The wheelchair-bound warrior is speedrunning Hogwarts.

Unconsciously, Sera silently clenched her wand.

She would not let Vera leave her, never.

Author's Note: Two million words! Great! And it's almost over! Great! So next month I won't be asking for any more votes or tips. It's the last day of the month, so please feel free to give me some rewards if you have them. Thank you!

Chapter Twenty-Two: The Final Duel

It was half a month later that the remaining fairies were driven away and the Ministry of Magic was contacted to handle the aftermath.

Of course, contacting the Ministry of Magic was a task that could only be led by Principal Black and Professor Figo, so Vera could only attend classes as usual while waiting for news.

"What are you thinking about?" Sera's voice came from behind, with a hint of tension that was barely perceptible.

Vera snapped out of her reverie; she was now standing by the window on the eighth floor of the castle, her fingers still resting on the cold glass.

“I was wondering…when did you get so tall?” She smiled, turned her head, and looked up from Sera’s shoulder to her crimson eyes that were still focused on her.

When she first time traveled through time, she was a little taller than Sera, but now she has to tilt her head up slightly to meet those eyes.

Sera didn't respond to that, but instead took half a step forward, further reducing the already small distance between them.

“Professor Figo just came by,” she said, her voice low. “He said the Ministry of Magic has taken care of things, the goblins have signed a new agreement and will withdraw to Gringotts from now on, and there will be no more trouble.”

“Then this mission is completely complete.” Vera’s voice was as soft as the condensation on a windowpane, as if it would dissipate at the slightest touch.

Sera narrowed her eyes, watching as the curve of her lips paused slightly as she uttered those words, as if, in that instant, she had seen something she herself could not.

And indeed, just as she finished speaking, another line of text flashed before Vera's eyes:

[Completed the mission, Hogwarts' approval rating increased by 10%]

It has already reached 90% approval rating.

She subconsciously curved her lips into a smile, and then saw a familiar countdown reappear.

This time, there are only three days left.

Three days, seventy-two hours, four thousand three hundred and twenty minutes.

She mentally broke down that number into countless smaller units, as if that would slow down the passage of time.

But... Vera turned her head to look at Sera, the girl standing by the window, facing the light, her crimson eyes fixed on her.

She hesitated for a moment, about to speak, when she heard Sera say in a trembling voice, "...You're leaving again?"

Vera pursed her lips before turning around, leaning against the windowsill, and forcing her gaze to meet Sera's.

“Three days,” she said softly. “I have three more days.”

Sera's eyelashes fluttered. She didn't clutch Vera's sleeve as she used to, nor did she ask if she could stay a few more days. She simply stood there, letting the evening breeze tousle her long hair.

"Three days, what can you do with that?" she finally asked, her expression now extremely gloomy.

Vera looked at the unease surging in her eyes, her heart softened, and she reached out to gently brush away the strands of hair that had been ruffled by the wind from her forehead.

“Enough to do so many things,” she said softly. “I can stroll with you again at Black Lake, watch the sunrise and sunset at the observatory, accompany you to many more classes, and also…”

She paused, then gently placed her fingertips on Sera's cheek, the touch warm and real.

"I can still say goodbye to you properly."

Sera gripped her wrist tightly, her grip almost trembling, and for the first time, panic and resentment clearly surged in her crimson eyes.

"I don't want to say goodbye," she whispered, her tone stubborn like a child refusing to let go. "You said you'd wait for me to grow up and then answer my questions. Now you haven't kept your promise, so why are you just leaving like this?"

Vera felt a slight pain from being gripped so tightly, but she didn't break free. She simply let her hold her so tightly, her dark eyes filled with tiny sparkles.

"I'll tell you the answer before I leave," she said patiently, her fingertips gently brushing against Sera's reddened eyes. "So, I want to spend these three days with you, okay?"

Sera's breath hitched, and the grip on her wrist loosened slightly.

Seeing her like this, Vera felt a pang of sadness, but she still managed to force a smile and gently pried open the hand that was tightly gripping her wrist. However, she did not let go, but instead intertwined her fingers, palm to palm.

“Let’s go,” she said. “I’ll go with you wherever you want to go for the next three days.”

Sera looked down at their clasped hands, and the last bit of strength in their hands finally loosened completely.

“Let’s do as you said, first go to the Astronomical Tower to watch the sunset.” Her voice was still a little hoarse, but much calmer than before. “Then let’s take a walk by the Black Lake.”

