The flicker of candlelight danced across the walls of Gilderoy's office, nestled deep within the labyrinthine halls of Hogwarts. It was late, and the students were long asleep, but Gilderoy Lockhart—Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, wizard, and, secretly, a traveler across worlds—was deep in thought. His chair creaked as he leaned back, eyes focused on the shimmering metallic form of the Sentinel standing still in the corner of the room.
The Sentinels. Brought from a future dystopian world where mutants were hunted like prey, they were formidable machines—lethal, adaptive, and built with a fusion of organic and inorganic technology. Yet, as powerful as they were, they presented Gilderoy with a maddening problem: he didn't fully understand them.
He'd snatched three Sentinels from a decaying future, and though he now had control over them thanks to the spell from Rias Gremory's world, that control was limited. He could activate them, give basic commands, but without understanding the intricate science that powered their adaptive capabilities, they were little more than highly advanced guard dogs. Tools, yes, but nowhere near the full potential he envisioned.
Gilderoy stood up, pacing in front of the Sentinel, his thoughts racing. His projection magic—the ability to summon and replicate objects he had seen in his past life—was invaluable. It had allowed him to gather technology and weapons from other worlds, but it had limits. Technology, especially complex or biologically fused technology, was often too complicated to fully control or modify.
"Science," he muttered to himself, his voice a low hum in the empty room. "The one thing I can't fully master on my own."
Magic was limitless in its own way, but science... science required precision. And the technology of the Sentinels, interwoven with mutant DNA, was beyond anything he had encountered. He had to understand it if he was to use it as part of his multiversal conquest.
There was only one solution: he needed to recruit someone with a brilliant scientific mind. Someone who could not only understand the technology but push it further, making the Sentinels an unstoppable force. But it couldn't be just any scientist. It had to be someone extraordinary, capable of blending impossible knowledge with a hunger for discovery.
Why Recruit Scientists?
Gilderoy stopped pacing and sat back down at his desk, opening a blank parchment and dipping his quill into ink. He started sketching his thoughts—an old habit from when he had traveled alone across the multiverse, trying to make sense of his abilities and limitations.
"Why recruit scientists?" he whispered to himself, tapping the quill lightly on the edge of the inkpot. The answer was simple, yet profound.
Technology Beyond Magic: The Sentinels' design—a perfect fusion of technology and biology—was unlike anything in the magical world. Hogwarts had no books, no ancient tomes that could teach him how to manipulate this level of bio-mechanical engineering. He could command magic to a point, but science? That required understanding.
His Own Magical Limitations: Gilderoy knew the limitations of his projection magic all too well. He couldn't project highly complex or evolving items—anything that required continuous upgrades or modifications was beyond his control. If he projected something as advanced as Iron Man's suit or a tech-based artifact from another universe, he'd merely get the default version, not the functional powerhouse those original users commanded. The Sentinels were the same. Without understanding their source code—the intricate hybrid of DNA and machine—they'd remain basic machines under his control.
Future Ambitions: This world—Westeros, Hogwarts, King's Landing—these were small pieces in a much larger game. Gilderoy's ambition spanned the multiverse, and that meant finding ways to bridge magic and science effectively. The Sentinels were just the start. If he could unlock their secrets, he could begin building a multiversal army, technology enhanced by magic, which would allow him to rule wherever he chose.
But to do this, he needed minds that could grasp the impossible. Minds that could work outside the bounds of conventional science, just as he worked outside the limits of conventional magic.
The Search for a Teacher
Gilderoy placed the quill down and leaned back, his mind already shifting to the next steps. He had considered some of the greatest minds in the multiverse. Doctor Doom had crossed his mind first—master of both magic and science—but Doom wasn't the type to teach. Doom ruled; he didn't share.
His next thought had been Bulma from the Dragon Ball universe, a genius in her own right. But that world was far too dangerous. The risk of getting entangled with Saiyans, gods of destruction, or worse was a gamble he wasn't willing to take yet.
No, the solution lay in individuals who were curious, who would be intrigued by the challenge he presented them. People who, driven by their own thirst for knowledge, could be convinced to help him.
He had narrowed it down to three names:
Senku Ishigami from a post-apocalyptic world, where science was the only way to rebuild civilization.Doc Emmett Brown, a scientist with an obsession for time travel and understanding the fundamental principles of space-time.Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz, an inventor whose absurd brilliance allowed him to create devices that, while often comical, held incredible potential.
These were men driven by curiosity and ambition, traits Gilderoy understood well. They wouldn't be motivated by gold or political power—no, they'd be motivated by knowledge, by the chance to break the boundaries of their understanding.
And Gilderoy had something that could offer them just that. The multiverse. The promise of other worlds, filled with new technologies, new challenges, and new discoveries. All they had to do was help him.
But first, he had to convince them.