Elizabeth Rowle

Gavin stood there, his mouth slightly open.

The woman before me— Elizabeth Rowle —was floating a few inches above the water, her long, silver-gold hair cascading down the shoulders of her plain, old robe, the ends swaying gently with the invisible currents in my Consciousness Space.

At least a dozen questions were surfacing in his mind at the same time, but before he could speak, he heard a woman's voice.

"Without a doubt," Elizabeth began, "I am already dead."

She said this in a very flat tone, as if she were saying that the weather was nice today, but there was no self-pity or sadness in her eyes.

"But that's the beauty of magic, isn't it?" She tilted her head slightly, a strand of silver-gold hair slipping down her shoulder, and said with a smile, "Even though I'm gone, I can still protect Cordelia."

The word "protection" struck Gavin's mind, sending ripples through it. A dead mother leaving a white light in her child's Consciousness Space —this didn't sound like Spell found in any textbook.

He considered a possibility, and his pupils dilated slightly.

He had witnessed this magic with his own eyes not long ago.

You mean—

"That's right." Elizabeth nodded. "The Love Magic."

Gavin was shocked. The possibility had just crossed his mind, and before he could even voice it, she had confirmed it.

"This is the magic that protected the famous Harry Potter and defeated the Dark Lord," Elizabeth continued. "It's magic that uses death, all Magic, and all love to protect one's child."

Gavin stood there, listening to the sound of his own heartbeat.

He certainly knew the magic, Lily Potter, Godric's Hollow, the night that left Lightning-Shaped Scar on the baby's forehead.

A dying woman, Lily Potter, uses her last bit of magic to turn her son into the safest vault in the entire Wizarding World.

This magic appeared on the night of the birth of the Child of Prophecy, marking the beginning of the entire Harry Potter story.

And now, the woman floating in mid-air, her hair gently swaying in the dim light of his Consciousness Space, tells him that she has also used the same magic.

This was hard not to shock Gavin.

"After hearing that the Dark Lord had been defeated," Elizabeth said, "I was very curious about what kind of magic could defeat such an invincible being."

Her fingers unconsciously twirled the seam of her robe's cuff, a gesture seven-tenths similar to her daughter's. "So, after some investigation, and finally with Professor Dumbledore's confirmation, I learned of the existence of this magic."

She paused, looking at Gavin.

"Obviously, I've learned it too. As for why I learned it—" she smiled, a faint, almost imperceptible self-deprecation in the curve, "Of course, it's because in this day and age, having more ways to protect children is always a good thing."

"Unfortunately, I was too arrogant, thinking that magic could replace care, and I neglected Cordelia's feelings, failing to realize that she had been living in pain all along." She shook her head, laughing self-deprecatingly. "It was because I didn't care enough about Cordelia that all these things happened."

Gavin felt a strange dual sensation. On one hand, he felt relaxed; she knew what he was thinking without him having to ask anything.

On the other hand, there was a sense of oppression. She was too clever; she firmly controlled the pace of the conversation, allowing him to simply stand and listen.

"Then can you—"

"No." Elizabeth shook her head. "I'm sorry."

This is yet another problem that was caught before it could even be addressed.

"Protecting Cordelia from the moment the Obscurus erupted was my limit," Elizabeth said softly. "There's nothing more I could do."

She looked at Gavin with certainty in her eyes. "So what you did was crucial. I saw it in Cordelia's memories. Without you, without the Philosopher's Stone, I couldn't have helped Cordelia break free on my own."

"Cordelia will eventually be completely Obscurus and die after my Magic disappears."

In that instant, Gavin understood many things.

The hosts of the Obscurus generally do not live past the age of ten, but Cordelia is already twelve years old.

The Obscurus its first outburst. Once the parasitic relationship is established, the Obscurus will eventually lose control completely, tearing the host's body and consciousness apart. Cordelia, however, has experienced outbursts, and more than once.

She survived.

