Women are too smart. Sometimes, men just can't keep up.
Helena Ravenclaw was incredibly intelligent, but she also had a streak of tsundere pride.
She had taken care of Rey for days just to wait for this exact moment—to see the surprise on his face.
She felt a sense of accomplishment, like a child who had just aced a test. Her actions proved a simple point: she was smarter than Rey.
And honestly, she was. Rey hadn't guessed her motive at all. In his mind, a thirteen-year-old girl couldn't possibly be that calculating.
Being this clever at such a young age, it was no wonder she looked down on Terence Barrow, who stuck to her like glue.
Shaking his head, Rey pushed aside his thoughts. After getting dressed and washing up, he pulled out his wand and pointed it at a small stool in the tent. "Wingardium Leviosa."
The Levitation Charm. A spell he had mastered before even entering Hogwarts. He cast it now without any resistance. He remembered that after the bite, his magic had felt sluggish and blocked.
But in his dream last night, Rey felt the dark power hadn't disappeared; instead, it had integrated into his body.
Based on the dream, that seemed to be the case. Now, using magic felt seamless. It seemed he had fully recovered.
It was an unsolvable puzzle. The magical world didn't exactly have X-rays or MRI machines to locate dark energy in the body.
If he was fine now, there was no point overthinking it.
Rey quickly ate some bread he found in the tent and stepped outside.
The weather was beautiful. Early morning sunlight flooded the valley. The only thing spoiling the view was in the distance: Helena ignoring Terence Barrow, and Terence following her like a lost puppy.
"Ah, to be young," Rey sighed, stretching his stiff limbs. He walked slowly toward Rowena Ravenclaw's tent.
His teacher had cured a hidden danger in his body. As her student, he owed her a proper thank you.
However, Rowena Ravenclaw wasn't in her tent. Neither were Gryffindor, Slytherin, or Hufflepuff.
"They went out?"
"Busy people, I guess."
Rey muttered to himself, then turned toward the town. He had been here for days but hadn't properly explored yet.
---
Godric's Hollow was far from the size it would reach in later centuries. Everywhere Rey looked, houses were under construction.
While Rey wandered idly through the village, Rowena Ravenclaw and her three friends were perched on a hill, overlooking a ruined castle in the distance.
There was a black dragon inside that castle. Although Godric Gryffindor had proposed slaying it, he wasn't an idiot. Before challenging such a beast, knowing your enemy was essential.
The four Founders were on a hill directly opposite the castle, which sat on a flat plain below. The castle grounds were extensive, with a collapsed outer wall surrounding a towering central keep. Even in its ruined state, one could imagine its former majesty.
If Rey were here, he would have been shocked. The landscape was completely different from the future. The castle wasn't on a cliff, and there was no trace of the Black Lake. Just a small, winding river.
Hiding behind a large boulder, the atmosphere among the Founders wasn't tense. Instead, there was an air of excitement at the prospect of seeing a dragon.
The most excited, naturally, was Godric Gryffindor. He had already drawn the sword at his waist.
"We're early. The dragon won't come out to patrol its territory for another hour."
Seeing Godric getting overheated, Helga Hufflepuff quickly cooled him down.
Of the four, Godric was like a fire ready to burn. Rowena was deep in thought, likely formulating a strategy.
Salazar rolled his eyes at Godric, probably wondering for the thousandth time why he was best friends with such an idiot.
Helga pulled some delicious magical snacks from her enchanted pouch and shared them. The dragon would appear soon; it was time to prepare.
After eating and resting, the hour passed quickly.
Shortly after noon, a deep, resonant roar echoed from the castle. The sound was so piercing that birds and beasts across the entire mountain range scattered in terror.
A black shadow flashed, and a living dragon burst from a massive hole near the base of the main tower. Two powerful wings beat the air—whoosh, whoosh—kicking up a cloud of dust that enveloped the ruins.
