Deceiving the Heavens, Fooling the World

Parchment paper lay scattered on the floor as Sean paced back and forth in the Room of Requirement, frowning.

Although the Ministry of Magic's documents did not fully reveal the true nature of time, combined with his own observations and experiences, he could roughly deduce the current situation.

Because the past has been altered, the world will instinctively try to correct this "mistake".

Grindelwald's return to 1899 altered a major historical trajectory, and he is still alive today.

Therefore, the world's efforts to correct its "mistakes" will be terrifyingly intense.

The near-apocalyptic scenes from before have already proven this point.

However, Grindelwald must have used some method to deceive the world, otherwise the world would have started this repair process decades ago.

Because Sean clearly remembered that Professor Scamander had told him that he had experienced similar heart palpitations when he was a child.

Let's call this process of forced world repair "the World Will" for now, and Professor Scamander sensed the World Will in the autumn of 1899.

This proves that just a few months after Grindelwald traveled there, the will of the world became aware of this uninvited guest.

And Grindelwald has managed to keep this a secret until now...

Sean couldn't help but think of the other person's reaction when he saw the Age-Measuring Ball. Clearly, Grindelwald himself didn't know about his time travel; he had only deduced some things through his extensive knowledge.

And it was at that moment that the World Will awakened.

Therefore, Sean believes that when Grindelwald realizes he is actually a time traveler, it means that the fact of "time travel" can no longer be hidden. Grindelwald's self-awareness is the turning point when the World Will awakens.

After that, Dumbledore had himself hand over the real Invisibility Cloak to the other party...

"Don't you think that one of the Deathly Hallows doesn't quite fit the magical legend?" These are Dumbledore's exact words.

This means that the Invisibility Cloak has some unique features that have not yet been discovered.

Considering the previous situation, it's important to remember that back then, the Invisibility Cloak was used to conceal the real Grindelwald.

Sean suddenly looked up at the ceiling; he had guessed it.

The invisibility of the Invisibility Cloak is not just about disappearing from sight; it may also be able to conceal the person, making them disappear from the view of the World Will!

Yes, yes... Dumbledore knew this; he had studied the Invisibility Cloak, and Grindelwald obviously knew it too...

Therefore, when Dumbledore urged Grindelwald to leave, he also made him take the Invisibility Cloak with him.

So, the world, which should have been on the verge of collapse, returned to normal because Grindelwald had put on Invisibility Cloak.

The uninvited guest disappeared from the sight of the World Will.

No wonder, no wonder... Sean's pupils contracted sharply...

No wonder Grindelwald initially showed that slight bewilderment that was completely out of character for him...

He genuinely didn't know. Perhaps he had gleaned a slight understanding from Dumbledore's various words and actions, but he absolutely had no memory of this truth...

Sean swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing twice.

If I'm not mistaken.

In order to deceive everyone and escape the gaze of the World Will, Gellert Grindelwald completely erased his memories!

Yes, he traveled from 1996 to 1899, and he must have discovered the turmoil in the World Will.

In order to quell this disaster, he removed all memories that should not belong to this Timeline!

Those were memories he alone had experienced, from 1899 to 1996.

Next, Grindelwald must have found a way to imprison his original self in this Timeline and used Invisibility Cloak to conceal the other self, hiding him completely.

And he became the real Grindelwald in this Timeline, living to this day!

He deceived everyone, directly deceiving the world!

So, there wasn't two time travels, there was only one... The Time Incident before wasn't someone traveling to the past at all!

That was Dumbledore finding all of Grindelwald's memories from the past ninety-seven years, memories that didn't belong to this Timeline!

He viewed that memory, and memories that don't belong to this time are bound to cause Time Incident. Yes, simply viewing that vast amount of memory can trigger a serious Time Incident.

Sean felt a chill run down his spine, and the hairs on his body stood on end.

The mere act of viewing a memory has caused such a severe impact; what if it truly awakens the World Will...?

