Harry Potter and the Obscurus

Chapter 61 The Essence of Time Magic

According to the contract Harry signed with the Malfoy family, the Lily Peanuts hairspray business would begin in the wizarding and Muggle markets of the UK and expand simultaneously throughout Europe. Since commercial activities in the wizarding world are influenced not only by capital but also by the wizards' own power, Harry directly agreed with Lucius on a 90/10 equity split.

The almost predatory negotiation did not cause Lucius any pain or shame; on the contrary, he was quite happy to swallow the bitter pill. After learning that he was eligible for a 10% stake in Lily Health, Lucius treated Mr. Potter's company almost like his own child, completely disregarding the fact that he had invested more than Harry.

Thus, the globalization strategy of Lily Health Insurance's products officially began on Christmas Day 1993.

……

Upon returning to Hogwarts Castle, Harry immediately went to Dumbledore with Lucius's Time-Turner and Honeydukes' desserts.

In the office, the enormous grandfather clock, like a hypnotic prop, swung incessantly, making Fawkes and the former headmasters hanging on the wall drowsy. Dumbledore carefully examined the pocket watch bearing ancient Rughren markings, eating candy bite by bite, and said:

"This time-twister is very old... In theory, it's powerful enough to take you back to any point in time you want."

"What? Anything? Did I hear that right, Principal?"

You heard me right.

Dumbledore said calmly:

"It can return to any point in time you want, but if I'm not mistaken, you probably think this time-twister is safer and more stable than the one Hermione has, right?"

Harry stared intently at the white-bearded old man in front of him, inwardly thinking:

"Here we go again. Why does Dumbledore always act like he knows everything, yet he's unwilling to explain things clearly?"

Having learned the truth behind Harry's emotional turmoil, Mo Ran quickly offered words of comfort:

"We know almost nothing about time magic, so let's hear what he has to say first."

Having agreed with Moran's suggestion, Harry quickly calmed down and pulled out another Time-Turner that Hermione had entrusted to him, saying:

"Hermione told me that this time traveler can only take three people back to a point in time seven days ago at most, and it will be dangerous if it exceeds that. Logically speaking, a time traveler without side effects should be safer than hers, right?"

Dumbledore glanced at the "cheating" device that Professor McGonagall had applied for on behalf of her house's students, and casually posed a question to Harry:

"Harry, do you know the rules of time travel?"

"You can't change what has already happened, you can't be seen by yourself, and..."

Harry, who had subconsciously begun reciting the knowledge from his book, seemed to understand the purpose of Dumbledore's question. He looked up, his eyes fixed on the starry sky outside the window, and changed his answer:

"It's about satisfying the rationale for reshaping reality, right?"

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow; clearly, he hadn't expected Harry to grasp the essence of "time magic" so quickly.

“I wouldn’t presume to call myself a master of time magic, Harry, but having spent decades exploring the nature of magic, I believe I have some unique insights… It’s truly remarkable that you are so perceptive at your age.”

Having said this, Dumbledore finally lowered his left hand, which had been constantly moving between his mouth and the plate. He stood up and, pacing back and forth, said:

"All modern time managers are made by encapsulating the Hour-Reversal Charm in a magical pocket watch or a small hourglass. The reason for this is that, as a powerful but highly unstable spell, it can only be effective when made into a magical container. This is far from a true Time-Reversal Charm."

brush!

An old photograph featuring two male wizards suddenly appeared before Harry's eyes.

"The wizard standing next to me in the photo is named Thor Crocker. He's currently working and researching in the Time Room of the Department of Mysteries. According to him, a time reversal that won't cause serious damage to travelers or time itself is about five hours, which is far less than the magical effect of modern time-twisters. Do you know why?"

Harry looked at Professor Dumbledore in the photo, whose hair wasn't completely white yet, and Thor Crocker, whose face looked slightly haggard, and whispered in reply:

"Even if magic itself can satisfy higher needs, people who travel back in time may not be able to solve complex time management problems. Only by directly shortening the time of time travel can the risks that may arise from manipulating the laws of time be effectively controlled."

Dumbledore nodded in satisfaction.

“Yes, that’s right, Harry!”

His voice became somewhat excited.

"The Ministry of Magic now has a very limited number of time converters at its disposal. Over the past few decades, they have enacted hundreds of regulations and destroyed most time converters to prevent such rare and powerful magical items from harming the magical world. Time magic is now only permitted to be used to solve the most trivial and unimportant problems, such as—taking multiple classes at the same time, or weeding the yard while cleaning the room."

"Then why did Hermione know that her Time Manager could take three people back seven days? Doesn't that add extra risk to the user?"

