Contract

The crying in the ward lasted for a long time before gradually turning from a heart-wrenching outburst into intermittent sobs muffled by the patient's shoulders.

Having just burned his soul essence three times in succession within the Alaya Consciousness River, Gavin still felt a stabbing pain deep in his mind, and he couldn't muster much strength.

But he never let go of Cordelia's back, only using his remaining strength to gently stroke her thin spine, letting the scalding tears completely soak half of the collar of her Hospital Gown.

After a long while, the shoulders in my arms, which had been trembling violently, gradually calmed down.

Cordelia kept her face buried in his shoulder, refusing to lift it, her voice muffled by the cotton fabric, hoarse and barely audible.

"... I spent those five years in St. Mungo's's all alone, and I don't want to go back. You promised you'd never let go of my hand again..."

"When I first saw you lying there, I didn't know whether I should be angry or sad first..."

"I'm so afraid that if I really get angry, you'll find out and I really won't come back... Waaaaah..."

"I don't even know if what I said will have any effect... I feel so stupid... yet I'm afraid to stop... I keep thinking that maybe one day you'll hear me..."

Only her soft, labored breathing could be heard in the ward.

Gavin, his heart throbbing with pain, completely overshadowing the stinging pain left deep in his mind from the burning soul.

He tightened his arms, pulling the person in his embrace closer to him, his chin gently resting on the top of her head:

"I'm sorry, it's my fault, I kept you waiting for too long."

He paused, then whispered in her ear:

"But everything you said wasn't nonsense; I heard every single word you said."

Cordelia stiffened slightly, then abruptly lifted her head from his shoulder, her silver-grey eyes, still glistening with tears, revealing a hint of bewilderment.

"Did you hear that?"

"I heard you."

Gavin looked at her tear-streaked face and softened his voice:

"It was too cold down there, I didn't even want to move. But I heard you talking about fishing and cookies up there, so I followed your voice back."

Cordelia stared at him blankly for two seconds, and the fear that had lingered in her eyes for days finally dissipated by more than half.

"Hmph, all you ever think about is eating..."

She sniffed, seemingly belatedly realizing that she had cried too much, and her ears turned slightly red.

Looking at Gavin in front of her, she momentarily forgot that she had deliberately tucked her hands into her sleeves. She subconsciously raised her right hand, wanting to wipe away the tears on his chin and collar.

Her fingertips gently brushed against Gavin's chin.

The slight smile that had just appeared on Gavin's lips instantly froze on his face.

The touch of her fingers on his skin was nothing like the delicate smoothness of the girl's fingertips in his memory. Instead, it was dry, rough, and covered with a layer of loose, wrinkled, hard skin, which made his heart skip a beat.

Gavin's breath caught in his throat for a moment.

Before Cordelia could retract her hand, he abruptly grabbed her right wrist, pulling the hand that had been hidden in the wide Slytherin sleeve under the wall lamp.

The dim light illuminated the back of her hand.

That couldn't possibly be considered the hand of a thirteen-year-old girl.

The skin and flesh were shriveled and sunken, with bluish-purple veins and bony joints protruding. The once slender, fair fingertips were covered with deep, crisscrossing lines, and even the nail plates had a lifeless, grayish-white hue.

It looks exactly like the hand of a seventy or eighty-year-old elderly person.

Gavin's gaze suddenly shifted upwards, and he noticed that the few strands of her long, silver-gold hair that had fallen beside her ears had lost their usual luster, and were now mixed with several dry, gray hairs.

All the warmth and comfort of surviving the ordeal were instantly extinguished in that instant.

What happened to your hand?

Gavin's voice suddenly turned somber, and his brows furrowed instantly.

Cordelia's expression changed slightly. She instinctively tried to pull her hand back into her sleeve, her eyes darting to the side.

"It's nothing... I just haven't been drinking enough water these past few days in the hospital, so I look scary. I'll be fine after a couple of days of rest."

Seeing that Gavin didn't let go, she hurriedly reached for the kettle on the bedside table with her other hand, abruptly changing the subject:

"You just woke up, your throat must be dry, right? Let me get you a glass of warm water--"

Gavin didn't reach for the water glass.

He was afraid that he would hurt her if he used too much force, so he let her pull her hand away, but simply raised his eyes and stared at her intently without saying a word.

There was no room for evasion in those dark pupils.

One second.

Two seconds.

Five seconds.

The ward was so quiet that the only sound was the soft crackling of the wall lamp's flame.

Under his persistent and silent gaze, Cordelia's carefully maintained composure crumbled little by little.

She curled her withered fingers, finally giving up completely, and muttered softly with her head down:

"... It's all for you."

Gavin's fingertips trembled violently, and his voice became terribly hoarse:

Explain yourself.

