Hogwarts: Dumbledore reigned over the wizarding world

Chapter 118 The Observer and Fate
Until a prophet divined Eloise's time travel.

Divination is a power far more mysterious than magic, and the prophet's divination was disheartening—he divined that the Mintabu family should have 25 more descendants than they do now.

However, the reality of history is that the Mintabu family has no trace of those 25 people in the past 500 years; they were never born!
This means that the Eloise incident was predetermined from the very beginning, including the changes in time after her return!

Although the Eloise incident was an accident, its impact was far-reaching. It was the first documented case of time travel in the magical world that spanned hundreds of years.

This was also the first time that wizards widely came to understand that time travel was not the answer to destiny, and that in the cycle of fate, time travel itself was part of destiny.

But Dumbledore knew that Vaughn did not believe in fate!
Sure enough, in the silence, he heard Vaughn say, "...It's a very interesting phenomenon. Time is like a circle folded from a line, and all of us, all events, are always moving in circles inside the circle...But I have a question: has it always been like this from the beginning?"

"A few years ago, I read a theory by a Soviet physicist in a Muggle magazine called the Novikov principle of self-consistency!"

"This theory was created to oppose parallel universes and parallel timelines. Its basic principle is very simple: time and space are unique and the past cannot be changed."

"But what's interesting is that it doesn't prohibit the existence of time travelers, and it believes that there have been many, many time travelers throughout our long history. It doesn't even prohibit time travelers from interfering with history!"

Upon hearing this, Dumbledore couldn't help but wonder, "This seems somewhat contradictory?"

“No, it’s not contradictory.” Vaughn shook his head: “To summarize that theory simply, it can be summarized in two points: 1. The past we experience is already the past after it has been altered by time travelers.”

"2. The outcome we have reached, whether good or bad, is the final result of interference by time travelers!"

"Things do indeed have countless possibilities, but just like in quantum mechanics, when we, as observers, observe a particle and cause it to collapse, what we ultimately see before us is only one of countless possibilities... and that one and only possibility is reality!"

"..."

Dumbledore paused, stroking his beard. His lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but he couldn't. Only the pounding in his heart reminded him of his shock!

He could tell that behind the so-called "Novikov self-consistency principle" theory was a concept that Vaughn had vaguely raised a few months earlier when he and Vaughn were conceiving the world in the painting!
That's a hypothesis, a hypothesis that long ago, the past, present, and future of the real world could all be changed.

Until one day, the "observer" appeared, and its interference caused all the uncertain possibilities of things to begin to collapse into "uniqueness," and eventually became the reality we see today, a reality that can no longer be changed.

So the question is, who is the "observer"?
Just thinking about this problem fills one with uncontrollable fear.

Even a legendary wizard like Dumbledore couldn't imagine what kind of power could accomplish such a thing.

In fact, no one could have imagined it.

That's why Vaughn came up with the idea of ​​creating a small world.

He uses a newly created, "simple" world to test his thoughts on time, fate, and the observer.

Looking at the smoke screen beneath his feet, formed from the key and now covering the sky under his magic, Dumbledore hesitated.

He suddenly felt a sense of fear. What if... what if Vaughn's theory was right?
Seemingly noticing his hesitation, Vaughn, who had been waiting for a moment, suggested, "How about I take over?"

He was met with a long silence.

After a long while, Dumbledore finally breathed a sigh of relief and shook his head: "No need. Although I am old and no longer have the ambition of my youth, even the oldest lion has the courage to face the truth."

However, despite saying that, he still drew his wand, tapped it on his forehead, and pulled out a strand of silver from his mind.

"This memory contains the method to control the key."

With a wave of his hand, the silver thread floated over. Vaughn didn't catch it, but instead used his wand to catch it—he hadn't forgotten that Dumbledore was a master of memory magic, and it was not a wise choice to rashly access the memories released by a master of memory magic.

Seeing Vaughn's caution, Dumbledore didn't seem to mind.