Later-stage Obscurus hosts become emaciated, their bodies drained dry from within by the Obscurus, their skin clinging to their bones, their eyes sunken into their sockets, and even their breathing feels like something is drawing air out of their lungs.

Cordelia sat by the window in the St. Mungo's's corridor, her back ramrod straight. She could argue with him, glare at him with wide eyes, and even hit him—and it hurt quite a bit.

Her mother had clearly done a lot for her, constantly shielding her from the Obscurus it wouldn't really hurt her; without that barrier, Cordelia would have been gone long ago.

"Okay, Gavin." Elizabeth's voice pulled him back from his thoughts. "May I call you that?"

Gavin nodded.

"Now, let's settle this once and for all." Her tone was no longer gentle; it carried a sharp edge, completely different from before.

After she finished speaking, she looked at the still surging black Whirlpool.

Gavin channeled the remaining Magic of the Philosopher's Stone, and from his fingertips to his palm, the thin thread of Red Light slowly began to glow, faint but unbroken.

He took a step forward, reached out, and grasped Cordelia's hand—that small, cold hand that had recently tried to crush him in mid-air, now resting quietly in his palm like a fledgling bird with its wings folded.

Elizabeth watched this scene and smiled gently.

She walked to the other side, her long, silver-gold hair tracing a soft arc in the white light of the Consciousness Space. Then she bent down and took Cordelia's other hand.

The two men led Cordelia forward slowly.

The direction was away from the black hole behind them; with every step, they could feel the resistance surging from the direction of the black hole. Anger, fear, sorrow, despair—

Waves crashed against us from behind like a tidal Whirlpool.

Both men held Cordelia's hands tightly, not letting go. Cordelia showed no further change, simply letting them lead her forward in a daze.

The black hole behind him was emitting a silent roar; although there was no sound, Gavin could sense its madness.

No one paid any attention.

Finally, they reached the finish line, and the small white Whirlpool was right in front of them.

Compared to Dumbledore's, it was too small, just a tiny speck of light, dim and weak, as if it could be swallowed up by the vast waters of the Alaya Consciousness at any moment.

But as the three approached, it began to spin again, from extremely slow to accelerating, round and round, as if it had finally awakened after a long, long slumber.

The water below began to surge upwards--

The moisture in the Alaya Consciousness was stirred up by the rotation of the white Whirlpool and slowly drawn in along the bottom of the vortex.

Elizabeth released Cordelia's hand and gently placed her daughter's hand on the back of Gavin's hand, her movements as careful as if she were folding an old garment that had been stored for many years, afraid that it would break if she used too much force.

Then she took a step back, floating in mid-air, looking at her daughter and the boy who was about half a year old.

"Alright," she said, "That's all I can do."

When she said this, her tone was flat, without a trace of emotion, and even carried a hint of ease.

But even such a simple sentence made Gavin's heart sink; he sensed what was about to happen.

"Don't be sad," Elizabeth smiled. "I was already dead. Now I'm happy to use my last bit of Magic to help Cordelia."

As she spoke these words, the edges of her body began to blur, starting from her feet and the hem of her old robe, turning into a layer of very faint, fine specks of light, like crushed silver dust, drifting into the air of the Consciousness Space.

Elizabeth took a step forward and placed her hands on Cordelia's shoulders.

She looked into Cordelia's blank, lifeless eyes, which were still empty, just like before. But the way she looked at them was like a mother facing a sleeping child, knowing that she couldn't hear her, but still wanting to finish what she needed to say.

"Please tell her for me--"

Elizabeth paused for a moment, still trying to maintain her smile.

"Even if Mom is gone, you must live happily on your own, eat well, sleep well, and study hard. Don't blame Dad, Dad loves her too."

Then she blinked, and a woman who had been dead for many years stood before her daughter, forcing a smile, swallowing the last bit of reluctance she felt.

"Finally—tell her that Mom never blamed her." Her voice trembled slightly. "Mom will always love her."

Gavin's throat tightened, and he couldn't speak. He could only watch as her body slowly transformed into patches of starlight from her feet to her knees and then to her waist, but his hands remained firmly resting on Cordelia's shoulders.