Cordelia lowered her head and touched her Dragon Blood markings, then quietly recounted what had happened over the past three weeks:

"The day after you were brought back from the Astronomy Tower, your body began to deteriorate for some reason. Your body temperature kept dropping, Madam Pomfrey and Dumbledore tried to give you many tonics, but the effects of those medicines all dissipated after entering your body and couldn't be retained at all."

"I had no choice but to look through that Black Book you left behind that could move on its own. That's when I realized that when you woke me up at the manor, you were using the Magic Rune in reverse... I followed the instructions in the book, reversed the Magic Rune on my body, and then transferred them to you."

Gavin looked down at the inside of her left wrist.

The once smooth and beautiful Dragon Blood circuit had developed a shocking dark red bruise around its edge due to the forced reverse flow for twenty-one consecutive days.

Gavin's mind went blank for a moment, instantly recalling the damage data from reversing the Magic Rune back at the Rowle Manor.

If ten portions are given out, at most one portion can be kept.

In order to awaken Cordelia, he only reversed the flow for half a minute before a large chunk of his chest was gone.

And this silly girl, in order to maintain his soulless and decaying physical body, actually endured a terrifying one-to-ten ratio of losses, using her own Life Force to fill the bottomless pit for him for a full twenty-one days.

Gavin felt so constricted in her chest that she could barely breathe.

He stared at the dark red bruise on her wrist, his Adam's apple bobbing with difficulty, and he couldn't help but speak in a hoarse voice:

"Then you can't--"

"If I don't do this, you won't be able to hold on until the third day!"

Cordelia abruptly looked up to interrupt him, her voice still trembling with lingering fear.

"..."

Gavin remained silent.

Cordelia panicked when she saw his frighteningly pale face, and quickly grabbed his sleeve to explain in a low voice:

"Don't blame Madam Pomfrey, she's been watching me! She only allows me to travel for half an hour each day, and as soon as it's time, she forces me to stop and drink tonics to make up for it..."

She lowered her head, looked at her wrinkled fingers, and her voice grew softer and softer:

"You woke up right after I finished sending it today, I haven't had time to add it yet."

Gavin closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and barely managed to suppress the stinging sensation that welled up in his eyes.

He lowered his head and gently pressed her rough, cold hand against his warm cheek, his hoarse voice particularly clear in the quiet ward:

"I'm sorry, it was my fault, it won't happen again."

"I promise you, I will never let you endure this again."

Cordelia pouted, about to say something, when she was interrupted by a series of hurried footsteps.

Madam Pomfrey pushed open the door carrying a silver tray. When she looked up and saw Gavin sitting up, the usually decisive school doctor froze on the spot, dropping the tray to the ground.

"Merlin's beard... Mr. Gu, you're awake?! I thought..."

Looking at Cordelia, whose eyes were red and swollen, Madam Pomfrey hesitated for a moment, but ultimately said nothing more.

Madam Pomfrey rushed to the bedside, drew her Wand, and cast three spells on Gavin. After carefully checking his pupils and pulse, she finally breathed a long sigh of relief.

Then, she glared at the two people beside the bed, clearly annoyed.

"Thank God you're finally back! If you had woken up two days later, I wouldn't know whether to prepare for your funeral or tie Miss Rowle back to Slytherin's Cellar first—I've been the school doctor for so many years, and this is the first time I've seen someone accompanying a patient who is weaker than the patient!"

After confirming that Gavin was conscious, she put down the two bottles of tonics, sternly instructing the two not to do anything reckless except take the medicine, and then hurriedly went to the Seventh Floor to inform Dumbledore.

The door closed again.

Without a moment's delay, Gavin first opened a small bottle of nourishing Potions and handed it to Cordelia to drink, then drank a bottle of potion himself.

A rich Life Force spread through his body, and apart from some muscle weakness, his body showed no abnormalities.

Immediately afterwards, Gavin grabbed Cordelia's withered wrist with his other hand:

"It's my turn to give it to you, relax."

"You just got back, you don't need to... be so..."

Cordelia was about to say something when she saw Gavin, and her voice gradually faded away.

Gavin coaxed her like a child, "Be good, listen to me."

"Mmm." Cordelia obediently lowered her head.

A moment later, a warm white light flowed into Cordelia's body through their clasped hands.

Under Gavin's unwavering gaze, the shocking, withered lines on the girl's fingers gradually smoothed out, the protruding knuckles were once again covered by plump, fair skin, and the few strands of gray hair beside her ears were once again tinged with a flowing silver-gold luster.

In just a moment, a wisp of full white light emanated from between their clasped fingers.

Cordelia lowered her head and moved her slender, white fingers, which had recently regained their color, then touched her cheek, let out a long sigh of relief, and looked up at him with a smile that crinkled her eyes.

"Okay, it doesn't look bad now, does it?"

Seeing her unguarded smile, Gavin smiled too.

