Chapter 85: Re-entering the Forbidden Forest!
"However, since you can understand this, I no longer need to worry about you. Remember, don't become obsessed with fantasies of the future."
After the two laughed for a while, Professor McGonagall's face flushed slightly as she spoke softly to Dylan.
In fact, Professor McGonagall knew that Divination did have some effect.
The reason she didn't want Dylan to plunge headfirst into Divination now was because she had seen too many wizards, and even quite a few young wizards, who were attracted by the allure of Divination, only to be eventually ensnared by it.
They would spend their days engrossed in studying the shapes of tea leaves, staring intently at the faint wisps of mist in crystal balls, trying to glimpse the faintest traces of the future, their minds filled with worries and calculations about what was yet to come.
Unknowingly, they would cast aside the most precious present, allowing time to slip away in their anxieties and uncertainties.
Only when they crashed headfirst into the wall of reality, bloodied and bruised by the cold truth, would they wake up in shock, only to be left with their own unaccomplished selves and the regret of lost time.
This was what Professor McGonagall truly worried about.
Divining the future should have been meant to provide guidance for the present, not to lead people astray into illusory fantasies.
That was why Hogwarts required young wizards to study Divination only in their third year, and even then, it was just an elective course.
The school didn't even expend much effort to promote the subject.
Dylan could also understand Professor McGonagall's concern for him, which was why he had made such a half-joking prophecy.
But in reality, that sentence wasn't just something he made up on a whim.
In the process of studying Divination.
He wasn't just simply learning Divination; he had also unlocked quite a few achievements related to Divination.
This led to Dylan's affinity for Divination becoming higher and higher, which meant his talent was also increasing.
And most importantly...
There were many plots that he had forgotten or didn't remember very clearly...
He could even recall them through Divination!
For example, he had indeed seen the scene of Professor McGonagall becoming the Headmistress in the mist of the crystal ball.
This was originally part of the plot, but he saw this scene through the crystal ball.
After discovering this, Dylan was very excited and kept trying to use the crystal ball to glimpse other parts of the plot.
Eventually, it did allow him to grasp a lot of information.
For example, how Fred and George died; Dylan clearly saw the scene of their deaths in the crystal ball.
This discovery greatly excited Dylan.
It also led to—
"Hey, Dylan, why are you always holding that crystal ball?"
In the Gryffindor common room.
As Harry passed by, he saw Dylan holding a crystal ball, muttering to himself and constantly stroking its surface.
He couldn't help but walk over. "I've noticed you've been holding that crystal ball everywhere you go lately. Have you already been able to see some future visions?"
Dylan smacked his lips and smiled lightly. "I can see a little, so I was thinking of seeing if I could see more."
At this moment, his research on Divination was only focused on being able to glimpse certain scenes of the future.
He couldn't yet use the crystal ball and Divination to see the past.
Otherwise, he really wanted to see the secret story of Dumbledore and Grindelwald.
Of course, even at this level, sometimes the results of the Divination weren't accurate at all, which also greatly excited Dylan.
Because, during the Divination process, he could not only see some stories and plots he had forgotten.
If he was lucky, he could even see many small details that were never mentioned in the original works.
However, unfortunately, Divination, to some extent, was a technique that could glimpse fate.
This meant that although he had unlocked many achievements related to Divination and greatly improved his Divination talent.
However, he was still far from truly understanding Divination.
—It was even harder to learn than Transfiguration.
After all, Transfiguration at least had some fixed operations that could be verified in reality.
Divination was ethereal, floating in the sky. You couldn't get the right ideas through repeated attempts.
If he really wanted to reach the level of a great Seer, Dylan estimated it would take a very, very long time...
"You can actually see the future? That's so cool!" Harry adjusted his glasses. "I want to learn Divination too."
Dylan stood up, cradling his crystal ball. "It's not easy to learn. I've been learning from Professor Trelawney for so long, and I've only learned a few superficial things."
"Oh... that's unfortunate news." A hint of regret flashed across Harry's face.
He didn't expect Divination to be so difficult to learn, that even Dylan couldn't learn it well.
