Chapter 141: The Gift of Time

"That's not hard to understand…" Past Zhang Qiu paused thoughtfully, "I originally planned to do the same."

"What?" Neville asked in surprise.

"Because the progress isn't enough," she explained vaguely. "The events of third year deviated too far from the divination. I had to come back to second year and see if I could dig deeper. Simply put, I want to witness every attack on the Chamber firsthand."

"Witness?" Neville hesitated. "I thought maybe we could try to stop them."

"Don't try to change history—you'll draw the Hound's attention," Future Zhang Qiu said seriously.

"Actually, you still don't understand what I'm doing," Past Zhang Qiu slowly wiped the blood from her sword. "I came back to first year to witness the Dark Wizard's attack on the unicorn—but the Dark Wizard never showed up."

Harry pressed a hand over his mouth beneath the Invisibility Cloak, unwilling to believe it.

"So I attacked the unicorn myself," Past Zhang Qiu said casually, as if it were a trivial matter.

"That means the first-year me saw the unicorn lying in a pool of blood in the Forbidden Forest," Neville mused. "Not a riddle hinted at by Dumbledore—but someone really did attack it. And the killer was you, the third-year Zhang Qiu?"

"What does Dumbledore have to do with this?" Zhang Qiu tilted her head. "He's just a naive old man, clueless about the grim reality, blindly optimistic."

Harry found this Zhang Qiu sitting beneath the tree utterly alien—by her own words, perhaps somewhat "darkened."

"So now you understand?" Past Zhang Qiu rose slowly, as Neville stared in confusion. "I'm not just here to witness the attacks—if they don't happen, I'll carry them out myself."

"It can't be that serious. What's your reason?"

"To correct fate, to gain the Gift of Time, and help Harry survive the life-or-death crisis in fourth year," Past Zhang Qiu said earnestly. "I think I'm beginning to understand what the Gift of Time truly is."

"Correct. Now let me explain the Will of Time," Future Zhang Qiu pulled out her notebook. "Including what the black dog named Tyndalos Hound really is, and what travelers must watch out for."

"Wait, I need to take notes too," Past Zhang Qiu pulled out her own notebook. "That way, when I come back again, I won't get it wrong."

"Take Neville as an example—I think you're wandering aimlessly," Future Zhang Qiu patted Neville's shoulder. "You still want to change history, but you're too afraid to actually do it?"

"Uh, yeah," Neville scratched his head sheepishly. "I vaguely feel changing history might be dangerous, but it's such a rare chance to return to the past—doing nothing feels like a waste."

"Time itself permits wizards to travel," Future Zhang Qiu said. "That means we can freely return to the past to gather information, retake missed lessons, investigate hidden truths, or simply find a quiet place to rest and enjoy our own time."—This was also Dr.'s consistent principle. "But if you do something you shouldn't—like trying to alter the past, meeting your past self, or creating strange paradoxes—you'll invite misfortune. You might die in some terrible accident."

"So the Tyndalos Hound is a warning?" Past Zhang Qiu asked. "Those who saw the ominous black dog and died of misfortune—did they trigger paradoxes during time travel?"

"Exactly. These hounds are essentially Time's messengers—but there's still a way out," Future Zhang Qiu said. "Stop time travel immediately, and hide quietly somewhere no one knows about—until time flows back to before your journey."

"For us," she sighed, spreading her hands, "we'd have to hide until the end of third year."

"When did you come back?" Past Zhang Qiu asked. "Instead of two Zhang Qius hiding in different places, wouldn't it be simpler if one Zhang Qiu just found a place to hide alone?"

"During the summer of first year," Future Zhang Qiu said. "I decided to hide in the Chamber."

"Why the Chamber… oh!" Past Zhang Qiu muttered angrily. "That damn Marauder's Map!"

"Right. If the Weasley twins noticed two Zhang Qius on the map, who knows what chaos might follow," Future Zhang Qiu sighed.

