Hogwarts: Dumbledore reigned over the wizarding world.

Chapter 241 The First Blow of Fate

Ron's plan to divert attention with his boasting did not succeed.

On the contrary, his fabricated stories about going to dangerous places like Albania and Romania inspired the young wizards' unrealistic dreams of adventure.

At least the most audacious little lions are excited!

Harry emerged from the tunnel and heard a third-year student named Andrew recounting his "experience" at the Romanian dragon sanctuary: "—That dragon was 60 feet tall, and the gusts of wind it whipped up with its wings almost blew me away. If my mom hadn't conjured a rope to tie around my head—luckily, the sanctuary's keeper arrived and stopped it. That adventure still terrifies me to this day. Merlin only just found out what my dad was thinking, actually taking us along to feed the dragon—"

He described it in a thrilling way, but as expected, the lion cubs around him listened with shining eyes.

Gryffindors are the embodiment of courage, how could they possibly be afraid of a mere fire dragon?

Even Neville, trembling in the corner, had his fingers clenched wide open as he covered his eyes.

Ron stared longingly at them. "He's bragging, isn't he?"

"What?"

"No dragon can grow to 60 feet tall, and the Romanian Dragon Sanctuary isn't a tourist destination. It's impossible for a wizard to sneak in, bring his children, and feed the dragons—he's making up lies to attract attention!"

Harry glanced at Ron, whose expression seemed to be a mixture of resentment and envy. Clearly, what his friend cared about was not that Andrew had lied.

The person currently surrounded by the crowd, the one boasting like a conch shell, is not Ron Weasley.

Ugh!

Harry, preoccupied with his own worries, sighed at Ron's carefree attitude, ignored the noisy little lions, and hurried back to his dormitory.

Before the others returned, he pulled out his invisibility cloak.

The silver cloak, bathed in the sunlight streaming through the window, resembled a handful of soft, cool moonlight.

Harry hesitated.

With the Invisibility Cloak in hand, stealing the notebook would be a piece of cake—his experience using the Invisibility Cloak last semester had made him realize that apart from Dumbledore and Vaughn (who had clearly exposed him), no one else could detect the Invisibility Cloak.

Including Snape.

Harry had passed by him many times while wearing an invisibility cloak.

Although Snape noticed something was amiss several times, he ultimately found nothing.

The problem now is that the notebook is too singular a target. As long as Snape isn't out of his mind, Harry feels that he will be the prime suspect in Snape's eyes once the notebook is stolen.

"We need to find a way to clear our names—"

Thinking about it, Harry's head started to ache. He was never a quick-witted person, and often a bit stubborn.

He suddenly missed Hermione.

Over the past year, Hermione's erudition and wisdom have helped the trio time and time again when they act together, but he has always overlooked her importance.

Especially not long ago, when she and Ron had a fight, for a fleeting moment, he actually had the thought that she really loved to meddle in other people's business.

Now Harry understood why Hermione ignored him when she stormed off—the girl probably sensed his hesitation.

"Damn it!"

Harry scratched his head in frustration, feeling guilty and regretful.

To make matters worse, he knew Hermione's temperament well; the stubborn girl would likely give them the silent treatment for the next few days until she felt they had had enough time to reflect and be punished sufficiently.

But he probably can't wait that long.

Harry felt a pang of anxiety thinking about how Snape had hurriedly left the library.

To be honest, in the year since Harry enrolled, he has never seen Snape go to the library. As a Potions Master and a powerful wizard, what would Snape be looking for in the library?

And that was after his laptop was confiscated!

Harry wasn't sure if he was just being overly concerned, but he didn't dare gamble.

He didn't even realize that Vaughn or Snape had been subconsciously hiding the notebook's secret.

"Calm down! Calm down, Harry!"

Harry took a few deep breaths to calm his anxiety.

This habit was instilled last year during Vaughn's grueling training. Vaughn used repeated punishments to make him understand that only by learning to control one's emotions can one effectively face and handle problems. If one loses a calm mind, then that person is no different from a wild beast.

"Yes, we can't just steal the notebook back—but we can't just leave it in Snape's hands either—I at least need to make sure Snape hasn't noticed anything unusual about the notebook—"

Countless random thoughts churned in my mind.

Harry felt his mind become quite clear after calming down. Of course, he was unaware that at this moment, threads of white mist were flowing through his surging thoughts and ideas in his mental world.

Observe and record his unusual behavior!

Many of Harry Potter's thoughts and memories were imprinted and stored within his latent personality.