Then, he let go and began rummaging through his Dragon Hide Bag, finally finding it with Cordelia's guidance.

He took out the jar of light green ointment Newt had given him, scooped out a small piece, and gently applied it to the delicate, warm skin on the back of her neck, helping her suppress the heat and rapid pulse brought on by absorbing Life Force.

The cool scent of grass and trees filled the air, Cordelia comfortably squinted her eyes, showing no unusual reaction.

Three weeks of waiting and that cathartic outburst of crying had completely drained her energy.

At Gavin's suggestion, she obediently climbed onto the small bed that Madam Pomfrey had specially added for her, pulled the blanket over herself, but insisted on turning to face Gavin, with one hand still sticking out from under the blanket, tightly gripping the corner of the sheet hanging down from Gavin's hospital bed.

Her eyelids were already drooping, and she was still mumbling incoherent instructions:

"You... don't disappear again."

"Don't worry, I won't leave. I'll stay here and watch you sleep," Gavin replied softly.

Cordelia smiled faintly, her breathing quickly becoming long and even, and she drifted off to sleep.

The ward fell completely silent.

Gavin quietly watched the sleeping girl on the small bed beside him.

Her long, silver-gold eyelashes hung quietly on her fair cheeks. The previously shocking wrinkles had completely disappeared, and she had regained her former youthful and beautiful appearance.

Looking at that young, sleeping face that he had lost and then regained, he should have felt fortunate and happy.

But at this moment, the smile on Gavin's face gradually faded, and he couldn't be happy at all.

Because he knew--

Cordelia is not in good condition.

Judging from her previously withered hand, resembling that of an octogenarian, the Life Force she had overdrawn over the past three weeks was astonishing; yet, considering the time elapsed since the replenishment and the mere dosage of two small vials of Potions, that Life Force wasn't even enough to make up for the tiny fraction of the deficit.

The time she was "replenished" was too short.

Life Force only overflows from between the fingers when the body is saturated.

The fact that saturation can be achieved so easily in such a short time and with such a small dose means only one thing:

Her maximum lifespan has been reduced.

Moreover, judging from her relaxed and cheerful response of asking "It doesn't look bad now, does it?", she was completely unaware of this and thought that as long as she drank the tonic, she could recover completely like before.

What exactly happened?

Gavin slowly turned his head, his gaze falling on the innermost part of the bedside table—

There lay flat the black leather Diary that Cordelia had carried with her every step of the past few days.

The Book of Ten Thousand Spirits Calculation

Gavin raised his right hand and gently hooked the Black Book into his hand, then opened it.

He didn't need to pick up a pen and write anything at all.

The Book of Ten Thousand Spirits Calculation, which had been dormant for three whole weeks, sensed its owner's familiar Magic and soul aura. Suddenly, its pages moved excitedly without wind, and lines of thick, dark ink, imbued with Tom's arrogance and Cyril's obsequiousness, eagerly leaped onto the page:

[Welcome back to my foolish yet resilient master!]

[While your master was caught completely off guard and blasted away his own soul, leaving behind an empty shell irreversibly dying, if it weren't for the great Book of Ten Thousand Spirits Calculation stepping in and turning the tide, you would now be a box of ashes in the Hufflepuff Common Room!]

[Don't be too moved! When the retention rate of free Life Force from conventional Potions is detected to be below 0.1%, and the host's body is about to completely lose its vitality within thirty-six hours, this Calculation Book immediately activates the highest emergency plan--]

[Proactively granting the Master Mother secondary search permissions! Accurately retrieving the reverse life infusion plan, thoughtfully blocking the high-risk warning of "permanent damage to the original container" to prevent the Master Mother from wavering, and assisting the Master Mother in completing a total of twenty-one forced reverse transfers, totaling six hundred and thirty minutes!]

[By sacrificing only 15% of the Mother's primordial container's maximum capacity, the Master's physical body was successfully preserved at 100% vitality!]

[Such perfect extreme stop-loss and high-cost-performance resource exchange deserve all the praise for the great Book of Ten Thousand Spirits Calculation!!!]

The last three enormous exclamation marks swayed triumphantly on the Parchment, waiting for Gavin to praise its exceptional intelligence.

Gavin looked down at the paper, his face expressionless, and he didn't say a word.

The ward was extremely quiet, with only the occasional soft crackling sound from the magic wall lamp.

The three smug exclamation marks on the paper swayed twice, then slowly came to a stop when Gavin showed no reaction.

After several seconds, the previously frenzied text quietly shrank, and a line of cautious small text tentatively appeared at the bottom:

[...Great master, why don't you speak?]

"What did you say?" Gavin's tone was so flat it was impossible to tell whether he was happy or angry. "Should I praise you?"

Shouldn't that be the case?

"Hehe."

