Magical Studies at Hogwarts...

Chapter 340 The Rift (Part 1)

There is no doubt that Ike's research has stalled.

Although he was determined to search Gringotts' vault for any magical books that might be hidden there, it was clear that there wouldn't be much of an opportunity in the short term. But Ike didn't want to just wait around. After much deliberation, he decided to do something extremely dangerous and reckless:

This violates the five-hour time travel limit!

For Ike, who was used to planning everything meticulously, this was undoubtedly a very risky undertaking. But compared to the stagnant research progress, he was willing to take the risk.

Moreover, he wasn't entirely without confidence.

Back in Hogwarts, Ike had already formed some conjectures about time travel through the Time-Turner. At the time, he believed that the Time-Turner couldn't create new timelines, but rather folded and layered the same timeline, repeatedly jumping back and forth at a certain point in time.

However, after obtaining the research notes from the Time Hall of the Department of Mysteries, a very serious time travel accident recorded in them gave Ike a new perspective.

In 1899, a wizard named Eloise Mintab was trapped in 1402 for five days. When she returned, her body had aged irreversibly by five centuries, and she died in the hospital not long after.

During those five days, she did things that severely disrupted and rewrote the fates of everyone she met in 1402 and herself, with very serious consequences. Many people suddenly disappeared, and strange things inexplicably began to happen all over the world.

The notebook concluded that time travel is dangerous, and anything a traveler does in the past will affect the present timeline.

Therefore, time travel must be strictly regulated, which is why a maximum of five hours has been set.

However, Ike's conjecture is: what if the time travel accident involving Alois Mintab was something that was bound to happen on the timeline?

He didn't know if it was right or wrong, but given the uniqueness of the prophecy, he couldn't rule out the possibility.

Therefore, Ike is at least 50% certain that his time travel will be safe. In research, however, a 50% chance of success is often enough to justify taking the risk.

He had even thought of the timing: the period around when Julianne found him!

He stumbled upon this memory during the summer break at the end of his third year, and it was at that time that he cast a protective spell on Julianne's brain. Originally, he planned to wait until everything settled down before investigating this strange secret, but Dumbledore's intervention thwarted his plans.

Since he'd suddenly decided to take a look, he figured he might as well. He was also very curious about how he'd come to be in this world, and where that useless notebook system in his head came from.

His intuition told him that he would gain something.

"Teacher, I want to go out for a while." After finalizing the plan, Ike went straight to Old Fu.

"Oh? What are you going to do?" Old Fu asked, somewhat surprised. "You've read all of those?"

"I've finished reading it, but I'm even more confused now," Ike sighed. "I feel like my brain is a complete mess. Maybe going out for a walk will give me some new inspiration."

"I see... So, where do you want to go, Ike?"

"Teacher, I want to find the most mysterious place in this land. There are some clues mentioned in those things."

"This is no simple matter. Even a thousand years ago, that place was a legendary location."

"I've already found a few legendary sites, haven't I?"

"Ha, hahaha..." Old Fu suddenly laughed. "Alright, go ahead then. I'm still really looking forward to seeing what you'll bring back for me this time..."

Ike wasn't making it up; that place was indeed mentioned in Slytherin's manuscripts and notes. It was brief, just a few sentences, seemingly copied from an even older text.

Legend has it that the place is in the southwest of England, and coincidentally, Gloucester is also there.

After saying goodbye to Old Voldemort, Ike returned to the laboratory, packed everything up, and then left Malfoy Manor.

Leaving the manor grounds, they Apparated directly to Gloucester. After searching along the road for a while, they finally stopped on the road that Julianne remembered.

Although it was daytime, no car passed by after a long wait. Ike felt a little more at ease and took out a time converter. Just as he was about to start it, it suddenly stopped.

He stared at the ring on his hand, sighed after a long while, and tapped it rhythmically with his fingertips. Then, he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and when he opened them again, the time converter had begun to spin wildly.

This was a massive undertaking, requiring hundreds of thousands of rotations. Ike, of course, wasn't going to be foolish enough to use his hands to spin it; with a flick of his finger, the time converter started moving on its own.

As the time converter spun, the scene before Ike's eyes changed rapidly. Sunrise and sunset, spring coming and going, time seemed to be flowing backward at a visible speed.

Ultimately, it stopped on October 5, 1979.

That was the day Julianne found him.

The journey of over a decade had little impact on Ike; it only piqued his curiosity about the unique sights of the 70s and 80s. At least a decade later, there weren't nearly as many trees lining that road.

Using the Disillusionment Charm to conceal his form, Ike waited quietly by the roadside. It was already afternoon, and the setting sun hung in the western sky, leaving behind beautiful streaks of evening glow.

He didn't need to move; according to Julianne's memory, it wouldn't be long before she drove onto this highway and returned to the orphanage.

Sure enough, not long after, a brand new Rover drove up from afar and quickly passed right in front of Ike.

Ike flicked his finger and took a step, easily following behind. He wasn't sure if he could enter that strange road like Julianne, so he stayed very close to the car, basically only two fists' distance away.

It wasn't dangerous. Julian wasn't driving fast and was driving more steadily at that moment. Besides, he didn't remember any sudden steering wheel movements, so there was no chance that Julian had scraped or hit him.

And so, Ike followed quietly, as darkness gradually fell. Until one instant, a bolt of lightning suddenly ripped across the sky.

Suddenly, Ike stopped in his tracks, his face filled with astonishment.

Because he discovered that Julianne's car "stopped" the instant the lightning struck!

From Julianne's perspective, she was driving straight ahead, but in Ike's eyes, although the wheels were spinning rapidly, the car itself did not move forward even a centimeter on the road.

Behind the car, the sky remained clear, but ahead, a torrential downpour had begun. Then, just three or four meters in front of the car, the sky cleared again. It was as if this section of space had been abruptly severed from the world.

Outside of space lies Gloucester in 1979.

Who knows what kind of place this space is!

(End of this chapter)