Chapter 289: You really are a prophet

"The Reviving Potion is a complex potion. Perhaps when I was brewing it for you, the proportions of the ingredients were slightly off, leading to this mutation..." Murphy didn't even blink as he spun his tale.

"Alright." Lucas nodded, though he didn't dwell on it too much.

Being able to be revived, to possess a living body, and to truly feel this world—she was already very happy. As for being male or female, she didn't particularly care.

She wasn't planning on falling in love anyway.

This female body was currently a bit weak, but that was likely mostly due to having just been revived; as long as she exercised, it wouldn't affect anything.

More importantly, as a wizard, he wouldn't become weaker just because he had turned into a girl.

"Professor, is this laboratory yours?" Lucas asked.

They were currently touring the Magical Plant Laboratory; in the massive glass greenhouse, a cobra lily was flicking its tongue at her.

"Yes," Murphy said, "it counts as an attempt of mine. An attempt to explore the future path for wizards and Muggles."

Lucas looked at Murphy steadily with a pair of deep blue eyes. "Professor, I want to tell you some things. They will sound bizarre, but I hope you can hear me out."

Then, Lucas recounted how he had once been Tom Riddle, later became a diary, was subsequently picked up by someone from the year 2077, heard of the miserable state of wizards in that era, and was then sent back to the present, becoming Lucas, utilized by the diary as a tool for resurrection, and finally, through a twist of fate, becoming a girl.

Hearing the story he himself had orchestrated from the other person's mouth, Murphy almost lost his composure, but he managed to hold it together.

"Come to think of it, I haven't asked you yet: why did you revive me?" Lucas asked. "Did you know about my body's condition all along?"

"I had some suspicions from the moment I treated your wounds," Murphy said. "Later, after you came to me using the Portkey, I used Legilimency on Quirrell and learned of your situation. It just so happened that I had the Immortality Potion on hand, so I revived you. After all, I couldn't just watch my own student die, could I?"

"Thank you, Professor," Lucas said. "Then, Professor, do you believe these stories I told?"

"They are indeed bizarre, but not necessarily impossible," Murphy said. "After all, this is a world with magic; no matter what happens, it wouldn't be considered strange."

"Actually, I still have some doubts in my heart," Lucas said, "but I am more worried that it will become reality. That future is too cruel for wizards. Professor, do you think wizards really cannot defeat Muggles?"

"It's difficult," Murphy said. "We can quietly control Muggle leaders, we can manipulate a country, but these are all under the premise that we do not expose ourselves. Once we must engage in a full-scale war with Muggles, I almost see no possibility of a wizard victory."

"On one hand, although our magic is miraculous, it isn't that easy to use for warfare. On the other hand, Muggles are truly too skilled at war. In this regard, they likely have hundreds of times more experience than us... It is very difficult to erase such a huge gap in experience and strength by relying on one or two types of miraculous magic."

"But what you are doing now seems to be exposing magic to Muggles," Lucas said, confused. "Doesn't this make our already scarce advantages disappear completely?"

"We didn't have any advantages to begin with. The only way for us to survive is to avoid war," Murphy said.

"In fact, before you told me all this, I had already thought a lot about the future of wizards and Muggles."

"The path of confrontation is a dead end."

"The path of hiding is likewise a dead end."

"The only viable path is coexistence."

"We must learn to coexist with Muggles," Murphy said.

"This planet is large enough for both wizards and Muggles to survive, and this planet is also small enough that it cannot contain two hostile groups."

"And exchange and communication are the only ways to avoid the creation of hostility."

"We must understand Muggles, and we must also let Muggles understand us," Murphy said. "And this laboratory is one such attempt."

"I said the same thing to Professor Dumbledore, but unfortunately, he didn't seem to understand. What about you, Lucas? Can you understand your teacher's words?"

Lucas nodded. "I can. You really are a prophet. I am now absolutely certain of this!"

"Lucas let me return to the present, it must have been to meet you. Only you can prevent that future from happening."

Uh... well, alright.

"Then, what can I do? Teacher?" Lucas asked.

Murphy thought for a moment.

He kept Lucas because he valued her talent, and there would definitely be a use for her in the future, but for now, she didn't need to step out yet.

"Study. First, you should learn everything about Muggles—their knowledge, their thoughts, their science. There are many books here, and many of the smartest scientists; you should be able to gain a lot."

Leaving the Magic Research Institute, Murphy went to see the Watcher Commander—Winston Robinson.

This former classmate who had once made chips for him was now one of the most powerful figures in the Ministry of Magic, and the inspection force Murphy used to purge the Ministry was directly led by Winston.

"The screening of personnel in most important positions at the Ministry of Magic has been completed. There aren't many true Death Eaters, but some people have Death Eater backgrounds in their families, and others have done shady things behind the scenes. We have now obtained leverage on some people and can move against them at any time."

"How many of Dumbledore's people were found?" Murphy asked.

"Not many. Apart from Arthur Weasley and a few others you mentioned who were already die-hard supporters of Dumbledore, most people are not directly loyal to him. In fact, Dumbledore doesn't have anything that can attract them."

"Justice and dedication can only attract the small handful of the most upright people, and such people often don't climb to very high positions."

Murphy smiled. "Then our Ministry of Magic is truly rotten to the core."

"Yes, rotten to the core," Winston also laughed. "Those in power are just a bunch of sycophants. However, it is precisely such people who are easy to control."

"Transfer all those Dumbledore people to idle departments. As for Arthur..." Murphy thought for a moment. "Forget it, he's already in an idle office. Just make sure they don't come into contact with confidential matters in the future."

"Formulate a complete system of job responsibilities to exclude them from important affairs. Also, use this system to keep those opportunists on a leash."

"We don't need to use perfect people; it is enough to simply make them qualified tools."

"Of course, everyone must sign a new employment agreement."

The kind with the Soul Seed version.

(End of chapter)