
Harry and Ron instinctively looked at Hermione.
"Oh! Professor, um, we haven't started yet", Hermione said sheepishly, "We plan to work on it after the match."
"I see. Thank you."
He nodded to the three of them and turned to leave. The timing seemed to align, assuming they were successful. It appeared he needed to keep a close eye on them. Another question popped into his mind: which of the three was more likely to have used the Time-Turner?
If it was just for repairs, Hermione was the most likely candidate. But who actually used it was harder to determine.
Felix's heart sank. He had warned her.
But nothing was certain yet. He still had time to gather more evidence to verify his suspicions. Once the second-year exams ended and until the term concluded, he had little to do and could closely monitor Hermione and the others' progress on the Time-Turner repairs.
The same would apply during the summer. It was a shame, as Felix had planned to visit Azkaban during the break. He had obtained several names from Lucius, all of whom were Voldemort's most loyal followers. Perhaps one of them knew the secret of the Horcruxes.
This hypothesis had come to him while at the Ministry of Magic. Initially, he had been on the wrong path until he connected Dumbledore, Voldemort, Azkaban, and the Death Eaters. This triggered a true insight: if Voldemort had suffered multiple severe injuries, he must have had a trusted assistant, someone who was a Death Eater and extremely loyal. The memories in this person's mind were a treasure trove—holding the secrets of the Horcruxes—waiting to be unearthed.
Especially someone like Bellatrix, whom Lucius described as eccentric and fanatically devoted to the Dark Lord. Felix suspected she had been subjected to severe Confundus Charms or memory alterations. But that wasn't certain. Lucius believed she was inherently cruel and malevolent, and the Dark Lord's presence had merely satisfied her twisted desires...
On the other side.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione had just left the owlery. Hermione looked troubled.
(End of Chapter)
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