Carlyle sat slumped in his chair, silent, seemingly consumed by regret and despondency.
He could hear Professor McGonagall arguing with the Aurors:
"How could you… how could you just snap his Wand? The Ministry of Magic can't just expel our students!"
"Please calm down, Professor. The truth is…"
"That's impossible! Carlyle Johnson is an excellent student! Even if his… his race might be different, I absolutely refuse to believe he would commit those terrible crimes you're alleging!"
"Believe me, Professor McGonagall. If I had a choice, I wouldn't want to treat a child like this either. But do you know what he tried to do? He deliberately led Wade Gray into a room ambushed by dozens of Vampires!"
"Could there be a misunderstanding?" Professor McGonagall said, disbelievingly. "Or perhaps… perhaps it was the Imperius Curse… he didn't know what he was doing…"
"No, he knew. We can confirm he entered Hogwarts with a purpose from the beginning, Professor McGonagall. The Carlyle Johnson you know is just a facade he created."
Their voices drifted through the door. Carlyle listened as Professor McGonagall's tone shifted from anger to shock, then gradually to disappointment, but he felt little.
This professor was kind, but he couldn't bring himself to be close to her.
He lowered his head, staring at the gold chain in his hand for a long time, before finally putting it around his neck and gently twisting it once.
The golden hourglass spun, glinting faintly. Its craftsmanship was exquisite, and the sand inside silently slid down.
But nothing happened. The voices outside the door continued without interruption.
Carlyle exhaled a long breath, leaning back in his chair, his eyes vacant as he stared at the ceiling, as if all his strength had left him.
He had known this wouldn't be so easy.
Especially when Wade left without asking for the timer back, Carlyle suspected that what he had was just a fake. But even so, he was still struck by immense disappointment at this moment.
...
Carlyle had always wondered why his classmates were so oblivious, and why no one had discovered the huge secrets hidden by Wade and Hermione.
Especially Harry, Ron, and Neville. They had spent more time with Hermione and knew that many of her classes repeated, and that she never missed a lesson. Yet their Flobberworm-gnawed brains refused to think even a little deeper.
Carlyle was different. He had been observing Wade and had noticed problems early on.
At first, he thought it was a type of Magic involving "clones," but he couldn't find a similar Spell after searching through all the Magic Books. Later, he thought it was a Magic Golem. It was only from Hermione's increasingly exhausted state that he finally guessed the truth: the most incredible one—Time.
Wade was elusive and difficult to monitor. Hermione, however, was much more careless. After tracking her for a few days, Carlyle discovered that whenever she turned that golden hourglass, she would suddenly vanish from the spot.
What followed was a long process of verification and research, which was quite difficult, but Carlyle eventually confirmed the Time-Turner's function, usage, and various taboos.
All descriptions of the Time-Turner repeatedly emphasized that it could only be used for minor matters and could not change history.
However, there was also a famous experiment concerning the Time-Turner, used to warn future generations:
A Witch who traveled several centuries back in time and stayed for several days indeed altered the lives of those she encountered, causing some individuals who should have been born to disappear completely, and creating temporal disturbances later on. She herself rapidly aged and died as a result.
This proved that altering the past with a Time-Turner was not impossible, but the cost was too heavy, and the Wizarding World was unwilling to bear it.
But Carlyle didn't care. Ever since he learned about it, he had been thinking about how to get his hands on a Time-Turner.
He had personally witnessed Dumbledore's power and terrifying presence and dared not act recklessly at school. Wade also hadn't accepted the invitation for the holidays, so the only convenient time for his plan was the Hogsmeade Weekend.
Coincidentally, his nominal parents had been planning to deal with Wade Gray.
This was another one of their mistakes. Originally, Carlyle's memory had been forcibly erased with an Obliviation Charm, and a fabricated memory of him growing up in The Organization had been implanted, with the intention of training him to be a Wizard loyal only to The Organization.
However, later, as Wade gained prominence, The Organization realized the immense value in this young Alchemist. Further investigation revealed that Carlyle and Wade had grown up together as friends, and The Organization was overjoyed, hoping to exploit this connection.
But those who are too greedy often gain nothing.
