Chapter 341 - 341: The Portrait of a Man from the Future

"You... what did you just say?"

In the corridor, Dawn suddenly raised his head.

His fingers tightened around the parchment until it crinkled loudly, and a chill ran through his heart.

"You said... who sent this letter?"

Fudge was startled by the coldness in those scarlet eyes and instinctively took a step back.

"The, the Ryans..."

Seeing Dawn's expression becoming increasingly frightening, the Minister for Magic feared another Cruciatus Curse and hurried to explain.

"Have you forgotten? During the International Confederation of Wizards meeting, didn't you ask me to find your parents, who had left Britain several years ago and lost contact with you? I even brought you news that they were in Mexico..."

His small eyes darted around nervously.

He pointed at the parchment with his short, thick finger.

"Not long ago, when we contacted the Ryan couple in your name, they immediately wrote a letter and asked us to bring it back. I brought it to you without wasting a moment!"

Fudge desperately tried to claim credit for himself.

Dawn's lips, however, pressed into an increasingly tight line.

So this was how it was?

But wasn't the information they had brought back at the time that the Ryan couple had already died in Mexico?

Listening to Fudge's perfectly reasonable explanation, Dawn felt only absurdity.

He narrowed his eyes and looked around.

Dense mist entered his vision.

The natural magic surrounding him had already changed from thin strands into small streams.

Too fast!

Dawn clenched his fist.

He clearly realized that, without noticing, he had undergone another World Correction.

If things continued at this rate, it would not be long before he was completely surrounded by natural magic as vast as an ocean.

When that happened...

Would the Invisibility Cloak on his body still be able to provide enough protection?

Dawn's pupils narrowed further.

All kinds of emotions churned inside him.

He suddenly felt that time was even more limited than he had imagined.

Whoosh!

A flame rose from his palm.

Dawn did not even bother reading the contents of the letter.

He burned it directly to ashes.

Then, while staring at Fudge, he decisively used Legilimency.

Scene after scene appeared before his eyes.

Dawn felt as though he were experiencing everything himself.

He saw Fudge struggling to build connections during the International Confederation of Wizards meeting, then traveling to Mexico to search for the couple.

He also saw the appearance of the Ryan couple after they were found.

They were two people Dawn knew very well, a man and a woman he had seen in his dreams.

They were indeed Lai's parents.

"Dead... and resurrected?"

Dawn closed his eyes and forced the words from his throat, his voice filled with complicated emotions.

Something that wizards had always longed for and desperately sought had suddenly appeared right before him.

For a moment, even Dawn could not explain what he was feeling.

But very quickly, he reacted.

No!

They might not actually have been resurrected.

It was also possible that, just like his own transformations, natural magic had transformed two strangers into Lai's parents.

Dawn gradually calmed down.

Then he suddenly remembered something that had happened at the beginning of the school year.

He had encountered Harry in Diagon Alley and, out of curiosity, wondered what would happen if he killed Harry and how fate would correct itself.

Now...

Perhaps the world had given him an answer from another angle.

"Mr. Richter... Mr. Richter?"

A cautious voice reached his ears.

Dawn came back to himself.

He saw Fudge staring at the ashes of the letter in his palm, sweating profusely and looking completely at a loss.

His mood was terrible, and Dawn could not be bothered to explain anything to him.

He waved his hand, signaling the man to leave.

Fudge, however, was overjoyed.

The humble Minister did not dare reveal the slightest displeasure at having his memories forcibly read.

He hurriedly bowed and turned to leave.

"Wait!"

Dawn suddenly thought of something and called him back.

Under Fudge's worried gaze, he ordered, "When you find the location of the Death Arch, don't write the location down on paper either. Come directly to me!"

Why had he gone through all that trouble before?

He could simply use Legilimency to read the information discreetly.

Dawn rubbed his temples.

He seriously suspected that drinking too much of the potion Slughorn had created had some hidden side effect that reduced one's intelligence.

He watched Fudge flee as though his life depended on it.

Dawn did not stay there for long.

Thinking about what had just happened, he continued down the stairs and resumed the reading plan that had been interrupted countless times.

It was class time.

Young wizards who had no lessons were gathered in their common rooms, leaving the castle relatively quiet.

Dawn walked down the stairs with his mind occupied by his thoughts.

When he passed a certain corner on the seventh floor, he suddenly heard a frivolous voice.

