The night was as dark as ink.
Gentle moonlight seeped through the window, spilling into the tranquil bedroom. Ian's long eyelashes slowly fluttered open under the soft caress of the moonlight, and his bright green eyes sparkled like jewels.
From confusion to focused awareness, he returned to the present world and instinctively glanced at the clock in the bedroom—sure enough, the hands of the old-fashioned wall clock were stuck at 12:07.
It had been like this for many years.
Returning from the hazy dreamscape, time always seemed to be this same time. The hour hand might point to different numbers, but the minute hand would invariably rest on that magical number.
Seven.
Ian did not know what secret lay within it; he only knew that every week he would inevitably have a very similar experience.
In the past, the only people Ian encountered in the hazy dreamscape were Arianna and the occasionally appearing Pendro, but this time there was an additional mysterious noblewoman witch.
“She wants me to help her find the mirror she left in the real world…”
Ian did not know whether the noblewoman witch was good or bad. Perhaps judging a soul by simple notions of good and evil was too superficial; he was merely very curious about the identity of the mysterious witch.
A witch living in a mysterious castle within the hazy dreamscape.
Had she once been a renowned figure in the wizarding world? After all, such an elegant and noble aura was clearly not something an ordinary witch could possess.
“Was she a wizard from the last century, or an active figure from the Middle Ages?”
Ian's limited understanding of the fantastical world he inhabited came from a few not-so-impressive special effects movies and a handful of conspiracy-laden fan fiction.
Because of this,
he could only grasp a vague idea of the many mysteries hidden within this world. The only mirror he could recall was the Eris Mirror that concealed the Philosopher's Stone at the beginning of the story.
With a golden frame.
It could reveal a person's deepest, most intense desires.
If the mysterious witch sought the mirror that would eventually appear at Hogwarts, perhaps Ian truly had a chance to bring it into the hazy dreamscape and hand it over to her.
“Just not sure if I can bring such a large item there like I would candy,” Ian felt uncertain; he had never attempted anything like that before.
To be honest,
Ian had been quite puzzled about this magical talent he possessed since childhood; he had not even figured out why he could bring candy into the dreamscape but not the bed he slept in.
Of course,
being able to enter the hazy dreamscape while asleep was undoubtedly a truly exceptional talent, just as the mysterious witch in the dreamscape had said.
Ian… was special enough.
But what this specialness meant, perhaps only that witch could answer. Ian could clearly sense how much the mysterious witch in the hazy dreamscape cared about this point.
“Learning magic from her…”
I have to say,
Ian had indeed been tempted by this proposal, but he could not discern whether her kindness was merely a disguise to achieve some purpose or related to his uniqueness.
If she truly was the former owner of the Eris Mirror, she would certainly be an ancient spirit who had lived who knows how many years; the thoughts of an old ghost might be even more difficult to decipher than those of a living woman.
“She is also a very beautiful female ghost; Zhang Wuji's mother had something to say about this.”
“I don’t need to take that risk… I can learn magic at school too; those professors aren’t necessarily weaker than the old witch in the dream.”
Reason triumphed over greed.
Ian suppressed the stirrings of his heart.
Just like he had the experiences passed down from his ancestors.
The Great Ying Empire also had a long-standing tradition—besides the customs of knowing men and women, this place's obsession with copper smelting had also been a unique culture for a long time.
What if she really was an old witch who liked to toy with little boys?
Or what if her idea of “playing” was not the same as what Ian enjoyed? This was a gamble Ian did not want to take.
“Phew~ Namo Gatling Merlin Bodhisattva… This is indeed not something to risk.”
After weighing the pros and cons,
Ian adjusted his pillow and closed his eyes, drifting back into true slumber.
In the years without the opportunity to learn spells, the greatest benefit of having wizard blood for Ian was that he could easily learn the method of lucid dreaming.
…
A night filled with dreams.
The next day, Ian felt refreshed.
In his every gesture,
it seemed he carried a touch more vigor and grace—no one knew what kind of beautiful dream he had concocted for himself last night.
[Successfully read Roman language, language proficiency +1]
[Successfully read Roman language, language proficiency +1]
[Successfully read Roman language, language proficiency +1]
When the morning sun had yet to rise, Ian had already begun his daily studies, always taking the improvement of his [Language Proficiency] skill seriously.
After all,
there had always been a hope in Ian's heart; he wished to touch the extraordinary abilities that only a few in the magical world possessed through this skill.
Communicating with animals.
He did not seek to become a cross-species communicator like Parseltongue; at least, he wanted to be able to understand the emotions and meanings expressed by animals, like Newt Scamander.
“Of course, if I could listen to the voices of all things, I wouldn't mind.” Forgive Ian for having a rather eclectic taste in literature in his past life; last night, he had played the role of a mountain bandit king in his dreams.
[Successfully read Roman language, language proficiency +1]
[Successfully read Roman language, language proficiency +1]
…
Just as Ian was occasionally letting his thoughts wander and had gained about ten points in [Language Proficiency], hurried footsteps suddenly echoed in the corridor outside.
There were also clattering sounds.
Who knew which unfortunate little kid would likely get scolded for knocking over something in the corridor?
“Ian! Ian! Come here! That… the school teacher is here again!”
Catherine's voice rang out from outside the door, breathless, with several little hands knocking urgently on the big door, making it feel like these kids cared more about going to school than Ian did.
“Someone from Hogwarts is here?”
Ian felt puzzled and surprised. He walked to the door and opened it, and then, with a flurry of sounds, a group of kids almost pressed against the door tumbled into the room.
“Ian! Ian! Lady Ilena is calling for you! Are you going to school?”
“Will you come back? Can you bring a teacher back for us too?”
“You can use your good looks to charm those lady teachers!”
…
The children surrounded Ian, chattering away, among which were some slightly precocious remarks—orphans always seemed to grow up faster than their peers in every way.
“Will you come back to teach us?”
Catherine, who knew the true details of Hogwarts, looked at Ian with eager eyes. What she was referring to was clearly the magical wonders.
“If there's a chance, if I can… then of course.”
Ian patted the heads of a few little kids beside him but did not dare to make any real promises to them. Perhaps Catherine had a chance to attend Hogwarts.
But most people would ultimately find it hard to cross that threshold.
“I'll take you to find Lady Ilena!”
Catherine was extremely excited, pulling Ian out the door. Although the other children were only half aware of what was happening, they all eagerly followed behind.
“Ian, I don't want to go to that school anymore; I’ll just wait for you to teach me how to conjure candy, okay? The teacher who came today looks just like the Granny Witch you told us about!”
On the way,
Catherine leaned closer to Ian and whispered, a bit scared. Her words made Ian, who was already curious about which professor had come, feel a tightness in his chest.
Looks like the Granny Witch?
Very scary?
Ian had a bad premonition.
At that moment, surrounded by a crowd of kids, he happened to arrive outside the principal's office.
The door was not closed.
So,
Ian directly saw the figure sitting across from the principal, seemingly enveloped in a haze; just the back view alone was enough to evoke feelings of tension and oppression.
It resembled… the dark wizard he had encountered before.
“Why is it him!?”
Ian displayed a bewildered expression.
Where's my big fluffy Dumbledore?!
Why did a black bat come instead?!