The next day, Felix appeared at the Citadel. He occupied a spacious laboratory alone, standing on makeshift wooden steps, observing a ten-foot-tall magical puppet. This towering puppet was selected by him as one of the Citadel's defense forces, ready to step forward and protect everyone in case of sudden danger.
The design concept resembled the puppets Felix had used for teaching at Hogwarts before, but it was undoubtedly more complex, with enhanced protective measures. Felix also attempted to imbue them with some intelligence. He had done something similar a long time ago, and to this day, a troupe of magical puppet versions was still kept within his ring.
But assigning them the duty of guarding would require precise instructions. Any oversight could lead to malfunction during battle, or worse, confusion between friend and foe... These were all considerations that needed to be accounted for in advance.
Close to noon, Clementine hurriedly entered, extremely surprised, "Dumbledore, Dumbledore is here!"
Felix raised his head in astonishment.
Outside the Citadel,
"Felix, I hope you can accompany me to the Ministry of Magic," Dumbledore said gravely, "to the Department of Mysteries."
As they reappeared, they had arrived at the guest entrance of the Ministry of Magic. With a creaking sound, a red telephone booth descended slowly. Felix couldn't help but ask, "What's going on?"
"Amelia found two prophecies. I nearly guessed one of them and wanted you to know," Dumbledore said succinctly.
Department of Mysteries, Hall of Prophecies.
As high as a school hall but not as spacious due to rows of towering shelves filled with dusty prophecy orbs, resembling a rather peculiar library. Except for Felix, Dumbledore, and Madame Bones, everyone else had been temporarily expelled. Sirius, quite reluctantly, stood guard at the door with two other Aurors.
"About fifteen years ago, you should have heard of a prophecy?" Madame Bones asked.
Dumbledore hesitated for a moment, then nodded slightly, saying, "Yes."
"Is this it?" Madame Bones pointed to a dusty shelf, and Dumbledore leaned down, staring at a small glass orb on the shelf, covered in dust, faintly glowing like a firefly.
Felix's peripheral vision glanced to the other side, where a prophecy closely related to him rested. Despite numerous speculations, he couldn't grasp the whole picture. The crucial information was too vague, leaving room for multiple interpretations.
After studying for a while, he pushed the prophecy aside.
Felix shifted his focus to Dumbledore, who was reading the faded label under the glass orb. It displayed a date approximately fifteen years ago, followed by a string of abbreviated letters:
S.P.TtoA.P.W.B.D
Beside the letters, handwritten annotations were scribbled hastily: "The Dark Lord and (?) Harry Potter."
"This should be it," Dumbledore sighed. He straightened up, politely asking, "May I?"
Madame Bones gestured, "All protective enchantments have been lifted."
Dumbledore swiftly reached for the prophecy orb, pausing upon contact before gripping it. He closed his eyes slightly, utterly still. After a moment, as if waking from a dream, he delicately placed the prophecy orb back.
"Perhaps I made a mistake," Dumbledore suddenly said. "My actions—allowing Sybill into Hogwarts to teach—might have triggered the prophecy. Consider this, a loyal servant tells Voldemort what he heard in hopes that his master could alter
his fate. However, he only heard the initial sentences, so Voldemort isn't entirely aware of the risks he's taking. Moreover—frankly speaking, Voldemort is extremely wary of me. He might have confirmed the prophecy's credibility through my actions."
But the fact remains that no one can accurately predict what will happen the next day, let alone a much more distant future; just as you can't expect flawless saints to exist in reality, neither of these is plausible.
"There's another prophecy," Madame Bones said after a pause.
She led the two to a shelf, and as Felix approached, he felt increasingly uneasy. As they drew closer, Dumbledore revealed a stunned expression, hurrying past multiple shelves before halting, gazing at a brand-new label. It clearly read:
S.P.TtoH.J.P. (Pending Verification)
Dumbledore carefully examined the label's date, pondered briefly, and came to a clear conclusion: the prophecy occurred at the end of the previous school year's exams. The two people involved at the time, the abbreviated names of the diviner remained the same—Sybill Trelawney. And the other name he knew very well—
"Harry James Potter," Madame Bones said, "That should be the child's full name. I confirmed it with Sirius."
"I believe this prophecy should mention me," Dumbledore said, his eyes sparkling in his azure gaze.
"It might mention me too," Felix said slowly, adding, "It feels familiar."
"Though this prophecy hasn't received as much attention as the first one and isn't protected by heavy curses, in reality—" I went through Bode's notes," Madame Bones took a deep breath, her eyes widening, "It might be the most unique in the entire Hall of Prophecies."
"Why do you say that?" Felix asked with interest.
"Because not only do you two feel its differences, but I do too. This isn't a coincidence; anyone attempting to approach it will experience a warm, familiar feeling. This suggests..."
"The range of people covered by the prophecy is extensive," Felix realized.
"Exactly," Madame Bones agreed. "I guess it might relate to the first two sentences. It's best if you both take a look."
After a while, Dumbledore calmly handed the prophecy orb to Felix, then sank into contemplation.
Although Felix had known about this prophecy for a while, he listened again. "A thousand-year upheaval, a legendary drama unfolds. The clown returns on the drumbeat, the warrior stands ready, the lion grows old, the phoenix rises from the ashes—Time! Time!"
"A thousand-year upheaval, a legendary drama..." Dumbledore murmured softly. "So, we are all actors on the stage, and this prophecy heralds an entire era."
That's all for today; I realized there was an issue halfway through and deleted a small section of the plot...
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