Time is a peculiar thing; the more you need it, the faster it seems to slip away, and the more you detest it, the slower it crawls.
For those who love magic, they'd gladly pour all their time into it. But for young wizards not as keen on magic, it's just another name for math or English, an obscure theory coupled with torturous busywork.
For Roger, time flew by quickly during experiments, just as it did for students who had enjoyed over ten days of holiday at home.
In the blink of an eye, it was January, and Hogwarts reopened its doors.
This not only marked the beginning of the second semester but also meant that Harry Potter was finally about to embark on his magical journey!
During the first semester, Harry had initially poured his free time into Quidditch training. After the Quidditch preliminaries ended, he had a long talk with Roger and then immersed himself in experiencing his parents' memories.
After that, he faced Snape directly, learned Voldemort's identity, borrowed the Second Brain from Roger, began intensive combat training with Snape, and finally, on Christmas Eve, faced Voldemort alongside Snape with a resolve to die.
Roger felt that Harry, over the past half-year, had been like a bowstring constantly being drawn tighter.
Cultivation requires a balance of tension and release; this state was far from ideal for studying something as intricate as time magic.
So, even though Harry was willing to learn, Roger had given him a break, telling him to wait until the semester started.
Which was now.
"Roger, I finished the book you lent me yesterday." In the common room, Harry walked up to Roger and handed back a small, ancient booklet with a pained expression, along with a piece of parchment.
This parchment was an assignment Roger had given him, testing his grasp of time theory.
While Harry didn't dislike magic, time magic was entirely different from ordinary magic. The extremely obscure theories and the common-sense-defying laws of time truly gave him a headache.
Roger's exams weren't like typical classroom assignments where one could simply copy a few sentences from a book to get by. The content submitted had to be something Harry had fully understood and learned.
Time magic, being such a dangerous thing, could not be approached carelessly.
"Let me see." Roger took the booklet he had borrowed from the restricted section, set it aside casually, and focused his gaze on the parchment.
After a quick look, Roger broke into a smile. "Not bad."
"Since you've reached this level, I can now teach you time spells."
Magic is a miracle of the mind; the most crucial elements in using magic are belief and determination.
If you have no idea what time even is, how can you possibly believe, how can you have the determination to ensure your spellcasting is correct? Now that Harry had passed his initial test, Roger could teach him the 'practical' aspects.
"Time spells?!" Harry exclaimed in surprise.
During this time, he hadn't just been studying the theory of time magic; he had also learned a great deal about the regulations concerning time magic by the International Confederation of Wizards and the Ministry of Magic.
Setting aside the issue of how to obtain time magic under the Ministry's strict controls, the mere act of casually using time magic was also against the law!
Harry had thought he would be like theoretical physicists in the Muggle world, constantly performing virtual calculations, and it would be a long time before…
Sensing Harry's expression, Roger patted his shoulder. "Don't worry, there's no risk involved here."
"Firstly, this spell is one I created myself, so it doesn't involve any classified content."
"Secondly, this magic doesn't involve changing the past; it's purely to help you familiarize yourself with time magic, so it won't touch upon any relevant laws."
"Lastly, the spell itself is quite safe. Even if you mess up, there won't be any serious consequences… probably."
Although Harry had promised him that he would research time magic for him, given Harry's magical foundation, it was anyone's guess when he would make progress if he had to figure it out slowly on his own. Therefore, Roger's plan was to help Harry get started and guide him through the initial stages.
Once he crossed the difficult threshold of entry, when Harry was capable of researching on his own, Roger could then let him grow wild.
"I see." Hearing Roger say this, Harry breathed a sigh of relief.
He now had a considerable understanding of time, but if Roger were to bring out a time spell like the 'Hour Reversal Charm,' he knew he wouldn't have the ability to cast it. Harry had that much self-awareness.
Next, Roger drew his wand and began his time magic lesson right there in the common room, unconcerned about who might see.
After all, he had already informed Dumbledore about Harry's path in time magic, so there was no need for secrecy.