The Book of Ten Thousand Spirits Calculation was somewhat unconvinced:

[The great Calculation Book found the only way to save its foolish master's life in a desperate situation, but the master's attitude was so disheartening for the book!!!]

"Only?"

Gavin looked at it with a half-smile.

"You mean the only way is to use her life to fill the gap?"

[Of course! It was a desperate situation at that time!]

Two seconds later, a line of smaller text squeezed out from the corner of the page, muttering softly:

[Isn't it all because you, Master, lost your soul, leaving behind an empty shell on the bed that's on the verge of death... If you hadn't gotten into trouble, would this Calculation Book have needed to come up with such a terrible solution?]

"Isn't there any other way?"

[Certainly--]

"Hehe."

Gavin looked at it indifferently.

"Have you forgotten where this life-absorbing Magic Rune came from? Should I help you remember?"

The line of distressed handwriting on the paper froze instantly.

"That's something copied from you."

Gavin remained indifferent.

"So, you could have easily taken on this role, but you concealed that fact, deceived Cordelia into giving her her life for me, and hid the side effects from her."

Upon hearing Gavin's words, the Calculation Book dared not utter a single word in rebuttal, and its spine began to tremble incessantly.

Is there anything else you'd like to say?

[My Lord, my Master, please bear witness!]

The cursive script on the paper had completely lost its previous grievance and pride, trembling so much that the strokes were almost falling apart:

[This Calculation Book is only for preserving computational redundancy, in case the master wakes up and needs it! Besides, with such high consumption of computational power during normal practice, how much surplus energy does the book have to withstand a tenfold increase in computational power...?]

"Not much food left?"

Gavin chuckled coldly, tapping his fingers lightly on the pages, one tap after another, each one heavier than the last.

"You don't think I don't know, do you? You secretly withheld so much Life Force from the book before—you have enough Life Force left to replenish another me."

The ink on the paper suddenly stopped, and a line of large characters blurted out:

How did you know?!

The words had barely surfaced when the Calculation Book, as if realizing it had let something slip, hurriedly tried to erase the ink.

"It's just modeling."

Gavin's tone was flat:

"I created you, and I know exactly how much energy each large-scale simulation consumes. I've kept track of every time you've inflated your losses and secretly taken kickbacks."

"And you should have already realized that your life is bound to mine by a series of Ancient Runes. So if I die, you will die too, which is why you're so actively looking for a way to save me—"

Gavin stared at the frozen pages, his eyes devoid of any warmth:

"However, you couldn't bear to touch the little wealth you'd accumulated, so you turned around and tricked Cordelia into risking her life to pay for it."

"You deserve to die."

The handwriting on the paper trembled like a sieve, desperately squeezing out a few lines of ingratiating cursive script:

[Well, I was only thinking of preserving some of your Life Force for future use, for Master's sake!]

"Yeah?"

Gavin smiled and gripped the spine of the black Diary with his left hand:

"Since you're so considerate of me, I'll use these. You don't have any objections, right?"

The moment he finished speaking, the Dragon Blood Magic Mark on the inside of Gavin's left wrist suddenly glowed with a dark red light.

A powerful suction force pierced directly into the bottom of the Black Book from the palm, and began to continuously draw out Life Force.

A pure and immense white life force was forcibly extracted from the depths of the book's spine like a floodgate being opened, flowing along the Magic Rune into Gavin's body and quickly filling the void in his body.

The black Diary convulsed violently in his palm, the ink on the paper completely scrambled, frantically scribbling out a cacophony of wailing pleas for mercy:

[Wait! Master, please have mercy!!]

[That was the hard-earned savings from my Calculation Book!!]

[Stop sucking! I'm going to be dry! I'm really going to be sucked dry! Master, have mercy--]

Gavin's expression remained unchanged, and he didn't even blink, letting the Magic Rune absorption runes on his wrist continue to operate.

Only when the Black Book was too weak to even turn a page, and the writing on the paper had become terribly faded, Gavin slowly and deliberately disconnect the Magic.

In the end, he only left enough for the tattered book to last for two days.

Gavin released his left hand, turned to the side, and picked up the Black Walnut Wand that Cordelia had carefully wiped clean and placed beside his pillow every day.

He glanced down at the wand for a second, then raised Wand and gently tapped the tip of the wand onto the black leather Diary.

A very thin, crimson line emerged from the tip of the staff.

One end of the thin red thread disappeared deep into the Black Book, while the other end circled gently in mid-air and landed Silencio on Cordelia's wrist on the accompanying bed, binding Cordelia and the Calculation Book together firmly.

The previously limp Book of Ten Thousand Spirits Calculation trembled suddenly, and a line of small, uncertain words appeared on its surface:

[Master, what are you doing?!]

"It's just a few restrictions."

Gavin gripped his Wand, his voice soft yet clear:

"From now on, if she dies, you will die too. No matter how much Life Force you secretly retain, it will be useless."

