bacchusnovels Chapter 249 The Stranger
Chapter 249 The Stranger
Chapter 249 The Stranger
When Luna finally managed to tidy her clothes in a flurry, her cheeks flushed, she shyly and cautiously crawled out of bed.
This process took about five minutes without anyone noticing.
Luna before and after drinking are completely different people; the change is astonishing.
When she's not under the influence of alcohol, she's like a quirky, mischievous girl, full of whimsical ideas, and her behavior is often unpredictable, with a touch of elusive playfulness.
Faced with such an embarrassing encounter, she would feel shy and helpless, just like a normal girl.
However, once she gets drunk, Luna's personality undergoes a dramatic change.
So... when he saw Luna in that state, Sean instinctively wanted to go to the kitchen to get her some wine, to help her quickly get out of this awkward situation and forget what had just happened.
However, upon thinking of Xenophilius who had just left, Sean abandoned this slightly risky plan.
"Luna," Sean said slowly, "shouldn't you go back?"
Luna was stunned for a moment when she heard Sean's words, before she came to her senses.
But soon, she seemed to have caught some key words.
The blush on her face slowly dissipated like morning mist, and before long, her skin returned to its usual fair complexion.
"Hack...are you leaving?" she asked softly, her voice trembling slightly.
"Yes, Luna," Sean's tone softened considerably at the mention of this, "I have to go. There are many things... waiting for me."
Luna lowered her head, her long eyelashes trembling slightly.
She gently rubbed the hem of her clothes with her fingers, and after a while she raised her head and forced a smile.
"I know, Huck, you have more important things to do. I'm just... just a little reluctant to leave." Luna's voice was barely audible.
"I'll really miss you, Luna," Sean gently ruffled her hair. "We've spent so much time together, and now we suddenly have to part ways... I'm really sad."
Luna's eyes gradually welled up with tears. She nodded vigorously. "I'll miss you, Hack."
As she spoke, she stepped forward and gently hugged Sean.
The two leaned against each other, and after an unknown amount of time...
After Luna left.
Sean stared at the empty ceiling.
He recalled his conversation with Lily that afternoon.
"What era do you come from? The 13th century? The 14th century? The 15th century? Or... from the future?"
Lily's tone was confident at the time.
Without a doubt, Sean subconsciously understood the reason behind all of this.
"You too?" he asked in return.
"How about we find somewhere to talk?"
Sean nodded, agreeing with Lily's suggestion.
The two found a cafe on a street corner in London that looked empty and actually wasn't very crowded.
They chose a window seat, where they could see the sparse pedestrians and occasional passing vehicles through the half-open curtains.
Soft jazz music plays in the café, creating an atmosphere where time seems to stand still.
Lily spoke first, and her voice sounded completely different from before.
In fact, his speculation was confirmed after she spoke.
"Let me introduce myself. My name is Weiwei, and I'm from..."
"Wait a minute," Sean interrupted Lily, somewhat confused. "Aren't you called Lily?"
"That's my sister," Lily said simply and directly.
"You mean... you have a dual personality?" Sean asked incredulously.
A complex emotion flashed in Lily's, or rather Vivi's, eyes. "If this vocabulary helps you understand and with the conversation that follows, then that's what I mean."
The concept of dual personality existed as early as the 18th century.
Vivi didn't seem to care at all when she saw Sean's blank look.
She continued talking to herself.
"I come from the 13th century, and like you, I am a time traveler."
The 13th century?!
Sean's ears twitched slightly as he caught the key words.
But... isn't that year a bit too far back?
For a moment, Sean thought the other person was lying.
Vivi didn't notice Sean's confusion, or rather, even if she did, she didn't care. "I was originally a witch in the 13th century. By accident, I obtained a pocket watch that could travel through time."
"I've been using this pocket watch for various purposes, but one day it disappeared, and I ended up here with it."
As she spoke, Vivi gently stirred the spoon in her coffee cup with an elegant and composed movement.
"At first, I thought I was just having a dream, or that I was hallucinating."
"But as time went on, I gradually realized that I might have really come into a completely different era."
After taking a sip of coffee, Vivi turned her gaze to him.
"And... what about you, Mr. Huck?"
"Me?" Sean thought for a moment and answered cautiously, "My situation is similar to yours... except that I'm from a more recent era."
Vivi gave a knowing look, "I knew it."
"Why would you say that?" Sean asked, slightly curious.