"Alright. It's time to say goodbye."

Her voice had become much softer.

"Please take good care of her for me."

Gavin nodded. "I will."

These words were forced out of his throat, as dry as if they were stuffed with sand.

Elizabeth smiled with satisfaction, a hint of relief in her expression.

Then her hands released her daughter's shoulders, shattering into tiny specks of light starting from her fingertips, then her palms, then her forearms, then her shoulders and chest, then her neck and chin.

She didn't look down at her dissipating body, but kept looking at Cordelia until her last trace of form turned into countless scattered starlight.

The starlight drifted slowly against the pure white background of the Consciousness Space, then began to fall on Cordelia's hair, on her shoulders, and on the calm, vast surface of water in front of her, before disappearing.

Gavin stood there, watching the specks of light fall into the water one by one, without creating a ripple.

Cordelia stood beside him, her eyes still vacant as she stared ahead.

Back to reality.

When Gavin opened his eyes, the sunlight was no longer so strong, and the sea breeze still carried a salty smell.

The Red Light of the Philosopher's Stone had dimmed to almost nothing, but he could still feel the stone in his palm was slightly warm.

Dumbledore stood a few steps away, his hands tucked into his sleeves, watching him. Cordelia had also woken up and was sitting cross-legged in front of him, leaning forward with her face very close, scrutinizing him.

"Are you alright?" she asked with concern. "You looked like you were crying just now."

Gavin reached up and wiped his eye. "Maybe a brick got into my eye."

"Huh?" Cordelia clearly didn't understand the joke.

"How are you feeling right now?" Gavin changed the subject.

Cordelia paused for a moment, then remembered that she was still a patient, and looked down at her hands.

When she woke up, she was so focused on checking on Gavin that she forgot to look at herself. She only remembered that shortly after Gavin started, she suddenly fainted and had a dream.

In her dream, she wanted to kill Gavin, so when she woke up, the first thing she did was check on Gavin to make sure he was alright.

Cordelia stretched out her hand, gently clenched it into a fist, then flipped it over, stretched her arms, took a deep breath, and finally even jumped up from the beach, happily saying, "I'm fine, I've never been so fine!"

Cordelia hadn't had time to check on her condition until now, when she realized that the thing that had been draining her life force was gone. She felt incredibly relieved, as if a huge burden had been lifted off her shoulders.

Seeing this, Gavin smiled happily.

It hasn't been easy. More than seven months have passed since we decided to help Cordelia. During that time, we've experienced countless changes and unexpected events, but today we've finally managed to resolve everything.

Gavin felt a deep sense of satisfaction, but joked, "Be careful not to relapse."

Cordelia ignored his taunts.

"Thank you, Gavin," Cordelia said sincerely, her eyes sparkling. "Without you, I might be dead."

"Pah, don't talk nonsense." Gavin, a rare occurrence for him.

He leaned back, relaxed, and propped himself up on his arms to look into the distance. A few Seagull were still circling over the sea. He was in a good mood.

"No way, I'm serious. If it weren't for you, I would have—"

"No, Cordelia," Gavin suddenly sat up straight, his expression serious, "This isn't just my achievement."

Dumbledore, who was standing ten steps away, perked up his ears. He had been standing quietly to the side, acting as a background figure, but after hearing this, he straightened up slightly, took his hand out of his sleeve, and prepared to nod in thanks when Gavin said, "We also need to thank Professor Dumbledore."

He even prepared the degree of his nod and the manner of his smile.

Humility, with a hint of "it's nothing," but not so low-key, acknowledging one's contributions just right.

"It's mainly your mother," Gavin said.

Dumbledore's smile froze halfway through his journey. He quietly withdrew the half-open smile and put his hands back into his sleeves.

"My... mother?" Cordelia was stunned.

When she uttered the word, her tone was somewhat unfamiliar and hollow.

"That's right," Gavin said. "Your mother, Elizabeth Rowle."