As for whether teaching it here directly would lead to others learning his magic…
If a young wizard who had never undergone any related study could learn his magic just by listening to his explanations, Roger would be pleasantly surprised! He would have found another genius suitable for harvesting… cough, suitable for jointly researching the path of magic! Roger placed his wand on the parchment Harry had brought and recited his self-created spell: "Time Cinema!"
The next moment, a white light emanated from the parchment, followed by a cascade of film reels, akin to those used in old cinemas, floating in the air adorned with magical brilliance.
Roger placed his wand on the continuously emerging film reels.
Then, everyone in the room witnessed how the parchment was produced, how it was sent to Hogwarts, and Harry's frustrated expression as he scratched his head while writing his understanding of time on the parchment in the library.
"The effect of this spell is very simple: it allows you to extract the 'past image' of the target and project it," Roger's voice explained.
The Time Cinema Charm originated from a sudden idea Roger had while researching prophecy and time magic.
Besides his precognitive sense, Roger had learned some other methods of divination at Hogwarts, but their power was far inferior to his Seer ability.
Only when divining the past was he somewhat capable, but it wasn't always accurate.
Originally, Roger hadn't paid much attention to this. His precognitive sense was sufficient, and he didn't strongly pursue other divination abilities.
Instead of investing energy in a field with such diminishing marginal returns, he'd rather focus on researching the Three-Dimensional Theory.
It wasn't until he was preparing 'lessons' for Harry that he suddenly remembered this.
'What if I combine prophecy and time to create a magic that directly views the past?'
Roger experimented, and direct live viewing wasn't possible, but by adding a 'medium,' the magic actually worked!
Accurately speaking, directly viewing past time-space isn't entirely impossible, but the difficulty of casting it is dozens of times greater than this method of extracting a 'time-film' of the target and projecting it.
In any case, Roger's not-so-profound mastery of time magic isn't enough for that. The main reason he was able to develop the Time Cinema Charm was his foundation in divination magic.
Fortunately, the difficulty of developing magic and using magic are on different levels; otherwise, Roger wouldn't have introduced this spell to help Harry get started.
As Roger was explaining.
Seeing this novel and unprecedented magic, many young wizards in the common room looked curious and gathered around Roger to listen.
However, some older male and female students, who were initially very interested, suddenly grabbed their clothes as if they'd thought of something, looking at Harry Potter, whom Roger was teaching how to use this magic, with terrified eyes, and involuntarily took a few steps back.
Roger, who was explaining, also noticed their behavior but didn't pay it any mind.
Unlike innocent children, it's perfectly normal for teenagers with their own little secrets to be afraid of magic that can casually check your 'browser history.'
Of course, this is just a metaphor. It's 1992 now, Google search engines didn't appear until 1998, and Baidu wasn't until 2000. We haven't entered the information explosion era yet.
Amidst the astonishment of the younger students and the fear of the older ones, Roger quickly finished teaching Harry.
The Time Cinema Charm is the type where it's not difficult for those who can do it, but impossible for those who can't. For someone like Harry, who has some theoretical foundation in time magic, it wasn't difficult.
Swish! Watching the time-film bloom under Harry's wand, Roger nodded with satisfaction, then cautioned, "You can use this Time Cinema Charm to familiarize yourself with time magic, but it's best not to use it on other people's personal belongings."
"Mhm, I'll remember that." Roger noticed the abnormality of some people around him, and Harry naturally did too.
Having finished the lesson, Roger got up and left the common room, taking the ancient little booklet with him. It was a book borrowed from the library and needed to be returned after use.
However, on his way to the library, someone stopped him.
"Roger, I'd like to discuss something with you."
A tall figure stood before Roger, and Roger saw an unusual awkwardness on his familiar face.
"What is it, Headmaster Dumbledore?" Roger felt a spark of curiosity. Things that could make Dumbledore wear that expression were rare.
"It's about... Grindelwald." After much hesitation, Dumbledore finally spoke that name!
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