The interval between being able to see images was once every half a month?
At that frequency, it was still acceptable.
In the darkness, Dawn watched the reappearing patch of light, and this thought flashed through his mind. His half-asleep consciousness immediately plunged into it.
In an instant!
The world became brilliantly bright!
"No, no! Harry, don't fixate on the wand movement in the textbook. The essence of magic lies in the mind and in belief."
A familiar voice reached his ears.
Dawn opened his eyes and found himself in a classroom bathed in the setting sun.
The walls were old and worn, and the room looked as though it had not been used for a long time.
At the front of the classroom sat a cage.
Inside was a large, shiny-furred rat squeaking in terror.
Harry was panting heavily as he pointed his wand at it, repeatedly shouting, °Petrificus Totalus°
He was obviously practicing the Full Body-Bind Curse.
Meanwhile, his past self, the boy named Lai, was sitting on the only desk in the classroom, holding a copy of Advanced Transfiguration and occasionally offering him advice.
The scenes in the dream weren't seamlessly connected either!
That was the first thought that crossed Dawn's mind.
He then glanced at the collar of Lai's robes.
From the pattern and color, he could tell that Lai had still been sorted into Ravenclaw.
Now that he had a general idea of the situation, Dawn narrowed his eyes and observed the harmonious relationship between his past self and Harry.
To be honest, he was genuinely astonished.
He had never expected his past self to do something so pointless and troublesome.
From Lai's behavior on the train, it was obvious that he knew how troublesome Gryffindor and Slytherin could be and had even expressed his intention to stay away from them.
Yet now...
He had voluntarily gotten involved with Harry.
Dawn really couldn't understand it.
He stared at his past self, whose features were noticeably gentler, and once again became suspicious.
Did this guy actually have memories of the original Harry Potter story?
Or...
Was the difference between his current way of thinking and his past self's way of thinking really that enormous?
Bang!
Suddenly!
A sound snapped Dawn out of his thoughts.
He turned his head and saw a red beam shoot from Harry's wand and strike the rat squarely.
The animal instantly stiffened.
Harry froze for a moment. Then his face lit up with delight.
"Lai! I did it! I learned the Full Body-Bind Curse!"
"Really?"
Lai rolled his eyes.
"Well, that's wonderful news! I was starting to think I'd have to stay here with you until midnight."
He snapped the book shut, jumped down from the desk, and stretched.
"All right. Since you've learned it, let's get back to the common room. Filch is about to start his patrol."
Harry didn't mind the sarcasm in his friend's voice.
His heart was filled with gratitude.
He nodded vigorously, picked up the cage containing the rat, and walked out with Lai.
The sun set quickly at this time of year.
The orange-red sunset had covered the sky only moments ago, but now the light had faded into a dim twilight.
The two chatted casually as they walked through the corridors.
They talked about McGonagall's strictness, Flitwick's humor, and then joined together in condemning Snape's blatant favoritism against certain students.
It was nothing more than ordinary school life.
Until they reached a junction.
Lai suddenly stopped and waved goodbye to Harry.
"You're not going back to the common room?" Harry asked curiously. "Ravenclaw isn't that way."
"Ah, don't worry. I still have something to take care of. I'll go back myself once I'm finished."
Lai gave him a perfunctory explanation.
But Harry immediately looked guilty. "Sorry, Lai. I made you practice with me for so long."
"It's fine. As long as I was able to help."
Lai smiled.
He said nothing else and turned away.
Harry watched his back, deeply moved.
He clenched his fists and promised, "Lai, don't worry! I absolutely won't lose to Malfoy in tonight's duel!"
He took a deep breath before jogging toward Gryffindor Tower.
He still had time, so he intended to discuss the details with Ron.
Ah!
So this was the night of the duel!
Dawn, forced to follow behind Lai, had heard everything and immediately deduced that this was roughly two weeks after the first-years had arrived at Hogwarts.
He remembered this day from his own memories.
After leaving the Room of Requirement, Dumbledore had stopped the staircase, leaving him trapped inside the room, where he had witnessed the Mirror of Erised and had his first conversation with the old Headmaster.
Dawn studied Lai's route.
It seemed his destination was also the Room of Requirement.
He couldn't help becoming curious.
What would happen next in the real past?
Suddenly!
Lai, walking ahead, clasped his hands behind his head and muttered to himself,
"Honestly, why am I even bothering with something this troublesome?"
Dawn snapped back to attention.
He raised an eyebrow.
From that complaint, it sounded as though Lai hadn't helped Harry out of genuine goodwill.
Had Harry asked him in front of everyone, making it difficult for him to refuse?
Dawn silently criticized this personality that seemed nothing like his own.
But before he could speculate further, Lai looked to the side and continued talking to himself.
"Yes, yes, I know. You're really nagging. I just hate troublesome things."
"Teaching someone the Full Body-Bind Curse? It's something you can learn after watching it a few times. It's so boring."
Crack!
