A father and son's nighttime talk, Vincent's past

Will's face twitched a few times. "You're saying this thing is called the Wizard's Eye?"

Although he felt this test was completely unnecessary, he still used the golden "Wizard's Eye" under everyone's hopeful gazes. At the same time, he activated his real Wizard's Eye and saw the densely packed, intricate patterns of magic on the alchemical creation. The complexity of the flowing magic even made him dizzy, and he couldn't help deactivating his Wizard's Eye.

Did I make this thing myself? Would my alchemy reach this level in the future?

Blood from Will's fingertip seeped into the pupil of the Wizard's Eye. The little golden sphere transformed into a silver-gray sphere, looking just like Will's silver-gray eyes.

Roy and Victor's faces visibly lit up with excitement.

Will's heart sank. These two aren't going to attack me, are they?

No, since I could complete the time loop, nothing should happen to me here.

"Wonderful, Will, wonderful! That vault is yours from now on!" Roy pulled out a key and pressed it into Will's hand. It looked much like Harry's key to the Potter Family vault.

"A vault? What vault?" Will hadn't caught up yet. This old man was starting off with a whole vault? Was he trying to buy me off?

"The Lestrange family vault. Or rather, Rodolphus and the others' vault."

Will understood at once. His future self had returned to the past and found a way to get his hands on the Lestrange Vault from the original story. Now that vault belonged to him. In other words, one of Voldemort's Horcruxes, Hufflepuff's Cup, was now his.

No wonder he had told them the vault was dangerous.

So did my future self return to the past for the Horcrux? Probably not. That was probably just something I did along the way. Could I have run into some trouble? Not very likely.

Could it have been for some special purpose? That's more likely. And what exactly did I do to make Roy remember my kindness even now?

Will ultimately spent the rest of the meal in confusion. He could tell that Roy seemed relieved, but he had no idea what had happened. It really wasn't a pleasant feeling.

That night, Will tossed and turned in bed. Too much had happened over the past two days. First, he had gotten several hundred thousand pounds from his "father," then he had acquired the Lestrange family's vault, complete with one of Voldemort's Horcruxes.

He kept feeling as though none of it was real.

"Forget it. Since history has taken this course, it means I succeeded, or partly succeeded. Right now, I still need to focus on grinding experience. Strength is the foundation of everything."

Besides, if I'd known I had a vault like this, why the hell would I have contacted the Howards?

Will still didn't know that some nodes of fate were like nails driven into the river of destiny.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the Lestrange family's castle.

Victor was talking with Roy beside the fireplace. Roy lay lazily in a rocking recliner, looking relaxed and at ease.

"Father, is what happened before really over?"

"Yes, it's over. The favor we owed, the promise we once made—it's all behind us now. Look at this Will. How much he resembles his ancestor. He's at Hogwarts, under Dumbledore's protection. In the future, he'll become a great figure like that too," Roy said contentedly, as though a weight had been lifted from his mind.

"He really never appeared again? Could even a wizard that powerful die? Will the future really hold another calamity, just as he said?"

"Don't be foolish, Victor. A wizard like Lord Vincent wouldn't die so easily. Besides, he's so much younger than Dumbledore. Perhaps he's still somewhere in the world pursuing his 'truth' right now." Roy seemed to hold Vincent in the highest esteem. "Since this child is his descendant, then no matter what happens, as long as we invest in this child, the Lestrange family can continue to survive. Never mind some future calamity-even if the Dark Lord returned to life, we should be fine."

Victor fell silent for a moment. "I think Little Veya is very fond of Will."

Little Veya was Sylvia's nickname.

"Don't interfere too much in the children's affairs. Will bears Little Veya no ill will either. Let them be."

Victor gave a bitter smile. "But Will doesn't seem to be having a peaceful time at Hogwarts either. As soon as he enrolled, he got into disputes with children from quite a few old pure-blood families, and soon afterward, he injured several children from pure-blood households. A lot of pure-bloods are very unhappy with him. Even two school governors have demanded his expulsion."

Roy picked up the cup beside him and took a sip. "So what? Those fools think he's a Muggle-born with no backing. But what about the reality? If Lord Vincent took action, those so-called pure-blood families would probably disappear very quickly. Don't forget, the present-day Lestranges were merely people Lord Vincent rescued from a sinking ship. Yet how many wizards today would dare say the Lestrange family isn't powerful and prosperous?

"As for the school? Dumbledore has Hogwarts firmly in his grasp now. What use are those school governors? They can do nothing except provide money. If Dumbledore didn't have to spend so much of the money in his hands on the Order of the Phoenix, Hogwarts could be entirely his to command."

Seeing Victor's troubled expression, Roy smiled. "Don't forget how the Lestrange family survived. Our branch, from the very beginning until now, was built up by Lord Vincent alone. Even importing magical materials was something Lord Vincent told my father to do. Sometimes, clinging to a powerful backer can keep a family prosperous for generations."

The old man clearly understood the art of keeping a family alive. Everything he was doing now was in the hope that Will would get into the same boat as them.

As the night deepened, the Lestrange father and son's conversation came to an end, and Lestrange Manor slowly grew quiet.

From the distant valley came the occasional howl of a wolf-