Harry Potter: The Golden Viper

0590 Thoughts

After returning to his office, Bryan was unable to focus on any further work. Instead, he simply stood there, leaning against the rough stone wall beside the crackling fireplace, holding a steaming cup of tea in his hands. His weary eyes stared blankly out the frosted window at the crisp winter night sky stretching across the horizon.

As the world continued its constant rotation, those ancient constellations remained fixed in their everlasting positions unmoved by the passage of time. The glimmering light had occupied the same stations for countless millennia, perhaps even since the very dawn of creation itself.

Gazing up at the timeless sky often aroused a deep sense of insignificance in those who observed it, and tonight was no exception for him.

"Sigh..." Bryan exhaled heavily, his breath fogging in the chilly air.

Only when the brightest moon in the night had gradually arced across the sky to the other side of the stone castle did Bryan finally woke from his thoughtful reverie.

Blinking away the haze of deep thought, he withdrew his unfocused gaze from the window and glanced down, suddenly aware of his surroundings once more. The cup of tea clutched forgotten in his hands had grown stone cold and was almost frozen solid.

Turning to the fireplace, he observed with a small frown that the pine logs had long since burned down to faintly glowing embers and ash, allowing the outdoor chill to seep into his gloomy study until the room was nearly as cold as the frosty grounds outside.

With a small shrug, Bryan made no move to rekindle the dying flames in the hearth. Instead, he returned to his desk, and looked at the old woman smiling at him in the photo frame on the table, and his mind once again began uncontrollably wandering.

In his previous life, Bryan lived for more than twenty years. In this life, he had already spent more than twenty years in the Wizarding world. If he was being completely honest with himself, this world of magic in which he now lived, with all its fantastical charms and oddities, felt immensely more tangible and real to him than that hazy previous life he ever had which seemed more like a fleeting dream. The wizarding world was his home, his reality, and given the choice, he would clearly want to remain here forever. And yet...

The journey home...

The things he experienced were the most mysterious and incredible even in the world of magic. As a great wizard like him who had already reached the top of the magical path and was waiting for an opportunity to advance further, how could he not pursue the secrets behind all this?

Thinking about taking the next step, a few traces of worry appeared between Bryan's brows.

As he understood it, the next step up the ladder of ultimate magical attainments after one reached his current level of power and skill would be to transcend the shackles of mortality and climb to the ranks of the Magi/Magus or the legendary Saints.

And yet, if the centaur elder Horn was to be believed, in the chaotic aftermath of the catastrophic confrontation between King Arthur, Merlin, and Morgan le Fay all those centuries ago, as that Magical land accelerated its departure from their world, no one could reach that legendary level anymore.

No witch or wizard in living memory had successfully breached that final threshold to touch the Legend.

Bryan pondered over Horn's statements, picking them apart and examining them from every angle. He couldn't fully accept Horn's claims, as there were simply too many inconsistencies and holes in the old story.

After all, the Four Founders of Hogwarts, while undeniably mighty, had not been Magi or Saints - of that he was quite certain. At the very least, the power of the four founders of Hogwarts was definitely not on the same level as his. In other words, the four founders could still leave their mark on that wonderful magical world by relying on their own powerful soul strength. But after all, that was already a thousand years ago.

In today's Wizarding world, the one with the highest power was undoubtedly Albus Dumbledore. Bryan originally thought that Dumbledore, who was the pinnacle of this generation, had already reached that level. But now it seemed uncertain. Dumbledore was indeed a bit stronger than him, but his power still seemed to be quite a distance from the legendary Saints.

As for the likes of Voldemort and Gellert Grindelwald who stayed in Nurmengard for more than half a century, they were merely on par with him. It was just that their paths were different, so there were some differences in their displayed attacking power. If it was a life-and-death battle, whether it was Voldemort or Grindelwald, Bryan would not be afraid. After all, Grindelwald is already quite old.

But then again, a wizard as talented as Dumbledore had failed to cross that threshold in his entire life, so what about himself?

Bang--

Just as Bryan was envisioning the future, the dead silent air in the office suddenly rippled. A house-elf suddenly appeared in front of Bryan.

It was Reega!

This little elf seemed to have encountered something terrifying. After landing, it had a panicked expression, completely lacking the usual respect and humility in front of wizards. Instead, it rushed to Bryan's desk in a flurry, its tennis ball-sized eyes brimming with tears, stammering,

"Mr.-Mr. Watson, please, please... please—"

Bryan's expression, lost in thought, immediately turned serious. He abruptly stood up from his seat and said in a deep voice,

"Calm down, Reega. What happened?"

"Kind Mr. Watson, please save Freodom-"

Reega's large nose was covered in a string of clear snot. She said this instinctively, but at the end of her plea, she seemed to regain some sense.

"Kitchen—huff... The famous Harry Potter, a school champion, and a red-haired boy, they're in danger. They asked me to find you!"