He walked to the edge of the magic carpet, took a light step, and stepped into the void. The light air beneath his feet felt as solid as the ground, supporting him as he walked further and further.

Gradually, he approached the smoke curtain that covered the sky.

The moment he got close, a powerful surge of magical energy emanated from him, distorting the air and light around him.

They were shrouded in a misty haze, tinged with a faint silvery white, their magic imperceptible—an anomaly created by magic interfering with reality.

Then, Dumbledore stirred his wand into the smoke.

In an instant, the entire sky lit up, and countless dense symbols appeared from the void, like a galaxy, tracing arcs across the sky.

That is the world responding to the call of its creator!

On the magic carpet, Vaughn, who was using memory magic to decipher the silver thread, suddenly looked up and felt a ripple sweep over him, and over the entire "world"!
Every wisp of wind, every air molecule, even every photon, every tiny energy level transition, seems to fall under the control of some higher being the moment the ripples pass by.

At this moment, everything was brought under control.

Vaughn knew that from now on, this "world" would no longer be in a state of disorder; it would revolve around a will to achieve the results that will desired!
How wonderful...

Just like fate!
……

call out--

A sharp whistling sound, like a shell flying overhead, swept overhead. The next instant, a deafening roar erupted, sending dust flying everywhere. A sycamore tree nearby fell with a mournful cry.

Hermione, who was about to dodge in that direction, quickly pulled the handle of her flying broom. The broom sped over overhead, and below, the dust kicked up by the explosion rained down like a storm. The lush canopy of the sycamore tree crashed to the ground, making a crackling sound as it snapped.

Dust, flying wood chips, vibrations, and more, the howling and bombardment of objects hurtling towards us at high speed.

Everything around me was so terrible and chaotic, it felt like the end of the world had arrived!

Hermione dared not linger. In the distance, Harry stood blocking the bridge, swinging his spear and smashing the stone guardian statues one by one.

The spear in his hand quickly broke, so he picked up the severed limbs of the stone statues to use as weapons.

But he was alone, while the stone guards seemed endless. Even with his best efforts, he could only stop a small portion of those around him. Further away, even more stone guards were hurling weapons at Hermione, bombarding her relentlessly.

run!
The farther you run, the better!

Riding her broom, Hermione narrowly escaped repeated bombardments without panicking. She calmly maneuvered the broom, constantly moving away from the covered bridge.

This was certainly not an escape; Hermione knew very well that she was now a burden to Harry.

The best thing she can do for Harry is to stay far away!

woo-

Not far after flying away, Hermione heard a series of sharp phoenix cries, the sound of a high-speed spear almost grazing past her.

The whistling and the pressure changes caused by the violent air vibrations made her ears ring.

She quickly raised her hand and sped upwards, the spear trailing a white tail as it flew past her feet and crashed far into the forest.

Smoke and dust rose, and the sound of trees breaking could be heard from afar.

Thankfully, Hermione reacted quickly enough. As she flew upwards at an angle, she noticed that the sky had darkened, turning from a deep blue to a leaden gray.

It was like being shrouded in smoke!
"When?"

A question arose in her mind, but she didn't have time to think about it. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that several more "white lines" were rapidly approaching in the distance.

In the blink of an eye, they were right in front of us, and a thunderous sound filled our ears.

Without flinching, Hermione remained calm and anticipated their trajectory, gently turning the handle.

If nothing unexpected happens, she will, like before, bypass them and continue trying to get away from Harry.

But then, an unexpected incident occurred!

Perhaps it was just a gust of wind that disturbed things.

Perhaps it was a sudden change in the air vortex.

Just as Hermione was anticipating the trajectory and trying to avoid the flight paths of the spears, the spear closest to her suddenly deflected by a slight arc.

It's just a tiny angle.

But at the terrifying speed of the spear, even the slightest change will be rapidly amplified.

The spear suddenly drew an arc, and before Hermione, who was adjusting her broom, could react, she heard a snap.