Before performing "memory removal" on someone, The Organization would extract and save a copy of their old memories. They wanted Carlyle to gain Wade's trust more easily, so they had to return his memories of time spent with Wade.
But these memories were incompatible with the monotonous memories of training in The Organization, containing many inconsistencies.
So the Wizards of The Organization had to keep editing and revising Carlyle's memories, replacing the appearance of his parents and changing his identity to that of a natural Vampire.
The Organization seemed to believe that racial differences would prevent him from ever truly integrating into the Wizarding World, and his childhood experiences of killing would be a handle that could easily destroy trust.
Even if Carlyle was placed in Hogwarts, his ultimate destination would still be The Organization, his "Vampire family."
But unfortunately, memory is not like film. Just because something that once existed is cut out doesn't mean it leaves absolutely no trace.
Carlyle had forgotten the true appearance of his parents, but he still remembered his mother's gentle voice, his father's cheerful smile, their scent, and the irreplaceable feeling of happiness when they were close.
Vampires, however, carried a bloody smell that could never be washed away, and if you sniffed closely, there was also a peculiar, sweet odor of decaying corpses.
Not to mention that bowl of oddly flavored seafood chowder, completely different from what he remembered.
When his fake parents appeared before him on that Hogsmeade Weekend, Carlyle felt as if he heard the brittle sound of glass shattering.
The mask over his memories instantly developed a huge crack, revealing the cruel and painful aura of truth hidden beneath.
Through countless difficult nights, Carlyle slowly uncovered the truth. One early morning, he was sitting in the Library, flipping through a newspaper, when he suddenly saw a small news item in the corner.
A Muggle woman, referred to as "Mrs. Johnson," had been strangled in her hospital bed at a sanatorium by a necklace worn around her neck.
The newspaper didn't describe the unfortunate deceased woman in much detail, only condemning certain Wizards for selling magical items to unsuspecting, poor Muggles, and then emphasizing that the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes had properly handled the incident and that the Auror Office would continue to investigate the Wizard who sold the necklace.
For some reason, even though the newspaper didn't provide her full name or a photo, when Carlyle saw that news item, it felt as if his heart was being torn apart. The pain was so intense he couldn't breathe, his entire body trembled, and tears streamed down his face silently.
In that moment, he was absolutely certain that the unnamed Muggle woman, inexplicably killed, was his biological mother.
A tear slipped from the corner of Carlyle's eye, disappearing into his temple, lost amidst his hair.
"Mr. Johnson."
A voice suddenly came from the doorway.
Professor McGonagall and an Auror stood at the entrance. The Head of Gryffindor's gaze was filled with heartbreak, while the Auror's expression mixed sympathy with disdain. He said,
"Your request has been approved by the higher-ups. You may now go to your dormitory to retrieve your belongings."
Carlyle slowly rose and followed the Auror towards the Gryffindor common room.
To preserve his dignity, Carlyle's hands and feet were not bound. However, the Auror had placed an imprisonment Spell on him. Dark iron rings now encircled his ankles; should Carlyle attempt to escape, the rings would instantly snap together, restricting his movement.
As they walked down the corridor, before reaching the fifth floor, a chaotic explosion suddenly echoed from the hallway. Students shrieked in anger, followed by Peeves' triumphant singing:
"Peeves, Peeves... none can compare to his mischief... Peeves, Peeves... spills ink everywhere, stupid students can do nothing... Peeves, Peeves... no one escapes his grasp..."
He sang as he chased students, pelting them with ink bottles. A group of students scurried away, clutching their heads, as the entire corridor, from ceiling to floor, became splattered with ink.
"Peeves!" Professor McGonagall strode forward angrily. "Stop your pranks immediately, right now!"
Upon seeing Professor McGonagall, Peeves let out a strange cry and swiftly fled in the opposite direction.
Carlyle suddenly froze, lifting his head slightly.
As Peeves fled, he seemed to have deliberately winked at him.
Immediately after, Carlyle saw a disheveled girl clutching her bag, wiping ink from her face as she walked over, looking annoyed. A faint golden glow shimmered from within her collar.
It was Hermione.
Carlyle's eyes narrowed slightly.
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