"I imagine that when the Ministry of Magic approved Minerva's application and issued the Time Manager, the exact words they heard were—a maximum of five hours of use per person. However, as the current Transfiguration professor at Hogwarts, Minerva certainly had her reasons. She knew which friends Miss Granger was close to, and she also knew that Miss Granger and her friends might do things they were explicitly forbidden from doing. So…"

"So, for safety reasons, she told Hermione the truth."

Dumbledore smiled and looked at Harry, saying:

"That should be the case, but it seems that what Minerva was worried about did not happen, or rather, what happened was not as she expected."

Harry glanced down at the small pocket watch lying quietly in his palm, then silently put it back in his pocket. Strangely enough, after listening to Professor Dumbledore's words, his mind wasn't on a plan to save Hermione.

"professor."

Harry looked up and said:

"What you just said about exploring the essence of magic actually includes time magic, right?"

Dumbledore became even happier, a hint of anticipation flashing in his blue eyes, signaling Harry to continue.

"Like this Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Bean. Even Professor Dumbledore couldn't confirm the bean's flavor before tasting it. Once you eat it, the various flavor possibilities become a single fact. Even if you later create magic to detect the bean's flavor, the bean you ate before won't change. Unless you use a time-tamper to go back in time and prevent your past self from eating that bean, but then, the you in that timeline who wanted to go back because you ate the wrong bean would no longer need to go back because you didn't eat the bean..."

Because he was too excited, Harry was unable to articulate his views concisely; he was basically just saying whatever came to mind.

Of course, Dumbledore didn't interrupt him. He listened to his student with a smile and occasionally gave him encouraging looks.

However, what no one knew was that during this time, inspired by Harry and Dumbledore's conversation, Mo Ran had already figured out the true meaning of "time magic" and "reshaping reality" in his mind.

Even before his time travel, Mo Ran already knew that Rowling's time travel plot contained many logical flaws. However, as a viewer at the time, he ignored these problems and prioritized enjoying the story's charm, accepting the established premise first.

However, now that he has transmigrated, there must be a reasonable explanation for the logical flaws in the original story.

Harry and Dumbledore were both right. Time magic was created because wizards were dissatisfied with the status quo and wanted to reshape it. This vision was far more complex than Transfiguration, which turns a paperclip into an animal; therefore, using time travel to change the past became the closest magic to "reshaping reality."

Even with the aid of time magic, reshaping reality remains incredibly difficult. This is not only related to the "grandfather paradox," but more importantly, it's the dilemma of "materialism" versus "idealism" that time travelers face when returning to the past.

What has been confirmed cannot be changed!

The only things that can be changed are those that haven't happened yet!

In the films, whether it's Buckbeak's beheading or Sirius Black being imprisoned in Tower Prison and about to have his soul sucked away by the Dementors, these are things that Harry and his friends didn't witness firsthand, or that were happening in the process. But for time travelers, this uncertainty is precisely what gives them the opportunity to reshape reality.

Why did Dumbledore always speak so vaguely? Perhaps it was because if he spoke too clearly, everything would lose its possibility, and thus, there would be no turning back. As the one who accompanied Fudge to carry out the execution, he would never say whether Buckbeak was truly dead. To Harry and Hermione, at that moment, he had to, and could only, offer the advice—"If we succeed tonight, we can save more than one innocent life."

Mo Ran had once been very curious about how everything had happened from Dumbledore's perspective. But after tonight, he no longer wanted to think about such questions.

Perhaps, leaving everything blank is truly the best choice.

……

After Harry and Dumbledore finished their rambling discussion of a bunch of ideas, it was already 2 a.m. He was incredibly excited, but still just one step away from solving the puzzle. On the way back to the Gryffindor boys' dormitory, Mo Ran, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly blurted out these words to Harry:

Hermione is not dead.

"Huh...huh? What?"

Harry seemed to have forgotten that there was a thinking soul inside him, and he asked:

"Did you find something?"

"Do not."

Mo Ran replied decisively:

"You don't need to understand why, nor should you dwell on the reasons. In fact, none of us need to... Let me give you an example. A particle travels from point A to point B. If you keep staring at it and observing it, its trajectory becomes the only established fact. But if you close your eyes, you won't know how it got from point A to point B. Was it a straight line? A curve? A spiral? Or did it flash by? It might not even be the same particle that was at point A before... As long as you don't observe it, anything is possible."

Mo Ran's words were like an apple hitting Newton on the head, instantly enlightening Harry, who excitedly asked:

"I see! You mean, let those unreasonable things remain unreasonable, right?"

"It can't be called unreasonable, um... perhaps the word 'leaving blank space' is more appropriate."

Mo Ran carefully chose his words and continued to persuade Harry:

"Think about it carefully. The so-called inability to change what has already happened after time travel and the inability to see what has happened is actually a reminder to time travelers. Since you have already discovered the various problems that time travel may cause, you are not far from complete enlightenment."