Chapter 91: Before Returning (Double-Length)

Boom!! 

A blasting curse erupted on Level 1.

At that moment, Edward's spiritual body swiftly passed through the floor, returning to the main hall on the first level.

BOOM! 

A powerful explosion shook the entire Ministry of Magic. Moments later, a group of terrified employees fled the building, screaming:

"Help! You-Know-Who! You-Know-Who is back!!!"

The Ministry descended into chaos.

Edward's soul re-entered his body, and after patiently waiting a few more minutes, he took advantage of the confusion to slip into an empty room. Then, with a quick Apparition, he arrived at Level 9.

Not a soul in sight—everyone must've run for their lives after hearing the news.

He hurried toward the room where the Time-Turners were stored and shoved the door open—

Empty.

Edward froze.

How could it be empty?

In the original story, the Time-Turners had always been stored here—at least until the chaotic battle in Order of the Phoenix when they were all destroyed.

No wonder that earlier divination said he wouldn't get a Time-Turner. But hadn't he just altered the result with "Madman to the Right"?

Just as he was thinking this, something caught his eye—a small shard of crystal-clear glass tucked at the bottom of a shelf. He rushed over and picked it up.

It looked like a leftover Time-Turner!

But before he could celebrate, he noticed the hourglass was shattered and the sand inside long gone.

"…."

Great, just great! 

Getting a broken Time-Turner still counts as getting one, right?

He took a deep breath.

"Forget it. At least today's mission is complete. Time to go."

Ignoring the Ministry's anti-Apparition spells, Edward's figure warped and reappeared in Diagon Alley. Then, using a pre-prepared Portkey, he returned to Hogwarts.

The moment he landed, he distinctly felt the potion inside his body digesting just a bit more.

———

"He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named Returns? Ministry of Magic Attacked"

The next morning, the headline splashed across the front page of the newspaper. The Great Hall was abuzz with excited chatter from students. Some whose parents worked at the Ministry whispered around, sharing bits of "exclusive inside info" they'd somehow picked up.

"You…you're even crazier than I thought," Audrey muttered quietly. "I thought you were just going to scare him a bit."

Edward shrugged. "If it were really Voldemort, he would've gone much further. At least I didn't kill anyone."

"That's true."

"Well, this time, the incident definitely caused a huge stir." She handed the paper to Edward.

According to the article, a group of Dark wizards attacked the Ministry yesterday afternoon. Minister Fudge led the Aurors in a valiant defence but was hit by multiple Dark curses. He remains unconscious in St. Mungo's, and the Ministry is currently in disarray.

Even at a time like this, Fudge still made sure to spin things to make himself look good. He really was born to be a politician.

Edward curled his lips in disdain, but then his gaze was caught by another report lower down the page:

Earlier, to better manage the Time-Turners, the Ministry, under Umbridge's leadership, had them transported to a secure location. However, the convoy was ambushed by Dark wizards en route. Three Aurors were killed on the spot, and the whereabouts of all Time-Turners are now unknown.

"So that's what Umbridge meant by 'helping'…she was transporting the Time-Turners?"

Seriously, what were they thinking? 

Why move them at all?

Fine, move them—then you even let them get robbed?! That's just pathetic. Now there's a whole batch of Time-Turners in the hands of Dark wizards. That's asking for disaster!

Edward rubbed his temples, recalling what Umbridge had said to Fudge: "Minister Fudge, it's all taken care of! Dumbledore won't be able to pull any tricks."

Could it be that Dumbledore had applied to use a Time-Turner, which made Fudge suspicious and led him to come up with this idiotic plan?

Bloody hell.

"OH!!!"

Just then, the Weasley twins burst in, faces full of glee.

"The Aurors have all left the Ministry!!"

"Fudge personally ordered them to guard him around the clock!"

"I declare—Hogwarts is free again!"

"Ohhhhhhh!!!"

The whole hall erupted in cheers.

Edward exchanged a smile with Audrey. That was certainly an unexpected bonus.

———

The following week, life returned to a state of calm.

Umbridge never came back. Rumour had it she was now "personally protecting" the Minister, but anyone with eyes could see she was just trying to freeload off the Aurors guarding Fudge.

Aside from classes, Edward started acting more like a professional astrologer, offering free divinations to the students.