"it is good."

"We're going to Hogsmeade tomorrow."

"it is good."

“The day after tomorrow…” Sera paused, looked up, and gazed at Vera’s face as if trying to etch that face into her eyes. “I haven’t decided yet. We’ll see when the time comes.”

Vera paused for a moment, then laughed out loud: "Okay, whatever you say."

Although she had a general idea of ​​what this person was planning, since Sera wanted to do it, she would let her do it.

You'll feel less regretful after you've tried it.

The setting sun outside the window was slowly sinking, bathing the entire castle in a gentle orange-red hue.

The two stood side by side by the window, neither letting go of the other's hand.

These three days passed much faster than Serra had anticipated.

Together they watched the sunrise and sunset from the Astronomical Tower and walked along the Black Lake, stepping on fallen leaves again and again.

They went to Hogsmeade, bought a large bag of sweets at Honeydukes, and drank two cups of hot butterbeer at Three Broomsticks, chatting until it got dark outside before getting up to leave.

When night fell and she was fully awake, Vera certainly wouldn't allow Sera to get into her bed without her permission.

However, looking at the other person's pitiful eyes, she still acquiesced to Sera's decision to push the two beds together.

The two lay down side by side, quietly leaning against each other, listening to the sounds of the castle outside the window gradually fading into silence.

Vera turned to the side and looked at Sera beside her, who had her eyes closed but was wide awake. She gently brushed her fingertips through Sera's soft hair.

In the past few days, she had done everything she could for Sera, but even so, it could not fill the emptiness brought by the impending separation.

Not to mention the century-long wait that Serra had to endure afterward.

Suddenly, Sera opened her eyes, her crimson pupils staring intently at her in the darkness: "How much time is left?"

Vera paused, her fingertips instinctively retracting, and blinked somewhat guiltily: "By this time tomorrow."

She will leave this place, and it's unknown whether she will be able to come back. Or rather... in fact, Vera already had a vague premonition that after leaving this time, she would never be able to return to this era.

Sera's expression darkened, and she moved a little closer to her, her eyelashes casting dappled shadows in the dim light.

She looked younger than during the day; the composure and calmness she had deliberately cultivated had faded, revealing her youthful face.

“Every time you left before, you would suddenly disappear before my eyes. Will it be the same this time?” She gripped Vera’s hand tightly and spoke as if in a low murmur.

Vera pursed her lips, unsure how to answer.

But Sera didn't seem to be fixated on getting an answer. Instead, she moved forward a little further, her gaze fixed on her: "So, can I understand that... every time you leave, it's because you don't want to, and you actually want to stay, right?"

"Sera, listen to me—"

“You want to stay, but someone… or something unseen is controlling all of this, and it won’t allow you to stay here any longer, right?”

Realizing that she was trying to touch on some taboo subject, Vera frowned and quickly said, "Let me explain..."

“I don’t want to hear it!” Sera’s voice suddenly rose for a moment, then subsided as she realized she had lost her composure, becoming a low, almost pleading tone. “I just want to know if you’re willing to stay.”

Vera opened her mouth, but her throat felt like it was blocked by something.

Of course she was willing.

If she had a choice, why would she disappear from those eyes again and again?

How could this girl, who has been waiting since she was six, turn every reunion into the agonizing countdown?

But she can't.

This is not her era, nor does it belong to her timeline. Every second she spends here is a struggle against some much larger set of rules.

She could feel the presence of that force, like the tides, like gravity, like the changing seasons, irresistible and irreversible.

“Sera.” She slowly sat up, her voice filled with sighs, “I’m willing to stay, more willing than you think.”

Sera's eyelashes trembled violently, and she excitedly stood up and grabbed her hand.

“But I can’t,” Vera said, shaking her head slowly as she broke free of her grasp. “I can’t do it.”

The room suddenly became so quiet that only the two of them could hear each other breathing.

Sera froze in place, still reaching out to grab her, the light that had just ignited in her eyes gradually dimming until only a deep emptiness remained.

She didn't cry or make a fuss, nor did she ask any more questions. She just looked at Vera silently, like an abandoned little animal, whose struggles seemed utterly powerless.

After a long while, she spoke softly, her voice so soft it was almost carried away by the wind outside the window: "You're always like this, always saying you'll come back and making me wait for you."