"A change in magical power," Vivi replied succinctly. "Only someone like you, from the future, could undergo such a transformation."
"As for someone like me who travels from hundreds of years into the future, my magic will be normal at first, but as time goes by, my magic will gradually disappear, and I will eventually become a complete Muggle."
"So, our magic is changing in opposite directions?"
Weiwei nodded.
After a while, she added, "Based on my speculation, for example, if you come from ten years in the future, then over those ten years, your magic will gradually recover until, when you arrive ten years later, your magic will have reached the level it was at then..."
"Where did these speculations come from?" Sean asked again. "Could it be that you've encountered other time travelers besides me?"
This time, Vivi did not give an answer.
She stared intently at Sean, a look that made him feel uneasy.
"You're not suggesting that these speculations just came about at St. Mungo's Hospital, are you?" Sean looked at Vivi with a hint of suspicion.
Feeling Sean's scrutinizing gaze, Vivi lowered her head somewhat embarrassed.
Her fingers gently traced the rim of the coffee cup, as if searching for the right words.
"Actually..." Vivi finally spoke, her voice tinged with hesitation and embarrassment. She blushed, a rare occurrence for her, as if the words to come were difficult to utter. "You are the first time traveler I've met who measures time in years."
She quickly assured them, "However, I can assure you of my guesses, even though they may sound a bit unbelievable, but believe me, I have my reasons."
Sean looked at Vivi's serious expression, though he still felt a little uneasy.
"So what do you want from me?" Sean suddenly asked, his tone tinged with wariness.
One doesn't visit the temple without a reason.
There is no hatred without a cause, no love without a cause, and no honesty without a cause.
Vivi took a deep breath and mustered her courage to say, "I want to get the pocket watch back through your attempt."
Upon hearing this, Sean frowned slightly.
Looking at Weiwei's nervous yet expectant eyes, he seemed to realize something.
"You must have a pocket watch too, right?" Vivi's voice carried a hint of pleading.
Her eyes were fixed on Sean, hoping for a positive answer.
She really wanted to go back to her home.
She hasn't been back for... a very, very long time.
Time is like an endless river, separating her from that once warm harbor far, far away.
She missed that familiar place, the people who had been with her, and those ordinary yet heartwarming days.
I miss... my three older brothers.
If, if I could give her another chance to start over.
She would absolutely, positively not touch the pocket watch that caused all the tragedy, and she would absolutely not allow herself to be caught in this vortex of time and space.
How cruel this is!
Everything she once possessed is now just a fragment of history.
But she became a stranger in a foreign land, unable to return.
Sean shook his head.
The pocket watch disappeared after he finished using it.
When he woke up again, he specifically asked Pandora, who had taken him in.
Ask her if she has ever seen the pocket watch near her.
The answer is: No.
As Sean gently shook his head, Vivi's heart sank to the bottom of the sea.
However, she quickly cheered up again.
He had imagined this outcome countless times, hadn't he?
After calming herself down, Weiwei slowly said, "I want you to get me a pocket watch."
"What, you know?" Sean raised an eyebrow slightly.
Vivi nodded. "I have...some clues..."
Her eyes flickered, as if she were recalling something, but quickly returned to normal. "However, I need your help." "Why are you looking for me?" Sean asked, puzzled.
He didn't understand why he had become Vivi's choice.
Vivi looked at Sean with a strange trust in her eyes.
"I only trust you, who have gone through similar experiences to me."
She paused, as if considering her words, "Fate's choice to bring you into my life at this time has its own profound meaning."
Sean felt that this wasn't Vivi's real reason.
Compared to her sister Lily, she was far less adept at lying.
Could I be... the only person she can contact right now?
If that's the case, has she really fared so poorly all these years? That shouldn't be...right?
The atmosphere suddenly became quiet.
Sean's silence was like the last straw that broke the camel's back for Vivi.
Just as Vivi was about to say something, Sean spoke up.
He spoke very frankly.
What benefits will I get?
Upon hearing this question, Weiwei's eyes flickered slightly. She pursed her lips, as if she had made up her mind, and spoke slowly and deliberately.
"The Deathly Hallows".
"??!!"
Sean looked up at Vivi with an expression that said, "Are you kidding me?"
The Deathly Hallows are from the Tales of Beedle the Bard.
Once upon a time, there were three brothers traveling along a secluded, winding path. It was nearly dusk (or midnight).
