Hogwarts had gone on holiday.
This was news John heard from Gael.
Along with it came the return of that annoying goat boy from the neighbor Al's family. John didn't know why, but every time Gael mentioned Al's brother, he referred to him as 'Goat Boy'.
Al's younger brother had a fiery temper. Because of Ariana, he and Al got into an argument the moment he came back.
The boy simply did not know when to stop, and he did not possess even half the talent Al's brother ought to have.
So Gael disliked that goat boy very much.
Even though, compared to Al, Gael was actually closer to the goat boy in age.
John, however, did not care much about Gael and Al growing increasingly close. The two of them got along like fire and a cauldron.
John's attention was more focused on healing his eyes and figuring out how to return.
"If time magic and soul magic are made to collide, it should be possible to achieve a jump."
John pinned the solution to the problem on temporal flash.
Time travel had a limit. John was not entirely sure whether that limit applied to him.
He had not traveled using a Time-Turner, so he still had doubts about whether such a restriction existed.
That so-called limit could be understood as the world's rules detecting a stowaway and expelling them.
And the prerequisite for avoiding detection was the Sands of Time.
As for John, who had not even bought a ticket, he had no idea when he might be discovered.
He dripped the eye drops into his eyes again. This time, instead of dryness, there was a moist sensation.
Blinking a few times, John's vision improved from total blur to the point where, if he brought something close to his nose, he could see it clearly.
"That's good news."
The corner of John's lips lifted. At this rate, his sight should recover to its previous state.
The material consumption was somewhat high, but fortunately Godric's Hollow was rich in resources.
He stepped out of Bathilda's house. The old great-aunt had managed to get hold of a camera to take some photographs.
Bathilda had originally wanted to take one of John, but he refused.
He did not want to leave even the slightest trace in this era.
So Bathilda only had photographs of Gael and Al.
Passing by the neighbor's house, John lowered his head and leaned close to the patch of flowers in the yard.
When he was about three inches away, he finally saw the flower clearly.
It was a rose.
"Who are you?"
A wary voice rang out.
John turned his head toward the sound. The outline of a red-haired figure appeared in his vision.
He said in surprise, "Al?"
Clearly, this was not Al. This one was much shorter.
Aberforth frowned deeply and said unfriendly, "Who's Al? I'm Aberforth. What are you doing at my house?"
"Aber… forth?" John stared silently at the redhead.
He suddenly quickened his pace and moved closer to Aberforth.
Startled by the sudden movement, Aberforth quickly stepped back and drew his wand.
Ignoring his wariness, John rubbed his aching brow with his fingers.
"You wouldn't happen to be Aberforth Dumbledore, would you?" John looked at him, hoping for a different answer.
Aberforth held his wand up defensively. "Obviously."
That completely shattered John's hopes.
He had originally intended to avoid affecting this world as much as possible, preferably steering clear of any major influential figures.
Instead, he had gone and picked the most influential family there was.
John let out a long sigh toward the sky.
No wonder the name Ariana had sounded so familiar. He had subconsciously assumed it belonged to someone else with the same name.
But the surname Dumbledore could not be faked.
A goat wandered out from beside Aberforth. No one knew why Aberforth was so inexplicably fond of goats.
Not even his schoolmates could understand it.
"Ariana, don't—" Aberforth's shout rang out.
Ariana had run outside, which left him both confused and shocked.
Unless he took her out himself, Ariana never left the house.
But now she had come running out and walked straight up to him, reaching out to pinch the tip of his wand.
The gesture left Aberforth completely baffled, but he immediately moved to put his wand away to avoid accidentally hurting his sister.
Yet his movement only increased Ariana's unease and fear.
John noticed this and drew his own wand.
Ariana carefully pinched the tip of John's wand, as if being led by it.
John explained, "This makes her feel more secure."
Aberforth stared blankly at his sister. Sure enough, she obediently allowed herself to be led along.
"Hello, Aberforth," John said after confirming who the neighbor was. "My name is Yorl. I'm staying at Aunt Bathilda's."
"Aunt Bathilda?" Aberforth stared at John.
This counted as their first proper meeting.
Ariana's clear dependence on John made Aberforth, as the second brother, somewhat displeased.
He was supposed to be Ariana's favorite brother!
This brat made it hard for John to connect him with the greasy old owner of the Hog's Head.
So when you run the pub you're all meek and quiet, but back in school you throw punches, huh?
The way he looked at Aberforth turned strange.
John had never spent money at the Hog's Head, yet the older Aberforth had never pulled a wand on him.
