As Christian finished the last note, he looked at his diary and nodded in satisfaction. With every stroke, he felt he was diving deeper into the mystery and essence of magic. He used an incantation that turned all the writing in the books into gibberish that was not legible.
Then, he closed his eyes, trying to find his soul. He had previously succeeded when he was fighting with Jim. However, afterward, he had never seen his soul again. Whenever he accessed the latter's memories, he was more in the shape of a 'spirit,' the same as whenever he navigated his own memory.
He closed his eyes to access his mind. He tried to navigate the countless layers and find the first or original one. He bypassed countless layers formed by trauma, subtle effects due to the environment, or events he did not even remember, but it was futile.
Christian then changed tactics, focusing on his childhood memories and using them as guidance to find that particular layer. His action had some effect as he felt he was getting closer. However, he did not know whether his intuition was correct or his mind was lying to him, which is entirely possible given its complexity.
'No, let's try something else,' concluded Christian, who used his memory of battling Jim as a guide. He had seen and controlled his soul then, making it the best guide. As soon as he tried it, his intuition that he was getting closer increased. However, he still did not find what he wanted after more than ten minutes.
"This might be a long-term project," muttered Christian with furrowed brows. "The good news is the attempts have increased my understanding of the mind." He accepted this positive aspect while also pondering how to accelerate the process.
"The Fidelius Charm," he suddenly thought. "If I can learn that spell, it will be easier to access my soul." He wanted to ask his mother immediately, but thought it was too late and decided to sleep. Anyway, he was not in a hurry.
…
Tiara was in bed with a nightgown and a bonnet, holding a newspaper. She had just finished updating Christian's progress in the binder and wanted to relax before bed. The newspaper was boring until she was drawn by an article titled [Siberian Blizzardback Dragon: Lost Species Discovered] intently. The article was about a new species of dragon discovered in Siberia, known for breathing ice breath instead of fire.
"First was the Focus Potion, which was lost in the 1800s, and now a lost species of dragon that was once thought to be extinct," muttered Tiara. "Papa Tounde's prophecy is already manifesting. But Christian hasn't done anything?"
Her brow was furrowed as worry oozed out of every pore in her body. 'Is this what he called a butterfly effect?' Tiara sighed before folding the newspaper and putting it on the nightstand next to the head of her bed. As she reached over to turn off the lamp, she heard a knocking on her window.
She glanced over and saw an unrecognizable black bird with a letter in their mouth. Tiara took her wand out of caution before slowly approaching the window and glancing at the creature. She tapped her wand on the letter to check for curses or poison before finally taking it. The creature flew into the distance without waiting for a reply or any food.
With a frown, Tiara slowly opened the letter and read its contents. Then, she made a circular motion with her hand above her head, turning her clothes into jeans, shirts, a coat, and boots. She rushed to the fireplace with a handful of Floo Powder and her bag of holding before disappearing.
She appeared in a darkly lit room but did not stay a second as she apparated away. After consecutive Apparitions, she finally reached northern Haiti, where she went to a small hut in a small village.
As she entered carefully, she saw Papa Tounde sitting on the floor, with a circle and diagrams drawn on the ground and four candles at different points. He had blood-colored paint on his face, and oddly enough, Tiara could tell it was cow blood just by the texture and scent.
"Ou vini (You're here)," said Papa Tounde.
"Kounye a ou ka wem (You're finally willing to see me)," replied Tiara.
"Now is the time."
"Why?" asked Tiara.
"Some people or forces do not want the world to change, so they won't let him grow up. I've done my part to buy him some time, and now it's your turn."
"What do you mean you've done your part?"
"I told you he was not the only chosen one, but he's the only one who successfully awakened and can be considered the true chosen one. Now, without the burden of fate, it's easier for the others to awaken, and I've ensured that."
"You want these unknown forces to have a hard time finding my son by creating multiple chosen ones?" asked Tiara.
"Correct."
She did not know how to feel about this news. On one side was the safety of her child, while on the other, many other children and parents would suffer as a result.
"There is something that I still don't understand. Why are you so invested in this prophecy?"
Papa Tounde laughed, showing his black teeth. "You don't understand how terrible the death of magic is, how weak we have become. In ancient times, wizards as powerful as Dumbledore were as common as grass. But now, in the past hundred years, only three people of this caliber have appeared. And that Dark Lord might be the very last of his kind."
His eyes show an unnatural desire and greed: "But things have changed. We are slowly reverting to the ancient era when these No Majs considered us gods."
Tiara immediately raised her guard against this madman. He always thought this Seer was dangerous and unsound of mind, but now she had the proof.
"Back to the subject," Papa Tounde said after calming down. "I need you to remove your son's prophecy from the Ministry of Magic. That's currently the only weak spot that can reveal his identity."
"How am I supposed to do that?"
"I don't know, but I know you're more than capable of such a simple task," he replied. "Oh, and don't forget: only the person the prophecy is about can remove it."
Tiara groaned as she swiftly thought of a few ways to deal with the situation. Then, she asked, "Is there a way to stop this prophecy?"
"You should know what happens to people who try to prevent prophecies."
"Their actions eventually cause prophecy," muttered Tiara before sighing. "Is there really no way?"
"Chosen children usually have unique or powerful gifts. My advice is to nurture this gift to prepare them for what's to come."
Tiara immediately felt relieved after hearing these words. She has been doing so even before seeking Papa Tounde for news on how to find her husband, and learned that her child was somehow involved.
Papa Tounde looked at her; he did not say many things, including that these people cannot kill her son until he's 14 unless they have access to that prophecy. As for his identity, it will be known as soon as he attends any of the magical schools.
However, Papa Tounde wanted her to be in a state of hurry to train the child since he will die early if he's not prepared; he's not safe until his first shift, and that won't happen more than a year later if not more.
"One last question," asked Tiara. "Harry Potter — the Boy Who Lived. He also seems to be a chosen one with a prophecy involving him. What roles does he play in all this mess?"
"Him? His battle with Voldemort was a ceremony to put the final nail in the Era of Magic by killing the last Grand Sorcerer," replied Papa Tounde, sneering as he imagined the horrible fate of wizards as the world entered the Era of Muggle or the Era of Technology.
"But now, his fate has also changed, diverging from the original track. However, he should also play a significant role."
Tiara sighed as she confirmed that Zed's future predictions paled compared to what was truly coming. "Thank you for the information."
"One last warning," said Papa Tounde. "People connected with chosen ones rarely live happy lives. Even worse, most don't even live long enough. Be careful."
"I will."
Tiara left the hut and hurried home the same way she arrived. She had many things to process, but the first thing she did was remove a white circle artifact from her bag of holdings. It had a mechanism with fifteen small disks, each with ancient runes. The disks could be moved and rearranged, and the order seemed very important.
She turned the artifact over, and there were even more runes, but they were extremely tiny to fit in this slightly larger-than-palm artifact.
"Everything started with you. If only we never find this damn thing," she muttered.