Dumbledore gave Minerva McGonagall a task: to observe the child, Roger, more closely.
He hoped that by understanding Roger's inner world better, he could guide him down the right path.
Tom Riddle's tragedy was enough; he didn't want to see another.
Professor McGonagall's approach to this task wasn't like that of an intelligence operative, lurking and observing. In her opinion, for children burdened by heavy thoughts, communication was the only true way forward.
The so-called "hiding things for your own good" would only drive their hearts further away from you; openness was what brought people closer.
Only by becoming someone they genuinely trusted could one have the chance to help them resolve their inner conflicts.
Therefore, after confirming that Roger's mindset was far more mature than that of an average young wizard, Minerva McGonagall decided to discuss some deeper topics with him.
For instance, his future life plans.
Professor McGonagall had been of great help to him, both at the funeral and later when answering his magical questions. Thus, Roger naturally chose to be honest about questions he felt held no need for secrecy.
"I don't want to go to the Ministry of Magic, nor do I want to return to Muggle society. I want to research magic."
"Barring any unforeseen circumstances, I will dedicate my life to the research of magic. I want to know everything about magic," Roger replied.
Professor McGonagall could sense that Roger's answer was not perfunctory but rather quite serious. It wasn't the kind of aspiration born from admiration that most children had, like "I want to get into an Ivy League" or "I want to be a scientist, a big star."
He genuinely intended to make the study of magic the main theme of his life.
"Why?" Professor McGonagall asked, a little confused.
Normally, most people desired fame and success, to become remarkable individuals.
Even children who wanted to be scientists usually aimed to become great scientists like Einstein, whose names would be etched in history for inventing many remarkable things.
They didn't simply become fascinated by knowledge for its own sake, wanting only to understand more and uncover the mysteries of the world.
So, Roger's answer surprised Professor McGonagall.
"Because I don't want to die," Roger offered Professor McGonagall a gentle smile.
"Ah?" Hearing his answer, Minerva McGonagall became even more perplexed.
"Professor, do you like this world?"
Without waiting for Minerva McGonagall to answer, Roger continued, answering his own question: "I like it very much."
"After thousands of years of primitive development, human civilization has finally entered an express lane."
"In just three hundred years, three industrial revolutions have brought about earth-shattering changes to the world."
"By studying the logic of how the world operates, even Muggles can harness wind, fire, lightning, and thunder, making the sun bloom upon the earth."
"The transformation of productivity and production relations has liberated the shackles of thought. Capitalism, communism, constitutional monarchy… all sorts of different new civilizational concepts have blossomed."
"Movies, television, comics – everyone has the opportunity to present their inner world for the whole world to appreciate."
"It is already so wonderful, and there will surely be more interesting things happening in the future."
"And this is just what's beneath our feet," Roger said, looking up at the clear sky.
As if trying to peer through the clear sky to a more distant horizon.
"The Earth, where we live, is but a drop in the ocean compared to the entire universe."
"There are nearly 400 billion star systems in the Milky Way, and there are nearly 2 trillion galaxies like the Milky Way in the universe. And beyond the universe, perhaps there are other universes."
Roger said "perhaps," but he was certain that universes beyond the universe definitely existed, because he himself was a visitor from another universe! After the war ended, on the flight back to Britain, Roger, sitting in the plane, felt a sense of confusion.
Escaping the quagmire of hell and entering peace didn't bring happiness, but emptiness. Much like veterans who couldn't reintegrate into society, Roger didn't know how to proceed.
With his 'predictions' of the future, he could easily acquire immense wealth. With his ability to sense crises, achieving extraordinary accomplishments that would be recorded in history was as simple as eating or drinking. If it were the Roger of the past, he might have indulged in such things.
Wealth, luxury cars, beautiful women, worldwide fame – if he could have possessed these, the Roger of his past life would have probably woken up laughing in his dreams.
But after dancing with death countless times, amidst blood and fire, Roger had come to understand.
Everything was an illusion; only being alive was the most precious thing.
No matter how much one possessed, in a few decades, it would all turn to dust.
And no matter how much he resisted, even if he had the ability to walk through a hail of bullets without a scratch, or possess wealth rivaling kingdoms, he couldn't resist the mighty force of time.
Just as he was hesitating, wondering whether to indulge in worldly pleasures to numb himself and deceive himself, the wizards who came to arrest him arrived.
The wizards' appearance disrupted all of Roger's original plans, but it also gave his lost heart a new direction.
He wanted to see the seas turn into mulberry fields, to see how human civilization would leave its home planet and venture into the sea of stars, to explore the boundaries of the universe's expansion and contraction.
To witness stars extinguish, the infinite possibilities of life, entropy, heat death, how the universe was born, and what magnificent sights lay beyond it.
"I want to see all the wonders of the world, to encounter countless interesting souls, and to have my presence in one wonderful story after another."
He wanted to gain too much; he didn't want all those possibilities, everything he had never seen, everything he had never obtained, to perish in the torrent of time along with his aging self.
Like tears disappearing in the rain.
"Human life is too fragile; a cheap bullet is enough to take it away. And even a prophet like me, who can avoid those malicious projectiles, cannot avoid the 'gunshot' from 'time'."
"I don't want this, so I made a choice."
He didn't want to die; he wanted to live forever.
And this, in the wizarding world, was not an impossible feat!
In Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the owner of the Philosopher's Stone, Nicolas Flamel, lived for a full six hundred years.
This path existed, and perhaps he himself could go even further! Minerva McGonagall looked at Roger, whose eyes seemed to reflect the starry sky, shimmering with brilliant light, and was speechless for a long time.
"Professor," Roger withdrew his gaze from the vast sky and looked at Minerva McGonagall.
"Aren't you curious? How far can wizards, Muggles, and humans ultimately go? Don't you want to see it for yourself?" Roger asked in a deep, alluring voice.
"Infinite time represents infinite possibilities. Give a monkey infinite time and a typewriter, and the probability of it typing out Hamlet is nearly 100%. Give wizards infinite time and magic, and perhaps... perhaps wizards could gain the ability to turn everything around, dissolve all regrets, and obtain all desires."
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