The Changed Past and Future

The Invisibility Cloak is broken?

Sean glanced instinctively at Harry's empty hands.

One of the Deathly Hallows, the Invisibility Cloak passed down from ancient times, is it broken?

Sean led the group into the Room of Requirement, where Harry was already lamenting.

"It's over, it's over... My dad will never let me off the hook. This was passed down to him by my deceased grandfather..."

"Show me."

Sean took the Invisibility Cloak from Harry, who had a worried look on his face, and upon closer inspection, he discovered that there was indeed a small tear at the hem of the Invisibility Cloak.

He tried putting on the Invisibility Cloak to see if it would work. The crack had completely lost its invisibility effect, and a small piece of fabric was sticking out into the transparent air—it was Sean's pants.

This is really bad...

This caught Sean completely off guard.

He also owns an Invisibility Cloak, which he swindled from West. It's a top-quality Invisibility Cloak that can last for decades.

But the one Harry has is one of the Deathly Hallows.

Although this Invisibility Cloak doesn't quite live up to the name of the Deathly Hallows — Dumbledore can see right through it, Mad-Eye Moody's Mystic Eye can see through it, and even many animals can directly detect the person under the Invisibility Cloak.

But the most distinctive feature of this Invisibility Cloak is that its invisibility effect is permanent. Unlike cloaks that have been enchanted with Disillusionment Charm or made of Demiguise fur, its invisibility effect will never be erased by time.

Moreover, this Invisibility Cloak is naturally Anti-Summoning Charm and cannot Transfiguration.

This thing can actually break?

Sean cast a questioning look at Harry.

Harry looked distressed. "I usually take very good care of it, how could I have accidentally torn it... I was planning to sneak off to the forbidden section with Ron Neville after class this morning, but when I took it out, I found something was wrong."

"Was it intact before?" Sean asked.

Harry nodded quickly. "Of course, the Invisibility Cloak is very tough, and I was careful enough."

Ron, who was standing nearby, added, "I helped Harry put it away after he used it last time, and I swear, there wasn't this big hole back then."

"Where did you put it?"

"The combination to the magical suitcase my mom made for me is only known to Ron, Ron, and Neville. And nobody else knows I have the Invisibility Cloak, except for us, my parents, my godfather, and maybe Professor Dumbledore too." Harry was flustered, but his mind was still relatively clear.

Hermione frowned and said, "It shouldn't be man-made. Obviously, if someone else knew about Harry's Invisibility Cloak, they would have the ability to destroy it, and they would also have the ability to steal it directly—it wouldn't make sense to leave Harry with a damaged Invisibility Cloak."

If it's not due to external force, then the Invisibility Cloak itself may have malfunctioned.

Sean held up the Invisibility Cloak and examined the tear closely.

The edges of the torn fabric were rough, with messy black threads sticking out. It didn't look like it was cut by a sharp tool, but rather like it was accidentally torn open.

Sean tried to pull out a loose thread, and Harry, who was standing next to him, even shuddered when he saw him do so.

"Watch out, Sean!" he pleaded.

Daisy nudged her brother. "It's already broken anyway, Sean probably just wanted to do an experiment."

Harry's jaw nearly dropped to the ground.

Who's your real brother?! And this is a family heirloom of the Potter family!

While examining the loose thread, Sean reassured him, "Don't worry, the invisibility of this tear has been lost. Pulling out a loose thread won't cause any problems."

Upon closer inspection, Sean did indeed discover something amiss.

The broken end is lighter in color than the other end, and the thread is rough and dry.

This doesn't seem to be caused by external damage, but rather by the product's own aging process.

"Harry," Sean asked in a deep voice, "How long have you had this Invisibility Cloak in your house?"

"How long?" Harry paused, then looked on with a look of reminiscence. "According to my dad, the Invisibility Cloak was in our house when he was a child. When he enrolled at Hogwarts, my grandfather gave it to my father, and then it was my turn to enroll."

He added, "I'm sure no one else knows about this Invisibility Cloak, and I'm very careful when I use it."

"I see..."

Sean raised his wand and aimed it at the Invisibility Cloak.

"Reparo Charm"

The tear in the Invisibility Cloak quickly healed under the spell, but the invisibility effect was not restored; it was as if a strange black line had appeared in the air.

"The Repairing Charm didn't work either..." Harry cried out in despair.

Sean pursed his lips. "If I'm not mistaken, this Invisibility Cloak is old."

"Aging?" Harry, holding the Invisibility Cloak with a sorrowful expression, stood frozen in place.

"The Invisibility Cloak isn't permanently invisible; clearly, its Invisibility Cloak is coming to an end," Sean explained.

Hearing him say that, Harry breathed a sigh of relief, as if he had been saved.

"That's none of my business... Oh my god, Sean, you have to come to my house and be my witness when the holidays come around."

Sean smiled and nodded.

However, his inner self was not as relaxed as his outward expression suggested.

Harry and the others didn't know that the Potter family's heirloom Invisibility Cloak was Deathly Hallows, but Sean didn't lie to him either.

The Invisibility Cloak in Harry's hand is indeed worn out; it's most likely not the real thing.

One of the Deathly Hallows, how could it possibly be repaired with a single Repairing Charm by Sean?

So the question is, where did the real Invisibility Cloak go?

Sean naturally thought of the person who traveled through time over long distances.

Could it be that person switched the real Invisibility Cloak with a fake one?

Sean suddenly thought of something.

Given the severity of the accident, it's clear that the person's long-distance time travel was intended to forcibly alter the past.

So, has the 'past' already been changed?

Meanwhile, Sean was more concerned about the time traveler's actions.

The Potter family's Invisibility Cloak is one of the Deathly Hallows.

Legend has it that by collecting all the Deathly Hallows, one can wield the Death God's Authority...

