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Led by Professor McGonagall, Black and Hermione entered the Great Hall with their pets.
It was a sea of pointed black hats; each of the long House tables was lined with students, their faces glimmering in the light of thousands of candles floating over the tables in midair.
Professor Flitwick, who was a tiny little wizard with a shock of white hair, was carrying an ancient hat and a three-legged stool out of the hall.
"Oh…" Hermione scowled. "We missed the Sorting Ceremony."
"And?" Black retorted. "You were hoping to hoodwink someone to join Slytherin, instead of Gryffindor?"
Professor McGonagall's lips twitched, but she found it beneath her to indulge in children's arguments and continued to march forward between the tables, joining her colleagues.
Far behind her, where the long tables began, Hermione stared at Black with the same disbelieving, judging eyes.
"How dense can you be?!" she hissed. "Astoria will be starting her first year. I needed to witness…"
Black raised his hand between them, making Hermione stop.
Then, slowly, he pointed a finger in Gryffindor's direction.
Hermione frowned, involuntarily following his finger, and saw… Astoria Greengrass in the red and gold of Gryffindor, with Ginny next to her.
"No...." Hermione gasped.
Black smirked and almost patted the shocked girl's shoulder before Crookshanks hissed at him.
Then, with a wide smile and a great scowl on their faces, they parted, each heading toward their House table.
Black reached for the seat Draco had saved for him and sat down between him and Harry, Ron seated on Harry's other side.
Uncle Black, the big black dog, also quietly hunched on its legs next to the boys, many students casually patting its head.
"What was all that about?" Draco asked Black, as Harry and Ron leaned toward him.
Black briefly told them about McGonagall refusing to help Hermione with extra courses by not giving her a Time Turner.
"What's a Time Turner?" Ron asked, puzzled.
Harry shared a puzzled look, having no idea what this item was.
On the other side, Draco's eyes widened the moment he heard those two words. "Wow…" he gasped. "I heard Darcie asked father to sign a form to have one, too. It's a device that lets you go back in time."
"What?" Harry, Ron, and Black gasped.
If the Ministry had such a thing, then…
"… It's too dangerous, I heard," Draco added hurriedly. "You need to follow lots of rules and such. I don't know why they haven't used it against the Dark Alliance, even after Dumbledore took over the Ministry. But… if he hasn't, then there must be a good reason…"
Harry and Ron had their mouths open in astonishment.
It felt just too shocking to hear about a device that would let one go back in time. Still, after hearing Draco, and the more they thought about it, the shock faded, getting replaced by a phantom feeling of dread.
"Perhaps, they don't want something like that to fall into a dark wizard's hands," Harry remarked.
"Perhaps…" Draco shrugged.
"Speaking of Dumbledore," Black said. "Listen to this…"
Then, he told them about how the Headmaster had directed McGonagall to free up a part of his schedule this semester.
"Ancient Magical Script?" Harry guessed under his breath.
"McGonagall didn't say it outright," Black nodded. "Maybe she didn't know herself. But, yeah. That could be it."
The four Gryffindor boys were about to discuss more when, suddenly, the entire Great Hall quietened.
No teacher cast any Spell.
Yet, all whispers just died, like the receding of a tide.
The hair on the back of Black's neck stood up, his head snapping toward the raised platform where the teachers' table was.
A wizard had appeared there, small black tongues of fire curling around him as they faded away.
He looked middle-aged, but toward the younger side. He was wearing black robes with a touch of red and gray here and there. His long black beard not only lacked any gray, but it also looked much fuller.
And in his hands, he wielded a Wand, merely looking at it drying all lips.
What the actual fuck?! Black thought, disbelieving the sight. You've got to be fucking kidding me!!!
It hadn't even been weeks since Dumbledore had appeared in America, making an Unbreakable Vow with someone he thought was Lord Yellow Warlock.
Kai had been observing the developments through the Echoes implanted in Meg's mind at that time.
So the moment Black saw Lord Black Phoenix coming to a stop behind the owl-lectern, he could instantly tell that this man was much younger than before.
And that very observation felt outright impossible.
Dumbledore's youthfulness was not only a mark of his growing strength, but also a mark of his resurrection after being killed by his worst enemy.
Kai had already confirmed that when the Half-Deep One had manipulated him to kill Dumbledore once in America.
[Now you know where and how the Time Turners are being put to use…] Timeline's sigh brushed past Black's ears, like wind. [… And who used them…]
He's… The Ad Infinitum and Lucky Intuitions confirmed. … going back in time to die under my hands by replacing himself before he had arrived to help Ilvermorny's headmistress… again and again…
But the observation itself wasn't the crucial question.
It was—had Lord Black Phoenix planned all this even then?!
It was—was there any limit to how many times Dumbledore could do this?!
It was—if Dumbledore had been doing this for a while now, then why hadn't the Timeline warned him?!
[Don't worry…] Timeline added. [… It's already over. He can't do this anymore.]
Bitch! Black cursed, sensing the Timeline vanishing, his fingers curling into fists. He's already almost as strong as a 12th Floor Contestant!
At the same time, Lord Black Phoenix smiled at the children, his black eyes hiding the Despair miles within.
"Welcome!" said Dumbledore, the candlelight shimmering on his beard. "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! I have a few things to share with you all, and as one of them is very serious, I think…
"… it's best to get it out of the way before you become befuddled by our excellent feast."
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