Bryan felt his face contort into a ridiculous expression, but he was too horrified to close his gaping mouth. He gazed at the red-haired man who radiated a domineering aura, rubbing his eyes frantically, hoping that he was seeing things.
"This can't be real."
Bryan muttered under his breath, trying to make sense of the absurd scene before him, but he could find no rational explanation that could account for his shock and disbelief.
He had indeed sensed the anomaly of the time flow that pervaded this space, but that did not mean that he would accept the sight of Godric Gryffindor standing alive in front of him!
He was one of the four legendary founders of Hogwarts, a formidable wizard who had been almost mythologized by history. His thoughts and ideals still influenced the magical world profoundly even after a millennium.
What kind of power could bring Godric Gryffindor across a thousand years and make him appear in front of him? A Time-Turner? Bryan briefly entertained this idea, but he dismissed it in less than a blink of an eye.
That was a joke, for a wizard like Gryffindor, whose magic was as deep as the ocean, there was no Time-Turner that could affect his temporal stability. Even for wizards like Dumbledore or Bryan himself, if they gathered all the power of all the Time-Turners in the magical world, they probably couldn't rewind their time by even a single day!
Besides, the past was fixed, but the future was uncertain. The power of the Time-Turner could only cut into the cracks of time and take people back to the past, but it was impossible to take people to the future, especially a thousand years ahead! Not even the most mysterious and powerful ancient magic could achieve that!
"Who are you!"
Cold sweat broke out on Bryan's forehead like dewdrops on green leaves at dawn. He took a shallow breath and pushed everything like 'Merlin's ruins', Cliodna and prophecy out of his mind. His brown pupils shrank to the size of pinpricks and stared at the man who was only a few steps away from him!
The man who had suddenly appeared seemed to have not noticed Bryan behind him at all. He looked around with curiosity and fascination, examining the surroundings and the ground under his feet. He stood there casually, but the whole world of ruins seemed to be wary of him.
Red hair that shone like fire, a sword scar on his square face that added to his rugged charm, a sturdy body that resembled a knight in armor, and a delicate mithril sword on his waist that did not require a wand. All these details indicated that he was Godric Gryffindor.
But wait, that sword.
Bryan's body jolted slightly, and his eyes widened in astonishment. The sword on this man's waist was not Gryffindor's sword! A few months ago, in Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets, Bryan had witnessed Potter fighting with the Basilisk using that famed sword. It was a shiny silver sword with dazzling rubies as big as eggs embedded on the hilt. The overall shape had a strong style of fairy-tale made objects.
The sword on this mysterious man's waist was also silver, but there was no ornamentation on the hilt. The style of the sword was also simple and plain. Compared with Potter's sword that looked like a masterpiece of art, this sword was more practical and efficient.
Bryan pursed his lips and his eyes gradually lost their panic. Instead, he showed some gloominess.
Could it be that this man just resembled Gryffindor and was also an avid admirer of Gryffindor? So he deliberately imitated his appearance and style?
This explanation was more plausible than Gryffindor himself coming to modern times across a thousand years and easier to digest. But Bryan still didn't dare to lower his guard because although he couldn't detect any magic in this man's body, he felt intimidated by his strong sense of danger. This level of intimidation was something that even Dumbledore couldn't produce.
He wanted to ask again about the man's identity, but before he opened his mouth, the man's self-talking words had already answered Bryan's doubts and once again shattered his psychological defenses.
The red-haired man who was examining the man in front of him suddenly lifted his head and looked at the sky that was cloudless and pale gray. Then he broke into a grin and said,
"I found you., ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha, it seems that the shattered stone pillars that Rowena found and Helga's prophecy were not wrong!"
Rowena and Helga. Bryan could no longer deceive himself. This man was indeed Godric Gryffindor! But this brought him back to the original question, how did Gryffindor manage to do it?
"Mr. Gryffindor. You."
Bryan's voice was hoarse and he opened his mouth with difficulty, but the red-haired man still ignored Bryan. Instead, he unsheathed his sword from his waist.
Under Bryan's startled gaze, he conjured a lion that was half bigger than the normal size, with two eyes that sparkled like rubies and a mane that blazed like fire. Then he leaped up and landed on the back of the majestic lion.
And this effortless and natural scene overturned a fixed notion in Bryan's mind.
He didn't find it strange that Gryffindor could use the silver sword as a wand. Mithril was a kind of magic metal with excellent magic conductivity, but because of its scarce output and high price, and its compatibility with modern spells was not as high as wooden wands, it was gradually phased out.
Bryan was also not surprised that Gryffindor's Patronus was a magical creature.
Many books that recorded history had mentioned this sporadically. It was extremely rare for magical creatures to be Patronuses, but not impossible. Just like Dumbledore's silver phoenix and his own Patronus, they were both magical creatures.
Bryan was astonished that Gryffindor rode on his own Patronus.
As the only spell that could have a positive suppression effect on Dementors, it was well known that the Patronus Charm was a very advanced white magic spell. The core of this spell was not just pure magic, but the product of the combination of magic and the positive power in the wizard's heart.
Of course, the Patronus could not only be used to deal with Dementors, but also as a messenger with some casting skills.
But using the Patronus as a mount? Bryan couldn't comprehend. The Patronus was a magical creature without a physical body, right?
As a wizard with excellent magical talent that Dumbledore called unparalleled and with his outstanding magic perception ability, Bryan could see the general principle of most magic after a few glance. But the Patronus summoned by Gryffindor, Bryan had to admit that he didn't understand how he did it at all. Just like he couldn't sense any magic in Gryffindor's body.
Godric Gryffindor wouldn't be kind enough to explain his magic principles. In fact, he never looked at Bryan from beginning to end, as if he didn't exist at all. He raised his square face and his eyes that were embedded on his face locked on the sky. He jumped up and the lion under him carried him swiftly to the boundless sky.
Bryan's eyes followed him. Suddenly, he narrowed his eyes and made a new discovery.
Under the gray-white sky, there was a very inconspicuous black spot in the farthest part of his vision. If you put it in the outside world, you would only think of it as a Muggle plane or a bird or something, but in this empty ruin, it seemed out of place.
"Avalon Island, it's actually floating in the sky"
Bryan squeezed out a sentence from his teeth, but he didn't have time to deal with it for the time being. He looked at the fire-red lion that quickly became smaller in his vision. Bryan took a deep breath and jumped up in the next second. He transformed into a shadow and also soared to the sky!
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