The Meaning of Magic Is to Create Miracles

Roger believed that conflicts between students were best resolved by the students themselves. When teachers, as authority figures, intervened, it often meant forceful suppression. If the conflict was merely pushed beneath the surface rather than eliminated, there could still be trouble later.

That was why he had stopped Professor McGonagall.

But if Roger remembered correctly, the conflict between Ron and Hermione should have happened on the eve of Halloween, after another practice session with the Levitation Charm... Learning spells was dangerous. Incorrect casting could lead to serious consequences, so students generally learned the wand movements first, then the incantation, and only then combined them for casting practice.

And Halloween was still some time away.

Yet the conflict had broken out early.

Why? Roger realized that, without him noticing, the butterfly effect had occurred once again.

With a trace of confusion, Roger walked over to stand between Hermione and Ron.

Worried about Ron, Harry put down his flying broomstick and hurried over to his side.

When Ron saw Roger approach, he lowered his head and stared at the ground, too angry from having his sore spot struck and losing face to look at him.

He was still furious, but he was not bold enough to take it out on Roger.

Hermione, meanwhile, raised her head—not out of arrogance, but because if she looked up, the tears in her eyes would not fall.

Crying in front of Roger was something she considered deeply embarrassing.

Looking at the two classmates, one staring at the sky and the other at the ground, both stewing in silent anger, Roger sighed. "Tell me. What happened?"

"...She picked a fight with me," Ron said sullenly.

"I didn't." Hermione's voice was low, with a slight catch in it.

Seeing them like this, Roger knew that although fate had changed somewhat, its main course had not strayed. The root of their conflict was still the one he knew well.

And that made things rather difficult.

Put plainly, it was the messy affair of a little girl who craved approval yet did not understand people, cautiously offering her kindness only to be hurt by someone who did not appreciate it; and a sensitive little boy whose fragile self-esteem had been constantly torn at until he finally exploded and fought back.

Kindness that had been hurt, retaliation born from pain—neither of them had truly meant any harm, yet this was where they had ended up.

In such circumstances, taking either side would not be good.

Normally, he could either use his strength and knowledge of fate to force Ron, who had first lashed out with cruel words, to apologize; or explain the complexity of the human heart to Hermione, making her understand that not everyone liked goodwill with no sense of boundaries, and helping her recognize her own rashness.

Or he could do both, give each of them equal blame, and call it fair.

But... Roger did not want to choose any of those options! Her kindness should not be let down, and his dignity should not be trampled on.

"Do you trust me?"

Drawn by that steady voice, Hermione and Ron both looked over. Seeing Roger's serious expression and recalling how he had protected and helped his classmates ever since school began, they nodded together.

"Good." Roger held out both hands.

His left hand took Hermione's, and his right hand took Ron's.

Although they had not been formally enrolled for long, with the help of his sense of impending danger, Roger's magical experiments had progressed at a speed ordinary wizards could scarcely imagine.

He had mastered neural modification techniques, and after reading The Connection Between Soul and Brain from the Ministry of Magic's Department of Mysteries, he had also gained a deep understanding of the brain.

While preparing documents outlining his experimental ideas for Professor McGonagall to read more easily, his magical experiments had never stopped.

Roger was still far from being technically capable of performing magical brain modifications on himself, but he could carry out certain other operations.

For example...

Ron and Hermione's eyes suddenly widened at the same time.

"Th-this is..."

Using their joined hands as connection points, Roger linked his own nerves with theirs. His Mental Power, far greater than the combined power of the two of them, swept into their brains.

A portion of the memories in their minds was drawn out by a force resembling Legilimency, then exchanged through Roger as the bridge!

What had just happened replayed in their minds, but this time, they witnessed everything from the other person's perspective.

These memories were even more vivid than Dumbledore's Pensieve, which could replay memories.

They could even feel every subtle thought that had passed through the other's mind at the time.

Embarrassment, anger, loneliness, grievance...

The goodwill of wanting the other person to improve, the hope of gaining a friend, the desire to catch up with a close friend, the fear of being left behind because they could not keep pace with that friend...

And the pain of being hurt.

At that moment, under Roger's magic, true mutual understanding was achieved.

Hermione was at a loss. She had never known that her help had caused Ron so much pain. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have..."

Coming back to himself from the memories, Ron glanced at Harry, who had remained by his side the entire time, and shook his head. "No."

Ron lowered his head again, but this time, he bowed deeply. "...I'm the one who should apologize. What I did was too much."

Seeing that the two had not only truly reconciled, but seemed to have undergone some transformation of the heart as well, Roger's stern face broke into a smile.

Roger was happy for them, and happy for himself too.

In Roger's past life, he had encountered many things, both good and bad.

Just as Professor McGonagall had her regrets, Roger had his too. Life was long—who didn't have a few things they could never quite let go of? The Roger of the past had been an ordinary mortal. There were things he lacked the power to turn around, and things where, no matter what he did, someone would always get hurt.

But now, things were different.

Muggle methods could never satisfy everyone, but magical methods could.

Muggles could not undo what had been done, but with magic, I could reverse time and space.

The meaning of magic lay in creating miracles! Every impossible thing, multiplied by magic and endless time, would become possible! After Flying class ended, Hermione and Ron wanted to stop him and express their thanks, but Roger merely waved his hand, said nothing more, and left.

To Roger, what had happened with Ron and the others this time was no different from the other times he had helped his classmates. He did it simply because he liked seeing people smile rather than clash with one another. That was all.

It was not for any reward. Or rather, seeing the people around him live happily, instead of walking around every day with numbness, unhappiness, and hostility written all over their faces, was reward enough for him.

Who wouldn't like living in a cheerful, comfortable environment?

"Roger." Just as Roger was thinking about how to continue his experiments in his laboratory tomorrow and strive to completely resolve the side effect of his pain-doubling modification within two days, an aged voice rang out.

He turned around and saw that Headmaster Albus Dumbledore had somehow appeared behind him.

"There's something I'd like to discuss with you."

"What is it, Headmaster?" The last time they had met was at the crossroads outside the courtroom. Roger looked at Dumbledore in confusion.

"It concerns the Philosopher's Stone," Dumbledore said gravely.

"Could I... entrust the Philosopher's Stone to you?"

"Huh?" Little Seer was a little stunned.

How had the course of fate suddenly undergone such an enormous change?!

He hadn't done anything too outrageous since enrolling, had he?