Su Xinghe felt as if he had been trapped in a very long dream. Countless scenes and faces flashed through his mind, accompanied by countless names. His head felt like it was about to explode!
Suddenly, a single word flashed through his mind, restoring a sliver of clarity. That word was—Hogwarts!
When Su Xinghe opened his bleary eyes, he saw a tall man standing before him, holding a "chopstick" in his hand and looking down at him with a mocking expression.
Seeing Su Xinghe wake up, the man lightly waved the "chopstick" in his hand and said nonchalantly,
"So you really do share that man's surname. You regained consciousness so quickly after taking one Cruciatus Curse from me. I'm impressed!"
Only now, as his awareness gradually returned, did Su Xinghe realize that the "chopstick" in the man's hand wasn't a chopstick at all, but a wand—just like the ones he'd seen in movies in his previous life!
He remembered that when he was very young, a classmate had mysteriously told him he wanted to show him something good.
But when Su Xinghe rushed over excitedly, what appeared on the screen wasn't the Japanese movie he'd expected, but the English version of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone!
Before long, he'd been drawn into the story. Women? They only got in the way of him waving a wand! Back then, a wand was the thing he wanted most!
Now he was only 0.01 centimeters away from the wand of his dreams. It should have been a joyous occasion—if its owner weren't pointing it at him.
Su Xinghe forced himself to stay alert and quickly surveyed his surroundings. Several other men stood behind the first, apparently searching the room for something.
On the floor not far away lay an ugly creature with batlike ears and bulging green eyes as big as tennis balls. Su Xinghe recognized it at once as a house-elf, just like the ones described in the Harry Potter books.
Su Xinghe remembered that not long ago, he'd been on his way with a friend to the premiere of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, hailed as a prequel to Harry Potter. The moment the lights in the theater went dark, he'd felt himself grow momentarily dazed—and then he was here.
At the same time, a flood of memories surged into Su Xinghe's mind. He gritted his teeth against the pain and finally understood: the house-elf was named Libby, and she was his house-elf.
After his parents had died in a car accident, Libby had looked after him and kept him from ending up on the streets. But now she lay motionless on the floor nearby, clearly dead for some time.
"Hey, brat! Did you hear what I said? Where's the Prophecy Skull? Hand it over, and I'll make your death quick!"
The man standing in front of Su Xinghe waved his wand in his face a few times and demanded irritably,
This time, Su Xinghe finally understood. He'd been transported to another world! And he'd clearly had terrible luck, arriving at a terrible time and a terrible place in a terrible transmigration!
"Smack!"
Perhaps because he hadn't gotten the answer he wanted right away, the man slapped Su Xinghe across the face, leaving a stinging red mark.
"I'll ask you one last time: where's the Prophecy Skull? If you still don't tell me, I'll let you taste the Cruciatus Curse again. You've already had a taste, haven't you? It felt good, right?"
Su Xinghe wanted to tell him that he hadn't been the one to experience the Cruciatus Curse. The one who'd truly suffered it—the real owner of this body—had obviously already kicked the bucket. But before Su Xinghe could react, someone suddenly appeared beside him!
"Did I just see you slap him?"
As Su Xinghe and the man stared in astonishment, an elegant old woman appeared out of thin air. She wore a tilted hat, beneath which peeked a lock of silver-white curls. Her face was lined with wrinkles, but her eyes still sparkled with vitality, and she was dressed in a fine gown.
The sudden appearance of the old woman startled the man in front of Su Xinghe. He hurriedly raised his wand and began to point it at her.
"Expelliarmus!"
But before he could raise his hand halfway, the old woman beside Su Xinghe had already lifted her wand and disarmed him.
At the same time, she pointed her wand at the man's companions behind him and calmly said,
"Don't move! You're surrounded! This one's a special case, so I'm letting him live. If any of you so much as twitch, I'll use the spell I'm best at!"
"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Rosier, Vinda Rosier, of the Acolytes!"
Su Xinghe stared blankly at everything unfolding before him, his mind reeling. The magic that had appeared in his dreams countless times was now right before his eyes, so real that he could hardly believe it.
"What's wrong, Wentworth? Don't you recognize me? Wentworth? Wentworth!"
Vinda Rosier's calls roused Su Xinghe from his shock. Only then did he remember that the name of the body he was in was Wentworth.
Turning toward Rosier, Su Xinghe recalled that in this body's memories, the elegant old woman with the wand had run a clothing shop nearby for years. But not long ago, she seemed to have moved away.
"Grandma Rosier?"
Su Xinghe—or rather, Wentworth—called out uncertainly.
Rosier saw the vivid handprint on Wentworth's face. A flash of anger crossed her eyes, but she spoke to him gently.
"It's all right, Wentworth. You're safe now."
Then Rosier turned to the man in front of Su Xinghe and said sternly,
"If you've managed to find this place, then you must already know this child's identity. How dare you!"
Though Rosier's wand was pointed at him, fear flickered in the man's eyes. Still, he forced himself to say,
"Old woman, I suggest you put down your wand. Do you really think you can take all of us on by yourself?"
After the man finished speaking, his companions exchanged glances and slowly raised their wands together.
At that moment, Rosier suddenly laughed. Her laughter only left the people facing her baffled.
"I don't know which faction you belong to, but clearly your teachers and elders never told you our story! Otherwise, you'd have attacked immediately or Apparated away at once. But now, it's too late!"
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Several sharp cracks rang through the air as more figures appeared out of thin air in the room. Most had gray-white hair, but their eyes were still bright, and their hands gripped their wands just as firmly as ever.
The sudden appearance of these newcomers clearly rattled their opponents, who hurriedly tried to raise their wands. But all they got in return was:
"Avada Kedavra!"
Several flashes of green light streaked through the room. Only the man Rosier had disarmed at the start was still alive; his companions lay on the floor one by one, their faces drained of color.
"Didn't you know that Dark Magic is what we're best at?"
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