chsdbacks Chapter 80 Countdown
Chapter 80 Countdown
After Mo Ran left the Department of Mysteries, the pocket watch from Sol Crocker secretly began to turn. However, unlike the normal movement of clock hands, the year, month, day, hour, minute, and second hands on its dial moved counterclockwise. Clearly, this compass was providing Mo Ran with guidance in a countdown manner.
"There are about two days left... What does that mean?"
Looking at the numbers displayed on his pocket watch, Mo Ran murmured to himself.
He remembered Grindelwald reminding him more than once—your time is running out. Of course, he also hadn't forgotten Saul Crook's words—time in the time rift isn't linear. But what truly made him realize the meaning of the countdown was Dumbledore's statement—otherwise, in a couple of days, the Ministry of Magic wouldn't just be coming to Hogwarts to chat with me.
"The two-day interval perfectly matches the length of my second time traveling back in time, but according to those old men, once I enter the time rift, I certainly can't just wait in one place like other time travelers. Could it be...?"
Thinking of this, Mo Ran decisively took out the Malfoy family's time converter.
Tap tap tap tap!
The subtle whirring of gears seemed to confirm his guess. Unlike the compass pocket watch, which was in a stable countdown state, the time converter was like a compass affected by a magnetic field, recklessly letting all the exquisitely engraved hands spin and whirl like headless flies.
Witnessing a scene beyond the comprehension of the magical academic world filled Mo Ran with the same excitement as Columbus discovering a new continent and the tension of Oppenheimer before testing the atomic bomb.
He took a deep breath, raised his hand with a solemn yet determined expression, and turned the crown clockwise in the "wrong" direction.
Swish!
A clear moonlight enveloped the world, and the sun, moon, and stars exchanged day and night in the sky. The scenery in the Forbidden Forest did not recede; instead, it rushed forward at an accelerated pace. Everything in the world seemed to become unimportant—neither the obscure meaning in the prophetic images nor the hardships of navigating the cracks of time could compare to the light and darkness before their eyes.
Mo Ran didn't know when he woke up. It wasn't until he subconsciously looked at his hands, which were tightly gripping the time converter, that he realized he was no longer in the indescribable strange world.
A few rays of light shone through the gray sky, and the Forbidden Forest was now like daytime.
The air was damp and cool, as if there was an endless drizzle and slanting wind; the grass underfoot seemed to have grown a few inches taller, but for some reason, they all drooped their heads and looked listless.
After taking in the general scenery around him, Mo Ran recalled the moment his fingers touched the time converter. Without precise calculations or any premonition, time simply transformed into a rushing river, carrying him away completely.
Countless fragments of memories flashed before his eyes: he saw himself as a child, his deceased parents, and the people he met after arriving in the magical world. These scenes played out in his mind like a movie, eventually converging into an interwoven tapestry.
"Is this... the convergence of world lines and time lines?"
Mo Ran muttered to himself subconsciously, and then he heard a familiar voice coming from the woods:
"Wang! Wang Wang!"
......
Sirius Black's Animagus is the most feared black dog in the wizarding world. Pure-blood families like the Ron family and other superstitious wizards usually avoid such "unlucky" creatures. However, Mo Ran, who transmigrated from another world, is not ignorant. Even without having seen the "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" movies, he would never easily abandon his rationality.
Without much hesitation, Mo Ran pulled down his hood to cover his face, then strode towards the direction of the sound. Long before his first trip back in time, he had imagined countless times how Sirius Black lived in the Forbidden Forest before recognizing Harry. But the scene that unfolded before his eyes was something he had never envisioned.
"Damn it! Where did this dead dog come from! How come Hogwarts keeps such an unlucky thing!"
"Wang!"
Angus Filch, carrying a lantern and patrolling the Forbidden Forest, was sweating profusely and cursing. Even though Sirius Black was still some distance away from catching up, he was still running forward as if facing a formidable enemy.
Logically speaking, Filch, as the custodian of Hogwarts, was entitled to patrol the Forbidden Forest. Furthermore, being a cat lover, foul-mouthed, and a Squib who couldn't cast spells, he seemed destined to be chased to this state by the big black dog. Unfortunately, Mo Ran, observing everything at this moment, was no longer the same. Having entered the Time Rift, he could even vaguely sense the anomaly through his sixth sense, without relying on magical perception.
“Stupefy!” (Faints and collapses)
"Obliviate!" (To forget everything)
With two whooshing sounds, a red and a white flash of light shot out from the tip of Mo Ran's wand, accurately striking Sirius Black. The next second, facing the masked savior who suddenly appeared before him, Filch's facial muscles contorted as if in a spasm.