Finally, Harry felt he had sorted out his thoughts and looked at the Invisibility Cloak in his hand.

He decided to go to the dungeon that night and use the Invisibility Cloak to sneak into Snape's office!

Of course, Snape, who spends all his time in the basement and rarely goes out, is an obstacle; we need to find a way to lure him away.

As he was pondering this, the dormitory door opened, and Ron walked in with a disgruntled look on his face, muttering, "Those guys are insane, Harry. I bet if it weren't for the fact that only Professor McGonagall's fireplace had the Floo Network active, they would have already—uh, why are you looking at me like that?"

Harry stared at Ron with a strange look in his eyes, then slowly smiled. "Ron, my good friend, can you do me a favor?"

59

"Somewhere in Hogwarts Castle, an empty corridor was sealed off by powerful magic, eliminating any possibility of a mischievous little wizard accidentally wandering in."

The door to a former abandoned classroom was wide open, and the sunlight streaming through it pierced the darkness of the corridor.

Let's shift our perspective inside the door.

That wasn't a classroom, nor any indoor setting, but a sunny valley!

The steep cliffs on all sides pierce the sky, surrounded by swirling clouds and mist. The river flows gently in the valley, and beyond the shallow mudflats, there are lush woodlands and fields full of wildflowers.

Dumbledore, Vaughn, and Isabella floated above the valley, casting spells downwards.

The terrain slowly changed under the incantation of the three.

At one point, Dumbledore suddenly stopped and turned to look in the direction of the door.

Noticing his unusual behavior, Vaughn immediately understood and stopped casting his spell: "Is it Harry?"

Isabella looked at Dumbledore and Vaughn, puzzled. "What, Harry?"

No one answered.

Vaughn looked toward the door.

This is the world within the painting, and over there is a new entrance to that world.

Following the Quirinus Quirrell incident last semester, Dumbledore gifted the world depicted in the painting to Vaughn in accordance with the principle of equivalent exchange.

When Harry's trials ended, the various challenges prepared for the final battle between Harry and Tom naturally became useless. After Vaughn took over, he reset the entire world in the painting.

According to his previous plan, the world in the painting was intended to be his practice tool after he studied alchemy this semester.

After all, although it was originally just a half-finished alchemy tool, it was completed by Dumbledore, the legendary alchemist, and is of great reference value.

However, plans can't keep up with changes. In order to reform the Defense Against the Dark Arts course, Vaughn had no choice but to bring it out and even sought Newt's consent, asking Dumbledore to help incorporate Newt's briefcase space into it.

Of course, the new world in the painting retains the characteristics of its original counterpart.

It is an independent, mature "world".

Being independent of the external reality of time, space, and fate leads to a rather peculiar phenomenon—only when one is caught in the web can one hardly perceive its depth and breadth, just as one in the mountains cannot see the face of the mountain.

Once you leap out of the net, you will clearly perceive its attraction, entanglement, vibration, and all sorts of strange phenomena.

Moreover, Vaughn also controls the central hub of the world in the painting; he is the master of this "world".

At this moment, in his perception, a series of deep and heavy "rhythms" were rolling across the real world outside the door like muffled thunder.

The rhythm profoundly shook the entire castle, both clearly and intangibly.

Moreover, Vaughn could sense that it was trying to infiltrate.

Based on Dumbledore's reaction just now, Vaughn realized: "That rhythm is the power of the Web of Fate—"

This was the first time he had perceived the existence of fate relatively objectively, even if only indirectly.

After a brief silence in the bright sunshine of the field, Dumbledore withdrew his gaze and nodded apologetically to Isabella: "My dear Isabella, I'm sorry, I have some things to take care of. I'll have to trouble you for a while regarding the modification of the trial site."

Without the control center of the world depicted in the painting, Isabella, completely bewildered by what was happening, asked in astonishment, "Me alone? Where's Vaughn?"

"Vaughn wants to come with me—"

Before long, Isabella watched in bewilderment as the two flew to the ground, passed through the entrance gate together, and returned to the castle.

After a while, she glanced at the half-built hut in the dense forest below, and the surrounding half-built graves, and scratched her head: "What the hell is going on? Seriously—"

"Harry, what's going on?"

As night fell and curfew began, Hogwarts Castle quickly became deserted.

Only the towers of the three houses (Slytherin's are in the dungeons) occasionally echo with playful screams, reverberating in the empty stairwells and corridors, seemingly from another world.

