Chapter 142: Zhang Qiu's First Stop

Harry recalled the days before the start of the second year, and he couldn't help but want to walk up and say a few words to Zhang Qiu; the Professor didn't stop him from this.

"Zhang Qiu, I am Harry from the third year." He uncovered the Invisibility Cloak. "Are you just back from Tang Dun?"

"Oh, you're here too?" Zhang Qiu was obviously taken aback; she hesitated slightly, then admitted it generously. "That's right, I stayed in the country for the entire summer vacation of the first year; the me you saw in Tang Dun was the third-year me."

"You secretly learned Parseltongue at that time." Harry said. "That is to say, in fact, throughout the second year, you planned that series of attacks?"

"Don't blame me, Harry." Zhang Qiu said with some guilt. "This is fate; even without me, someone else would attack."

Harry didn't speak; in fact, he didn't seem to care that much about the attack; he was still stuck in surprise. Simply put, he felt that the current Zhang Qiu was not the Zhang Qiu he knew, which made Harry feel very bad.

"Moreover, the Chamber of Secrets attack is a predetermined fact; if we stop it, we will soon be erased by time." She defended carefully.

"Actually, it's not too late." Harry said slowly. "You haven't really attacked those students yet; there is still a chance to turn back."

Zhang Qiu showed some bad expressions; she said eagerly: "I must fill the progress of the second year, so I must stay in the school; because of the Marauder's Map, I have to hide in the Chamber of Secrets; in order to hide in the Chamber of Secrets, I have to kill the Basilisk, so if the attack happens as usual, it must be done by me."

"But you don't have to do this; forget about the progress, just find a place to hide until the third year." Harry said his thoughts softly. "Actually, you can go to Number 4 Privet Drive, my aunt's old house. That house has been empty, and everyone has forgotten it; it's enough for you to stay safely for a long time, and I can send you things from time to time..."

"There is a Chinese saying, either you don't do something, or once you do it, don't stop." Zhang Qiu sighed. "After killing the unicorn, I can't turn back anymore."

"No way!" Harry exclaimed. "I thought you just injured it; why—and you know that unicorn blood is cursed, right?"

"To be precise, I missed." Zhang Qiu said helplessly. "I underestimated the power of the Hundred Phoenix Returning to the Nest, accidentally killed it, and then, as you said, unicorn blood carries a curse; I almost immediately attracted the attention of the hounds."

"Hounds?"

"Hounds of Tindalos, ominous black dogs, I explained just now." Zhang Qiu shrugged. "To some extent, they represent the anger of time itself. Fortunately, perhaps my previous actions of repairing fate played a role in offsetting the merits and demerits, and I only received some warnings."

"You returned here from the summer vacation to warn your past self." Harry followed subconsciously. "Because these words and knowledge are... all appeared out of thin air in the time loop, so they represent the will of time?"

"You understand, Harry?" Zhang Qiu's tone became easier. "Perhaps you don't fully understand yet, but it doesn't matter; I am confident that I can handle the next things."

"In fact, what I can't understand most is not the so-called will of time or the truth of the Chamber of Secrets." Harry scratched his head in confusion. "I just don't understand; I feel that the Zhang Qiu I know is not like this."

"Then what is she like?" Zhang Qiu shrugged. "Perhaps it's not that I've changed, but that your understanding is a bit one-sided."

Thoughts surged in Harry's mind; he recalled every bit of their time together. For a long time, Zhang Qiu had been a quiet, gentle, and humble girl, but at critical moments, she was always decisive and did what she said; perhaps she was just such a slightly contradictory person herself.

"But, at least you haven't attacked innocent people before..." Harry said the thing he felt most sorry about.

Zhang Qiu's lips moved, and she was about to answer, but was interrupted by a strange whistling sound.

"Oh, the TARDIS braking sound." The Professor's tone was slightly panicked. "Let's go, Harry; I don't want to bump into my future self."

"But, I still want to ask Zhang Qiu..."

"It's okay, child." The Professor grabbed Harry's shoulders and made him turn around. "Let's go see Zhang Qiu's journey and see how she got to this point."

"Professor Doudou is right." Zhang Qiu said in an unruffled tone; Harry realized that perhaps this was not the first time she had seen him.

"Oh yes, to facilitate your journey, I have to give this to you." Zhang Qiu tore a page from her notebook. "This is the time point after each of my travels; as far as I know, the TARDIS should not be able to track secret spell travel."

"Uh, indeed, I originally tried to track Zhang Qiu, but it always reported an error." The Professor scratched his head.