...

Professor Sinistra's use of Professor Watson to inspire the students, hoping they would invest more enthusiasm in Astronomy class, did have some effect. But the young wizards' ignited passion quickly extinguished in the howling, knife-like cold wind on the Astronomy observation deck.

Even Hermione the most dedicated student in their year, couldn't seem to muster her usual focus in the face of such miserable conditions. Like her less academically-inclined classmates, her mind was fully occupied with the thought of escaping this cold and seeking out the comforting warmth of her cozy four-poster bed in Gryffindor Tower.

The only cheer in the entire class was when Professor Sinistra announced the end of the lesson. The young wizards shivered as they wrote down the homework that needed to be handed in before the next class on their parchment for recording planetary positions. Then, one by one, they rushed down from the observation deck.

"Oh!"

The Hufflepuff students needed to return to their basement. Ron waved goodbye to Ernie, then casually wiped under Harry's nostril. The unexpected pain made Harry jump up. He covered his nose and glared at Ron angrily, not understanding what trick he was playing.

"Your icicles—"

Ron innocently shrugged and showed Harry an icicle.

"I was just helping you take it off—"

"Thanks!"

Harry said irritably.

"But I could've just found a torch to warm my nose!"

Hermione was so amused by this scene that she couldn't stop giggling clutching her stomach even after their Gryffindor classmates had passed them.

"There's nothing funny about this, Hermione—"

Harry said annoyedly. His nostrils were burning with pain, as if Ron had torn his upper lip while peeling off the icicles there.

"Blimey, feels like it gets colder every year," Ron muttered, jamming his hands into his armpits and hunching his shoulders against a particularly nasty gust howling past. "The professors are mental, making us go up there in the dead of winter. It's not enough to freeze our bums off in Potions, oh no, got to turn our bits into icicles too!"

"Maybe next term we can petition the Board to relocate Astronomy somewhere south of the Arctic Circle," Harry said wryly, tucking his scarf up over his abused nose with a grimace.

"Everyone's gone. Let's hurry back and warm up in the common room before Ron takes something else off your nose!"

"Oh, yeah. Let's hurry up"

Ron was still grinning, when he heard Harry's call, but Hermione stopped laughing and her eyes flickered.

"Ahem, you guys go back first without me. I have something to do—"

"Don't tell me you're planning to go to the library now?"

Ron tossed the slightly melted icicle out of the corridor, wiping his hand on Harry's robe. He said in surprise,

"Forget it. You'll freeze to death out there."

"I've already told you the reason—"

Hermione had no intention of listening to their advice. She pulled her heavy schoolbag up on her shoulder, stuffed her stiff hands back into her sleeves, and said firmly,

"I plan to go home for Christmas break. That means I won't be able to look up any information for several weeks. And I can't research the strange sound in the golden egg at home. It would scare my parents. So, I must seize the time now, otherwise my progress will fall too far behind!"

After saying that, without waiting for Harry and Ron to speak, Hermione hurried downstairs, following the same steps the Hufflepuff students had just taken.

Watching Hermione's rapidly retreating figure, for some reason, Harry felt a strange feeling in his heart. As he pondered what exactly was wrong, a gust of cold wind blew in from the corridor beside him, instantly freezing his thoughts. Ron also shivered violently.

"Tsk, she's simply crazy—"

Ron's voice trembled from the cold. He gave Harry a look, then the two hunched over and quickly walked towards Gryffindor Tower.

"I say, she doesn't need to work so hard, right? This isn't the final exam where she must get first place. As long as she figures out what the clue is before the second task, there's no problem at all—"

"At least she can have more time to prepare, in case they want her to face something as dangerous as dragons—" Harry said objectively. "Obviously, Hermione has always thought she cheated in the first task. You know, Ron, that thought must be tormenting her badly. So, she's eager to prove herself—"

"That's why I say she doesn't need to—"

Turning a corner, Ron shook his head in disagreement.

"If finding out beforehand that we had to face dragons counts as cheating, then Cedric, Krum, and Fleur, none of them are clean either. Didn't Professor Moody tell her? Gathering intelligence is also part of the competition—"

"Hermione probably isn't concerned about the dragons, but Freodom... Wait, Ron!"

Harry was about to tell Ron that Hermione was concerned that Freodom had drugged over the Chinese Fireball she was originally supposed to face. However, the instant he mentioned Freodom, a lightning bolt flashed through Harry's mind. He froze in place.

"What's wrong?"

Ron stopped and asked in confusion.

"Hermione told us she was going to the library?" Harry furrowed his brows heavily.

"That's what she said—" Ron blinked. "Aren't we just discussing this?"

"But the way to the library isn't that way. She followed the Hufflepuffs. That's the way down to the first floor Entrance Hall."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Harry said blankly. In the drafty corridor, the two boys stared at each other. Then, suddenly, at the same second, they both jumped up and rushed back in the direction they came from.

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