Hidden within the Invisibility Cloak, Ron walked with Harry towards the basement, his face pale with tension. He couldn't help but mutter under his breath, "What's so important about those things Snape took that you insisted on getting them back? And I even have to find a way to lure him away—Merlin, if he gets caught, I'll be dead!"

Thinking about the "horrible" situation he might face if Snape caught him, Ron became increasingly guilty. His face turned pale, and his lips trembled as if he were a Parkinson's patient.

Concentrating intently and keeping a close eye on everything along the way, worried about encountering a fellow student who was out at night, Harry was getting dizzy from Snape's incessant chatter. Ever since he saw Snape during the day, he had been feeling a bit dizzy and disoriented.

-

He thought he might be too anxious.

But it couldn't be stopped.

A multitude of fears, including the fear that Snape would discover the notebook, surged into his mind, dense and numerous, almost overwhelming his reason.

However, having undergone rigorous training, Harry remained cautious.

The cold sensation from the brain shut-in covered his brain, barely helping him suppress the maddening anxiety.

His purpose in coming tonight was not to steal the notebook, but simply to take a look at it and see if it had revealed anything unusual to Snape.

If nothing has been exposed, then detain Snape for a while.

But what if it gets exposed?

Suddenly, an idea popped into my head!

Harry's heart skipped a beat, and in an instant, a multitude of thoughts surged into his mind: what if Snape wrote something in the notebook?

What if the notebook answers him?

Such a magical thing must be the apothecary Ron mentioned. What if Snape wants to keep it for himself?

It had answered so many of his questions, was knowledgeable, gentle and considerate. No matter how naive or simple his questions were, it never looked down on or dealt with him perfunctorily. He was still hoping to change his "bad student" label with the help of the notebook in the new semester. What if it no longer belonged to him in the future?

just in case----

That thought was like a harbinger of a dam breaking; countless unsettling ideas flooded my mind like a burst dam.

The rush of water made Harry clench his fists, breathe heavily, and feel dizzy.

Gradually, an idea became clear: "The notebook—is mine!"

"Harry!"

The sudden whisper in his ear jolted Harry awake from his trance-like state. He looked in the direction of the voice and saw Ron.

"What's wrong? You regret it? Shall we go back?" Ron said in a low, urgent voice.

Harry looked around and realized that he and Ron had somehow ended up in the basement, outside Snape's office.

The underground corridor was dark and the air was cold and damp.

Just a dozen feet away, through the crack in the tightly closed door of Snape's office, a few beams of light flickered out, providing a faint, warm glow.

Harry's forehead veins throbbed as he looked at the door.

He felt his head was heavy, as if countless voices were calling out in his mind, and countless chaotic thoughts were howling and urging him on!

He ignored Ron's hesitant words, and as if possessed, in a trance-like, fanatical, and detached manner, said, "Go, Ron!"

"Remember at the beginning of the year, we were watching Harry, amidst the turmoil of fate, step by step onto the stage. Back then, you asked me what fate was—"

Somewhere in the deep dome of the corridor.

Invisible Dumbledore and Vaughn, just like on that moonlit night a few months ago, sat on a magic carpet, looking down below.

They watched as Ron emerged from the Invisibility Cloak, trembling as he drew his wand, unleashing a fiery blast that crashed into Snape's office—

On the door.

Then they turned around and ran away.

The clumsy plan, however, achieved an extremely effective result. Snape's cold and angry rebuke echoed from inside the office. A second after the flames engulfed the door, the solid wood door burst open with a bang, and Snape, his robes billowing in the wind, floated out like a giant bat.

His senses, enhanced by the Extrasensory Charm, immediately detected the footsteps of Ron as he fled.

He chased after him!

Vaughn stared intently at the professor's seemingly irrational figure.

The professor's reaction was abnormal, or rather, none of the three people below were normal. The impulsive but kind Harry actually dared to instigate others to attack the professor's office.

Especially after the events of last semester, he now clearly knew that Snape had actually been watching over him all along.

There was no deep hatred between the two.

Ron, his twin brother, was all talk and no action, yet he dared to listen to Harry's instigation and provoke Snape, whom he feared most.

This was unimaginable in the past.

Even more bizarrely, Snape, to prevent Harry from being poisoned by Tom's notebook, went so far as to play the villain again, staying in the office for the past two days to prevent Harry from coming to steal the notebook.

But such a clever, cunning, and vigilant powerful wizard was easily deceived by a simple diversionary tactic.

Without hesitation, he left the office where he had been guarding for two days.