Don't wait for his Sin to quell your anger; let's all just go and meet Merlin together...

Now, there are two crucial points in this whole affair.

First, and this is the truth behind the whole mystery: what exactly did Grindelwald want to change when he traveled to such a distant future, and did he succeed or fail?

Secondly, it was Grindelwald. But that was the real Grindelwald.

Yes, where is the real Grindelwald on this Timeline who escaped from the underground prison of Newmontgard? And will he do something unpredictable or even more unstoppable...?

Of course, using the word "real" might not be entirely accurate. Both Grindelwald are the same person, but when it comes to actually dealing with this issue, it's not that simple.

Sean's neatly styled hair was now a mess from his own rough handling. The shock of the various truths and the overnight trip to the Department of Mysteries had left him physically and mentally exhausted.

However, his thoughts were unusually clear.

First, Dumbledore instructed him to investigate the matter at the Department of Mysteries. Through the information there, Sean deduced the general outline of the incident and even caught a foolish Returners.

However, Dumbledore said that his search for the truth would have some impact, but it would be within acceptable limits.

Looking at it now, he did not trigger the awakening of the World Will or any other anomalies. After all, he only deduced some things, rather than directly seeing Grindelwald's sealed memories.

Why would Dumbledore say that...?

And what kind of impact will I have...?

While rubbing his head, Sean couldn't help but look at the gift Grindelwald had given him: the Ravenclaw's Diadem.

If he could wear it again, with the magical thinking ability provided by the Ravenclaw's Diadem, he could find any clues he had left behind and piece all the fragments back together.

However, that's all we can think about it.

The Ravenclaw's Diadem provides enormous benefits, but the cost is equally enormous. If Sean were to use the Ravenclaw's Diadem a second time in a short period of time, he would most likely become an idiot, because the sheer mental impact of that power is unbearable to withstand twice in a row.

Once you become Troll, you really can't do anything.

He rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on, and finally sighed helplessly.

Don't get caught up in this kind of agonizing. Sometimes, the clearer your mind is, the more likely you are to get stuck in a rut without realizing it.

Sean quickly gathered the information and walked straight out of the Room of Requirement.

He needs to rest.

Wizards can clearly sense the anomalies in the world, so even though the professors ordered all students to return to their dormitories to rest, when Sean opened the door, his roommates were still having a lively discussion.

"Sean, you're back?" Anton Goldstein spotted him immediately. "Buddy, you could tell too, right? You've been gone so long, do you have any exclusive secrets to share with us?"

Sean casually brushed off his roommates with a few perfunctory words, then collapsed heavily onto the bed.

I'd better go to sleep first...

The events of today still churn my thoughts. My tired and anxious mood mingled with the low whispers of my roommates, just like being scolded by Snape for the entire Potions and then having to endure Professor Binns's History of Magic— it was exhausting and frustrating.

However, he was too tired after all, and in the end, Sean drifted off to sleep with a furrowed brow.

He had a dream he'd had before, a dream where everything was blurry, so blurry that Sean couldn't see anything clearly. But he could feel an immense sense of oppression; he could feel warm liquid on the corner of his mouth; he could feel the increasingly faint breaths of the creatures around him...

In the dream, only the moon is clear. In the dream, you look up and see a huge, blurry black shadow sweeping across the sky, above which is the clear, bright, and gentle full moon.

When Sean woke up from his dream, it was already the afternoon of the next day.

He rubbed his heavy head and got out of bed. Outside the window, there was no longer the moon from his dream, but dark clouds, and the continuous rain was hitting the glass with a slightly muffled sound.

Sean pushed open the window, letting the rain and cold wind hit his face to try and clear his head.

I had this dream when I was in first grade... back then, I had just helped Dumbledore separate all the blood from Nagini's body to break the Blood Curse.

Why do I keep having the same dream? Is it some kind of premonition...? Sean gently patted his cheek.