A violent jolt ran beneath my feet!
The next second, her mind went completely blank as she realized that the broom had been hit and gone out of control!
"what--"

With a piercing scream, Hermione was carried away by the out-of-control broom, hurtling towards the covered bridge she was trying to escape.

Everything looks like an "accident," and if we were to review it in hindsight, we would certainly attribute the sudden turn of the spear to an accident.

Because those directly involved, even if they have doubts, cannot perceive anything unusual.

No one would believe that someone's will could make everything in this "world" revolve around him, and that he needed Hermione back with Harry.

And so the world responded to his will!

This interference occurs naturally.

High in the air, Vaughn stared intently down until the broom, its tail billowing smoke and moving erratically, miraculously brought Hermione back to Harry's vicinity, at which point he breathed a slight sigh of relief.

"Don't worry, I'll take good care of Granger."

A faint whisper, like the sound of the wind, reached my ears.

“Albus?” Vaughn raised an eyebrow slightly. He could clearly see that Dumbledore was still in the smoke below.

"it's me."

"What state are you in right now? Is your consciousness encompassing this world? Or has this world become a part of your consciousness?"

"It's hard to describe... I think you'd better experience it for yourself later."

Vaughn was somewhat interested in this, but it was clearly not the time to talk about it now, because through the hazy vision shrouded in smoke, he saw that the situation on the other side of the covered bridge had changed again with Hermione's return.

"We'll talk about the experience later, Harry's in trouble!"

……

Let's go back a few dozen seconds.

Harry's heart is once again put to a terrifying test.

When he was in the middle of the battle, he suddenly saw Hermione, who should have flown far away to find a place to hide, being carried back by an out-of-control broom.

His heart was in his throat.

Hermione!

Hermione screamed as she flew past him, and in his slow-motion view of everything around him, he could clearly see the tears streaming down her face.

Harry reached out, trying to grab her.

In the heat of battle, such a move would have been inappropriate. Taking advantage of the opportunity, a stone guard pounced on the "Queen" and locked her arm.

Thus, the mistake immediately escalated into a devastating disaster—

Taking advantage of the moment when Harry's attack methods were greatly reduced due to one arm being locked, several more stone guards pounced on him.

Then, more and more!

In the blink of an eye, Harry's vision was filled with the bare faces of the stone guards. Their terrifying weight was too much for even the Queen's strength to bear, leaving him unable to move.

He desperately tried to break free and save Hermione, but could only watch helplessly as the broom, trailing black smoke, carried her into the covered bridge!
Like a tiny drop of water falling into the sea, it is submerged among the densely packed stone statues.

Harry couldn't quite describe his feelings at that moment; his mind went blank, and his thoughts seemed to have stopped.

This is the second time he's experienced something like this today; the first time was with Ron...

hateful!

The boy's inner turmoil was about to erupt. He suddenly regretted why he had acted like a hero today. Why had he entered the mechanism guarding the magic stone?

If it weren't for his arrogance, his stubbornness, and his conceit...

Ron won't die, and neither will Hermione...

The Queen's towering figure stood motionless on the covered bridge, while countless stone statues guarded her one after another, completely engulfing the boy who was drowning in pain!
……

"Ah—my test is over!"

Dumbledore's soft sigh echoed in Vaughn's ears.

"Harry finally understands the consequences of his recklessness, and I believe he will remember the pain he feels at this moment for the rest of his life."

"I don't expect this child to become a calm and wise person from now on, but I hope that when he encounters similar situations in the future, he will consider things more carefully, think more deeply, and consider whether he can bear the consequences of failure..."

Vaughn listened quietly to his rambling. Although he still disagreed with his so-called test, Vaughn had to admit that for a 12-year-old boy, "killing" two friends in a row was indeed a profound lesson!

And it was far too profound. He cautioned, "Albus, if there isn't a dramatic turn of events, your savior complex is likely to completely collapse."

"Hahahaha!" Dumbledore laughed. "Alright, now let Harry witness a miracle that only exists in fairy tales."