He'd already visited the Forbidden Forest. Though most centaurs were hostile toward humans, with Hagrid's help, he found Firenze, a centaur friendly to mankind.

To be honest, centaur astrology and the world of mysteries' divination were two entirely different things. The former was more like a science, focused on "macro narratives"—centaurs believed human divination obsessed over trivial incidents that were meaningless in the grand scheme of the cosmos. To them, such events were as insignificant as ants and not influenced by planetary movement. So, they would observe but never reveal the outcomes.

But in the mystic world, divination was pure mysticism—it could truly predict specific, upcoming events.

Aside from acting as an astrologer, Edward and Audrey also scoured the Hogwarts library, but unfortunately, they didn't find any books with mystical texts. They even considered trying the "Monster Book of Monsters," but that thing was more of a magical creature than a book—it couldn't provide any usable powers.

Eventually, Edward suddenly remembered something he'd been overlooking. "If we're talking about books with Mystical abilities, I've had one all along."

He took out the Abraham family's notebook—the one that could record supernatural abilities.

Audrey blinked. "Oh—right! It records mystical powers, so it should work, right?"

Edward flipped through the notebook, then exchanged a look with Audrey. All the powers inside were shown through images, but [Silverfish] had clearly said it could only consume text.

Still, Edward gave it a try—and, unsurprisingly, failed.

"Ugh—don't tell me the Card of Blasphemy is the only way?"

He leaned back with a sigh of despair.

Just then, Neville walked up. "Hi, Edward. I heard you can use divination to help find lost items?"

———

Elsewhere, the fully recovered Weasley twins entered the Gryffindor common room carrying plates of food. Lee Jordan was chatting with some friends, letting out loud bursts of laughter.

George plopped down beside him with a mysterious grin. "Hey, did you hear? Edward learned astrology from a super powerful astrologer in the U.S. He's insanely accurate—can help find things, predict fortune, even foretell the future."

Fred chimed in, "Totally true! I just tried it this morning—found a quill I lost two years ago!"

Lee Jordan's eyes lit up. He quickly flipped open the newspaper and pointed to a column. 

"So… can he predict the outcome of the Ballycastle Bats vs. Puddlemere United match two weeks from now? Down to how many goals each team scores? Who gets the first goal? Who catches the Snitch?"

"Uh…"

The twins froze. Then, in perfect sync, they dropped their plates and bolted. 

"LEE! You're a genius!"

———

Edward, holding a star chart in one hand and a divination crystal in the other, stared at the boy in front of him with a tired expression. He sighed.

"Sigh—Neville, this is the fifth time today. You lost your Remembrall again?"

Neville shrank back and said timidly, "Not the Remembrall…my wand."

"Didn't I give you a pouch to keep your wand in?"

Neville looked down. "I lost the pouch too."

Edward rubbed his forehead. "Wait a sec."

He closed his eyes and reached inward to tap into his spirituality, beginning a dream divination. For someone like Neville, this was the most efficient way.

Repeat the question, fix it firmly in your mind and then let your astral body roam the spirit world within your dream for enlightenment!

Of course, there was no spirit world in the Harry Potter universe—but Edward could simulate it within his dreams, achieving the same effect.

Everything began to blur. Edward drifted between lucidity and haze.

In a warped, illusory world, he saw Neville in Potions class. He dropped his stirring rod and quickly bent to pick it up—but when he straightened up, he bumped his head on the table, causing his wand to fly out and roll into the gap at the wall. Then Snape yelled at him.

The vision fractured and changed. Neville entered the Charms classroom with his pouch. When Professor Flitwick asked everyone to draw their wands, he rummaged through the pouch and couldn't find it, so he just tossed the pouch aside.

Another shift. Neville began frantically searching for the pouch.

Edward opened his eyes and sat up from the dreamscape. Looking at the future Gryffindor swordmaster before him, he couldn't help but sigh. Just then, Harry and Ron passed by. He quickly waved them over.

"Ron, Harry."

He told them where to find Neville's wand and pouch. 

"Please take him there. Otherwise, I'm worried he'll end up losing himself next."

"No problem."

Ron agreed readily, while Harry hesitated for a moment before saying, "Ron, you go on ahead. I…I have some questions for Edward."

"What is it? Did you lose something too, or do you want to get a different kind of divination?"

"No, no, it's not that." 

