Troubled

He'd been spotted! Someone had actually seen through Matthew's Illusionary Body Spell!

Standing on the Marble Staircase was a man with auburn hair and a beard. He was Dumbledore in his prime.

"P-Professor Dumbledore!"

Dumbledore had actually spotted Matthew! And how could Dumbledore in this Timeline know who he was?

Matthew felt his scalp prickle. How had Dumbledore seen through his Illusionary Body Spell? He hadn't sensed Dumbledore's presence with his Magic Sense, either. Dumbledore had already been this formidable decades ago.

"Matthew's been spotted. Does that mean we can't go back, meow?" Preserved Egg was still tucked inside Matthew's hood.

Matthew's mind raced like a machine running at full speed as he thought it through.

Maybe the Black Dumbledore mentioned doesn't necessarily mean me. He suddenly remembered something: he looked almost exactly like his grandfather, Alfat Black, had when he was young.

Alfat had said that when he was at school, Dumbledore was still the Shapeshifting Technique professor at Hogwarts. Going by the dates, Alfat must have been attending Hogwarts around this time.

Matthew had also heard Alfat tell stories about his school days. Professor Dumbledore had caught him sneaking out on a date with Matthew's grandmother.

Dumbledore had probably mistaken Matthew for Alfat. After all, unless someone had experienced it firsthand, who would imagine that a person who looked exactly like one of their students was actually that student's descendant, decades later?

Matthew quickly sorted out his thoughts and said nervously, "Professor Dumbledore, I borrowed Lina's notes for Shapeshifting Technique Class. You know she's much better at Shapeshifting Technique than I am."

Matthew's grandmother had been a Gryffindor student, and she'd been very good at Shapeshifting Technique. She'd been one of Dumbledore's favorite students, and Matthew had learned Shapeshifting Technique from Lina's portrait.

Dumbledore smiled faintly. "It's getting late. Hurry back to bed, and don't let it affect your classes tomorrow."

Matthew nodded with a grin. "I'll be right back. Good night, Professor Dumbledore."

Dumbledore watched Matthew walk away with a smile. He rather liked the boy. He came from the Black family, which cared more about blood purity than most, yet he'd found himself a Muggle-born girlfriend. If only the other Pure-blood families' wizards could be more like this student and let go of some of their prejudices.

He knew that the young couple, one from Gryffindor and one from Slytherin, faced a lot of pressure. To avoid being disturbed, they often met at night.

He stroked his auburn beard and murmured in confusion, "Since when did Black have a black cat?"

Perhaps he'd had too many worries lately and wasn't paying as much attention to the other students.

Hagrid had already been expelled, and Dumbledore had to find a way to keep him at Hogwarts. The boy would struggle to survive out in the world. As a Half-giant, he wouldn't be accepted by the Giants, and wizards didn't welcome him either. At the thought, Dumbledore's fingers tightened as he stroked his beard.

Matthew returned to the Slytherin Common Room. Nothing else had gone wrong after he'd said goodbye to Dumbledore, but he still felt uneasy. He didn't know whether this counted as affecting the "Collective Consensus," or whether he could still return to his original Timeline.

When he entered the room where the portraits were kept, a glint flashed in Merlin's eyes. A layer of mist covered the surfaces of all the other portraits in the room.

Merlin asked, "Did the trial go smoothly?"

Matthew voiced his concerns.

"I dealt with the Basilisk.

"But on my way back, Professor Dumbledore from this Timeline saw me and even saw through my Illusionary Body Spell.

"However, he mistook me for my grandfather, Alfat. I look a lot like Alfat did when he was young, and he's attending Hogwarts right now.

"Does that count as affecting the 'Collective Consensus'?

"Will it affect my return to my original Timeline?"

Merlin smiled. "Don't worry. I saw all of this in time long ago. It hasn't affected the 'Collective Consensus' of this Timeline."

Matthew thought that, in this Timeline, his encounter with Dumbledore had already happened before he made his choice.

If he hadn't met Dumbledore this time, it would instead have created a new Parallel Timeline.

It had happened before he made his choice. The logic of time was truly strange.

"I'll send you back."

Merlin raised the wand in his portrait. Brilliant halos began to shine from its tip.

In an instant, white light enveloped Matthew.

A moment later, Matthew found himself in a strange place. It was the same room, but apart from Matthew, everything else was only black and white. The whole world looked as though it were made of monochrome sketches.

After a while, Merlin's portrait seemed to have been colored in by an invisible painter. Its original colors gradually took shape.

Once the portrait had been filled with color, Merlin came to life again.

Merlin pointed his wand forward, and a Light Door glowing with a white aura appeared.

Matthew stepped through the Light Door. In an instant, the black-and-white world filled with its original colors.

He was back in 1991.

The other portraits in the room were still shrouded in mist.

When Matthew came to his senses, Merlin said:

"You've passed the Basilisk's trial and proved your strength.

"Next, you need to obtain the Philosopher's Stone. I can use it to send you further into the past."

Matthew blinked in surprise. "The Philosopher's Stone? The one made by the famous alchemist Nicolas Flamel?"

Merlin nodded with a smile. "I'm only a portrait now, and I can't send you too far into the past. I'll need the Philosopher's Stone's power."

Matthew furrowed his brow. Getting the Philosopher's Stone would be much harder than killing a Thousand-Year Basilisk.

He knew Nicolas Flamel had given the Philosopher's Stone to Dumbledore. It was at Hogwarts now, and Dumbledore was using it to lure Voldemort in. In two or three months, Hogwarts would be putting on quite a show.

Matthew didn't think Dumbledore would give him the Philosopher's Stone. To get it, he'd have to take it right under Dumbledore's nose and avoid making Dumbledore suspicious of him. It would be extremely difficult.

Matthew frowned. "The Philosopher's Stone is in Dumbledore's keeping now. I'm afraid that won't be easy."

Merlin blinked. "You still have time. Slytherin isn't always so bound by the rules. Perhaps you'll find a way."

It seemed Merlin expected him to figure it out himself. "All right. Thank you for your help. I'll head back first."

Merlin nodded, and the mist covering the other portraits in the room gradually faded.