Chapter 197: Prophecy... what an unreliable thing!
"How could this be? Why would Duncan's image appear in the crystal ball?"
Nicolas worriedly scratched the silver hair on his head and paced about the room, the old floorboards creaking under his feet. After turning back and forth several times, Nicolas suddenly lifted his head and looked at the crystal ball. "No. I have to verify it carefully myself once more!"
Nicolas worked his somewhat uncooperative legs, mustered his strength, and hurried to the crystal ball, then let out a long breath. He bent over with one hand braced on the tabletop and the other wiping the sweat from his brow. His gaunt chest heaved violently as he panted and muttered, "My body seems a little less flexible again. It looks like next time I take my potion I need to add something else to it, otherwise even walking will be a chore..."
After panting for quite a while, Nicolas felt the bellows-like rattle of his chest gradually quiet. His strength slowly returned to his body, restoring his energy. He straightened up, calmed himself, raised his withered hand over the crystal ball, chanted an incantation, and moved both hands in the air as though stroking the surface of the sphere.
The white mist within the crystal ball underwent subtle changes with Nicolas's motions, and the figures churning and coalescing within no longer appeared at random. Instead, they receded in their previous order of appearance, one blurred face after another flickering rapidly across the center of the sphere.
"Almost... right here..." Nicolas murmured, stopped moving, lowered his hands, and bent over to observe the figure in the crystal ball.
"It really does look a bit like Duncan..." Nicolas knitted his brows tight and tilted his head, staring for quite a while. Then he lifted a finger and tapped lightly on the surface of the crystal ball. The mist inside surged again, and the formed scene changed.
At this moment, the figure in the center grew clearer, and it no longer had only a head. The torso and limbs slowly grew out. When all had finished growing, it was as if someone took a multicolored brush and painted over it. The figure emerged little by little in color.
"It is Duncan, as expected, only this look of his..." Nicolas's brows furrowed into three vertical lines. He stroked the surface of the crystal ball with his palm and spoke with difficulty.
In the center of the crystal ball stood a youth with a set face and no expression, clad in jet-black wizard's robes. He gripped his wand tightly, his keen gaze cast into the distance. A dragon lay beside him, its scales stained with fresh blood, as though it had just come through a great battle. His features were almost identical to Duncan's, only a shade more mature, and there was a chill, keep-your-distance air between his brows.
Just as Nicolas was examining it closely, the white mist in the crystal ball suddenly began to surge violently, and the figure that had just formed was scattered in the blink of an eye. Confronted with this anomaly that had never happened before, surprise rose in Nicolas's eyes, and he bent his waist even lower. His eyes were nearly pressed to the surface of the crystal ball to make sure he did not miss a single detail.
The white mist within surged like a tide, then stilled after a few seconds, and a figure slowly rose from the bottom to the surface. The looks were exactly the same as the previous figure, but his face beamed with a warm smile. He wore blue robes, and a cuddly Niffler lay on his shoulder.
Nicolas stared at the figure in the sphere, pondering hard, and after quite a while muttered, "Could this be foretelling two paths Duncan might take in the future? Then what is the key node that causes the change?"
Nicolas rubbed his chin and once more extended his hands over the crystal ball to stroke gently. The white mist continued to churn, but when a pattern was about to gather, it was as if a breeze blew it, and it swiftly dispersed to the sides.
"Prophecy... what an unreliable thing!" Nicolas grumbled, and with a wave he stilled the white mist in the crystal ball. "But this problem can be considered later. There's another difficulty now—appearing in this crystal ball is not a good thing for a person..."
An indescribable look came over Nicolas's face. He sighed lightly, picked up the wand on the table, and gestured towards the stairway. In a little while, a hefty book flew down from upstairs. Its cover was cast in gold, engraved with mysterious and ancient characters. When the book landed on the table, Nicolas touched the tip of his wand to the surface and drew two circles. The heavy cover opened, and the pages rustled.
The contents flashed past in order: full-length portraits of one wizard after another, with their names written at the top in fine silver script. When the pages reached the middle, the turning gradually slowed. The last few wizards that flickered past were people Nicolas was rather familiar with.
One bore the name Credence Barebone, also called Aurelius Dumbledore, a pitiable Obscurial who was used by others. On the last page was a couple, James Potter and Lily Potter, holding each other tight with happy smiles on their faces.
This book recorded all the figures that had once churned and formed in the crystal ball. Each of them had played an immense role in major events—like boulders wedged in the long river of fate, forcing history to turn by brute force. But they were all terribly unfortunate as well, without exception laying down their lives amid the turmoil, as though born solely to fulfill a mission.
"Could it be that Duncan will face the same fate as they did?" Nicolas said in distress, the silver hair he had mussed hanging down his cheeks. He was very fond of this friend across the years. From Duncan he had once more felt the vigor and delight of life, and he did not want to watch him die.
"Why would the goddess of fate choose him? Apart from being able to communicate with magical creatures and being much liked by them, and having a magical gift a bit stronger than most, Duncan has nothing particularly special..." Nicolas counted on his fingers for quite a while and said anxiously, "I don't even know if the jade pendant I gave him is of any use. Should I prepare a few more items for him, so that when danger comes he won't be unable to cope?"
Nicolas thought for a moment and flicked his fingers. A sheet of parchment and a quill floated out of the side drawer, and he pondered as he wrote out a list of equipment. After that, he wrote a letter addressed to Albus Dumbledore, telling him in full everything he had seen in the crystal ball.
"Right—besides protecting Duncan, I must make Dumbledore pay attention as well. Don't let Duncan take that terrible road; the gentle Duncan is the more lovable..." Nicolas murmured. When he had made all his preparations, he let out a soft breath and whispered, "Duncan, don't you be like those people and meet Death before I do. I'm still waiting to attend your wedding!"
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