He shook his head in denial, but immediately looked conflicted. "I did lose something…and I can't get it back. It was…the gun you gave me last time."

Ah, that revolver—the one that had struck Voldemort and was consumed in the uncontrollable Fiendfyre.

"I was wondering, I mean…" Harry looked a bit embarrassed. "Would you be able to give me another handgun? Not for free, of course! I can pay for it!"

Edward said, "Hm…Harry, do you know? Most regular firearms can't penetrate a wizard's Shield Charm. The reason that revolver could injure Voldemort was because the bullets it fired were rather special."

Harry's eyes widened in realisation. No wonder Ron hadn't believed him back then, accusing him of hallucinating out of fear.

"I still have some of those special bullets," Edward continued, "but I don't have a spare revolver at the moment. Still, I can promise to bring you one next time I return."

Truth be told, acquiring a revolver in the Muggle world wasn't particularly difficult. But Edward wasn't entirely certain whether the bullets imbued with mystical properties would function properly in a revolver from this world—especially in the hands of an eleven-year-old child.

Thinking about it now, he suddenly felt he had been a bit irresponsible before. He'd only been focused on giving Harry a way to defend himself against Voldemort, forgetting that, to Harry, even the gun alone was dangerous enough.

"All right," 

Harry nodded, but then quickly asked, "How much would it cost?"

"A revolver…three to five Galleons. The bullets are even more expensive."

"What? Then I should've paid you for the bullets you gave me before." 

When he wasn't overly emotional, Harry could be quite clever. He didn't doubt that those special bullets, which could wound Voldemort, were worth more than the gun itself.

"Eh, forget the last batch. I already told you they were a gift."

"No way!"

Edward had a sudden idea. He slung an arm around Harry's shoulder with a grin. "Hey, would you say we're friends?"

"I guess?"

"Then it's settled. Talking money between friends only ruins the mood. I help you, you help me—that's what true friendship is about."

Harry looked thoroughly confused.

"So don't bring up payment again! But! That doesn't mean it's completely free. If, in the future—and I do mean if—Professor Dumbledore returns certain belongings that once belonged to your father…would you let me borrow them for a while?"

"Sure!" 

He nodded without hesitation, then asked in confusion, "Huh? What kind of things?"

"Hmm…why don't you ask and find out?"

Still puzzled, Harry left. Not long after, the Weasley twins came running over, their faces full of excitement.

"Edward! From now on, you're our boss!"

"???"

The two spoke over one another, laying out their grand plan to make a fortune. Edward was left speechless. Seriously? I started offering free divinations to help digest potions and lend a little help to others…and you two took it as a business opportunity?

But since he'd chosen to play this role, it wouldn't do to quit halfway. After thinking for a moment, he said, "But my predictions…they're not always accurate."

"Too modest!" 

"We already saw your abilities yesterday! Compared to Professor Trelawney, you're way more suited to teach Divination!"

"Exactly!"

"…All right, I'll give it a try."

Edward pretended to study the star chart in front of him for a while, then closed his eyes in meditation. After a moment, his breathing suddenly quickened.

"I see it. I see the Ballycastle Bats being defeated by the Puddlemere United team. The Seeker from Puddlemere catches the Golden Snitch. Final score: 230 to 110."

Then his tone shifted. "But I must warn you—apart from the match result, I can't guarantee the exact score. Understand?"

"Understood!"

The twins eagerly jotted everything down, double-checked their notes with each other, and dashed off.

Edward instantly dropped the act and chuckled. "Rule number one of playing an astrologer: Divination is not all-powerful. Blind faith is worse than doubt. The Weasley twins will surely grasp this principle before I do—good luck, boys."

Of course, thanks to his trait [Genius on the Right], Edward's predictions were immune to interference or distortion. That gave him a considerable advantage over ordinary astrologers. Still, when it came to divining high-level beings, he would often get "no result".

He opened his notebook and jotted beneath the first rule:

"Rule Two: Astrologers must rely on communion with their own spirituality to conduct divination. The process is more about forming a sense of intuition—an enhanced perception of fortune and danger. This makes potion digestion slower than directly helping others through divination. However, it is still necessary to read for others to gain identity resonance and lighten the spiritual load."

After a brief pause in thought, he added:

"Rule Three: According to Rule Two, if an astrologer successfully reverses a foretold outcome (e.g., predicting danger but averting it), potion digestion accelerates significantly." 