At that moment, it felt as though an electric current shot straight up Dawn's spine.
His eyes suddenly hardened.
He instinctively looked around.
The entire corridor was empty.
Aside from himself, an invisible phantom that nobody could perceive, there was only Lai.
There wasn't even a portrait.
Then...
Who was Lai talking to?
"Merlin Ambrosius."
Dawn's crimson eyes grew deeper.
He stared at the figure ahead and slowly exhaled.
He whispered the name.
Actually...
It wasn't difficult to guess.
Whether relying on a wizard's intuition or the clues he'd gathered previously, there was only one answer that made sense.
The legendary Archmage.
Dawn's lips tightened.
He had wondered when Merlin would appear before Lai.
But judging from the current situation...
Merlin seemed to be there all the time.
"Reborn Harry Potter with Merlin the Archmage as a Cheat?"
The ridiculous title suddenly popped into Dawn's head.
But he knew perfectly well that Merlin's existence couldn't possibly be as simple as the convenient cheat in some storybook.
Even though he had already known that Merlin had interacted with his past self, seeing the relationship take this form still felt deeply wrong.
Why was Lai the only person who could see or hear Merlin? How had they ended up in this strange state?
Dawn's head filled with questions.
And there was something else.
From Lai's previous words, it seemed that his decision to associate with Harry had also been suggested by Merlin.
Why?
Dawn's thoughts became increasingly chaotic.
He clicked his tongue irritably.
Every time he entered this dream, he not only failed to answer his questions... He somehow gained even more of them.
He quickened his pace until he was beside Lai.
He watched the boy's expression while listening to his supposed "monologue."
"I know I'm a genius. You don't need to tell me that.
I just didn't expect someone would need several hours to learn the Full Body-Bind Curse.
All right, all right! I know there are always people better than you.
It's something you could explain in one sentence, but you insist on rambling forever.
But I really didn't expect the legendary Archmage to be this cautious.
By the way, isn't this a side effect of being imprisoned by the Lady of the Lake?
What? That story is fake? Then what really happened?
Ha! Stingy old man. Fine, don't tell me."
Lai continued talking one sentence at a time.
Dawn narrowed his eyes.
He slowly constructed an image of Merlin in his mind.
A cautious, somewhat long-winded Merlin.
Hmm.
That was very different from what he'd imagined.
Dawn shook his head.
It was unfortunate that he couldn't hear Merlin directly like his past self could. All he could do was infer what Merlin was saying from Lai's responses.
Moreover, once they left that secluded corridor and reached areas with portraits and passing students, Lai suddenly stopped talking.
Squish.
A strange sound of flesh being compressed came from the corridor.
Dawn, lost in his thoughts, was startled.
He looked up.
Apparently, Lai had stepped on something soft around the corner.
Correction.
It was a young wizard writhing helplessly on the floor.
"You're Neville Longbottom, right?"
Lai raised an eyebrow as he recognized him.
Then he looked at Neville's legs, which were stuck together and unable to move.
He immediately understood.
Bullied again?
Neville heard the voice and struggled to raise his head.
Seeing that Lai's robes weren't those of a Slytherin, he hesitantly opened his mouth, intending to ask whether Lai could help him.
But before he could say anything...
Lai crouched down and patted him sympathetically on the head.
"Keep going, Mr. Longbottom!"
"You're still several floors away from the Gryffindor common room. At your current speed, it'll take you at least another two hours."
Neville froze.
His neck shrank.
He immediately abandoned any thought of asking for help.
He only hoped this person wouldn't bully him like Malfoy did.
Lai was about to walk around him.
But then...
He stopped.
With an irritated click of his tongue, he drew his wand.
Under Neville's slightly frightened gaze, he removed the spell.
"Ah, sorry, sorry. Just a little joke. Filch is about to start patrolling. Hurry back to your common room."
With that, he simply left.
Neville stared after him. Only when Lai had disappeared into the distance did he finally react.
He hurriedly scrambled to his feet and called out,
"Th-thank you!"
Dawn watched the entire scene.
To be honest...
He understood less and less.
In his own memories, the reason he had become friends with Neville was because Dumbledore had stopped the exchange involving the Malfoy family.
Without that incident, he and Neville would have remained two completely unrelated lines.
Just like he and Harry.
And judging from Lai's words, although his personality was different from Dawn's current self, he was still someone who hated trouble.
So why had he helped Neville?
Dawn remembered Lai's hesitation just before dispelling the spell.
Could it be...
Merlin again?
Was this legendary Archmage actually some kind of righteous hero who couldn't stand by when he saw someone being bullied?
Dawn's face tightened.
He wasn't sure.
Lost in his thoughts, he firmly memorized everything he had seen in the dream.
Before he realized it, Lai had reached the eighth floor.
And then...
Another situation completely beyond Dawn's expectations unfolded.
Around one corner on the eighth floor, a blond man with pale eyebrows emerged.
Beside him walked a round-faced, somewhat dull-looking child.