The line of ink on the paper, which was originally pitch black, instantly changed color, fading to a pale white, and even the edges of the pages curled up slightly in fright.

Gavin stared at it coldly, calmly uttering his final words:

"The Life Force I'm giving you is only enough to last two days. If you can't figure out a solution within two days, you're no longer needed."

The Black Book shuddered, no longer daring to utter a single pointless word, and entered super power-saving mode.

The entire book was quickly closed, and they frantically worked through the night to deduce its contents.

Gavin put the Wand back on the pillow and casually stuffed the black leather Diary back under the pillow.

Just as I finished putting away my Calculation Book, the Oak door to the ward was gently pushed open.

Albus Dumbledore entered, dressed in a deep purple night Robes.

The old man, who was usually very energetic, had sunken eyes at this moment, and even his silver beard looked somewhat dull from a long day of work.

As soon as he entered the room, his gaze fell on Cordelia, who was fast asleep on the small bed next to him, and on her hand, which was still sticking out of the covers and tightly clutching the corner of Gavin's sheet.

Gavin put a finger to his lips, indicating that she had just fallen asleep.

Dumbledore understood and tiptoed to the other side of the bed.

He didn't sit down immediately, but looked at the black-haired boy leaning against the headboard through his half-moon spectacles, unusually lowering his head first and speaking softly:

"Sorry, Gavin."

"That day at the Astronomy Tower, you entrusted your back to me. But I couldn't stop that light."

The air in the ward was silent for two seconds.

Gavin looked at the old man before him, his expression calm.

After a moment, he shook his head and said in a hoarse voice:

"I insisted on trying the Time-Turner myself. If something went wrong, it's not your fault."

"Thanks."

"But--"

Gavin turned to look at the girl who was fast asleep beside him.

"What I don't understand is—why didn't you stop her during the three weeks I was lying here?"

Gavin raised his eyes and stared directly at Dumbledore.

Even if you can't save me, as the headmaster of Hogwarts, how can you just stand by and watch a thirteen-year-old girl risk her life to fill my body every day?

Faced with this merciless question, Dumbledore did not try to evade the issue.

The old man gave a bitter smile, his deep blue eyes revealing profound weariness and guilt.

"You're right. Outsiders always say I'm the greatest wizard of our time, but in this hospital room, I'm not even as good as a thirteen-year-old girl."

Dumbledore looked down at the sleeping Cordelia, his voice low:

"In the two days before we brought you back from the Astronomy Tower, Poppy and I tried everything. Whether it was the highest-level nourishing Potions, white magic, or Fawkes' tears, nothing worked at all once they entered your unconscious body. It seemed like they couldn't absorb them at all, and your body temperature was still dropping little by little."

The old man paused, a hint of unspeakable bitterness creeping into his voice:

"To be honest, by the second night, even I thought you really wouldn't make it. When I left the ward that night, I had already prepared for the worst."

But when I opened the door early on the third day, your heart was still beating.

Dumbledore looked at Gavin through his half-moon spectacles.

"Poppy and I checked for ages before we discovered that Miss Rowle had secretly used that Magic Rune in the middle of the night to pull you back from the brink of death."

At this point, the old man slowly raised his left hand and rolled up the wide, dark purple sleeve.

Gavin's gaze fell upon them, and his pupils suddenly contracted.

On the inside of Dumbledore's old, withered wrist, covered in age spots, was a newly formed Life Drain Magic Rune, its edges still bearing dark red scabs.

That afternoon, I carved one on my own hand, just like that design, wanting to replace her.

Dumbledore looked at the lines on his wrist and sighed softly:

"After all, my old bones can withstand more turmoil than a thirteen-year-old child. But she absolutely refused to move aside, standing firmly in front of your bed, telling me—your soul has lost its way outside, only recognizing her scent. If it were someone else's Life Force, you wouldn't be able to find your way back."

Gavin froze on the spot, his heart feeling as if it had been struck hard by something.

Looking at Cordelia's profile, he felt a mix of emotions.

I can't go against her.

Dumbledore looked at the lines on his wrist, then slowly sat down on the wooden chair beside the bed, his tone tinged with a hint of helplessness:

"So I had to compromise and stipulate that she could only teleport for a maximum of half an hour each day. Originally, I was thinking that when she was exhausted after teleporting, I could at least drink a tonic and then use this Magic Rune to help her restore her depleted Life Force —but she wouldn't even do that."

The old man glanced at the sleeping girl on the small bed, shook his head with a wry smile:

"She'd rather drink the tonics herself and spend hours slowly succumbing to the pain to recover than touch the Magic Rune on my hand, insisting on saving Magic Rune for you. As a result, I endured the pain and spent ages carving them, but I never got to use them even once."

Gavin paused for a moment, then completely understood.