—He added a large question mark at the end, indicating the idea was still unverified.

Rule Two had come from dozens of readings he'd conducted over the past few days.

Rule Three stemmed from Audrey's recent brush with danger—but with only one case, the data wasn't enough to draw a firm conclusion.

And then there was the final rule—

"Although astrologers can use various divination methods to aid digestion, they can never truly abandon astrology. Sole reliance on other methods likely won't suffice for full potion digestion."

But astrology was such a hassle to use…

"Meow~"

Lilith padded lightly across the table, her fluffy tail brushing across Edward's cheek, tickling him.

"Edward."

Audrey sat across from him, a mischievous smile on her face. "Did you hear? Professor Trelawney says she wants to challenge you in public to defend her honour as a Seer."

Edward shrugged. "I heard. The Weasley twins had quite the role in that. In fact, the challenge has already begun."

"Huh?"

"This morning, Professor Trelawney publicly announced, after consulting the stars, tea leaves, Tarot, and a dozen other methods, that I'm destined to suffer a terrible fate—possibly falling off a broomstick, being bitten by a werewolf, hit by the Killing Curse, struck by a train, or even thrown into Azkaban…"

"Pfft! That's quite the laundry list of disasters. So what did you do—curse her back with something worse?"

Edward flipped a coin between his fingers and smiled. "Nope. I predicted that she would get drunk before her afternoon class today and fall asleep until noon tomorrow."

"What?"

Audrey blinked. "Aren't you worried she'll stubbornly avoid drinking today?"

He grinned slyly. "Then I'll make sure she does get drunk."

"??? Is…is that still considered divination?"

Edward shrugged. "Divination is about foreseeing a future outcome. That outcome can change—but just like others can try to change it, I can make sure it doesn't."

Audrey puffed out her cheeks in disappointment. "Suddenly, divination doesn't feel so mysterious anymore."

"Heh, you've seemed kind of idle these last couple of days."

Audrey leaned unladylike over the desk, resting her chin on the surface. "Yeah…we found the Chamber of Secrets, heard the secret…I'm still curious about that mystery, but we have no leads, right?"

The two of them had spent days studying the Resurrection Stone with no results. Edward was beginning to suspect that maybe the real key was to gather all three Deathly Hallows first.

She stared blankly ahead. "Now it's just class after class every day. I was hoping to see you battle Trelawney in a real divination duel."

"Well, how about this—wanna go on another outing this weekend? This world has around two hundred countries, all with different cultures and landscapes. Plenty for you to explore."

"Hmm…that sounds nice."

She paused, then suddenly said in awkward Mandarin, "In…some country…do people…speak this…language?"

"…What?"

She blinked slowly, then said seriously, "I want to see your real homeland."

"This is my home—"

"Don't lie to a Spectator. It won't work."

Edward sighed, defeated, and flicked her forehead. "Girl, if you keep this up, you'll have no friends left."

Audrey shrugged, totally unfazed. "Isn't that what you're here for? Anyway, don't change the subject!"

Seeing the anticipation in her eyes, Edward could only nod. "Fine, I'll take you to see it sometime."

China in the 90s, huh? 

I'm actually kind of curious too. I wasn't even born back then.

"Miss Lilith wants to go too."

Lilith mewed softly, lifting her chin proudly.

"Sure, sure. We'll all go."

———

That afternoon, class had just ended when news spread like wildfire: Professor Trelawney had passed out drunk in the middle of her lesson and was now snoring away in front of the entire class.

Led by the Weasley twins, a group of mischievous students charged into the Great Hall. They rushed toward Edward and, with a coordinated effort, hoisted him into the air while shouting at the top of their lungs, "We hereby declare the results of the Divination Duel! The undisputed winner is our all-knowing, all-seeing, great prophet, diviner, astrologer—Mr. Edward!"

"Wooooahhh!"

Cheers and laughter erupted from the crowd.

Edward stared speechlessly at the twins, silently chanting in his heart: Let's see if you two are still this happy when the Quidditch results come out.

The commotion in the hall quickly attracted Professor McGonagall. She arrived with a stern expression and barked at everyone to disperse immediately.

Professor Snape might be the most disliked professor at Hogwarts (thanks to Umbridge, who later took over that title), but the one they feared the most was undoubtedly Professor McGonagall. At her command, the rowdy crowd scattered in an instant, leaving Edward alone to face the fuming professor.

