Merlin's Morning

If one noisy person was like five hundred ducks, then I felt as though I was sitting in a massive duck farm.

All right, there were actually only two people in front of me, Sirius and James. The two of them were waving their arms and shouting at the top of their lungs. Even though this was the eighth time I had seen the scene, I still couldn't help marveling at it-how could two people make as much noise as a marketplace?

Beside me, Lily pressed her face against the window and watched the scenery outside. Remus sat quietly without a word, while Snape kept frowning at the two noisy boys.

Human joys and sorrows were shared at this moment. Clearly, we all thought those two were noisy.

You ask how I knew who they all were when the school year had only just started and we were still on the train? I'd have to start at the beginning.

My name was Peter Pettigrew.

Or you could call me Lucius Malfoy, Narcissa Black, Bertha Jorkins, and so on and so forth.

Ever since I came to this world, I'd had a different identity every time I opened my eyes.

I strongly suspected that sharing a name with a certain wizard was why I kept dying and coming back to life with different identities in different ways. Every time I opened my eyes, I had a new life. I almost thought I'd transmigrated into "Martin Morning: Hogwarts Edition."

At first, I needed a while to get my bearings every time I woke up. By the next few times, I was already used to checking my identity and getting on with the plot. Honestly, I was starting to look forward to transmigrating into Tom Riddle. Based on my experience after transmigrating so many times, no matter how often I switched identities, I never left the "Harry Potter" parent generation.

All right, a proper introduction this time: I was Merlin, surname Mei, given name Lin, born and raised in China. My mother wasn't interested in Western culture. She simply gave me her surname, Mei, and since she'd happened to be resting in a bamboo grove back in her hometown when I was born, she gave me the same name as the close friend of King Arthur in the legends of Britain, thousands of miles away.

By a twist of fate, I learned about the novel "Harry Potter." One late night, while cultivating immortality-commonly known as staying up late—I unfortunately died suddenly. When I opened my eyes, I found myself in the world of "Harry Potter."

More precisely, it was the world of Harry Potter's father's generation.

I knew that sounded a bit like an insult, but honestly, when I transmigrated into Peter Pettigrew, I really did want to curse. Although I soon discovered that I'd apparently only taken Peter's place and the body was still my own, it was still really strange! At first, whenever anyone called Peter's name, it took me ages to respond. Then, the next time I opened my eyes and found myself standing beside Lucius as Narcissa, I didn't just want to curse. I wanted to jump off a building.

But I soon accepted the fact that I'd transmigrated. After all, these days, people had nearly transmigrated enough times to punch the dimensional walls full of holes. One more wouldn't make a difference. Once I'd accepted it, I was actually happy to have transmigrated into Peter. I thought that meant I could definitely change the ending!

But in the end, I failed.

I couldn't figure out why. After becoming the Secret Keeper, I refused to yield even under threat of death, and then I really did die. Afterward, I discovered I could watch a replay of the ending in the system. When I opened it, it told me that the Potters had also died in their confrontation with Voldemort afterward. The plot hadn't changed at all!

After my first death, the world finally showed its malice. Every time afterward, I tried everything I could to change the plot, but not once did I succeed.

Later, I even considered just watching from the sidelines until Harry was born and then adopting him. But before I could put the plan into action, I slipped while going downstairs one night and fell to my death. How was that fair?

Under those circumstances, nobody could expect me to stay in good mental health. On the seventh run, I went on a killing spree, practically spending three days and nights killing people with a kitchen knife, until my eyes were unbearably dry. I thought there was no way it could go wrong this time, but to keep the plot on track, the world dropped an original female lead right into it!

I was stunned, but after looking into it, I discovered that this original female lead was actually even more unlucky than I was. She'd been forcibly bound to the Romance System and thrown into this world to follow the plot of a vicious supporting female character. She was almost in tears when we talked. "Dumbledore is my favorite character, but the plot is forcing me to poison him. Boo-hoo... I can't control my body!"

So I made a pact with her. I drew the Romance System onto myself and then killed myself, and she did keep her promise. It was just that we'd talked too late. By the end of the seventh run, Harry was the only one left alive.

The eighth time I opened my eyes, I thought I'd appear in some familiar or unfamiliar home again. Instead, I found myself on a street in Diagon Alley. Judging by the crowds, which were like a train station during the Spring Festival travel rush, it was probably the start of another school year at Hogwarts. I didn't understand why I'd appeared on the street this time, not until I saw my face reflected in a glass display case.

[Welcome to "A Hogwarts Romance: 1971." The user guide follows.]

[If you wish to pursue an individual route, be sure to select only that person's options. After completing all of that person's romance events, you may enter their individual route. If their affection is insufficient, you will enter the normal route.]

[If you complete all the main romance storylines without pursuing any individual route, you will enter the hidden route.]

[Please note that once you enter the hidden route, normal options will no longer be available.]

[Enjoy your game.]

As I stared for a long time at my original face in the glass, both familiar and unfamiliar, a mechanical voice sounded in my head.

It was the first time I'd heard the Romance System's voice.

Many years later, it would also become the voice I hated most. In every sense.

The Romance System informed me that it had archived my mental and emotional state, restored me to the state I'd been in when I first entered the magical world, and restored my original face and identity. After telling me all that, it fell silent. I couldn't call it up, and I couldn't see any affection indicators or anything like that. I strongly suspected the thing was single-use.

But just as it said, since I couldn't change anything, why not enjoy a proper school life at Hogwarts?

"Let's go!"

While I'd been lost in thought, the argument over there had ended. Lily stormed out of the compartment, dragging Snape with her, while Sirius and James kept mocking Snape behind his back for "running away with his tail between his legs."

