Chapter 419: LAST END

Fifty Years Later...

The sun slowly set over the sea. A silver-haired girl watched the subway depart from the station before turning to head back to the café for a short rest. But then, she noticed a familiar figure standing on the other side of the railway—a girl with short chestnut hair.

The chestnut-haired girl wore a black trench coat and knee-high boots, her neatly combed hair tucked behind her ears. With her hands in her pockets, she gazed across the tracks, meeting the silver-haired girl's eyes from afar.

At first, the silver-haired girl was stunned, but then she jumped excitedly, waving her arms and shouting, "Miranda!!"

As she called out, she rushed across the railway and threw her arms around the chestnut-haired girl without hesitation.

Miranda stiffened at first, but after a while, she slowly relaxed. She buried her face in Aglaea's long silver hair, gently stroking her back, and sighed softly, "Aya, it's been so long... This is just... unbelievable."

As they embraced, Aglaea suddenly felt a hint of confusion. She pulled away, staring at Miranda in shock. "How are you here? And still so young? I thought… you'd be over sixty by now."

"That's a long story."

Miranda touched the tip of Aglaea's nose with a playful smile. "But if I were sixty, then you'd be over sixty too."

Aglaea's eyes sharpened with realization.

"No… Something's not right. Why did you appear just as Hoffa left?"

She stared at Miranda, bewildered. "Such a coincidence?"

Her Ravenclaw instincts immediately sensed something amiss.

"No, no. You didn't come before, and you didn't come after. It's as if you were waiting for me here. And you're still so young... Could it be that you're from fifty years ago...?"

A sharp breath escaped her lips as she stared at Miranda.

Miranda remained silent.

Aglaea let go of Miranda's arm and looked around, but she couldn't see the familiar figure she was searching for. A deep, overwhelming unease clenched at her heart.

"Where's Hoffa? Didn't he come with you?" she asked.

Miranda was silent for a moment before lowering her head. "He's dead."

Aglaea froze. The color drained from her face in an instant.

"He perished along with Sylby."

Miranda took a deep breath and said calmly, "He preserved this timeline... so that I could see you."

Hearing this, Aglaea took two steps back, leaning against a lamppost as she clutched her head. Her lips parted slightly, but no words came out. The world spun around her, and her legs felt weak—she could barely stand.

Miranda couldn't bear to watch. She stepped forward and held Aglaea, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead. But the girl in her arms was cold, as if all the warmth had been drained from her body.

Suddenly, Aglaea pushed Miranda away and sprinted along the railway, chasing after the train that had disappeared over the horizon.

Seeing her run like a madwoman, Miranda quickly grabbed her with all her strength.

"Why didn't you come sooner?! Why didn't you show up earlier?!"

Aglaea clutched Miranda's arm, pointing frantically at the vanished train, her voice filled with despair. "If you had come earlier… if you had just come a little earlier…"

"Aya, that was never possible. This was all destined."

Miranda's expression was stiff as she spoke.

"No! This wasn't supposed to be his fate!"

Aglaea's voice was firm. "He promised me! He promised me he would come back!"

Miranda bit her lower lip, holding it for a long moment before finally releasing it. Slowly, she reached into her chest pocket. She hesitated for a while, then made up her mind.

"He told me to give this to you."

Miranda pulled out a locket from her chest and carefully opened it, revealing a translucent, crystal-clear heart stone. She placed the gem in Aglaea's hands and said,

"Not even the intervention of gods, not even the calculations of the ultimate wizard, not even decades of ordinary life, nor the bonds of family, friendship, power, status, or wealth—nothing could make him forget you. Even in his final moments, his last thought was to see you again."

"Now, this stone belongs to you. He has always been yours. I am merely returning it to its rightful owner," Miranda said, her expression dim.

Aglaea gazed at the stone in her palm. The moment she saw it, she knew exactly what it was. The emotions sealed within it were so intense that simply holding it brought back memories—sunlit afternoons at Hogwarts, the three of them sitting on the grass, drinking juice and flying kites; winter nights in the common room, huddled around the fireplace playing chess; autumn days in Hogsmeade, sipping butterbeer; early spring walks near the Forbidden Forest as the snow melted.

"Hoffa... Hoffa..."

She pressed the heart stone against her chest and let out a long, deep breath.

Then, to Miranda's astonishment, Aglaea laughed. She laughed with pure joy.

As if she had completely forgotten the pain that had just consumed her moments ago.

Miranda couldn't understand why Aglaea was no longer grieving. But in that moment, she felt as though she no longer owed Hoffa anything.

All she wanted now was to find a bar, drink herself into oblivion, and sleep without thinking about anything else.

"I'm leaving, Aglaea," Miranda said indifferently.