"Hey! Young sir, you look like you have something troubling you. If you don't mind, would you like the great Zerni to give you some advice?"

Dawn paused.

He turned his head toward the dense collection of portraits on the wall and guessed that some lonely portrait had decided to bother him.

He ignored it and continued walking.

But...

The portrait seemed determined to latch onto him.

It kept moving from frame to frame, constantly following him while chattering beside his ears.

"Hey! I'm talking to you! Boy... boy?"

The voice grew louder and louder.

FUCK!

Dawn cursed inwardly.

He had finally had enough.

He strode toward the wall, intending to crush the annoying portrait beneath his foot.

"Boy, over here... over here! Hey, can you see me?"

The portrait seemed completely unaware that disaster was approaching.

It even deliberately made noises to guide Dawn toward it.

And so, quite easily, Dawn found his target.

It was a small oil painting depicting a pastoral landscape.

Green grass covered the ground, a stream flowed through it, and a figure stood in front of a wooden cabin, waving both hands enthusiastically.

Dawn expressionlessly removed the frame from the wall and raised it, preparing to smash it.

But when the corner of his eye caught sight of the figure, his movements gradually stopped.

It was a portrait of a blond man with blue eyes.

He wore clothes that looked as though they were made of silk, with half of his arms completely exposed.

"You are..."

Dawn's heart skipped a beat.

He frowned and brought the portrait closer.

The more he looked at the man, the more familiar he seemed.

As though Dawn had seen him somewhere before.

Before he could figure it out, the portrait pointed proudly at his own nose and spoke in a playful tone.

"Hey, cute boy! My name is Zerni. I am a man from the future who crossed through time and now stands downstream of history, allowing me to have a friendly conversation with you!"

Dawn froze.

His mind felt as though it had been struck by a hammer.

The words "man from the future" echoed again and again through his head.

This was...

The future man mentioned in the book The World in the Painting that he had read last term?

The one who had been painted into existence?

Dawn recalled the contents of the book and realized that its description perfectly matched the portrait before him.

His temples throbbed.

This had happened far too suddenly.

Even Dawn needed a moment to process it.

"Oh! Cute boy, look at that blank expression on your face."

The future man suddenly leaned closer, chattering proudly.

"I know! You definitely don't believe what I'm saying, do you?

Don't worry! I know all you stubborn people from the past are like this.

So! Let the great Zerni prove it to you!

In 1996, the twenty-sixth Olympic Games will be held in Atlanta, America. Britain will win only one gold medal, in rowing, taken by Steve Redgrave and Matthew Pinsent!"

He snapped his fingers and looked directly at Dawn.

"Well? In a few years, you'll understand just how great Zerni is! But before that... is there anything else you'd like to ask?"

Ask what?

Dawn's ears were buzzing from all the talking.

He rubbed his brow and accepted this inexplicable encounter.

But once he recovered, his first thought was to narrow his eyes and examine the portrait's magical circuits.

Runes appeared before his eyes one after another.

Because he did not understand them well enough, Dawn had no idea what they were used for.

He simply memorized the entire structure of the circuits out of habit.

"Hey! Cute boy... why aren't you saying anything? I know this is hard to believe, but your mental resilience is a little disappointing!"

The future man started chattering again.

Dawn felt as though flies were buzzing around his ears.

Seeing that the man kept urging him to ask questions, Dawn thought about his current situation.

Then inspiration struck.

"Dawn Richter."

"Zerni, in the future, have you ever heard this name?"

"Dawn Richter? Hmm..."

The future man thought for a moment, then spread his hands.

"Is he a famous person from your era? Sorry, but I've never heard of him. Did he do anything famous?"

Dawn's heart gave a sudden jolt.

Never heard of him?

Impossible.

Dawn knew himself too well.

For the sake of collective consciousness, he would certainly try to leave behind an enormous reputation.

Could it be...

Dawn remained silent for a moment before narrowing his eyes.

"Then what about Lai Ryan?"

"Have you heard that name?"

"No, no! Still nothing!"

The future man shook his head like a rattle.

"Hey! Sneaky boy, you're not trying to make fun of the great Zerni, are you? Stop giving me the names of irrelevant people! History won't remember them at all!"

He actually called them irrelevant?

And he had never even heard of Lai Ryan?

Dawn felt strangely stung by those words.

He became thoughtful.

"Zerni, what year do you live in?"