"Alright, it's getting late, we should go back and rest," Dylan said, walking towards his dormitory.
Lately, looking into the crystal ball every day had allowed him to see many plots.
However, it seemed that his Divination had already reached the peak he could understand.
In fact, Dylan hadn't been able to see much of anything in the crystal ball for the past two days.
He decided to take it slow for now.
He could continue to learn Divination from Professor Trelawney, but recently the unlocking of Divination achievements had also slowed down.
He guessed that if he wanted to unlock more Divination achievements, he would probably have to wait until the third year when the Divination elective course started, and he could unlock them in a real classroom setting.
"Anyway, Divination is just an auxiliary tool for me. As for prophecies and all that, I already know the entire plot. How can I not be considered a great Seer?"
Before going to sleep, Dylan was just about to drift off when a picture suddenly popped into his mind.
"Hmm?"
The picture flashed by, and Dylan didn't see it clearly at all. He frowned.
"What does this mean? A flash of inspiration before sleep?"
After thinking about it, he took out the crystal ball again and stared intently.
"Dylan, what's wrong?"
Harry and Ron were originally also ready to sleep, but seeing Dylan suddenly take out a crystal ball and stare at it without blinking, they couldn't help but be stunned.
"Shh!"
Dylan silenced them, his gaze fixed on the crystal ball.
At this moment, the mist inside churned and intertwined, and Dylan finally saw a gradually appearing picture.
"Malfoy?"
Dylan was taken aback.
He saw Malfoy in the crystal ball running frantically with a terrified expression, followed by a huge Acromantula behind him, its fangs bared and claws raised in relentless pursuit.
Until Malfoy slipped and fell to the ground, and the Acromantula pounced on him.
Suddenly, a black shadow flashed past, and a mysterious figure in a black cloak appeared. With a wave of his wand, a beam of bright light shot towards the Acromantula, instantly killing it.
The cloaked figure quietly left after saving Malfoy.
"This person is..."
Dylan's eyelashes trembled slightly as his eyes moved.
"Quirrell?"
The cloaked figure who could still appear in the Forbidden Forest at this time was most likely Voldemort, who wanted to drink unicorn blood.
"It's rare that he would actually save someone."
This time, due to his interference, Ron and Harry weren't given detention, but Malfoy was.
But Malfoy didn't encounter the killed unicorn; he was just chased by the Acromantula and saved by Quirrell, or rather, Voldemort.
Since nothing bad would happen, he couldn't be bothered to care.
"It's nothing, just checking what tomorrow's fortune will be. It should be pretty good. Sleep, sleep."
This time, Dylan held Coal Ball in his arms, ignoring the little guy's struggles. After a while of tossing and turning, Coal Ball couldn't flap anymore and fell into a deep sleep with Dylan.
Until the next day.
Before falling asleep, he saw Malfoy's image again.
But this time, Malfoy wasn't being chased by the Acromantula, but instead stumbled upon a killed unicorn.
Even Quirrell was crouched over the unicorn, sucking its blood.
Later...
Malfoy said something to Quirrell, but Quirrell suddenly made a move, directly casting a dark spell.
But this was clearly not the Avada Kedavra. Based on the hazy image in the mist, Dylan judged it to be the Cruciatus Curse.
Sure enough, the next second, Malfoy fell to the ground in agony.
Quirrell didn't seem to intend to stop and was preparing to continue his attack.
But just then, Firenze appeared, saved Malfoy, and even took him out of the Forbidden Forest.
—Firenze did not carry Malfoy on his back.
"Did Quirrell find the unicorn?"
Dylan, who had originally planned to sleep, suddenly became alert.
Every part of a unicorn was precious.
Tail hair could be used to make wands and could also serve as potion ingredients.
The horn, when ground into powder, could be directly used in medicine—it was one of the ingredients for Felix Felicis.
Unicorn blood could even prolong a person's life—but it would come with a curse.
However, if Dylan could get some unicorn blood, he could study why the magic in unicorn blood could extend human life and where those curses came from.