As soon as he finished speaking, Vaughn heard the previously silent narration resume:

"The warrior's heart sank to the bottom. Although he fought valiantly, the relentless guardians of the dragon's statues were endless, and his companions fell on the battlefield. Harry Potter began to question his decision in despair, blaming himself for his recklessness and rashness!"

"What a touching friendship and growth!"

"Dear warrior, please remember the pain of today, but also remember that the pain is not meant to make you back down, but to help you understand what the justice and responsibility you uphold are for!"

"The observer sheds crocodile tears and makes a decision with unpredictable consequences—Rule number one is now lifted!"

Harry heard the narrator's voice.

Although the pain and darkness in his heart made him want to ignore it, it was always omnipresent, echoing in the sky and in his ears.

He wanted to yell, "What's the point of lifting that damn rule now?"

Could this possibly bring Hermione back...?

The frenzy of his thoughts was still brewing when, amidst the dense, jostling sounds of the countless stone statues guarding him, he heard a clear, high-pitched voice chanting a spell:

"Everte Statum!" (Reversal Spell)

Harry didn't know what the spell was.

But that voice was all too familiar to him.

Is it Hermione?
He blinked, and his previously numb and colorless pupils suddenly regained their luster.

He wanted to raise his head, to look beyond the wall of stone guardians, to see if Hermione was there in the direction the sound came from.

But there were too many stone statues guarding the area.

"Hermione..."

Harry stretched out his hands desperately, struggling against the weight of the stacked stone guards.

Will a miracle really happen?
Back in the Dursleys' house, he had also prayed for a fairytale-like miracle to happen to him.

Whether it's Santa Claus or Jesus Christ, he begged them to take him away countless nights.

But those prayers only brought disappointment after disappointment, and by the time he was about 6 years old, he no longer believed in those things.

Until now!

Six years later, he once again yearned for a miracle.

Then, a miracle really happened!
boom--

With a loud bang, the bridge surface shook violently!
Immediately afterwards, Harry's vision, which had been completely obscured by the stone statues, suddenly brightened.

He was astonished to see... the stone guardians piled on top of him, one after another, flipped into the air by some force, and then fell.

At the same time, Hermione uttered another spell, this time with even stronger emotion, in an almost torn voice:

"Everte-Statum!"

A deafening roar and overflowing emotions imbued the spell with a powerful effect.

All the stone guardians on Harry's body were flipped over by the spell, like stones thrown up by a shockwave, and they were uncontrollably bounced into the air.

With his view wide open, Harry stared blankly at the pale-faced girl standing not far away, amidst the broken limbs of the stone statues.

"Hermione..."

"You idiot Harry, what are you standing there for!" Hermione yelled as she stumbled over.

Despite being scolded, Harry was overjoyed: "Hermione, you're not dead! You're really not dead! A miracle has happened!"

His voice choked, and tears streamed down the queen's stern and cold face.

This left Hermione, who was still shaken and a little irritable, momentarily stunned. But now was not the time for sentimentality. She quickly ran to the "Queen's" feet and climbed up the intricately patterned and gorgeous cloak behind the "Queen."

The stone-carved cloak was enough to support her.

Once she was secure, Hermione smacked Harry hard with her wand: "Harry, hurry, rush across the bridge, rush into the castle, I'll use magic to help you!"

Overjoyed that Hermione had "come back to life," Harry instinctively obeyed her command, grabbing a broken stone arm and whipping it at a charging stone guard while laughing, "Great, Hermione! I just saw you being carried into the group of stone statues by a broom, and I..."

Before he could finish his thoughts, Hermione shouted, "Stop talking nonsense, watch out for both sides of the bridge... Thunderous explosion!"

The two stone guardian statues that had climbed up from either side of the covered bridge were blasted back by Hermione's Explosion Charm.

Her breathing became increasingly heavy.

boom!
After transforming into the "Queen," Harry's powerful acceleration of thought and dynamic vision allowed him to precisely catch a flying spear. The spear abruptly stopped at high speed, releasing a powerful kinetic energy that created a shockwave.

