In a villa in the suburbs of London.
Allen was hunched over the desk in the second-floor study, writing furiously.
The parchment in front of him was already piled up thickly, with the top page titled: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Chapter 5: The Dementor.
He rubbed his sore wrists, placed his Quick-Quotes Quill next to the ink bottle, and stretched.
Just then, a blue light suddenly appeared in front of him, several times brighter than usual, illuminating the entire study with a bluish glow.
Allen squinted, his eyes glazed over.
"System, could you please let me know before it pops up next time? My eyes are about to go blind."
[ Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets has already caused a major stir in the Wizarding World.]
[The original storyline has deviated significantly. The system is calculating additional rewards, please wait...]
Allen sat bolt upright in his chair.
"They're here, they're here, they're here!"
He practically sprang from his chair, strode to the sink in the restroom, washed his hands thoroughly, and then dried them with a towel.
He walked back to his desk, sat up straight, placed his hands flat on the table, and looked as serious as if he were attending a job interview.
"Alright, come on."
The text on the light screen began to scroll.
[Congratulations, host! You have received one chance to draw from the limited prize pool "Part Two: The Chamber of Secrets ".]
[Congratulations, host, you have obtained: Limited Character Card ( Tom Riddle ) ×1.]
[Limited Character Card ( Tom Riddle ): Grants the user the full power of Tom Riddle at his peak for five minutes. Uses: 2/2.]
[Congratulations, host, you have obtained the title " Restless Butterfly "!]
Allen read through them one by one, his gaze first landing on the character card.
The light screen automatically unfolded a brief introduction.
Tom Marvolo Riddle: A Slytherin House student, a gifted Hogwarts student with a talent for Parseltongue, and an outstanding academic record. He was elected Prefect in his fifth year and became Head Boy in his seventh year. He received a special contribution award from the school.
[Handsome and elegant in appearance, skilled at feigning charm, and highly regarded by most professors. Obsessed with exploring his own lineage and origins, he created the first Horcrux diary based on Moaning Myrtle's death. He is arrogant and cold-blooded, with an extreme thirst for immortality and power.]
Allen looked at the description and frowned slightly.
"Wait, this is all about his time at Hogwarts. What about what happened after he graduated? What about what happened after he became Voldemort? Why isn't a single word about it?"
A short line of text appeared on the system's light screen.
Tom Riddle is Tom Riddle, Voldemort is Voldemort.
Allen stared at the line of text for several seconds, then slowly nodded.
"I see. This card only uses his strength from his student days, before he became Voldemort —that of Tom Riddle."
He leaned back in his chair and thought for a moment.
Tom Riddle, during his student years, was able to open the Chamber of Secrets with Parseltongue in his fifth year and also created his first Horcrux. He was virtually unrivaled during his seven years at Hogwarts.
Even without the experience and Dark Magic he gained later, that person's strength was definitely not weak.
"Good, I'll take it."
He shifted his gaze to the next item, that title.
[Title " Restless Butterfly ": Title effect, grants the title holder a [Peak of Mastery] understanding of [ Gale Spell ].]
[It is said that a butterfly flapping its wings in South Americas can cause a hurricane in North America. And you, as a soul from another world, have repeatedly caused drastic deviations from the original plot.]
As soon as Allen finished reading that line, he felt something explode in a corner of his mind.
A flood of knowledge about the Gale Spell poured in: the syllables of the incantation, the pathways of magical energy, the hand gestures used during casting, adjustments for casting in different environments...
His previous understanding of the Gale Spell was like a child who had just learned to walk thinking that he had already learned to run.
But this knowledge now tells him that he hadn't even been able to stand properly before.
The Gale Spell is far more than just creating a gust of wind.
It can be used to accelerate, to defend, and to disrupt the enemy's vision and balance...
It can even create a local pressure difference in extreme cases, acting like an invisible wall to separate the enemy.
Allen kept his eyes closed for almost a minute before slowly opening them.
"No wonder when I cast the Gale Spell on the rooftop in London, even though I used so much magic, the effect was still less than satisfactory."
He clenched his fist, feeling the affinity for the wind within his body.
"So this is the true [ Gale Spell ]."
He took a deep breath and refocused his attention on the screen.
"Come on, let's draw from the limited-edition prize pool."
The spinning wheel on the light screen reappeared, this time more exquisite than ever before, with each segment featuring a dark green texture that reflected light like snake scales.
The turntable began to spin rapidly, and the names blurred into a blur of light and shadow at the edges.
Allen's gaze followed those names for a few moments before slowly settling down.
The pointer stopped at a position he had never expected.
[Extraction in progress... Extraction complete.]
[Congratulations, host, you have acquired: Gilderoy Lockhart's Adaptability (Max Level)]
Allen stared at the line of text and fell silent.
Lockhart's... adaptability?
He blinked, his mind racing.
Lockhart, that bumbling fool in the original story who was harmed by his own Memory Charm and ended up smiling at the wall in St. Mungo's's, what about his ability to adapt to changing circumstances?
But the next second he remembered the battle at Hogwarts.
Although things immediately spiraled out of control after Lockhart released a cage of Cornish Pixies, his reaction was actually quite quick.
As soon as the House-elf flew out, he made an excuse to retreat, slipping into a safe area before anyone could react.
Later at the Duelling Club, when Harry and Malfoy faced off, Lockhart was the first to react and try to "help," even though he only made things worse.
But its reaction speed is truly remarkable.
Allen pieced together these fragmented images in his mind and suddenly realized something.
Lockhart was able to fool so many people, and package himself as the most popular Defence Against Dark Magic master with a bunch of fake adventure stories; his face and his Memory Charm alone weren't enough.
He needs to have an extremely strong ability to react on the spot.
When asked about an adventurous place he's never been, he has to come up with a plausible excuse within seconds.
When someone points out a contradiction, he has to immediately come up with a more convincing lie to cover it up.
When someone exposes him to his face, he has to get away in the shortest amount of time, and even turn the situation around before the other person finishes speaking.
This ability to adapt to changing circumstances might seem like a basic skill for a con artist in ordinary times, but for someone who could be in danger at any moment, it becomes a life-saving ability.
Allen nodded, then hesitated, "It seems... it really is quite useful."
He stood up, stretched his shoulders, walked to the window, looked at the sunshine outside, and thought the weather was exceptionally good today; the bright sunshine made him want to go for a walk.
"But now we've finally collected all the rewards."
He stretched out a big yawn, his bones making a slight cracking sound.
"Next..."
The light screen suddenly lit up again, and this time the mission prompt that popped up was that familiar red color.
[Emergency mission triggered.]
[Task Name: Eliminate Unexpected Impacts]
[Mission Location: Diagon Alley ]
[Mission Requirement: Immediately proceed to Diagon Alley and eliminate the unexpected effects caused by the plot deviation.]
This task cannot be refused.
Allen looked at the line of text and let out a long sigh.
Here we go again.
He stood up, took his trench coat from the hook behind the door, and casually put it on.
"Although I really don't want to go, in order to avoid the butterfly effect causing innocent people to suffer, I still have to go."
He picked up the Jianmu wand from the corner of the table and put it in the inside pocket of his trench coat.
" Diagon Alley..." he muttered, "Why does the plot of the second movie have to do with Diagon Alley?"
Allen walked to the center of the room, put on the new Purple-Patterned Fox-Face Mask, and took a deep breath.
A blue light emanated from the floor beneath his feet, spreading outwards like ripples on water.
"Teleport."
His figure disappeared into the light.