Chapter 191: Prophecies of a Different Nature
George and Fred did not disappoint.
There were no moments of sudden breakthroughs or clever tricks to turn the tables on the dungeon and stun the doubters.
Two distinct voices echoed under the night sky, cutting through the castle: "Ahhhhh~"
"Hahahaha~"
Even under the enchanted ceiling of the Great Hall, unable to see the sky above the castle, everyone could imagine the two unrestrained expressions.
For the Weasley twins, scenes that would cause social death for others acted like buttons that activated their "Social Terrorist" mode.
So, this trait turned Ryan's various failure punishments into their personal stage.
Every so often, everyone would be treated to a performance art piece by the famous duo—performances that could only be described as an assault on the retina.
However, for other young wizards, these punishments caused emotional instability for at least a day or two.
After all, not everyone could accept suddenly sprouting feathers or being forced to end every sentence with "meow."
The former was Neville "Super-Invincible Shapeshifting Ancestor Thunderbird" Longbottom, who kept his head down for three days, blushing furiously whenever anyone spoke to him.
The latter was Hermione "Granger-Meow," the favorite pupil of Professor McGonagall, known as "Little McGonagall" and "Miss Know-It-All," and a top point-earner for Gryffindor.
Although Madam Pomfrey cured her "meowing" condition in half an hour, the psychological trauma took half a month to heal. For those two weeks, she would subconsciously pause at the end of every sentence, ensuring no suspicious vocalizations slipped out.
In short, because of the social death mechanism, the students developed a love-hate relationship with Ryan's reputation.
Love, because of the Law of Conservation of Smiles: smiles were transferred from others' faces to their own.
Hate, also because of the Law of Conservation of Smiles: the smiles on their own faces were transferred to others.
"Why are they still laughing?"
Someone finished eating and could still hear loud laughter from outside.
Wouldn't a normal person get tired or lose their voice after laughing for so long?
Just then, George and Fred hopped into the Great Hall, arms extended straight out in front of them, laughing maniacally as they jumped.
"Ta-da! The latest Zombie Dance, brought to you by us! Hope you enjoy!" George announced.
Fred didn't speak, but his actions conveyed his joy. Though he could only hop with arms outstretched, he managed to express a variety of nuances, looking more like a living zombie than... well, a zombie.
"A pity we didn't have time for makeup."
The pair hopped around, earning applause from everyone.
Even the professors at the High Table couldn't help but chuckle. Professor McGonagall, suppressing a smile, waved her wand and lifted the curse from them.
"Oh, what a shame. Our showtime is over."
"Please look forward to our next performance!"
George and Fred, playing off each other perfectly, gave ungentlemanly bows to the room.
Starving, they headed to the Gryffindor table to eat and chat with their housemates.
"The students seem to have been injected with vitality since the term started. Their thirst for knowledge is much higher than before. This is your doing," Dumbledore said to Ryan, who sat beside him.
"Rankings create competition, and competition creates motivation. It all stems from each person's desire to win. If the students had no competitive spirit and just wanted to lie flat in harmony, no one could do anything about it," Ryan replied.
"Have you felt restless these past few days?" Dumbledore suddenly asked.
"No," Ryan shook his head. He had been spending his days reading useless intel, stabilizing his magical realm, continuing his alchemy experiments, and exploring deeper applications of Mana Beads for his grand plan.
Nothing unusual had happened.
Dumbledore nodded and said no more.
After the feast, he returned to his office. Gellert was sitting there, legs crossed, reading a book. It was just a standard Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1, but Gellert was reading it with relish, as if it contained profound hidden truths.
"Ryan had no reaction to what you mentioned."
Hearing this, Gellert didn't even close the book or look up. "As expected. After meeting him, and especially seeing how he reacts to trivial matters with frequent prophecies—and changes the outcomes—I felt that this child's prophecies seem different from mine and Sybill Trelawney's."
Dumbledore sat down next to him. "What is the difference? Didn't all three of you predict the despairing future?"
"Different. It is different. Take the prophecy about Harry Potter that you know so well. Voldemort heard it and believed it, so his actions, his every move, pushed him toward the outcome the prophecy pointed to.
"But look at Ryan. Ninety-nine percent of the prophecies he speaks of involve trivial matters, and the outcomes can be changed."
Gellert's voice was thick with curiosity. When he discovered his talent for prophecy, he had studied many legendary Seers throughout history and concluded that so-called prophecies were destined events—they were glimpses of a corner of the future.
But facing Ryan's prophecies, he didn't know how to describe them, because Ryan's prophecies had alterable outcomes.
"Ah... If only Trelawney and I had made the prophecy about the despairing future, then everything you are doing now would be futile, useless. But Ryan also made that prophecy... which means there is still hope." He finally put down the first-year textbook and leaned back in his chair.
He said this because, without exception, every vision he had ever seen with his own eyes had come to pass.
The first half of Trelawney's prophecy about Harry and Voldemort had also come true. The only difference was the second half—they hadn't ended up with one needing to die at the hand of the other.
Instead, they had become a relationship of battery and power output.
"Albus, based on your original plan for raising Harry Potter, was it possible to achieve what we have now—letting Harry use Voldemort's power?"
Dumbledore shook his head decisively. "Impossible. Even back when I didn't know about the Horcruxes, the best outcome I envisioned was Harry defeating Voldemort with the support of everyone, cutting off Voldemort's hope of resurrection forever.
"And after knowing about the Horcruxes, if I hadn't adjusted my original plan, the chance of success would have been fifty-fifty at best."
"So, the destined future has been broken..." Gellert sighed deeply. "Since magical history has been recorded, nothing like this has ever happened. It's only because the wizarding world's understanding of prophecy has always been vague that this truly groundbreaking event hasn't caused a massive uproar.
"Because of Ryan Welles, the destined future has vanished..."
His expression was one of utter bewilderment. "How did he do it?"
~~~
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