"Where are you going?"

Aglaea casually asked while holding the Heartstone.

"I feel like doing something a Ravenclaw would enjoy. Who knows? Maybe I'll have some fun at a strip club, or maybe I'll study Muggle technology fifty years into the future." She shrugged indifferently. "I've already fulfilled his request. There's nothing left for me to do."

"Miranda, what's wrong?" Aglaea held Miranda's hand with concern.

Miranda shook her head. "I don't know, Aya. I don't know what all these years have been for. I don't know anything anymore. Does it even matter whether he exists or not? I don't know what he means to me. I just want a drink. Sorry, but don't ask me anything else. I don't know anything anymore."

Aglaea didn't let go. She held her companion's hand tightly and said gently, "Miranda, you've already come such a long way. You wouldn't mind taking a few more steps, would you?"

"Where else could I go?"

"Come to my place. My home has been abandoned for a long time, and I want someone to live with me." Aglaea looked into Miranda's eyes and said earnestly, "I want a home."

But Miranda shook her head gloomily. "I might come... maybe. Don't ask me for a specific time. I want to travel alone. Maybe one day, I'll return and live with you. But not now."

"I understand how you feel, Miranda. We can travel together too. But before you leave, don't you want to do something with me?"

"Like what?"

Aglaea raised the Heartstone in her hand, tilted her head, and smiled. "Like giving a pure soul a body to live in."

Miranda was momentarily stunned, then her expression changed drastically. She finally understood why Aglaea, who had been heartbroken, suddenly brightened the moment she saw the Heartstone. She recalled all the incredible legends of the magical world. And she remembered what her grandfather had once told her— 'As long as you find the Heartstone, magic and miracles will follow.'

But after everything she had been through, she still found it hard to believe.

"You... you can do it? Really?"

"No one understands how to create a body better than I do," Aglaea said confidently. "Trust me, you have no idea how many bodies I've crafted. If I counted them all, they might fill the entire English Channel. No... maybe even the Atlantic Ocean."

"Really? But Hoffa is already dead." Miranda still couldn't believe it.

"Then it seems his heart doesn't belong to Death," Aglaea said with a smile, holding the Heartstone. "Come on, let's bring him back."

Miranda's eyes turned red. She nodded vigorously and linked her arm with Aglaea's. As the sun set, the two girls walked hand in hand down the street, bathed in golden light.

"Miranda, what do you think? Should we make him with gray hair and golden eyes or with black hair and black eyes?"

"What do you think? I think both look great. But wouldn't the golden eyes be too flashy? After all, he's not that young anymore."

"I actually like him better with golden eyes—he looks like a young boy, full of innocence and spirit. The black-haired version is too low-key."

"Can't we have both?"

"Haha, well, that depends on his abilities."

Hoffa felt like he had been asleep for a long time, yet also just for a fleeting moment. Unlike his past dreams, those boiling and turbulent visions had finally calmed. No more tormenting desires, no more chaotic illusions. It was a deep, dreamless sleep—something he had never experienced before in all the long years. He wished this moment could last forever.

But no matter how sweet the slumber, there always comes a time to wake up.

And so, just like before, he awoke from an unknown, chaotic void.

In front of him, a transparent blue liquid bubbled and swirled. It was warm. He looked at his smooth hands, feeling that something was a bit off.

Then, he slowly surfaced from the liquid—only to find himself submerged, completely naked, in a massive cauldron.

Not far from the bubbling cauldron, a silver-haired girl stood by the window, grinding herbs with a mortar and pestle. She wore blue short shorts and a loose white shirt. Her long silver hair was twisted into a bun at the back of her head, giving her youthful face a touch of maturity. The cool sea breeze from the Leg Peninsula swayed the sheer curtains, brushing against her back. Sunlight, golden as molten gold, spilled across the floor.

As Hoffa was taking in the sight, the door suddenly swung open.

A chestnut-haired girl walked in, wearing a black jacket over a cropped black T-shirt, high-waisted biker shorts, and thick-soled Martin boots. Compared to the girl in his memories, she had taken off her glasses and now had black stud earrings, giving her a cooler, edgier look.

Miranda entered, carrying a tray of unknown herbs. But the moment she stepped inside, the tray clattered to the floor, scattering herbs everywhere.

Covering her mouth, she pointed at the cauldron in shock and excitement. "Look! Aglaea, he's awake!"

Aglaea turned her head and saw the boy emerging from the cauldron. Her blue eyes narrowed slightly as she propped her chin on her hand and smirked.

"Oh~ look who it is~ Hmm? The legendary Mr. Hoffa. This time, you're not getting away~"

Hoffa looked at the two girls and broke into a radiant smile.

(The End)

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