I, Hogwarts Second Time Around.

Chapter 139 A Glimpse into the Future

"Oh, thank you!" Nick, who looked like a skeleton, smiled and nodded slightly to Owen.

"Oh!" Suddenly, as if remembering something, he explained slowly, "Albus brought you here. If you feel unwell, you can rest for a while."

As he spoke, he took away all the things that the little black wizard couldn't understand from the table next to Owen's recliner.

"No need, Professor." Owen looked at the greatest alchemist with a strange expression.

He seems to be very—very good to me?

Come to think of it, Nicolas Flamel must have known about his relationship with Grindelwald!

His grandfather almost destroyed the entire city of Paris with a single curse. Nick shouldn't be so friendly to him; he shouldn't be hostile, but he also shouldn't be so mild-mannered.

"Perhaps you're hungry." Nicholas Lemay turned around shakily. Behind him, on a cabinet against the wall, were many French delicacies: large scallops, French chive pie, French chili steak, stewed beef, and so on.

It's still steaming hot!

Well, judging from appearances alone, these things do quite fit Irving's aesthetic.

At least, there was no food like the Stargazing Party that transcended humankind.

Ah~ He doesn't hold back when it comes to food.

Owen, whose face was slightly pale, walked over, picked up a pot of stewed beef and stuffed it into his mouth. It smelled delicious and was sizzling with oil.

"I wonder if it will suit your taste." Nick stood there, a hint of worry flashing in his eyes.

He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the red glow return to Irving's neck and cheeks.

Yes, his potion worked.

"I was worried you'd be bored sitting with a six-hundred-year-old man, so—let me show you some of my alchemical products!"

Then she turned around and introduced him to her residence and the shiny things on the table.

Only then did Owen have time to properly examine this mysterious room where the legendary wizard had lived for hundreds of years.

These are two two-story apartment buildings.

There is a spiral staircase leading upwards in the middle.

The room looked old and dilapidated, more like a safe house than a luxurious residence. The walls were lined with shelves filled with all sorts of bottles and jars, some of which even emitted a strange smell.

As the world's greatest alchemist, Nick is undoubtedly also an exceptional potions master.

Beyond the stairs were two enormous long tables, filled with all sorts of glittering magical artifacts or alchemical products, such as a giant viewing mirror, a crystal ball for prophecy, and a golden balance.

"Hi, I know this crystal ball!"

A hint of surprise flashed in Irving's eyes.

I've seen the movie!

This is a prophecy ball, right?

"Oh! This is one of my inventions. It's not very useful, but it's quite adequate as an early warning device," Nick said slowly, leaning on the corner of the table. "The key is the degree of danger. Danger that could destroy Paris will become much clearer."

As he spoke, a hint of hesitation flashed in his eyes.

Seeing the surprise and eager look in Owen's grey eyes, he couldn't help but say, "Want to give it a try? It's not that accurate, but it might give you some inspiration. Of course—alchemists hate prophecies about things that are beyond their control; the future is not immutable."

"Of course, stop right there!" With that, Owen strode over to the crystal ball, put down his chopsticks and bowl, took out a silk handkerchief from his pocket to wipe his hands, and then placed his hands on the crystal ball with great interest.

But who can stop the allure of glimpsing the future?

Even if it's just a small part.

Of course, everyone's wishes are different. As for Owen, his only wish right now is to become the headmaster of Hogwarts.

Just kidding, but he was actually quite satisfied with Professor Dumbledore.

Want to know who his future wife is? Or want to know if he's living with his grandfather again?

Um—did you ever play a Quidditch match with Harry and the others to fulfill Professor Sprout's dream?

Ah~ Will the old headmaster rekindle his old passion in the valley of Godric some midsummer?

And what about Miss Granger? Did she actually become Minister for Magic? If she did, given their relationship, she shouldn't have any problem getting a nominal ministerial position!

Little Hannah is also a cause for concern; she's a bit simple-minded and always seems to think she'll be tricked.

Did Luna have his name engraved on the ceiling of her room?

Suddenly, a whole host of wishes flooded Irving's mind.

He remembered a saying from his past life: when you can't decide, you can flip a coin. The important thing isn't which side lands on, but the one you hoped for when you tossed it into the air.

It seems he wants a lot of noodles!

This made him open his eyes wide and stare expectantly at the crystal ball.

The moment he touched the originally transparent crystal bottle, a cloud of pitch-black ink surged out.

Then the dark smoke gathered more and more, and soon it coalesced into a ball.

"Hey~ There are quite a lot of people here!"

Amidst the smoke, Owen was surprised to find many familiar figures appearing: Harry, Hermione, Ron, Luna, Hannah, Justin, and even Fleur, whom he had met just yesterday, all appeared in some fragment of his future.