Could it be that someone who was supposed to have died has been resurrected?

Dumbledore must know about this! In fact, he might even be the one who traveled through time!

But the old man wouldn't tell me anything... Sean rubbed his temples, feeling a bit of a headache.

He looked at Harry, who seemed much more relaxed. "I have a way to contact the outside world. How about I talk to your dad first?"

"Ah?"

"Don't worry, I'll put in a good word for you, and besides, it wasn't your fault in the first place," Sean comforted her.

"Well... sigh! It's all the same whether you die sooner or later! You might as well contact my dad!" Harry said finally, heavily.

Sean acted quickly; he contacted Lupin, and that evening Lupin delivered the message.

"Thank you for letting me know this, Sean. Please tell Harry that this is not his fault." James's words were calm, but he seemed a little heartbroken about the magical artifacts passed down in his family.

"... That's all I hope you can pass on. Also, you mentioned in your letter whether the Potter family experienced any major upheavals in their early years. I must say that my family has always lived a relatively peaceful life. The only exception was many years ago, before I was even born, which my late father told me."

"The Potter family were burgled once, but nothing of value was stolen. My father was just a child then, and he told me that someone broke into the Potter family that night."

"However, it seems to be a petty thief with no real skills. Everything in the house is intact, including the Invisibility Cloak —to be honest, I don't think anyone would specifically come to steal the Invisibility Cloak. Ordinary wizards are no match for the Potter family, and even the most powerful wizards don't need a cloak that only provides invisibility."

Sean touched his chin. It seemed that the Potter family did not know that their family heirloom Invisibility Cloak was one of the Deathly Hallows. They only regarded it as a special and precious Invisibility Cloak.

However, he had some doubts about the thief Sean mentioned in James's letter, and his intuition told him that he was a time traveler who had gone back in time.

However, this involves some knowledge of time travel, which Sean wasn't sure about.

If the traveler went back in time and changed history, then the memory of the burglary in James's mind must have appeared only yesterday.

According to the information provided by Stephanie, the wizards were aware of the effects of the Time Incident.

Logically, James should have sensed something was amiss with this sudden reappearance of memory, but James didn't show it in the letter.

That seemed to be a memory he was familiar with.

In this way, Sean's ideas conflict with reality.

There was too little information... Sean tapped the armrest of his chair in frustration.

Meanwhile, in an ancient castle thousands of miles away from Hogwarts, people were celebrating wildly.

Among them were Pure-blood who concealed their identities, emaciated Dark Wizard, staff members of official institutions, and many more ordinary wizards.

However, everyone was staring intently at the person in the very center.

"My friends—no, let me call you that, my compatriots—" Grindelwald smiled and opened his arms to everyone.

"Roar—" The crowd roared loudly and wildly.

"That law makes us like rats in the sewers! That law makes us hide our true selves! That law makes those under its jurisdiction cower in fear, lest we expose our identities!" Grindelwald laughed loudly. "Many of you here have probably heard this before."

Instead of laughing along with him, people waved their hands even more wildly to demonstrate their loyalty and adoration for the man.

Grindelwald strolled slowly, his Elm Wand, which had originally belonged to Sean, waving lightly in his hand.

In mid-air, a series of images unfolded.

There were young wizards walking in rows like zombies, middle-aged men who were shot down by Muggle guns and lost their wands, and young couples who hid their wands as they walked through the crowd wrapped in trench coats.

More often, there were roaring tanks, fighter jets whistling through the sky, missiles blazing with fire and bringing death, and mushroom clouds rising one after another.

"Friends, compatriots, my—comrades!" Grindelwald's voice was firm and resolute, but his expression was calm and unwavering. "This is what we are facing. Children have lost their vitality, wizards are falling one by one—and what about the Muggle? They are gaining more power, they are persecuting more wizards."

The crowd roared in anger.

Grindelwald did not silence them. He floated into the air and spoke in a voice that overwhelmed everyone yet was firm and powerful, "Is this what we want to see? A wizard born noble does not even dare to take out his wand in the street! All of you standing before me, you should look down on those lowly insects, but now you are bound by the laws set by our own people, laws that force us to eke out a living!"

"Your fathers and grandfathers were like this, you are like this, and your future children will be like this too!"

The crowd grew even angrier, their clamor echoing through the night sky.

Grindelwald abruptly changed the subject, his tone even carrying pity and mercy. "Those lowly insects, do you all think so? Do you think I think so too? No, no, no, let me correct you, Muggle, Muggle, non-magical people... and so on, they don't deserve hatred, they just need some—more special treatment."

"And the ones who decide how to treat them should be us, the wizards. How do you want to treat them? Oppress them, abuse them? No, merciful wizards will give them a place; we have true freedom."

"You make friends with them? You don't like them? You even fall in love with a Muggle, or you hate Muggle —it doesn't matter, it's not worth making a big deal out of, because these are all freedoms we should have."

"Magic only flows in the blood of a few, just as glory does not fall on the heads of every man. We are born to do better, and now we are simply fighting for our rightful rights."

Everyone cheered and applauded, and a tidal wave of applause surged forth.

Grindelwald's voice grew louder. "Continue, my brothers, my sisters, my friends, my compatriots! This applause and cheers are not for me, but for yourselves. Standing here, you understand your own inner desires, you understand the predicament you find yourself in!"

"What's so sad is that our fellow countrymen, far away in the Ministry of Magic, the Guard Corps, and the Confederation, are helping Muggle exploit their own kind. They're hiding under manhole covers and dragging down every wizard who wants to run towards the sunlight."

"But I am not angry, because you are standing here! And I believe that more people will wake up, and our ranks will grow even larger—"

"My friends, we do not fight for hatred, we fight to change the world... for freedom, for truth—"

"For the love in our hearts."