"Oh, I remember some things; in fact, you had this tendency at the end of the term, Zhang Qiu, anxious to witness those divination results, and even didn't hesitate to try to restore them yourself." Harry said. "You look calm and composed now; perhaps it's because you made up your mind?"

"You don't have much time to discuss being calm and composed now." Zhang Qiu shrugged; not far away in the Forbidden Forest, a blue police telephone booth was slowly becoming solid.

"So, run." The Professor pushed Harry all the way into their TARDIS, then he pushed the lever, and this machine disappeared into the Forbidden Forest at the end of the first year.

Amidst the same whistling sound, the TARDIS stopped. Harry gently pulled open a crack in the door and looked out.

What came into view was an exquisite small printed table; the aroma of black tea and macarons lingered on Harry's nose. This was the Sangster Gobstones shop in Hogsmeade village, and the time was sometime in mid-May.

Sitting on both sides of the table were Zhang Qiu and Mr. Sangster.

"Zhang Qiu, you are Harry's friend." Mr. Sangster said calmly. "But I want to know what is the matter with you coming to see me alone today."

"My time is limited, so it's better to get straight to the point." Zhang Qiu said slowly. "What is your task?"

"I don't understand what you are talking about." Mr. Sangster's tone was a bit distorted.

"Either you tell me the matter now, and then you can go back to where you came from." She threatened by tapping the table. "Or you go to explain to the MI6 agents; don't think that the British government doesn't care about the Wizarding World."

"Are you bluffing?" Mr. Sangster leaned back on the chair lightly. "There is no evidence that I need to explain anything."

"Where did the 500,000 in your account come from? Do you think it's very hidden for you to slowly exchange pounds in the Wizarding World?" Zhang Qiu asked sternly.

"Even if you bring this up, I can tell you openly." Sangster frowned and said. "These are private commissions from Mr. Tang Nade; he asked me to find an opportunity to look after Cui Ge here."

"I know things are not that simple." Zhang Qiu shook her head. "The Embroidered Uniform Guard intercepted the communication between Tang Nade and the CIA; you are executing a secret plan code-named 'rycb'; what is the content of the plan?"

Harry held his forehead helplessly; such a returnee who couldn't leave the US in three sentences, his composition might not have intended to hide it from the beginning.

"But the problem is, why should I tell you?" Sangster's eyes drifted. "Obviously China is coming as a third party."

"It's for Harry's personal safety." Zhang Qiu said, her face blushing after saying this, and she lowered her head to look at her watch.

"Then maybe it doesn't matter if I tell you; anyway, I'm leaving soon." Sangster shrugged. "The plan is very simple, just tell Harry that he can run to the United States, that's all."

"I know, I know," he waved his hands to interrupt Zhang Qiu's questioning, "running to the United States means handing over the UK to the Black side, but this is better than having two UKs, right?"

"The White House would rather have a dead UK than a chaotic UK." Zhang Qiu repeated this conclusion. "Indeed, Voldemort is not interested in Muggle politics, but have you considered the Black side's real strategy now?"

"Don't make things difficult for me." Sangster raised his hand. "I only know that I have to find a way to persuade Harry to run to the United States; I don't know anything else."

"I advise you to run early too; I don't have much time to play with you." Zhang Qiu's figure was fading. "The Black side is about to start a big move."

"Is this Zhang Qiu's first stop?" Harry, hiding in the TARDIS, asked.

"That's right." The Professor looked at the small note Zhang Qiu handed him.

"Perhaps, correcting fate not only means going to complete things that should have happened in fate but didn't actually happen, but also includes excluding factors that shouldn't have appeared in fate but actually did." Harry said thoughtfully. "Judging from Tang Nade last year, perhaps Sangster is also an extra person."

"It can be seen that basically everyone from the White House is an extra person." The Professor shrugged. "But what are they trying to do?"

"They need to continue to use Europe to suppress the Soviet Union; the UK is undoubtedly the first to bear the brunt." Harry said calmly. "I am now suspecting that the Death Eaters are not just staring at the Wizarding World with two eyes; they must have some deeper conspiracy."

"But what can they do? Wizards and Muggles are originally separated; even if British wizards declare independence... ha! It shouldn't go that far! But even if they really did that," the Professor said dismissively, "will the situation be a little better or a little worse than it is now?"

"The Soviet Union should be making layouts from a more overall perspective; we don't know what layouts they intend to make in the United States and the European continent, so it is naturally difficult to guess what they intend to do in the UK..." Harry frowned and pondered; at this time, he really hoped that the Inspiration Charm could finish cooling down. ===== CHAPTER 143 =====