Amidst the billowing smoke, Harry knocked a stone guard away. Hearing Hermione's panting, he asked worriedly, "Hermione, what's wrong? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine, just a little exhausted from using too much magic!"

The continuous casting of spells made Hermione's face even paler, but she dared not linger, not only because of the statues on the bridge, but also because the first rule was now invalid.

"Harry, don't worry about me, hurry up and get there... There's no longer any penalty for using magic, Quirrell might be here any minute!"

Upon hearing this, Harry, who was about to ask more questions, suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

He almost forgot about Quirrell!
But as the neighborhood aunties used to say when I was a kid, if you speak of the devil, he's sure to appear.

Just then, Harry and Hermione heard a soft whisper:

"Hehe, Mr. Harry Potter and Miss Granger, are you waiting for me? Waiting for poor Quirrell?"

Harry turned around abruptly. Behind him stretched from the covered bridge to the edge of the forest, at the end of a ravaged battlefield, where a figure draped in a black robe stood, seemingly out of nowhere.

"Qi-no!"

Blood rushed to Harry's brain, and he gritted his teeth, uttering the man's name slowly and deliberately.

Quirrell slightly lifted his black robe and bowed: "Hello, Mr. Potter, we meet again!"

Before he could finish speaking, he flicked his wrist and unleashed a spell.

"Armor protection!"

Hermione, perched on the "Queen's" back, reacted quickly by reciting the spell, though she couldn't recognize the silent spell Quirrell had cast.

However, in magical duels, as long as it's not dark magic, the Ironclad Charm generally provides good protection.

However, Hermione's understanding of this spell was not very deep. She never imagined that one day she would face a grown wizard head-on!
The thin barrier formed by the Ironclad Curse successfully blocked the spell, but it also collapsed after flickering a few times.

Quirrell chuckled. "I was thinking about this back in Chessboard Town. Poor magic... Of course, Miss Granger, don't be discouraged. Professor Quirrell is actually very happy. For your age, this performance is already quite surprising!"

Quirrell is very relaxed now.

He wasn't in a hurry to get rid of these two overconfident little guys. After all, there were still so many stones and trash on the covered bridge. Instead of expending his own time and effort, why not make use of the available manpower?

He slightly lifted his hood, twirling his wand in his fingers, and as he walked onto the covered bridge, he chuckled and reminded Harry and Hermione, who were staring at him as if facing a formidable enemy, "Are you sure you want to keep watching me? Those stone guardians are still there!"

"you--"

“Harry!” Hermione called out to Harry, staring at Quirrell as she quickly said, “You continue cleaning the statues, I’ll watch him!”

Harry gasped angrily, but managed to control his temper and chose to obey Hermione.

He picked up a broken half of a stone statue, roared, and charged into the group of statues that had rushed over, smashing and throwing them around in a frenzy, venting his anger.

Quirrell didn't actually make a move; he just watched from afar, leisurely commenting as he did so.
“Speaking of which, Potter, is this the reward you received after winning the game? The professor was in such a hurry to leave last time that he didn’t get a good look. It turns out it’s a kind of transfiguration… How amazing! Dumbledore truly deserves to be called a master of transfiguration, doesn’t he, Miss Granger?”

Now how to do?
Hermione sat on the "Queen's" cloak, using a spell to stick herself to it so she could concentrate on Quirrell's every move.

She ignored Quirrell's question, partly because she didn't want to waste her attention on idle chatter, and partly because she was thinking about how to break the deadlock.

The situation was dire; she and Harry were trapped on the covered bridge, with stone guards in front of them and Quirrell slowly approaching from behind.

The bridge deck is less than 6 feet wide, leaving no room for maneuver.

The girl gritted her teeth secretly.

She was certain that she was no match for Quirrell, and as for Harry… the “Queen’s” power was indeed formidable.

However, this power poses no threat to a wizard, although judging from the previous performance in Chessboard Town, Quirrell's magic could not harm the "Queen".

However, the "Queen" cannot harm a wizard who is no longer bound by rules and can freely cast spells.