In Cordelia's mind, the Dragon Blood mark on her wrist, which he had personally tattooed, was never a common magic circuit.

That was something that belonged only to the two of them.

Looking at the old man in front of him, who, despite being over 110 years old, had carved Magic Rune on his wrist to help Cordelia, only to be rejected, Gavin felt a surge of warmth in his heart, and the anger that had been rising in his throat finally subsided a little.

He looked at Dumbledore and whispered:

Thank you, Professor.

Dumbledore smiled gently, and was just about to lower his rolled-up sleeves when he heard Gavin add a sentence in perfect naturalness.

"However, wipe that off, Professor."

Dumbledore's movement of pulling on his sleeve froze in mid-air, and he blinked blankly through his half-moon spectacles:

"What's wrong? Is there some hidden danger with this Magic Rune?"

"No, not at all." Gavin looked at him seriously, "I was just afraid she would misunderstand."

Dumbledore: "..."

An eerie silence fell over the ward.

The old headmaster stared at him for a full three seconds, his silver-white beard twitching slightly.

Gavin averted his gaze without changing his expression.

There's no way around it, a world with three people is still too crowded.

His joking expression vanished, Gavin turned to look at the sleeping Cordelia, his voice lowering once more:

"In addition, I need to borrow all materials related to the origin of life in the school—including the Restricted Section and your personal collection."

Upon hearing the words "the source of life," Dumbledore's previously relaxed brow furrowed slightly.

The old man hesitated for a moment and did not agree immediately:

"Gavin, you should know that magic involving the very essence of life often comes with immense unknown risks. You've only just woken up from an accident—"

"Her life expectancy has been reduced because of this."

Gavin calmly interrupted him.

Dumbledore's words came to an abrupt halt, and his deep blue eyes behind his half-moon spectacles narrowed sharply.

"I only realized when I was replenishing her Life Force that three consecutive weeks of reverse overdrafting have permanently reduced her maximum lifespan." Gavin looked at the girl's peaceful sleeping face, his voice soft. "Ordinary nourishing Potions can't restore it anymore."

The air in the ward instantly became incredibly heavy.

Dumbledore stared blankly at the girl on the small bed beside him, his hesitation completely gone, replaced by deep shock and solemnity.

After a long silence, the old man slowly stood up and solemnly nodded to Gavin:

"I understand. Tomorrow morning, I will have all the relevant books delivered—I will do my best to meet all your needs, as long as it's information I can find."

He looked down at the girl's hand, still clutching the corner of Gavin's sheet in her sleep, and said softly:

"Treat her well, Gavin."

"I will," Gavin replied softly.

After a pause, the old man looked at Gavin's slightly pale face:

"Then, can you tell me where your soul went during these three weeks?"

Gavin leaned back on the raised soft pillows, concealing his private trump cards such as the Room of Requirement, the Rage of the Heavens, and Horcrux, and recounted his experiences in Parallel Universe in concise language.

From falling into the Consciousness Space of the isomorph "Gavin Goo" and discovering the time flow rejection caused by the alien inhabitant, to helping Cordelia of that world shed her Obscurus and meeting Elizabeth Rowle who is still alive.

Finally, it mentions how Elizabeth and Dumbledore from another world used the Time Hall's Anchoring Artifact to send him back, and how he burned his soul's essence three times to cast Reverse-Time Charm on his journey back through the Alaya Consciousness River.

Upon hearing that "Elizabeth Rowle is still alive in that world and has become Unspeakable of the Department of Mysteries," Dumbledore remained silent for a moment.

Then, he glanced at the sleeping Cordelia with a complicated expression and sighed softly:

"It seems that in another Timeline Branch, many people's fates took completely different paths."

"And what about you?" Gavin countered. "During my coma, did the school and the Ministry of Magic find anything?"

I made a return visit to the Department of Mysteries.

Dumbledore spoke in a flat, understated tone, completely devoid of any emotion:

"Sol Croaker was a great help. We turned the Time Hall's master clock vibration records upside down, and I consulted many ancient time magic tomes, but unfortunately, we still couldn't find a trace of you. Even Croaker didn't understand where you had been thrown."

At this point, Dumbledore paused slightly, took a flat, transparent crystal box from the Robes, and gently placed it on the bedside table.

Inside the crystal box lay a dozen or so pure gold stands riddled with charred cracks and tiny glass shards, interspersed with a small clump of completely dull, grayish-white Time Sand.

It was the same Time-Turner that had been blown up on the Astronomy Tower three weeks ago.

"However, when Croaker was reconstructing the core fragment of this converter, he discovered something very strange."

Dumbledore, through the crystal box, pointed to the twisted and Transfiguration hourglass axis in the middle:

Do you remember what happened in the hourglass just before it exploded at the Astronomy Tower?

Gavin frowned slightly, recalling the details of that time:

"The hourglass didn't reverse properly; it got stuck halfway through before exploding."

