To Be or Not to Be?

Three figures appeared on the path.

William walked slowly along the cobblestone path by the lake toward the agreed-upon place, followed by two pretty girls.

Babbling suddenly appeared under a tree, gazing at the handsome boy from afar. As he drew closer, she finally spoke, "Why did you take so long to get back?"

"I discovered something interesting, so I was delayed for a little while."

William smiled, snapped his fingers, and the pendant floated over.

Babbling reached out and grasped it, gently stroking it before tying it back around her neck. The amulet once again disappeared between her breathtaking breasts.

Hermione asked curiously, "Professor, what happened here? The school is in chaos!"

It was more than just a mess; William had just seen a herd of elephants running amok. You'd think you'd wandered into a zoo.

Could they have migrated all the way from Xishuangbanna?

Babbling quickly recounted what had happened.

William couldn't help but exclaim, "Tom is really amazing!"

No one expected that the wizard of Uagadou was actually his backup plan!

Even more surprisingly, they were a group of Animagus.

"Tom Cruise, what other surprises do you have that I don't know about?"

Of course, Tom's ability to achieve this level was also within William's expectations.

No matter how tight the protection of Ilvermorny was, Tom could peel back the layers one by one to reveal its secrets.

Having done so much work, which was about to benefit William, he wanted to complete the final step and take away Ilvermorny's most precious possession.

Babbling lightly stomped her foot on the ground and sighed:

"There are still some problems, William. Hicks just told me that we are standing on an active volcano."

The Snakewood is rooted deep in the mountains, which is why the volcano hasn't erupted. But if the wand is taken away, then... poof!

"..."

Things have reached the final stage, the die is cast, and there's no turning back... And you're telling me this?

Is this Snakewood, or a guardian tree of the mountain?

Okay, the Deathly Hallows are all about doing whatever you want.

William rubbed his temples slightly; he hadn't had such a headache even during the explosion at the Capitol.

No matter how much of a headache it is, one thing is clear:

We absolutely must get our hands on Slytherin's Wand; only by obtaining it can we unlock the Horcrux.

Only when "Old Tang" and "Young Tang" are completely killed can the war end.

Tonight is the best time; if you miss it, who knows how many more years you'll have to wait.

But if the wand is taken away, the volcano will erupt, Ilvermorny will not only be destroyed, but many people may also die.

This place also gathers all the little wizards of North America...

The most serious consequence would probably be the complete annihilation of all wizards under the age of eighteen on this continent, resulting in a direct break in the United States wizarding world.

To be or not to be, that is the question.

Deciding who should survive and who should perish is an even more difficult choice.

William suddenly remembered the trolley problem:

A madman tied five innocent people to the tram tracks.

An out-of-control trolley was heading towards them and would run them over in moments.

You can pull a lever to move the trolley onto another track.

The problem is, the madman also tied someone to another tram track.

So, do you know how to pull the lever?

Five against one... the choice is to save... no... the choice is to kill someone?!

William frowned, then relaxed, turned and glanced at the stunningly beautiful woman with an air of nonchalance, and asked:

"Do you have a solution, Professor Babbling?"

Yeah, why would he need to think about these things?

How to break through Ilvermorny's defenses and successfully defeat Snakewood is something Tom should consider;

How to protect Ilvermorny is something Babbling should think about.

Anyway, if the sky falls, those with big breasts will hold it up. William can just hide in their arms.

Babbling rolled her eyes at William, met his gaze, and said calmly:

"I did think of a way, but the chances of it working are very low."

Tell me about it.

That Snakewood Wand possesses Slytherin magic:

The Parseltongue can awaken the wand, or put it into a dormant state, rendering it indistinguishable from an ordinary tree branch.

Babbling tilted her head back, gazing at the night sky, and whispered:

"Back then, Isolt's aunt Gormlaith Gaunt, chased him all the way to North America. She used Parseltongue to hypnotize her wand, turning it into ordinary Snakewood."

Finally, Isolt buried the wand in the ground, and the Snakewood slowly grew, nourished by the soil.

She squinted, gazing intently at William, and said seriously:

"After we get the wand, we give it to Tom so he can sever the connection with the Horcrux."

Before the volcano erupts fully, the Snakewood will be re-hypnotized using the Parseltongue and buried again.

"But this method has two difficulties," Hermione said astutely after a moment's thought.

"Tom won't sever the Horcrux connection so quickly after he gets the wand."

If I were him, I would probably leave and wait for the right opportunity.

Even if a volcanic eruption is slow, lava will spew out from underground within a few hours at most.

We simply can't wait.

Babbling glanced at William and Hermione and smiled:

"This is up to you. Find a way to persuade Tom to cut off all contact as soon as you get the wand, and don't reveal your identities."

William was speechless. Tom's goal was this Slytherin's Wand, and persuading him would be difficult!

Hermione rolled her sly eyes, thought for a few seconds, and then quickly said, "I have an idea!"

Everyone stared at her in astonishment; she was incredibly clever.

Hermione didn't explain the method, but instead asked, "There's one more question."

Even if a wand is hypnotized and buried underground, it would take a year for it to take root and sprout; by then, the volcano would have already erupted.

"That's easy," William said after thinking for a moment.

"I still retain a considerable amount of that time-related power from my last trip to the Department of Mysteries; I can use it on the Snakewood."

Ravenclaw used the power of time to rust the Diadem, while William did the opposite, restoring it to its original Diadem.

Although the restoration went a bit too far, completely resetting the factory settings, the method is still feasible.

"See, it's that simple." Babbling raised her beautiful, naturally alluring eyebrows and smiled.

"Now all we need to do is snatch the wand from that Pukwudgie."

It's just a Pukwudgie.

A... Pukwudgie?

William's eyes were unfocused as he gazed at the night sky, his expression suddenly turning serious.

As a walking encyclopedia of Trelawney's humanoid encyclopedia, he suddenly remembered the Prophecy Trelawney had made at the beginning of the semester when she was teaching Fire Divination:

"The pine needles on the high mountain howled in the wind."

The night wind groaned in despair.

Red fire,

Burn in all directions.

Blooming trees

Cremated.

scorching magma...

The entire school is about to be destroyed...

There was much speculation at the time, but now it seems that the so-called school was not Hogwarts, but Ilvermorny!

William was filled with emotion; it was a rare opportunity to encounter a true Prophecy...

I should have asked her: did the lava really destroy the entire school in the end?

(Thanks to "Huangpu Damao" and "Book Friend 201709024705613" for their generous donations)