In the dark underground, everyone below seemed to have lost their minds, detached from their original wisdom, cognition, knowledge, experience, and so on, as if they had become different people!

But Vaughn knew very well that there was no trace of memory magic on them, and it seemed that all these illogical choices came from their true inner thoughts.

Sitting next to Vaughn, Dumbledore was also looking down, stroking his beard: "What is fate—my answer at the time was ambiguous, not because I was being perfunctory, but because I couldn't define it myself."

"It doesn't follow a fixed pattern or trajectory. When Harry was pushed onto the stage last semester, it could have been an accident or a coincidence. Now, it's happening again, and it could be in the form you're seeing now."

"Perhaps the entire logic of how things operate can simply be different forms of themselves—accidents and coincidences are examples, as are the human brain and intelligence—whether objective or subjective!"

Vaughn remained silent.

Watching silently, Professor Snape left his office and chased after Ron.

As the two figures disappeared, a sliver of air opened up, and Harry, looking excited, hurried into Snape's office.

Vaughn turned around: "Could you show me what the Web of Fate looks like again, like last time?"

Having probably anticipated Vaughn's request, Dumbledore didn't hesitate at all, nor did he resort to the lengthy incantations and rituals of the previous term.

He simply extended his thin, aged hand and gently placed it on Vaughn's shoulder.

In an instant, everything in Vaughn's field of vision changed.

Matter vanishes in an instant, and everything within sight becomes a world of lines and grids.

The space suddenly turned pitch black, with only countless lines and grids clearly visible, outlining the corridor...

Tapestries, reliefs, open doors, flickering lights—the outlines of all objects in this space, and even the movement of time and space itself.

Yet it is neither smooth nor regular—

The "grid world" that the eye sees is distorted!

The feeling was strange, as if I were watching an astrophysical model demonstration, with an invisible, massive celestial body quietly rolling across the model's vector layer.

Only when the points, lines, and surfaces that make up the grid are disturbed by the "gravity" of the "celestial body," losing their original shapes and undergoing strange deformations and bends, can we indirectly glimpse the true appearance of that "celestial body."

That celestial body was the center of gravity, the eye of the storm, and the driving force behind many "accidents" and "coincidences" at the beginning of the year.

This is also the source of Harry, Ron, and Snape's abnormal behavior.

Vaughn silently received the information transmitted by his vision. He saw the center of the distorted grid in Snape's office.

Two invisible "gravitational spheres" were entangled and moving there, looking like a binary star system orbiting each other.

The same invisible yet immense power, through their movement, is transmitted throughout the entire net, seemingly accreting or spreading like ripples.

He knew that the two "gravity balls" that were disturbing the net were Harry and Tom's notebooks!

The intricate web of power, like a tidal wave, swept over his feet and stretched into the depths of darkness. Vaughn stared at it in silence for a moment, his brow furrowing deeper and deeper: "I still can't understand what it is."

Previously, the reason he agreed to follow Harry's lead with Dumbledore was to see if fate was a "god" in the traditional sense, a personified and intelligent being.

Or "Spinoza's God" (meaning some undiscovered law of nature).

"Of course you can't understand," Dumbledore said. "Because this web is the form of fate that I can understand, and then my magic shows it to you. In other words, it's not fate itself, but merely a part of the elephant that is fate. You and I are both blind men touching the elephant!"

"—A metaphor with a very oriental flavor!"

"Darling, I told you before, I've been to the East."

Vaughn smiled, not delving deeper into the topic of the East. Looking down at the distorted center, he paused for a moment, then suddenly asked, "How long will this abnormal thinking that Harry, Ron, and the Professor are currently exhibiting last?"

"It will return to normal as soon as the effects end," Dumbledore said, stroking his beard. "I believe you've sensed it too. It wasn't memory magic. You can think of it as a distortion and overwriting of subjective choices, or as a calibration that ensures a certain probability will inevitably be realized—in short, once the turmoil of fate subsides, it will naturally disappear."

"So, how long will this so-called turbulence of fate last?"

"I don't know, my dear. Usually, fate will temporarily subside once it reaches its limit. Fate clearly wants Harry to have the notebook back, but under its influence, what Harry will choose is an uncertain answer—"

"Harry's choice?"

"Yes, remember what I told you? Fate doesn't like definite outcomes. It only provides a stage for its chosen ones to fight and struggle. So, in a sense, only the chosen ones can decide the final result without having to consider the backlash—this is both its pleasure and its mercy."