After watching those glowing particles, Hermione followed the professor out of the Room of Requirement in confusion. They went down from the eighth floor along the spiral staircase, and she asked in puzzlement:
"Professor, what kind of magic was that? Weren't you unable to cast spells?"
She had known for a long time that her professor was an anti-mage, not a spellcaster at all. All the so-called "magic" he had displayed before others had merely been tricks of the eye.
To hell with a Summoning Charm, to hell with walking on water—it had either been Strangle or Cloak!
"This wasn't magic. It was pure science."
In the torchlit tower, Su Ming raised a hand, pinched out the cigarette in his mouth, and put it away. Then he grinned and winked at his student.
"This is a new ability I recently acquired: Dark Quantum. You can think of it as tiny, extraordinary particles that I can control remotely. They can be used for many things."
"Uh, like miniature drones?"
The girl thought it over. Though she was a top student, technology was not her specialty. Tiny drones were the only thing she could think of based on the professor's description.
"That's actually pretty close." Su Ming took out some snacks from his belt pouch and stuffed them into his student's hands as a reward for completing the task. "In short, this fingernail belonged to the transfer student several centuries ago. I activated Quantum Concepts and traced the history of its existence, as well as its connection to its owner. That ability also allowed my sight to cross time and witness what had happened to the transfer student in the past."
Hermione did not understand all of it, but she did not need to. She only had to nod.
"So, did that