But today, just passing by, he was already being threatened with a wand.
Did the boy think that using magic as a minor meant he wouldn't get sent to Azkaban?
Wait… Azkaban?
John's eyes lit up.
He had almost forgotten. Azkaban in this era was not the one where he had later bought off the Dementors.
Azkaban still had Dementors!
Those were free soul-refining machines.
Thinking of this, John's attitude toward Aberforth suddenly became much friendlier.
"Empty-headed as you may be, your presence is surprisingly inspiring," John said, patting Aberforth on the shoulder.
Aberforth's body trembled, his anger surging like a volcanic eruption, looking ready to fight John on the spot.
The kid certainly had the Gryffindor spirit. Life and death meant little; if he didn't like something, he'd throw hands.
In other words, a reckless brute.
By the time Al returned…
He saw his younger brother Aberforth pinned against the wall by John, taking punch after punch.
Aberforth's face was bruised and swollen. He still tried to stubbornly say something, only for John to drive another punch into his stomach.
"My eyesight may be bad, but that doesn't mean my body is."
Aberforth doubled over, dry-heaving, looking like he was about to vomit up his intestines.
John hadn't even let go of the hand holding the wand. One hand alone had been enough to deal with the hot-tempered goat boy.
Seeing her brother being beaten, Ariana gripped the wand even tighter.
Noticing her tension, John comforted her. "Your brother and I are just messing around, right, Aberforth?"
Bracing himself against the wall, Aberforth looked toward his sister when he heard that.
After getting beaten, he still had to force an ugly smile onto his face, nodding through gritted teeth. "Ug.. That's right. We're just messing around."
Ariana gradually calmed down.
John spotted Al returning. This person Gael had been teasing… was actually the future Dumbledore?
"Al."
John called out to him and said earnestly, "What do you think makes a beard look good?"
Al: "?"
Still unaware that he would one day wear a long silver-white beard, Al was completely confused by the question.
The goat boy, seeing his brother, immediately went into full attack mode.
He accused Al of failing to take proper care of their sister and of letting some unknown person get close to her.
Al could only silently endure the criticism from his younger brother.
John fell into thought.
Unknown person?
Was that supposed to be him?
Little Aberforth, did you forget the pain the moment the beating stopped?
The two brothers' argument made Ariana instinctively tighten her grip on John's wand.
John said softly, "It's alright. They're just worried about you."
His voice carried mental magic, and Ariana believed him.
Facing this pitiful girl, John felt somewhat conflicted.
Dumbledore's sister would not live to John's era. Even if John could heal her, he could not do it.
Once the future was altered, everything that followed would suffer.
"You're a pitiful one, Ariana," John said, raising his hand and gently placing it on her head. "Suffering shows no mercy."
Ariana only half understood, but she felt the warmth of his hand.
The argument between Aberforth and Al came to an end, and John noticed that Gael was also watching this side closely.
Gael chose rationally not to step closer, preventing the argument from escalating further.
His expression turned thoughtful.
He wanted to take Al away.
These past days of interaction had made him realize that he and Al were people drawn to each other.
They both harbored the intention to strive for the greater good, yet the one who should have soared alongside him was being bound by family ties.
To Gael, the greater good should not be restrained by family.
Al, you should be selfish for once, Gael's emotions churned inwardly.
He made up his mind.
The boy had not found the Deathly Hallows, but he had discovered another kind of treasure.
John returned from the woods.
In the attic, John found a letter.
He brought it close to his eyes and opened it. It was a note asking him to go to the barn.
The signature bore Gael's name.
"So, the cards are finally on the table?" John murmured, fingers rubbing the paper.
He understood. Gael intended to be frank with him.
Both of them were already well aware that the other was far from ordinary.
At the same time, John had his own suspicions.
After more than a month of interaction, he knew very well that someone like Gael, if he did not die prematurely, would certainly leave a name in history.
If he was acquainted with the young Dumbledore, then who could that person be?
The answer surfaced in his mind.
John sighed. "Looks like I'm getting dragged in deeper and deeper."
He truly had not expected to become involved in the affairs of these two.
He even began to wonder whether the future might already be in chaos.
…
By the next day.
After hesitating again and again, John still headed for the barn.
As long as he erased their memories afterward, the future would not change, right?
Besides, he wanted to hear what those two had been like in their youth.
One the future White Lord, the other the future Dark Lord.
Both wizards of extraordinary achievement.
With complicated feelings, John stepped into the barn.
There was a mirror inside, and Gael was already waiting there.
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