How Many Masters Does Fate Have?

After delivering this prophecy, Taylor looked at Luke, but he did not react with the shock or excitement she had expected.

His face was utterly calm, even carrying a faint trace of pity.

The two fell into an awkward silence again.

"You... don't you have anything to say?" Taylor asked, looking puzzled.

"Now that you mention it, I actually do..." Luke shook his head helplessly. "Professor Trelawney's prophecy is really clear and specific!"

Compared to Taylor's grandmother's prophecy, Professor Trelawney's prophecy, which was accurate even down to the month to a certain extent, barely seemed like a prophecy at all.

Taylor had not expected Luke to focus on that. Her lips moved, but she could not bring herself to speak.

What he said... did seem to make some sense.

Seeing her reaction, Luke merely shook his head.

"So why did you tell me this? Wouldn't it have been better to tell Professor Dumbledore?"

Luke was actually certain that fate could be changed. Before he came here, this story had gone this way; after he came here, it was still going this way...

Then hadn't Luke come here for nothing?

"My grandmother told me to... She said not to tell any other adults, but to tell the first student I felt I could trust after enrolling."

"Besides, we don't trust Dumbledore, and we trust the Ministry of Magic even less." A look of grief and indignation appeared on Taylor's face. "When The Dark Lord was hunting down and slaughtering my people, where were they? And now they want us to tell them a new prophecy? Dream on!"

Luke looked at Taylor's tightly pressed lips and slightly trembling shoulders, feeling rather helpless. When he had watched the movies back then, he had never understood it. Dumbledore, more than a decade ago, had clearly been younger and stronger. Even in his old age, Voldemort had to avoid Dumbledore's edge, let alone more than a decade earlier.

And if that was not enough, Grindelwald should have still possessed considerable combat strength back then. Let him out, have the two old men join forces, and Tom would be nothing but meat on a chopping block...

If Dumbledore had gone to such lengths to raise Harry into someone like himself, a protector of the wizarding world, then he was probably destined for disappointment. Harry did not possess such grand ambitions. In the end, he had merely become an Auror.

And what happened more than a decade ago had caused Dumbledore to lose not only his formidable deterrence in many people's eyes, but also the hearts of many who had once respected him.

Everyone in the Order of the Phoenix said they understood him, but did they truly have no resentment toward him in their hearts?

When Luke watched the movies back then, he had felt that was hard to say...

"Fine, you've said what you wanted to say. Can we go back to sleep now?"

Luke looked at the grief-stricken Taylor. Though he did not know what she had lost in that war, he could guess it had been someone or something she could not bear to lose.

Taylor raised her head in surprise and stared at Luke. "Y-you don't have anything else to say?"

Luke calmly shook his head. "Since you know about the earlier prophecy, you should know that Dumbledore knew about it too."

"His refusal to step forward may not have been unrelated to that prophecy."

Taylor's expression froze at those words.

But Luke did not pay attention to that. He continued speaking.

"Besides, the first line of your prophecy is, 'The dust-covered fate shall be broken.' Since fate can be changed, why should we blindly believe in so-called prophecies?"

Luke shook his head. "If prophecies cannot be changed, then nothing we do has any meaning. If prophecies can be changed, then the prophecies themselves do not have much meaning."

"It would be different if it were more specific. Then, like Voldemort, one could forcibly change things—for example, by killing a child born at the end of July. But with such a vague, chaotic prophecy, what am I supposed to do?"

After saying that, Luke stood and said to the stunned Taylor, "Thank you for trusting me. If you are willing, I would not object to the friendship of a Legilimens."

With that, Luke waved his wand again and recited the spell. His figure vanished before Taylor's eyes.

A moment later, the door opened and closed again, as though nothing had happened.

After leaving the common room, Luke felt somewhat helpless as well. If one said Taylor's prophecy was useless, it had at least given him some confidence that he could change the world. But if one said it was useful, it offered no guidance whatsoever. It was truly useless.

Still, Luke did not dwell on it. Rather than waste so much thought on illusory fate, it was better to handle what was right in front of him. He had been looking forward to sneaking out at night for a long time. Whether it was the Chamber of Secrets left behind by Slytherin or the Room of Requirement left behind by Ravenclaw, both filled him with anticipation.

However, neither was the main purpose of tonight's excursion.

Tonight, he planned to familiarize himself with several routes, such as the path leading to the Forbidden Forest.

After all, as far as he knew, the first major conflict would take place in the Forbidden Forest.

This definitely was not because Luke wanted to go see those Magical Creatures. Definitely not. How could he overlook the risks of sneaking out at night just because of creatures like Unicorns, Centaurs, Acromantulas, Hippogriffs, and the like?

That was why he had made thorough preparations. He definitely would not get caught.

But just as he reached the entrance hall, he spotted two familiar figures.

One of them was holding a map, while the other was carefully watching their surroundings. They were the Weasley Twins.

Just then, the two suddenly stopped. Fred, who was holding the map, beckoned to George, who was keeping watch. George leaned over and looked at the spot Fred was pointing to on the map.

Luke suddenly realized something was wrong.

Damn it, that was the Marauder's Map in their hands, wasn't it...

Didn't that mean...

Sure enough, in the next instant, George and Fred waved warmly in Luke's direction.

Luke suddenly felt a toothache. Why had he been so pleased with himself just because he had obtained the Disillusionment Charm in the first place?!

He had been exposed twice in one night! And that was after he had spent a fortune on clothes that eliminated scent and shoes that muffled sound. If he had relied solely on the Disillusionment Charm, he probably would not even have been able to fool Filch's Mrs. Norris.

Meanwhile, the Twins were also muttering to themselves.

"Fred, could the map be broken? If Luke is there but we can't see anything, doesn't that mean the kid knows the Disillusionment Charm? Is that a spell a first-year should know?"

"How should I know? Let's test it first. Keep smiling, keep waving, and see if we can bluff him out. Whether we can swindle... secure an investment depends on our performance."