Leaving Quirrell aside, Hermione herself had several ways to trick the Queen: the Jester Charm, the Tarantella Dance, the Flip Charm, the Come/Fly Charm, the Binding Charm… and even more terrifying ones, the dreadful spells developed by wizards specifically to deal with solid objects—

Shattered!

Hermione didn't know the spell, but she believed Quirrell certainly did!

“But Quirrell has never used the Shattering Curse… or even many other evil curses. Why is that?” Hermione suddenly wondered.

The Shattering Charm is a powerful spell in the modern spell system. Its power also means high demands, requiring emotional control and magical ability.

As far as Hermione knew, normally young wizards wouldn't have enough magic to cast curses like the Shattering Curse until they were close to adulthood.

It wasn't that it couldn't be used before, but rather that its power was very small.

Quirrell graduated long ago and is from Ravenclaw; his knowledge and magic are not a problem... Why doesn't he use it?
I recalled Quirrell in Checkerboard Town, who had only used the Split Charm, the Explosion Charm, and the Disarm Charm. I also remembered the vial containing unicorn blood that Harry and I found at the spot where Quirrell had fallen.

Hermione, quick-witted, called out, "Professor Quirrell!"

“Ah, dear Miss Granger, it’s so nice to hear you call me Professor again,” Quirrell replied cheerfully. “What are you going to say? Are you planning to pledge allegiance to your dear Professor?”

He was grinning, his pale face devoid of the familiar cowardice and neuroticism of the past.

Instead, it transformed into a confident, composed demeanor, as if everything was under control, and even a mood for joking.

Hermione gave a perfunctory smile, but it was a sarcastic one: "I was wondering how someone could change their attitude so quickly. When Dumbledore was around, you practically wanted to become a clown every day, trying your best to please every student who mocked and bullied you, just so you wouldn't attract Dumbledore's attention."

"Before you could use magic, you were also taciturn, low-key and insecure. If we made a casual sarcastic remark, you would turn gloomy and look like you wanted to eat people."

"And now, you're putting on a victor's face, mocking and making fun of two teenagers... I find it strange that there are so many fickle and shameless people in the world?"

Quirrell's expression darkened for a moment, then he smiled indifferently: "Foolish little girl, trying to provoke me won't do you any good. You should be glad my main goal is to obtain the Philosopher's Stone, not to kill someone, otherwise..."

"Or what? Torture me with a gruesome spell? I've heard that dark magic requires vicious negative emotions and immense magical power. Can a coward like you really cast that spell?"

Hermione retorted loudly, "We found out from the centaurs that you've sided with the Dark Lord. How strange! Some people would rather be good people than dogs!"

Boom!

It sounded like teeth being crushed.

Quirrell's face darkened completely. He gripped his wand tightly, narrowed his eyes, and stared at Hermione's face: "For the first time, I find your cute little face really annoying!"

With a wave of his staff, magic silently drifted out from the tip.

Hermione, who was already on guard, immediately shouted, "Protect yourself!"

She doesn't really have many spells to use in combat, but as Vaughn said when he taught her the Ironclad Charm, most battles don't actually require much strategy.

Having at least one spell for both offense and defense is enough to handle 80% of combat scenarios.

Because, frankly speaking, there are only two purposes in a battle: to protect yourself and to defeat the enemy!
As expected, the Ironclad Curse shattered, and amidst the shimmering fragments, Quirrell unleashed another spell that silently attacked.

Having learned her lesson in Chessboard Town, Hermione was naturally on guard. The moment the armor spell shattered, she lunged to the side.

Although she looked a bit disheveled, she had successfully escaped the curse, which left a faint black mark where she had originally stood.

It seems to be some kind of dark magic.

Without bothering to identify her, Hermione raised her wand and shouted, "Expelliarmus!"

Upon hearing the shout, Quirrell instinctively waved his wand to defend himself. The next moment, his face turned red—because Hermione had only shouted and hadn't seen the distinctive red glow of the Disarming Charm.

(End of this chapter)