A dragon is a dragon. It wasn't just the massive, exaggerated wingspan; every scale on its body was the size of a dinner plate. Its ferocious head and dark golden eyes struck awe into the four wizards.
Compared to the dragons in the Harry Potter movies, this black dragon was easily three times larger.
Rowena and Helga had seen it before, so they were relatively calm. But Godric Gryffindor froze, staring dumbfounded at the beast hovering over the castle.
After a moment of shock, Godric immediately crouched back down behind the rock, the look of astonishment still plastered on his face.
"Well? How about it, Duel King? Ready to go down there and challenge it?"
Helga teased the crouching Godric.
Godric scratched the back of his head awkwardly. He had to admit, his bold words earlier seemed a bit... optimistic in the face of that.
"Uh, how about we go back and rethink our strategy?" Godric Gryffindor, for once, sounded like he wanted to retreat.
"Since that child came from the future Hogwarts, it means we must have succeeded in claiming this land. Why don't we ask him how history recorded it?"
After his embarrassment faded, Godric finally offered the most constructive suggestion he had made in years.
---
The town in Godric's Hollow was small but lively. There were elders telling stories to children and young witches teaching kids magical tricks.
The residents of Godric's Hollow were almost exclusively wizards or magical folk.
Floating objects, flying brooms, and ingredients jumping into pots were common sights.
An elderly witch invited Rey into her home to discuss cooking. The food she was making was for the refugee children in the tents.
The people here were kind. Well, mostly. Not counting the gravedigger with the shovel. His sparse grey hair was matted, and he wore a black leather coat of indeterminate material that looked perpetually damp.
When Rey left the witch's kitchen and wandered into the cemetery, the gravedigger stood in the distance, staring at him intently. To him, Rey looked like a grave robber in training.
The cemetery didn't seem like much of a tourist spot, especially with someone watching him like a hawk.
As soon as he stepped inside, Rey felt a chill. Not a physical cold, but an indescribable intuition. Entering the cemetery felt like stepping into Death's line of sight.
This graveyard felt... special.
Rey didn't know why he wandered in here. Maybe because there were so few places worth visiting in Godric's Hollow, and the cemetery was one of them.
Tombstones of all shapes and sizes stood silently—upright slabs, fallen obelisks, and mysterious statues. A statue of the Grim Reaper wielding a scythe stood among them. Every corner whispered of death's mystery.
Ignotus Peverell.
Rey saw the name on a tombstone. It was covered in dust, so he wiped it clean with his hand to read it clearly.
Who is this? Rey didn't know. He just wanted to see the name.
At the very back of the cemetery stood a dilapidated church. Ignoring the staring gravedigger, Rey walked inside.
The church was small. Upon entering, the first thing he saw was a crucifix of the suffering Jesus on the back wall, and below it, a lectern holding a Bible.
The Bible was open. Curious, Rey walked over and glanced at it.
Matthew 4: Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil...
It was a passage from the Bible. Rey had never read it before, and the text didn't particularly interest him now. But a symbol drawn at the top of the page caught his eye.
A circle inside a triangle, with a vertical line running through it. The Deathly Hallows symbol.
It was cryptic and mysterious. The triangle, the circle, and the line seemed to hold a special harmony, hinting at infinite possibilities.
Rey stared at it in a trance. After a while, he snapped out of it, realizing he should leave.
When Rey walked out of the church, the gravedigger was already digging a new grave with his shovel.
He had made progress; he was waist-deep in the rectangular pit. He was fast. Rey hadn't seen a new grave before entering the church, yet now it was nearly finished.
Walking out of the cemetery, Rey looked back at the digging man. The gravedigger had stopped. As Rey looked back, the man suddenly gave him a grotesque smile.
The smile was sudden and unsettling, catching Rey off guard. He flinched.
"I shouldn't have come to this graveyard."
Shaken, Rey avoided the man's gaze. He calmed his racing heart and hurried away.
---