I could actually understand Snape pretty well. The first two times, I'd been a Slytherin. I'd spent the whole time looking for Salazar Slytherin's Locket and could be said to have had no conflict with Gryffindor at all, but they'd decided I was "sneaky and up to no good" and deliberately mixed up my ingredients in Potions Class. If I hadn't promptly slammed my cauldron over James's head, it probably would have exploded.

As a student, James was undoubtedly a school bully and a little terror. Sometimes I felt he was a real contradiction: the people who liked him absolutely adored him, while those who hated him wished he would die. Could anyone else pull that off.jpg

Just as I was about to lean back in my seat and take a nap, the entire world suddenly paused. I was frozen in place, and before I could be shocked, several option boxes abruptly appeared before my eyes.

[Snape and Lily have left the compartment...]

[1. Pounce on James]

[2. Confess your love to Sirius]

[3. Grab Lily's hand and shout, "Don't abandon me!"]

[4. Forget it, go to sleep]

[P.S. A little tip from the system: after selecting an option, you may freely choose how to carry it out, but you must complete it no matter what, or you'll receive a little punishment from the system /heart]

What kind of options were these?!

Other than the last one, which of them was something a human being could do? No wonder there was a punishment. Who would do this kind of thing without one?!

Only then did I understand what the original female lead had meant on the seventh run when she said, "I can't control my body." Now I couldn't control mine either.

Luckily, I'd been planning to sleep anyway, so I chose [Forget it, go to sleep].

"What about you? Which house do you want to be in?"

I thought I could go to sleep after making my choice, but soon after Snape and Lily left, James turned his attention to me. When he noticed my hair and eyes, he immediately patted Sirius beside him. "Hey, mate, his eyes and hair are the same color as yours. Could he be a relative of yours?"

[Sirius affection -1]

???

Only then did I realize the Romance System also had affection notifications. I immediately shouted System! in my head, hoping to see the affection list or a save point.

[Viewing the affection page and opening saves requires purchasing the first top-up bundle. Would you like to purchase it?]

[Unable to purchase bundle detected. Purchase failed.]

Screw you!

Sirius looked up and glanced at me. The moment his gray eyes landed on me, his expression shifted almost seamlessly from mild to arrogant. He took one look at me and quickly looked away, as though I were some kind of Dementor. "The eye color is different." His voice dropped several degrees. "But he does look a lot like someone from the Black family. What an unpleasant face."

Had he just taken his anger out on me for no reason?

Now I was annoyed. I slapped the table, making James flinch. "I'm definitely going to Gryffindor. I've never met anyone braver than me!"

James's eyes lit up as he looked at me. He excitedly shook my hand, jostling me so hard I nearly fell over. "Gryffindor's my favorite house! Looks like we'll be in the same house!"

[Sirius affection -1]

Why now?

I wasn't remotely intimidated by Sirius's gaze. I slung an arm around James's shoulders as though we were old friends. "I heard Hogwarts has a Forbidden Forest. Want to take a look around tonight?"

Remus, who'd been watching from the side, could no longer pretend to read. He slowly lowered the book he'd been holding upside down and looked at me as though he were watching Snape dance in a grass skirt.

"The Forbidden Forest?"

I'd bet James didn't even know what the Forbidden Forest was, but the moment he heard "forbidden," he was overjoyed. He nodded immediately, as if afraid the Forbidden Forest would pick up the train and run away overnight if he waited a second longer. "Great name! Let's go tonight!"

Sirius finally couldn't sit still. He pulled James over and looked at me as though I were the wicked queen tricking Snow White. "Aren't you afraid she'll sell you off? You're agreeing just like that?"

"But it's a forbidden place!" James waved his hand excitedly. "You know I can't resist that!"

[Sirius affection -1]

Was he sick in the head?!

I wouldn't claim to know James all that well, but I knew he didn't care about rules at all and even liked challenging taboos. I'd always thought James was better suited to Azkaban than Sirius. He was practically James the Third, on the run.

For the rest of the journey, James eagerly discussed what might be in the Forbidden Forest with me and speculated about how Hogwarts sorted its students. Sirius couldn't pull him away, and the looks he gave me grew increasingly hostile. By the time we got off the train, I'd finally accumulated the achievement [Sirius affection -5].

"Black." As we got off, I patted his shoulder solemnly, then quickly pulled my hand back before he could chop it off. "When the man you love is about to be taken away by someone else, sulking in silence is what a jealous husband does. You should make a change yourself. Do you understand what I mean?"

I didn't think he understood me at all, or he wouldn't have given me [Sirius affection -10].

[Aside]

"A Hogwarts Romance: 1971" is a comprehensive romance game with a high degree of freedom, offering an unprecedentedly realistic romantic experience. Besides romancing the person you like, you can also choose to play matchmaker for them. [View affection], [Hints], and [Side quest reminders] all require a top-up to unlock.

Without a top-up, only negative affection notifications are visible.

★Hint★

As a romance game, we are committed to providing a romantic experience from the very beginning, so every option will be filled with love.

[Forget it, go to sleep] is a normal option provided by the system to skip all events. This option will be removed upon entering the hidden route.

★Side quest reminders★

*Congratulations on unlocking James's main romance storyline: [Evening adventure]

Tip: James's [Evening adventure] should be started as early as possible. If you get too close to Snape, the [Evening adventure] side quest will be permanently closed.

*Congratulations on earning the James's main romance storyline achievement [Love at first sight]

Tip: If you earn any character's [Love at first sight] achievement but do not pursue him, that character may easily turn dark.