To what extent could this curse curse a person?
How long would it last?
These were all things Dylan wanted to know.
"Dylan, are you studying tomorrow's fortune again?" Harry raised his head.
"Yes," Dylan nodded.
"Did you find out anything?" Ron also asked.
"Of course," Dylan curled his lips into a light smile. "I have a premonition that my luck will be very good tomorrow!"
"Haha, that's pretty good too. It's just that after hearing that Malfoy was given detention today, he's been sulking all day, as if he was chased by some monster!"
Ron raised his voice, "Based on this alone, I think your bedtime divination yesterday was accurate!"
"I even want to sneak into the Forbidden Forest to mock Malfoy!"
Just as Ron finished speaking, Dylan noticed the image in the crystal ball change again.
The person who originally stumbled upon the killed unicorn was Malfoy, but now it had become Ron.
—He was also chased by the Acromantula and accidentally bumped into Quirrell who was sucking unicorn blood.
As a result, Ron saw Quirrell's face under the cloak and even called out his name directly.
Finally, Quirrell waved his wand, and Dylan saw the familiar green light.
After hitting Ron, Ron died on the spot.
Smacking his lips, Dylan looked at Ron.
"I advise you to drop that thought. If you do that, you'll have very bad luck—I saw your tragic end in the crystal ball."
"What?!"
Ron's voice suddenly became sharp. "You saw me in the crystal ball?"
"Yes, after you had the thought of going to mock Malfoy—do you want to know how you died?"
"I'm actually going to die?!"
Ron immediately shrank his neck and quickly pulled the blanket over his head.
"Hurry up and sleep! I'm a little sleepy!"
Dylan glanced at Ron, then looked down at the crystal ball again.
Ron, who was just lying on the ground with dead fish eyes, had now disappeared.
He moved his eyes twice, then looked at the dazed Harry and Neville, and then nodded slightly. "Although this matter should be told to you by the professors, I'll just mention it here."
"Don't be contemptuous of others to show your own cleverness. It's enough for us to do our own thing. Be careful what you say—"
"This is an enlightenment I recently gained from studying Divination. I think it's very reasonable."
Harry nodded as if he understood.
Ron, hiding under the blanket, said in a muffled voice, "I won't casually scold Malfoy next time—unless he scolds me first!"
Dylan was amused by Ron. "That's called self-defense, there won't be any problems."
"Alright, everyone sleep."
As Dylan spoke, the others lay down as well.
Unknowingly, Dylan had become the absolute leader of this small dormitory.
Until the dead of night.
Almost dawn.
Dylan, who was originally fast asleep, slowly opened his eyes.
His fingers moved slightly, and Coal Ball, who was originally in his arms, disappeared, put back into the pet space by him.
Dylan turned his head to look at Harry and the others.
They all seemed to be asleep.
However, just in case, Dylan raised his wand.
"Dream Slumber!"
Withdrawing the spell, Dylan stood up.
"Silencio!"
He cast a silencing charm on himself.
Dylan thought for a moment and then spent ten thousand Galleons to optimize an invisibility cloak.
After putting it on, Dylan's spirit focused.
"Pet Ability Domination!"
His figure instantly turned into a shadow. Without even opening the door, he stepped out of the doorframe.
After leaving the dormitory, he looked back at the still-closed door.
He was even more satisfied with Coal Ball's ability.
Relying on Coal Ball's ability to phase through walls, Dylan went through wall after wall, reaching the edge of the Forbidden Forest at the fastest speed.
"Did Malfoy already go in?"
Dylan glanced left and right but didn't see Malfoy's figure in the outer circle.
"Hmm, if I fight with Quirrell later, it wouldn't be appropriate for this guy to be watching from the side, right?"
Dylan didn't come out this time to save Malfoy.
After all, Malfoy's family were all Death Eaters, although they had hardly done anything truly meaningful for Voldemort.
But after all, they were subordinates, and Voldemort probably wouldn't kill Malfoy.
—Probably.
And the real reasons Dylan ran out this time were two.
The first was...
(End of chapter)
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