As they walked, they came to a river. The water was too deep to cross, and swimming across would be too dangerous.
However, the three brothers were skilled in magic, and with a wave of their wands, a bridge appeared over the treacherous waters.
As they reached the middle of the bridge, a hooded figure blocked their path. Death spoke to them. Death was angry; he had lost three new sacrifices—for travelers usually drowned in this river.
But death is cunning.
He pretended to congratulate the three brothers on their magic, saying that they had cleverly escaped death and each of them would receive a reward.
The eldest brother is a warlike man, and what he wants is the most powerful magic wand in the world: a magic wand that can always help its master win in duels, a magic wand that a wizard who has conquered death deserves to possess!
Death walked to an elder tree on the shore, made a wand from a hanging branch, and gave it to the eldest brother.
The second son was an arrogant man who decided to continue humiliating Death, wanting the ability to resurrect the dead.
Death picked up a stone from the shore and gave it to the second son, telling him that the stone had the power to bring the dead back to life.
Then Death asked the youngest of the three what he wanted.
The third brother was the most humble and the smartest, and he didn't believe in death.
Therefore, he wanted something that would allow him to go anywhere without Death being able to find him.
Death reluctantly gave him his invisibility cloak.
Then Death stood aside and told the three brothers to continue on their way. They talked about their wonderful experience and praised Death's gift as they walked on.
Later, the three brothers parted ways and headed towards their respective destinations.
The eldest brother left for more than a week. He arrived at a remote mountain village and got into an argument with a wizard.
Naturally, he would undoubtedly win the duel by using the Elder Wand made of elderwood as his weapon.
After his opponent fell dead, he continued on his way and entered a small tavern, loudly boasting about how invincible his powerful wand, which he had obtained from the hands of Death, was.
That very night, after the eldest brother had gotten completely drunk, another wizard sneaked up to his bedside, stole his wand, and slit his throat.
And so, death took the leader's life.
Meanwhile, the second son returned to his home where he lived alone, took out the stone that could bring the dead back to life, and spun it in his hand three times. To his surprise and delight, the girl he wanted to marry but who had unfortunately died young immediately appeared in front of him.
But she was sorrowful and indifferent, as if a veil separated them. Although she returned to the human world, she didn't truly belong there; she was in great pain. In the end, the second son, tormented by hopeless longing, went mad and committed suicide so that he could truly be with her.
And so, death took the life of the second son.
However, Death searched for the third brother for many years but never found him.
The third son lived to a very old age before finally taking off his invisibility cloak, handing it to his son, and then welcoming death as if meeting an old friend. He happily left the world with his son as an equal.
These three legendary items together constitute the Deathly Hallows.
According to legend, whoever possesses all the Deathly Hallows is the master of Death.
However, as far as Sean knows...
These three items are in different places.
The Elder Wand and the Cloak of Death were both in Dumbledore's possession at this time, while the Resurrection Stone was in Gaunt's ring, as an accessory to Voldemort's Horcrux in the ancestral house.
As Sean was pondering, Vivi slowly spoke.
"My real name is Wesley Peverell..."
?
The next morning, sunlight streamed lazily through the gaps in the curtains and onto Sean and Lovegood’s breakfast table.
The table was set with a variety of breakfast items: freshly baked bread wafted an enticing aroma, steaming oatmeal porridge was topped with a few crisp apple slices, and there were cups of freshly brewed honey lemon black tea, rich coffee, and refreshing juice.
Sean sat at the table, wearing a comfortable cotton shirt, his hair slightly messy.
Clearly, the successive night raids by Lovegood and his daughter last night had some impact on his sleep quality.
Despite this, he still wore a smile as he was about to leave in a few days, clearly appreciating this rare family atmosphere.
Xenophilius noticed Sean's slightly tired expression.
He smiled apologetically and said, "I'm sorry, Mr. Huck, I disturbed your sweet dreams last night."
Sean shook his head, indicating that it was unimportant.
Pandora noticed her daughter Luna's unusual behavior.
Luna sat at one corner of the dining table, her usually curious and energetic eyes now appearing somewhat dull. She occasionally looked up at Sean, then quickly looked down again, as if she had something on her mind.
Pandora gently walked over to Luna, sat down, and tenderly stroked her hair. "Luna, what's wrong? You seem a little unhappy."
Luna shook her head but didn't say anything.
Still struggling with that damn bacon and eggs.
Breakfast was quickly spent in this strange atmosphere...