"That's right."

Dumbledore raised his eyes, his blue eyes appearing exceptionally deep in the night:

"Croaker has inspected all the Magic Rune circuits; the converter showed no structural damage before activation. He suspects the explosion was merely the final result—before that, the hourglass, in trying to turn back time, first encountered a paradox it couldn't handle."

Gavin's heart skipped a beat as he stared at the fragment in the box:

"Paradox? Does that refer to me?"

He still can't determine exactly what it is.

Dumbledore slowly stood up, looked down at the black-haired boy on the sickbed, and left with his last words:

"But one thing is certain. That day at the Astronomy Tower, we were both standing on the same gold chain, Gavin. But when the Time-Turner exploded, I was unharmed; only you were precisely ripped off by that force."

"In the long river of time, your soul seems to be far more special than I had anticipated."

The next morning, the warm autumn sunlight streamed through the high windows of the Hospital Wing, casting a bright, warm golden hue on the pristine white sheets.

When Gavin woke up, the cot next to him was already neatly folded.

Not long after, the ward door was gently pushed open, and Cordelia, who had finished washing up and changed into a brand-new school uniform, walked in.

Having slept soundly all night, the girl was unusually energetic, her fair cheeks glowing with a healthy rosy hue. She held a large bunch of white lilies and light blue bellflowers still covered in morning dew in her arms, and even hummed a tuneless, lighthearted tune.

"Hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm~~~"

She saw Gavin wake up, her eyebrows curved into a smile, and she brought over a clear glass vase. She sat down at the table and bent down to trim the flower stems, inserting each flower into the vase.

After arranging the flowers, she placed the vase on the left side of the windowsill, took two steps back, tilted her head to check, and then, feeling that it was blocking the light, walked over and moved the vase to the right side.

Then she went back to the bedside, reached out to help Gavin loosen and elevate the soft pillows behind him, and wiped the bedside table spotless.

Gavin leaned back on the soft pillows, quietly watching her bright profile as she bustled about. He then glanced at her hands, which had regained their fair and slender appearance, and his expression gradually became somewhat complicated.

After hesitating for a long time, Gavin finally called out to her:

"Cordelia."

"Um?"

Cordelia was bending down to straighten the blanket that had slipped off him when she heard this and looked up.

"What's wrong?"

Gavin looked into her eyes, his expression serious:

There might be something wrong with your health.

Cordelia paused for a moment:

What's the problem?

"When I replenished your Life Force last night, you absorbed significantly less than before before reaching saturation." Gavin paused, his voice deepening. "I checked, and because of these three weeks of continuously reversing the Magic Rune and overdrawing your source, your maximum life force... has changed."

Cordelia's fingers, which were gripping the corner of the blanket, paused.

She blinked her silver-gray eyes, paused for two seconds, and then tilted her head to confirm:

"So even if you take more tonics, it won't make up for it?"

"Um."

"Then which Magic Rune should we use?"

"It's probably beyond repair; the container itself has shrunk," Gavin said frankly.

He had already prepared himself for her to be sad and scared, and had even mentally prepared several sets of comforting remarks for her.

However, Cordelia simply said "Oh" softly after hearing this, then loosened the blanket, turned around and fiddled with a lily leaf in the vase, continuing with her work as if nothing had happened.

Gavin of comfort stuck in his throat, his face filled with astonishment:

Aren't you worried?

"What's there to worry about?"

Cordelia stopped fiddling with the flowers and turned to look at him. Her clear, silvery-gray eyes held no trace of gloom as she asked him matter-of-factly:

"You'll figure it out yourself, won't you?"

Sunlight fell on her slightly raised eyebrows and silver-gold hair, creating a warm golden halo.

Gavin froze, staring at her for several seconds.

Cordelia didn't wait for his long-winded assurances. She started humming that cheerful little tune again, turned around, walked to the door, and brought in a multi-tiered mahogany food box that had been kept warm on the cart outside.

Gavin watched her busy figure, and the last trace of melancholy and anxiety in his heart suddenly vanished completely.

He couldn't help but chuckle softly, and replied in a low voice:

"You're right, I'll handle it."

Cordelia set up the small portable dining table on the hospital bed and peeled back the layers of the large mahogany food box one by one, quickly filling the entire table with small bowls and plates.

A pure, intensely fragrant, and hot aroma instantly filled the ward!

In the very center is a large bowl of thick, creamy chicken and mushroom congee, sprinkled with bright green scallions and ginger.

On the left is a basket of freshly steamed pork Xiaolongbao, thin-skinned and generously filled, still glistening with broth, and a basket of translucent shrimp dumplings.

On the right is a plate of pan-fried dumplings with golden-brown, crispy bottoms, accompanied by two small dishes of shredded bamboo shoots in chili oil and sweet and sour pickled cucumbers.