Dozens of people, hundreds of people.

They seemed to be surrounding him.

With an indescribable sorrow on his face, he saw Hermione collapse into Harry's arms, tears streaming down her cheeks and dripping onto the ground.

He saw—

Just then, the image on the crystal ball dimmed, like a flickering incandescent light bulb, as if it would go out at any moment.

"Oh~ it seems to be broken." Nick, who was standing to the side, suddenly took out his wand and gently tapped the crystal ball with the tip of the wand. Then the scene flashed and everything became clear again.

"Hooray! I've become the headmaster of Hogwarts! I knew it! The old headmaster should retire. He's so old. Hogwarts' faculty should be younger and keep up with the times."

Inside the golden auditorium, dozens, even hundreds of people surrounded him, clapping enthusiastically.

Dumbledore rose from the large golden chair, affectionately patted his hair, walked past the crowd, past the professors, past countless reporters, and past a group of high-ranking officials from the Ministry of Magic whom he had never seen before, and led him to sit in the chair that belonged to the headmaster.

In that instant, countless fireworks rose into the auditorium, turning the ceiling into a kaleidoscope of colors.

"Exceptional, child." Nick smiled and took Owen's hand off the crystal ball. "Few wizards have achieved such success. Even Albus, even I, haven't been this outstanding at your age."

"You will be the most important force in changing this wizarding world!" he said.

"But, do you remember what I said?"

"Focus on the present, Professor." Irving picked up his bowl, which was bigger than his head, again, scooped up a spoonful of beef, stuffed it into his mouth, and mumbled indistinctly.

"Yes, focus on the present." Nick patted Irving on the shoulder, a hint of sadness flashing in his weathered eyes.

This wisp of sorrow, which should have drifted away in the air, fell right into Irving's eyes.

He stuffed his mouth full, concealing his true expression, his gaze sweeping over the crystal ball.

The calm sea in my heart is now rippling with waves.

Next, Nicholas Lemaître introduced his other works.

Of all the dazzling array of alchemical artifacts, what impressed Irving the most was the door to the house.

Opposite the wooden spiral staircase is the large wooden door leading out of the house, with a huge clock hanging on it.

The clock has only one hand, and it points not to time, but to countless locations.

Beauxbatons, Hogwarts, Durmstrang, the Paris Opera, the streets of Devonshire, the Ministry of Magic, and dozens of other places.

Just as Owen was pondering this, the single pointer suddenly jumped from the streets of Devonshire to Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, and then the door opened wide, and an old man with a white beard walked in from outside.

It's Dumbledore!

Behind him, the winding Seine River and the towering Gothic Christian cathedrals constantly proclaim his location.

"Wow, you can use a door key like that?" Owen looked at the wooden door in shock, immediately recognizing it as a door key.

But—it shouldn't be able to connect to several places!

As we all know, the location of a door key is unique; the same item cannot become a door key twice and take you to different places.

This is determined by the magical anchor point, just like a person cannot go left and right at the same time.

The only door key Irving knew that led to different locations twice was the golden prayer wheel that Dumbledore brought him to France; its last anchor point was Bhutan.

But that was decades ago, so it's normal for Old Deng to have changed the anchor point.

But this is what's in front of me.

"How did you do that?" Owen stared at the legendary alchemist with great interest.

A Howl's Moving Castle has already sprouted in my heart.

"Oh! This is an invention I made three hundred years ago," old Nick said proudly, then led Dumbledore and Owen to sit on the sofa. "I failed many times. I remember one failed experiment that caused an entire block to be caught in a time warp. The Ministry of Magic spent a lot of effort to quell that magical disaster."

"If you want to learn, I can teach you. It's very simple—for a talented little wizard like you!" Nick said cheerfully.

Irving felt a warm glow in his heart upon hearing this.

Look, this is what it means to be exceptionally gifted, what it means to be outstanding, and what it means to be exceptionally intelligent.

Let's skip this one.

He touched his hair, which had grown to the length of his ears; thankfully, it was all in place.

"What are the results of the investigation, Albus?"

Next to the fluffy chair was a round table with three glasses of sparkling water on it.

Air was squeezed out of the water, as if it were boiling.

"I've made some progress, but not much. It seems I'll have to spend some more time." The old headmaster's gaze swept over Owen without leaving a trace, then landed on his old friend. "I'll trouble you to take care of him during this time."

I'm taking a day off tomorrow. I've been working for seven or eight days straight, bang bang bang!!! I'm frantically making money for the boss, it looks like the company's going to go under! ε=(ο｀*))) Sigh, I can't live with myself if I don't make money for the boss! Ah!!! My conscience, my conscience!!!

Oh! I have no conscience, then it's alright.

(End of this chapter)