But you never told me what the place you were going to was like, whether you were doing well there, or whether anyone was taking care of you.

She paused, her fingers unconsciously tightening around the corner of the blanket: "You said you have two lovers, they must both be very good people, sharing your interests and being able to talk to you about anything..."

Moreover, they can see you every day, attend classes with you, eat together, and stay in the library late together.

Vera felt her heart being squeezed tighter and tighter, almost suffocating her.

“I’m jealous of them,” Sera said, her voice so soft it was as if she were admitting to some unforgivable crime. “I’m so jealous that sometimes I even wish you had never met them, that the only person you could be with… is me.”

She lowered her eyelashes, the long lashes casting a small shadow under her eyes, concealing the turbulent emotions within.

Vera watched as her drooping eyelashes faded, and the blush slowly lost its luster. Her heart felt as if it were tightly wrapped in cotton soaked in ice water, a suffocating pain.

She wanted to reach out and hug her, to tell her everything about the future, to lay out their reunion a hundred years from now before her eyes, but when the words came out, only a powerless silence remained.

Even if she spoke out, they would be powerless to change these things.

It only adds to the trouble.

Sera took a deep breath, as if forcibly suppressing all her surging emotions back into her heart. When she looked up again, her eyes had returned to their usual calm, only her slightly reddened eye sockets betrayed her earlier loss of composure.

"Just pretend I didn't say any of that," she said softly, her fingertips gently tracing Vera's palm. "Tomorrow, I'll take you somewhere."

"Okay." Vera responded softly, letting her fingertips linger in her palm, neither asking where she was going nor pulling her hand away.

The fingertips curled gently in her palm, like a butterfly retracting its antennae.

"Go to sleep." Vera gently took her hand and helped her lie down again.

Sera faced her direction, slowly closed her eyes, and her breathing gradually became more even.

But Vera knew she wasn't asleep, because that hand was still resting on the edge of her palm, the fingertips occasionally brushing against it unconsciously, as if confirming her presence.

She lay there, watching the faint traces of candlelight on the top of the curtains, listening to the deliberately soft breathing of the person beside her, until the moonlight outside the window shifted, until the number on her retina jumped a few more times.

The sky was overcast the next day. Vera hadn't slept well all night, so she got up early. She was helping Sera organize the books on the bookshelf when she heard a voice behind her: "Why are you up so early?"

"I just had a little trouble sleeping," Vera said without turning around, her fingertips brushing against an old book with a gold-embossed cover. "I noticed the books on your bookshelf were a bit messy, so I tidied them up a bit."

The footsteps behind her stopped, and warm breath gently landed on her neck.

Sera didn't speak, but gently wrapped her arms around her waist from behind, buried her face in the crook of her shoulder, and took a deep breath, "Smells so good."

Vera was still slowly tidying up the messy books when she heard this, and couldn't help but smile. "It's the scented oil I bought in Hogsmeade yesterday. I lit it as soon as I got up."

It was quite a coincidence that I saw this newly launched fragrance in the aromatherapy shop in Hogsmeade yesterday, and it smelled exactly like the pine frost scent that Sera used in later generations.

She didn't have any suitable perfume here, so she used this as a temporary substitute.

"...You like this taste?" Sera's voice was muffled, buried in her shoulder, with a hint of barely perceptible probing.

Vera paused in her movements, turned her head, and let a strand of hair gently brush against the other person's cheek: "I like it. It's very clean, and it makes me feel at ease."

The arms wrapped around her waist tightened slightly, as if she had obtained some kind of secret satisfaction.

“Then I’ll use this scent from now on.” Sera said softly, her tone carrying an almost stubborn certainty, as if this would lock the scent and the person in the moment firmly by her side.

Vera didn't turn around, but gently placed her hand on her waist, their fingertips intertwining: "Okay."

So, the reason why Sera in later generations always used this fragrance was actually because of herself...

The sky outside the window remained overcast, and the wind swept across the spire of the tower, making a low whistling sound.

The room was filled with a warm fragrance, and the warmth of their bodies pressed together felt more comforting than the flames in the fireplace.

After a moment, Sera slowly released her, took her wrist, and draped a thick cloak over her shoulders.

"Didn't you say you were going to take me somewhere?" Vera fastened the ribbon and looked up at her.

Sera looked into the gentle light in her eyes, her throat bobbing slightly, and reached out to tighten her collar: "Yes. Let's go now."