It was Harris and William!
Dawn's eyes widened in astonishment.
He stared at the approaching pair. He had never expected to encounter them here again.
What was that man doing here?
Seeing the sorrow and disappointment on Harris's face, Dawn thought for a moment.
He guessed that Harris had probably come to seek Dumbledore's help regarding William's Blood Curse.
Dawn instinctively wanted to follow them.
But Lai didn't know the pair.
He merely glanced at them before walking past.
Dawn was forced to follow.
"FUCK!"
Dawn cursed inwardly.
There was nothing he could do but watch the two men grow farther away until they disappeared from sight.
Soon...
Lai found Barnabas the Barmy tapestry.
He walked back and forth along the corridor three times before a handle appeared on the wall.
He grasped it.
The door to the Room of Requirement opened.
Creak.
Dawn looked inside.
It was a bedroom-like space containing a desk and a bed.
Lai walked in, sat at the desk, and opened the copy of Advanced Transfiguration he'd been carrying.
He continued reading.
With nothing else to do, Dawn stood beside him and read along.
Advanced Transfiguration.
It was a book that explored Transfiguration in considerable depth.
Dawn had read it before, but revisiting it now gave him a different perspective.
The room was exceptionally quiet.
The sound of pages turning accompanied the moonlight.
Meanwhile...
The castle gradually became chaotic.
Harry had been ambushed by Draco and, together with his three friends, was frantically fleeing from Filch.
They accidentally stumbled into the room containing the three-headed dog.
Dawn hadn't witnessed it himself.
But he could imagine the commotion perfectly.
And Filch's furious shouting as he chased them through the castle.
Still...
None of it had anything to do with Lai.
He simply continued reading.
He continued taking notes.
When he became tired, he yawned, closed the book, climbed into bed, and went to sleep.
"..."
Dawn stared at the scene.
His face twitched.
He was speechless.
"So, looking at this..."
"The first conversation I remember having with Dumbledore never happened at all."
He rubbed his forehead.
Still unwilling to give up, he continued watching, hoping something else might happen.
Until finally...
The soft sound of breathing and the shifting light outside gradually froze.
Dawn knew he was about to wake up.
He had no choice but to admit it.
In the real past...
Tonight really had been completely uneventful.
Inside the wooden cabin...
Dawn slowly opened his eyes.
The scenes from the dream flooded into his mind, leaving him dazed for a moment.
But this time, he didn't waste any effort analyzing everything.
Dawn had already figured it out.
Rather than obsessing over incomplete information now, it would be better to wait until he'd experienced enough dreams for everything to eventually become clear.
So...
He rubbed his head and pushed the dream's mysteries to the back of his mind.
After getting out of bed, he used the Hufflepuff Cup to prepare breakfast.
Then he took the silver-white locket from his wallet.
Compared with the established events of his past, the ominous feeling he'd experienced yesterday was far more important.
Dawn's expression became serious.
He played with the locket for a while before putting it on and casting Fiendfyre.
He discovered that, compared with before, the flames were indeed slightly more powerful.
They were also easier to control.
Dumbledore had been right.
Slytherin's Locket really did enhance the power of Dark Magic.
However...
After searching it inside and out once again, Dawn still couldn't find the source of that ominous feeling.
He took out the three Horcruxes currently in his possession.
After hesitating for a long time, he still wasn't psychologically prepared to destroy another one.
Dawn irritably scratched his hair.
But he knew this wasn't something that could be forced.
So he could only helplessly grin, lean back in his chair, and stare blankly at the rising sun outside the window.
Thinking about it carefully...
Ever since entering the wizarding world, it seemed that he had constantly been troubled by one mystery after another.
He had never really been allowed any peace.
"Forget it."
"Take it slowly."
Dawn took a deep breath and forced himself to regain his spirit.
He decided to focus on something where he could clearly see his progress.
He would continue researching the Trait Patterns.
However...
Perhaps because of his collector's instinct, before putting Slytherin's Locket away, he deliberately took out the Ravenclaw Diadem and Hufflepuff Cup as well.
He placed all three together on the desk.
Looking at the three artifacts of the Four Founders gathered in one place, Dawn felt an immense sense of satisfaction.
Then he remembered the one artifact he was still missing.
Gryffindor's Sword.
That immediately made him uncomfortable again.
"I have to find a way to get it."
Dawn made up his mind.
But then!
Just as he'd had his fill of admiring the three artifacts and was about to put them away...
The three magical artifacts on the desk suddenly began vibrating together.
It was as though they had sensed one another.
"Hm?"
The unexpected development left Dawn stunned.
What was going on?
He raised an eyebrow, a trace of confusion rising in his heart.
After thinking about it, he didn't immediately interfere.
Instead, he decided to wait and see what would happen.
However...
What happened next left Dawn utterly bewildered.
After resonating together for a brief moment...
The three artifacts of the Four Founders suddenly seemed to lose their connection.
They separated.
Then...
They became completely still again.
___________
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