In this magical world, a vague, strange dream has occurred a second time, which may signify something.

Sean grinned, realizing he'd only done so-so in his dream interpretation course. To be precise, he felt his instructor, Professor Trelawney, hadn't done a very good job either...

I can only write it down for now. Maybe I can consider finding a reliable Divination teller to interpret my dream.

Sean glanced at his watch. He had slept for a full twelve hours. Luckily, it was a day off. Otherwise, if he had skipped Snape's class, he probably wouldn't have had a good time for the rest of his third year.

The fatigue had mostly dissipated, replaced by a surge of intense hunger; he hadn't eaten for over twenty hours.

After washing up and changing into a brand new robe, Sean walked out of the Common Room.

However, lunch had long ended by this time, and the Great Hall was no longer serving any food. Sean could only rub his stomach and head towards the Room of Requirement.

Hermione and Daisy weren't in the Common Room, so they're probably in the Room of Requirement —two such thoughtful girls, they'd probably bring themselves a meal, right?

Sean's expectations were not disappointed. Hermione and Daisy were reading and chatting in the Room of Requirement, while a generous amount of delicious food was laid out in the center of the room.

Hermione's signature Bluebell Flame burned quietly nearby to keep the food warm.

"Sean!" Hermione and Daisy immediately stood up as soon as the wooden door opened.

"Oh, isn't it a bit inappropriate to say good morning now?" Sean shrugged.

"Are you alright? You didn't come back last night, and I almost thought something had happened to you." Hermione waved her wand and straightened his disheveled collar.

Sean smiled. "Thank you—well, there are some things, but they're troublesome, so I can't tell you."

The two girls exchanged a glance, Daisy said in a soft, sweet voice, "Sure enough, something happened... Yesterday, Hermione and I were waiting for you to come back in the Common Room, and then that fifth-year senior came to tell us."

Sean suddenly realized. "Stephanie?"

Hermione's expression was complicated for a moment, then she nodded. "She said you've gotten involved in something very serious, but there's no danger at the moment. She's just very busy and told us not to wait long."

"So we ended up going back to rest first. The next day, that girl named Stephanie told us that we must be very tired, and that we should let you sleep in as much as possible and that it would be better to prepare some food for you," Daisy continued, picking up where Hermione left off.

"Oh, I see... I have to say, this food saved my life, I was starving."

Sean plopped down and, disregarding all dining etiquette, immediately began to eat heartily.

Daisy handed her a drink. "Eat slowly."

"Thank you—" Sean gulped down most of the glass.

"Oh my god, what's going on..." Hermione frowned as she watched Sean down his food.

Sean swallowed the food in his mouth and said, slightly muffled, "It's not that I don't want to tell you, but that I can't. You all felt something was wrong with the world yesterday, right? Let me put it this way, the more people involved, the more serious the consequences might be."

He was telling the truth. Perhaps the more people who know the truth, the more sensitive the World Will will become.

Hermione skillfully concealed the disappointment in her eyes, then pushed another plate a little further over. "Your favorite steak."

Thank you.

Feeling the juices burst in his mouth, Sean couldn't help but sigh, "Good food is truly indispensable; how unbearable it would be to not be able to eat it..."

Thinking this, Sean sighed inwardly. The original Grindelwald in this Timeline was imprisoned for nearly a hundred years...

Grindelwald is quite ruthless with himself...

Huh? Sean suddenly paused, then his eyes sharpened.

He overlooked one thing: in his memory of 1899, he always believed that Dumbledore was the one who used the Disillusionment Charm.

My mind was completely blank yesterday; that person should be Grindelwald.

Therefore, it wasn't a hint left by Dumbledore, but rather a hint left by Grindelwald after his time travel...

Do we still know each other on another Timeline, and are we even as familiar as we are now?!

And he was reminding himself of the place where Grindelwald was imprisoned in the original Timeline... He had already figured out what to do...

The real clue is here!