"Sorry, Professor McGonagall. They were just messing around."

"Come with me, Mr. Edward."

McGonagall turned sharply and led the way, Edward following obediently behind.

Once they reached a quiet, secluded corridor, she slowed her pace. Several times she glanced at Edward, clearly hesitating over something.

"Professor McGonagall," Edward asked gently, "is there something you want to ask me?"

"Oh, forgive me." She came to a stop and spoke slowly, "I wanted to know...do you truly understand Divination?"

"Hmm, I know a thing or two."

"Then…"

After another moment of inner struggle, she finally asked in a low, serious tone, "Can you foresee…whether something terrible, like what happened before, will occur again at Hogwarts in the near future?"

Edward paused to think. "Professor, Divination isn't pure guesswork. It requires certain known variables as a basis, and besides, it's difficult for me to predict things that far into the future. In that regard, I must admit I'm not as skilled as Professor Trelawney."

"Oh, don't mention her."

McGonagall rubbed her temples and muttered, "She's never made a correct prediction in her life, except maybe when trying to con me out of some sherry."

"Pardon?"

"Nothing…anyway, if it's too far ahead to divine, what about, say, something happening three days from now?"

"You mean…?"

She coughed and looked away. "Cough—like the outcome of the Ballycastle Bats versus Puddlemere United match, for instance."

"???"

"I-I'm just curious."

And with that, she turned and walked away briskly—no, fled.

Edward called after her, "The Ballycastle Bats will win, Professor."

Her step faltered mid-stride, and she hurried off even faster.

"Heh…a mature cat-lady, and yet still so fond of betting."

———

A few days later.

Edward had just stepped out of the Hufflepuff common room when the Weasley twins stormed up to him, eyes red.

"EDWARD!!!"

One grabbed his neck, the other locked his arm. "The match yesterday wasn't anything like you said! We put all our savings into it—every single Knut! It's all gone! All of it!"

"Give it back! Give us our money!"

Edward struggled free and sighed, "But I did tell you my divination wasn't 100% accurate. I even specifically warned you—apart from the match result, I couldn't guarantee anything else. And technically, the Ballycastle Bats did win, didn't they? You two must've ignored that part."

The twins looked at each other, then lunged again. "No!!!"

—Of course, they hadn't just bet on the winner. The odds were too low. They'd gone all in on the exact score.

Off to the side, Audrey was snickering. In truth, Edward had also bet all his Galleons on the match—and managed to multiply his assets several times over.

"Ahem."

Professor McGonagall appeared beside them. "Mr. Weasley, Mr. Weasley, what is this commotion about now?"

"Professor, we—"

"That's enough. Stop blocking the hallway. Off you go."

"…Yes, ma'am."

The two trudged away, glancing back with every step.

McGonagall turned to Edward and said, "I hear you've recently been looking for an Undetectable Extension Charmed item with a particularly large internal space?"

"Yes, Professor."

This was to prepare for bringing Audrey's dragon, Anna, back with them. While the original suitcase was technically big enough, the dragon could barely turn around in it. Edward had even tried expanding the space further, but once it hit a certain volume, it became incredibly difficult—who knew how Newt had managed to charm his suitcase? If this were the cultivation world, the man would definitely be the kind of figure who would have a supreme grade blessed land hahaha~.

McGonagall handed him a small, elegant suitcase. "I had this one in my private collection. The internal space should be sufficient."

Edward was taken aback and waved his hands frantically. "Professor, this is far too precious. I can't accept it."

Her face turned stern. "This is a gift from an elder. Take it."

She pushed the suitcase into his arms and turned to leave. After a few steps, she glanced back.

"Thank you…for the tip three days ago."

Only then did Edward realise—so the cat-lady had cashed in big this time!

———

[Note]: While we fell short of our powerstone goal by a bit, I am not so stingy! Here's the Extra Chapter. Enjoy. But this is the last time.

If we reach 460 Powerstones by tomorrow, I'll post the Extra Chapter. So, Go VOTE!

Oh, and if you are like me and want to read 40 Chapters in advance of the current story right now, you can support me on my Patreon. Trust me, it's better than a candyland! Hahaha~

Link - (P)atre(o)n.c(o)m/ Iseeblack [Remove the brackets]