"Huh? Sir! Why don't you just kill that beast?"
"It might be the pet of one of the students or teachers at the school. Besides, Hogwarts is currently under martial law because of Black. Even the smallest thing could attract the attention of Dementors or Dumbledore. We don't need any unnecessary trouble."
Mo Ran's voice sounded natural, but in reality, he had only seen through DB Cooper's disguise as Magus. Facing this guy who was already on guard against Legilimency magic, the best strategy he could think of now was to go along with the conversation initiated by the other party.
Sure enough, listening to Mo Ran's impeccable words, DB Cooper didn't notice anything amiss. He rubbed his face, which had just returned to its original form, and said:
"Ah! As expected, you are very thoughtful! I'm ashamed! If you hadn't intervened in time, I probably would have taken out my wand. But I really didn't expect... that the Dark Lord has even planted his own spies in Hogwarts Castle."
Mo Ran snorted coldly and reprimanded in a very stern tone:
"Stop with the nonsense. The Dark Lord doesn't need sycophantic servants. If you still want to use your necromancer magic, then do your job properly!"
"Of course!"
DB Cooper quickly replied:
“These past few days at Hogwarts I’ve noticed a girl who’s been getting very close to Harry Potter, named Hermione Granger; I’m thinking that if I could find a chance to become like her, I might be able to get Potter’s blood.”
The words "Potter's blood" immediately made Mo Ran understand the background of DB Cooper's arrival at Hogwarts. Without much thought, he acted like a seasoned Death Eater.
“Very good! The Dark Lord will not treat anyone who helps him unfairly! But you must remember that only the Dark Lord can end that boy’s life. You must not do anything out of line just because you are eager to make a contribution.”
Upon hearing this, DB Cooper hurriedly nodded and bowed in agreement:
"Of course! Of course! But... but with Dumbledore in charge at Hogwarts, if he notices anything wrong, I won't be able to get Potter's blood out with my meager skills."
Mo Ran wasn't a true Death Eater, so he had no need to mentally curse DB Cooper as an old fox. On the contrary, he was actually quite glad that the other party had said such a thing. He waved his hand and said:
"It's alright. I'll give you a time-twister in a few days. Once you get Potter's blood, you can go back in time and escape beforehand. That way, even if Dumbledore finds out, he won't be able to change what has already happened."
DB Cooper was beaming with joy, but little did he know that this seemingly foolproof escape route was actually a dead end leading to the underworld.
......
The meeting between the Death Eaters didn't last long. One was eager to collect Harry's blood to persuade Voldemort to surrender, while the other needed to rush to his next destination and time. Soon, only the large black dog, its memory erased and unconscious, remained in the Forbidden Forest.
A cold wind was blowing, and by the time Sirius woke up, it was already night.
The feeling of weakness, as if walking on cotton, startled Blake, who had just woken up. Before he could properly assess his condition, he struggled to his feet.
"What's going on? Aren't I still in my Animagus metamorphosis? Why do I feel like I'm having a hangover in human form?"
Sirius, with alarm bells ringing in his mind, moved with lightning speed. Even though he was a little unsteady, he found a suitable spot under a tree root to hide and began scouting.
Sha... Sha...
The rustling of leaves and branches in the night wind amplified the stillness of the Forbidden Forest. There were no Dementors hovering in the air, nor Aurors searching with wands; only the clear sky, finally peeking out after being covered by dark clouds all day.
After checking the surroundings countless times, the big black dog, who had been completely focused just a second ago, once again leaned against the tree trunk and fell to the ground.
Blake, affected by both the Stunning Curse and the Forgotten Curse, couldn't quite remember why he had come to the Forbidden Forest in the first place. Under the control of Moran's magic, the Stunning Curse and the Forgotten Curse brought Sirius's memories back to a night more than ten years ago.
Once upon a time, under the same starry sky, this big black dog was accompanied by Moon Face, Worm Tail, and Pointed Fork.
Why do I suddenly think of the days when the raider squads explored and wandered around the castle?
Blake shook his head violently, as if trying to erase all other memories of Peter. He didn't want to dwell on the past. At this moment, nothing mattered except for avenging himself, James, and Lily!
Soon, the warm memories slowly turned into a source of anger. However, just as Black was struggling with whether to risk going to Hogwarts to find the rat that night, a large ginger cat appeared in front of him.
"Meow."
"Wang Wang!"
"Meow...meow."
"Wang?"
......
The moon is round, the stars are bright, and the guidance of fate is mysterious.
No one could understand what the two animals were communicating in their respective languages, but judging from the outcome, the young wizards of Hogwarts wouldn't be kept awake all night by the escaped prisoners who had broken into the castle. The direction the cat and dog were heading was none other than the long-neglected haunted house—the Screaming Shack.