"Still, it's interesting—if you hadn't told me I could hide in the Chamber, I'd have planned to rent a house outside school," Past Zhang Qiu mused. "I can already guess hiding in the Chamber won't be nearly as comfortable as renting a house."

"You could use the Room of Requirement," Neville interjected. "On the eighth-floor corridor, opposite the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy. Just silently wish for a bedroom."

"Ah, so the eighth floor really is strange," Past Zhang Qiu realized. "I followed Tang Nade many times in second year—every time I lost him on the eighth floor."

"That means because of Tang Nade, we can't stay in the Room of Requirement constantly—only use it occasionally to bathe," Future Zhang Qiu sighed. "Still, at least we know his movements inside the school—we won't get caught."

"This plan is clear enough, and it fills in the second-year progress," Past Zhang Qiu nodded easily. "I think I'm good."

"Can I ask a question now?" Neville said. "What do you mean by 'progress' and 'Gift of Time'? And aren't you changing history by doing what you're doing?"

"Let me explain slowly. First, I'm not changing history—I'm correcting fate. Do you understand what fate is?" Future Zhang Qiu flipped to the first few pages of her notebook.

"So what is fate?"

"You've encountered it during your travels, right? Those pointless, inexplicable events?" Zhang Qiu said. "Why do you think they happen?"

"Oh right—I had a pointless fight with Buckbeak," Neville sighed. "It was completely unnecessary, yet it just happened for no reason."

"It wasn't pointless—it was fate's choice," Zhang Qiu flipped through her notebook. "Time has its own will—it wants events to unfold according to its script. That script is fate. My Master, through divination, foresees certain fates. He needs me to witness them, to complete a complex magical ritual. That's what I mean by 'progress.'"

"Divination showed that Buckbeak would suffer terribly for attacking a student—even nearly die," she continued. "But under normal circumstances, none of that would happen. Then you began your travels. Time never misses an opportunity to use a traveler—you unintentionally corrected fate."

Neville fell into thought.

"So how did you find the Room of Requirement? That must be the Gift of Time—Time rewards those who help correct fate, often with useful or precious knowledge." Future Zhang Qiu emphasized the word "useful." "I've been constantly correcting fate—so can you guess how I know so much?"

"You tell your past self," Neville pointed to the other Zhang Qiu, who was scribbling furiously. "And your past self writes it down—so these… knowledge, just appeared out of nowhere?"

"Exactly. That's the Gift of Time," Zhang Qiu smiled. "It's a pity this gift only helps you continue correcting fate. Maybe when I finish filling second year's progress, I'll gain even more."

"I think I understand," Neville's form was fading. "I should return now. Good luck."

"Wait, I need your help," Future Zhang Qiu hurriedly said. "The Basilisk! Come back one more time—we need to kill it before I hide."

"Alright," Neville gave only that one affirmative reply before vanishing completely.

"If we kill the Basilisk, doesn't that mean I have to complete all the attacks?" Past Zhang Qiu frowned. "But if I don't kill it, I can't hide in the Chamber. Can't I just not hide in the Chamber?"

"No choice," Future Zhang Qiu calculated. "To avoid detection by the Marauder's Map, we can only hide in the Chamber or the Room of Requirement—but the Room of Requirement gets visited by Tang Nade occasionally. If we hide outside, how do we sneak back into school? We can't become Animagi."

"True. Then the Basilisk's up to you," Past Zhang Qiu sighed. "I might use this chance to go home and restock."

"Don't go home!" Future Zhang Qiu exclaimed. "If Master finds out we caused this mess, we'll be beaten."

"Ah…" Past Zhang Qiu scratched her head. "If I can't jump again, I'll just find an inn. This is costing me a fortune every day."

"Go to Tang Dun," Future Zhang Qiu said. "First, you can get free meals and lodging for a few days. Second, you can sneakily learn a few words of Parseltongue."

"Brilliant idea. No wonder I'm me."

After a few more casual words, Past Zhang Qiu left first. Future Zhang Qiu sighed, sat down where she was, and waited for Neville's return.