"Today?"

The future man looked around.

"Let me see... Today is October 30, 2337. That's several hundred years after your time!"

Whenever Zerni mentioned being from the future, he displayed an obvious sense of superiority.

It was rather like Draco showing off when he wanted everyone to admire him.

Dawn rubbed his chin.

Determined to regain the upper hand, he continued testing the strange portrait.

"Then, do you know about wizards?"

"Oh, of course! You mean that group from the distant past who possessed extraordinary knowledge, right?

Though you people are strange. Someone else asked me something similar last time."

"That's not what I mean."

Dawn shook his head.

He had experienced a similar feeling when he read The World in the Painting.

Now he could see it even more clearly.

This future man's definition of wizards was completely based on a Muggle perspective.

Dawn patiently explained.

"When I say wizards, I mean extraordinary humans who can fly and teleport, transform objects, and have magic flowing through their bodies."

"Extraordinary humans?"

Zerni seemed amused.

He burst into laughter on the grassy field of the oil painting, rolling back and forth.

"Cute boy, you're joking, aren't you? How could real wizards possibly exist in this world?

But I don't blame you. Being a dreamer is something people your age have every right to be.

You'll understand when you grow up!"

What was wrong with this ridiculous portrait?

Why was he so unpleasant to talk to?

Dawn frowned as he studied the boastful future man's portrait.

The possibility that he was genuinely a person from the future was rapidly decreasing in Dawn's mind.

Unless...

This fellow was merely a Muggle in the future and had never come into contact with the wizarding world.

But then...

"If there are no wizards, how did you cross through time and stand in the future talking to me?"

Dawn pointed out the biggest contradiction surrounding him.

The portrait tilted its head.

"Yeah. Why is that?"

His expression became extremely amusing.

It was as though he were watching a monkey in a zoo asking a human a question.

Then he suddenly shouted.

"Ha! That's a secret of us future people. I'm not telling you!"

With that, he waved his arms enthusiastically and ran deeper into the painted grass.

Very soon, he disappeared from sight.

Dawn was stunned again.

How could this guy be so strangely casual about both appearing and disappearing?

"What a strange thing."

Dawn helplessly shook his head.

He narrowed his eyes and looked again.

The magical circuits of the oil painting remained exactly as they had been. They had not changed at all after the future man disappeared.

Dawn stood there, thinking.

He recalled what had been recorded in The World in the Painting.

According to the book, once someone revealed the truth of death to a portrait, the future man would emerge from it and answer their questions.

And what Dawn had been thinking about just now was the resurrection of the Ryan couple.

In a certain sense, that was indeed related to death.

"Death is false. Both life and death are arrangements of fate, and fate can easily manipulate or alter them?"

After remaining silent for a moment, Dawn tried to speak his new understanding of death toward another oil painting.

But...

Nothing happened.

The man in the silk short-sleeved clothes did not reappear.

Perhaps it was simply because he had only just left?

Dawn clicked his tongue.

He took one last look at the oil painting, then turned and left.

He did not dwell on it, nor did the experience affect him.

In Dawn's opinion, this was a case of the reality being far less impressive than the reputation.

The possibility that the portrait truly belonged to the future had plummeted after their conversation.

Perhaps...

It was merely some strange phenomenon passed down through the wizarding world.

Something mysterious, like the Death Arch, but not necessarily something that needed to be treated as impossibly profound.

That was what Dawn thought.

Besides...

Neither the sudden appearance of the Resurrection Stone nor the future man's portrait encountered on the way was particularly important to him at present.

So Dawn quickly composed himself.

He stepped onto the moving staircase and headed straight for the fifth-floor library to accomplish what he had originally set out to do.

And this time...

Everything went exceptionally smoothly.

Nothing else happened to interrupt him.

Dawn finally arrived at the library in the afternoon.

He took the books from the Ravenclaw common room out of his wallet, sat down among a crowd of young wizards wearing various expressions, and began reading carefully.

The Comparison of Muggle and Wizard Body Structures.

As the title suggested, this was a book that compared Muggles and wizards from the perspective of physical anatomy, examining their similarities and differences.

It contained quite a few hand-drawn anatomical illustrations.

Why did this book feel more like something left behind by Slytherin?

Dawn flipped through the unsigned spine and title page, muttered a complaint under his breath, then began reading slowly with the serious intention of finding a clue.

Hmm...

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