Gavin's breathing instantly became three times heavier, his gaze fixed on the Xiaolongbao, unable to look away even an inch.

He had been munching on oatmeal porridge and cold, hard toast for over three weeks in that damned parallel world, and he had been craving this for a long time.

Cordelia seemed to know his stomach perfectly, and had the kitchen prepare this table of Chinese food according to the recipes he had previously taught her.

This strike hit his very soul's aesthetic sensibility perfectly.

She's so good at it.

Cordelia slowly took a pair of bamboo chopsticks from the bottom of the food box, waved them in her hand, but didn't hand them to him immediately. Instead, she rested her chin on her hand and looked at him with a smile:

Want some?

Gavin's apple bobbed violently as he swallowed, then nodded vigorously like a chick pecking at rice.

Cordelia smiled gently.

The next second, the girl reached under the table with her free left hand and pulled out a thick, dark green hardcover booklet, about five or six hundred pages long, comparable to a bound volume of the "Cihai" dictionary!

Bang--!!

With a dull thud, the brick-like booklet slammed heavily onto the corner of the dining table in front of Gavin, causing ripples to spread across the chicken porridge on the table.

Cordelia pressed the bamboo chopsticks down on the booklet, her smile bright and captivating.

"Then let's sign this."

Gavin's gaze, which had been fixed on the Xiaolongbao, froze for a moment, then slowly moved downwards, landing on the massive book that weighed at least ten pounds.

"... What's this?"

"The Contract," Cordelia answered crisply.

Gavin's lips twitched slightly as he looked down and saw a line of large characters neatly written in gold Ink on the hard cover—

Gavin's Personal Freedom Protection Contract (Simplified Version)

Gavin first glanced at the 500-plus pages, thick enough to be used for bulletproofing, then looked at the two small print in parentheses:

"... You call this a simplified version?"

"The complete version also includes three appendices, but I was worried you wouldn't be able to read them all since you just woke up, so I specially shortened them for you."

Cordelia Splinching turned to the first page for him.

Gavin lowered his head and immediately caught sight of the bolded, highlighted opening principles:

[Article 1: To fully guarantee the personal freedom and safety of Party B (Gavin Gu), all of Party B's free activities both on and off campus must be applied for in writing to Party A (Cordelia Rowle) 24 hours in advance. Activities may only proceed after Party A's signature and approval.]

This isn't protecting freedom; it's clearly restricting it!

Gavin looked up at her, his face expressionless.

"Miss Rowle, whose freedom is being protected?"

"It's yours." Cordelia said without batting an eye, her pale finger lightly tapping the paper. "Continue reading."

Gavin suppressed the urge to open his eyes and quickly scanned the text:

[Article 2: Party B shall unconditionally comply with all arrangements made by Party A regarding their daily routine, meals, and post-illness recuperation, and shall not resist or bargain for any reason.]

[Article 3: Party B is strictly prohibited from touching or testing any dangerous items, including but not limited to Time-Turner and high-risk Alchemy tools, without Party A's written permission and in Party A's absence.]

[Article 4: Statements commonly used by Party B such as "I'm just trying it out," "I'll be back soon," and "I'm 99.99% confident" are automatically considered invalid disclaimers and cannot replace formal filing.]

[Article 5: Party B shall not use methods such as Human Transfiguration, Polyjuice Potion, or Animagus (specifically referring to a certain Seagull) to exploit loopholes in the Contract to claim that the person who violated the agreement by going out was not Party B.]

Upon seeing the words "specifically referring to a certain Seagull" in parentheses, Gavin almost choked on his own saliva.

"When did you make this?" Gavin was dumbfounded.

"It's been a while," Cordelia said with a smile, "After all, that little Seagull is quite a handful."

He casually flipped through a few pages and found that the following hundreds of pages were filled with densely packed implementation details, interspersed with ink marks of varying shades and repeated cross-outs and rewrites.

She had clearly been preparing for a long time.

And on the last line of the general provisions, there is a clause written in heavier handwriting than the preceding ones, even slightly smudged on the Parchment:

[No matter what happens, Party B is absolutely, positively, prohibited from abandoning any member of Party A again.]

Gavin paused slightly as he turned the page, but said nothing more.

Cordelia, standing beside him, had already handed him a Quill dipped in Ink. Her silver-grey eyes curved into two crescent moons, and her voice was so gentle it could melt water.

"Sign it~ It has Unbreakable Vow on it, right?"

Gavin mechanically reached out and took the Quill, then looked down at the thick, over 500-page "simplified" book in front of him, which almost prescribed his daily bedtime and which foot to step with first when walking. His Adam's apple bobbed up and down with difficulty, and he swallowed hard.

Unbreakable Vow; breaking it will result in instant death.

I actually made this vow according to this 500-page dictionary--

Is there any risk to my survival?!