Meanwhile, back near the Thunderbird's Nest, Mo Ran was unaware that his actions had inadvertently led Black to Lu Ping's presence. Ever since parting ways with DB Cooper, his attention had been completely focused on the Time-Turner.
Mo Ran frowned as he watched the pointer spin rapidly again.
According to his plan, he next needed to find the fake time-tamper used to kill DB Cooper, or at least tamper with it to recreate Hermione's tragic death in the course of history. However, Mo Ran hadn't yet fully devised a plan for how to do it.
"Should I go back in time and explain things to Professor Snape? If he helps, concocting the poison will be much easier... Or should I retrieve the basilisk's fangs first...? Huh?"
Before Mo Ran could figure it out, his fingers on the crown felt a distinct vibration. The next second, without him having to operate it, the time converter started to turn on its own.
Leisurely clouds and reflections in the pool at night, the seasons change and stars shift, how many autumns have passed?
Once all the light, shadow, and lines had returned to nothingness, the once peaceful Forbidden Forest suddenly felt unnaturally cold.
The biting wind blew wildly and recklessly, as if it wouldn't stop until it had removed all beautiful things from the world.
Before he could figure out what was going to happen in the future, Mo Ran, as if sensing something, transformed into his complete form, Mo Ran, and joined the team that was going to fight Mo Ran.
Rumble...
Amidst the thunder, magical sparks, and several silver Patronus, a cloud of black mist suddenly emerged, startling all the professors. Professor McGonagall, who was busy manipulating the tabby cat Patronus, quickly asked Professor Lupin:
"What kind of magic was that? Who cast it?"
"I'm not sure. Compared to some kind of dark magic, that thing is more like a dark magic creature! What do you think, Severus?"
Snape, who had been inexplicably called out by his old nemesis, did not answer the question. Due to some uncontrollable factors, despite knowing how to cast the Patronus Charm, he did not summon a doe to fight like the other professors. Instead, he flicked his wand with an annoyed expression and replied:
"As far as I know, I'm not the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts. If you want to be re-elected next term, I suggest you demonstrate your knowledge now, otherwise..."
"You two, stop arguing! Severus, you're supposed to be a teacher, things have come to this point, aren't you even a little bit worried?"
Professor McGonagall's voice, tinged with exasperation, instantly silenced the room. As the Vice-Headmistress of Hogwarts, McGonagall absolutely did not want to see teachers quarreling at this critical juncture. However, she was unaware that Snape, a double agent, was not easily swayed by emotions. In most cases, except when Lily was involved, all his seemingly individualistic words and actions were actually a performance, a mix of truth and deception.
"Professors! Let's use the Patronus to drive the Dementors out of the castle and make them fly towards the Forbidden Forest as much as possible! Ron, take Ginny, George, and Fred to Madam Pomfrey; she can't distribute all those chocolates by herself! Hermione, put on this Invisibility Cloak and go to Hagrid's hut to ask him to bring the Hippogriffs. Dementors only have a serious effect on humans; magical creatures aren't afraid of them. The rest of you, students, follow your prefects back to your respective common rooms!"
Harry's high-pitched voice was like a beacon in the darkness; with just that one shout, the headmaster's worried face looked much more relaxed.
Seeing the new generation of young wizards who had grown so outstanding without her noticing, Professor McGonagall felt a warmth in her heart, and this positive emotion naturally transferred to the Patronus she had summoned. Soon, before everyone's eyes, the originally rather small tabby cat leaped to half a person's height and pounced towards the Dementors with an even more ferocious posture.
The increasingly intense fighting made everyone seem to forget that a black mist had inexplicably appeared above the Forbidden Forest not long ago. Furthermore, they couldn't imagine that Harry's calm and collected commands just now were merely a tactic to attract everyone's attention.
......
"A guardian deity is a symbol that reflects one's inner self; it is a very profound form of magic."
As Dumbledore once said, the Patronus Charm, unique to each wizard, can not only ward off Dementors but also be used to transmit information. Therefore, even though Mo Ran cannot currently cast the Patronus Charm, he can still use it to transmit memories since he shares a body with Harry.
hum!
As the silver stag passed through layers of black mist, Mo Ran seemed to enter a Pensieve, witnessing his entire learning process of Grindelwald's dark magic. In just a moment, Fiendfire, divination, and even Obscurus—topics that Grindelwald had studied for decades—felt like simple tricks that Mo Ran was born with. A wealth of profound and exquisite knowledge was returned to its rightful place, one after another, like lost items being returned to their rightful owner.
The thick black fog gradually seemed to boil over.