Infinite Horror: The Strongest Zhongzhou Team

"Oh, there are the three of you too! It's been a long time!"

Done.

The figure stood still and gave a genuine smile.

Everyone present then adopted a strange expression.

Because the figure that suddenly appeared with one hand in his pocket was none other than a stranger.

It was Cheng Xiao, who had just disappeared for less than a minute.

However, at this moment, Cheng Xiao's expression showed a greater sense of composure and an undeniable sigh compared to before.

After taking a clear look at everyone present, his nonchalant expression turned serious.

Especially the way he looked at Harry and his two companions, it was as if he were looking at long-lost friends.

He had a strange look that left him wanting more.

Compared to Grindelwald's gaze, this look sent chills down the spines of Harry, Grindelwald, and their companions.

It even gave me a feeling of trepidation.

Despite their appearance and clothes being identical to Cheng Xiao's, the three of them felt an extreme sense of unease upon seeing this person.

Ron lowered his head and asked in a low, questioning voice:

"This, this is Brother Cheng Xiao?"

"Something feels off."

"And didn't Brother Cheng just disappear?"

"Why did they suddenly reappear?"

Harry nodded, while Hermione, noticing something, instinctively grabbed Ron's clothes and said:
"nipple!"

Ron: "What pacifier?"

Hermione lowered her voice and continued to remind her:
"Brother Cheng's pacifier is hanging around his neck, and you count, it used to be one, now it's seven!!!"

Harry and Ron looked over and then they noticed.

The golden pacifier that was originally in my mouth has now become one-seventh of its original size.

The other six nipples are exactly the colors of a rainbow: red, orange, red, green, cyan, blue, and purple.

During the training camp, all three of them asked about it out of curiosity.

Cheng Xiao offered an explanation, saying that it was both a symbol of power and a curse.

There was only one Brother Cheng back then, but now... there are seven?

Hermione suddenly spoke up: "I understand!"

Seeing Harry and Ron's bewildered expressions, Hermione angrily slapped them and said with her head down:
"You two idiots, don't you understand?"

"This Brother Cheng is not from the same timeline as the Brother Cheng who just disappeared!!"

Hermione ignored Harry and Ron's drastically changed expressions and continued muttering:
"But if it's another Brother Cheng, why didn't he show up before?"

The three whispers naturally did not escape Cheng Xiao's ears.

Cheng Xiao looked in Hermione's direction and said with a smile:

"Hermione, you are as smart as ever."

"But have you forgotten? You were the one who told me this in the first place."

As he spoke, he held up one finger.

"The first law of time magic is: do not try to change what has already happened."

"And the second rule is not to meet with another version of yourself."

Upon hearing these two sentences, Hermione abruptly looked up, her expression one of astonishment.

"So, Brother Cheng!"

"The past is the past, so you can only be... the future..."

Cheng Xiao's smile grew even brighter upon hearing this.

However, Cheng Xiao did not go to see the shocked Harry and the others again.

Instead, he turned to look at two figures who were on high alert.

“Grindelwald, I wanted to kill them back then, but you said no.”

"I did not refute it!"

"Now, it seems like it's my turn to call the shots."

As soon as he finished speaking, Grindelwald's pupils contracted sharply.

Nicolas Flamel even took two steps back.

Because there is no pause at the same time as the last syllable of this sentence.

Five of the six figures, suppressed by the white gravity, burst out in a cloud of blood mist and immediately fell silent.

Malfoy, with his silver hair, lay motionless on the ground, breathing heavily like a dead fish.

He was certain that nothing had happened, both a second ago and the next.

But the lingering image in his retina told him that the man had come over and killed his old friends nearby.

Then she squatted down, patted his face, said something, and then slowly walked back.

Everything that happened seemed to follow a different trajectory from the lingering images, yet it all occurred in the same world in a bizarre way.

Even the first Dark Lord did not react.

This shows that if this person had wanted to attack them, no one present would have been able to escape.

They can't even use Apparition.

And only one can achieve this level of achievement!

"Time magic..."

"You've mastered time magic!"

A piercing, high-pitched scream shattered the tranquility of the cemetery.

Nicolas Flamel, after Cheng Xiao's disappearance, then reappeared.

In addition, Hermione's words and ability to kill in front of Grindelwald.

Faced with all the evidence, he could only think of one possibility.

That is the taboo in the magical world: time magic.

"No, impossible! Time is a power that only the god of magic can control. This is impossible!"

"No one in the world can escape time..."

Nicolas Flamel stared frantically at Cheng Xiao, repeating the same phrase over and over as if he were insane.

He then proceeded to wave his wand recklessly.

No one knows what kind of magic this person used, but they instantly rose into the air and disappeared in the blink of an eye as a white streak of light.

Even now, Cheng Xiao couldn't help but complain when he saw this scene:
"Old fox!"

He pretended to be stupid, abandoned the Elixir of Immortality, and simply ran away.

Only after he disappeared did Cheng Xiao look at Grindelwald again.

However, this one was also quite a character. He grabbed Malfoy, who was still alive behind him, and then twisted into a black dot and disappeared.

Cheng Xiao, who witnessed this scene, made no attempt to stop it.

He just put on a smug look of sudden realization.

"Oh dear, did I say I would give them something?"

"Why did they just leave without asking for their payment?"

Seeing Cheng Xiao standing there joking, and knowing that the two dangerous people had left.

Only then did Blake and Lupin finally relax completely, but as soon as they relaxed, they both fainted.

Cheng Xiao is not a stingy person.

Upon seeing this, he waved his hand and sent out three rainbow-colored flames of death energy that flew into the bodies of Lupin, Black, and Cedric.

The injuries on the three of them healed at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Even Blake's severed arm grew back in the blink of an eye.

After doing all this, Cheng Xiao turned around and looked at the trio of protagonists with a complicated expression once again.

Compared to Harry and Ron, Hermione stepped forward excitedly and asked:
"So, Brother Cheng, you really came from the future?"

Cheng Xiao gave a half-smile, first nodding, then shaking his head.

"You might find it a little strange, since I just said goodbye to you once, and now I have to say goodbye again."

Harry heard this and spoke up urgently:

"Wait a minute, Brother Cheng Xiao, I have something else I need to do..."

Before he could finish speaking, another woman emerged from the chaotic graveyard.

The woman threw herself into Cheng Xiao's arms, and the two embraced.

Cheng Xiao let go, scratched the freckled tip of his nose, and then interlocked his fingers with the other person's.

"Alright, Harry."

"As Dumbledore said, some problems can only be solved by oneself."

This time, no one can tell you the answer.

"Hermione, Ron, your child is lovely, though a little mischievous."

"Just like you all are now."

"Goodbye, that's all!"

After saying this, Cheng Xiao took the hand of the woman beside him and walked into the darkness.

The casual conversation between the two reached the ears of Harry and his two companions.

"Is this world fun?" "It's quite interesting, my dear Dean."

Cheng Xiao gave a strange laugh upon hearing this address.

"Then you must be the Dean's wife of the Eastern Magic Academy."

"Look, it's almost dawn!"

"The sunset is infinitely beautiful, but it is nearing dusk."

The night that symbolized death has passed; it's time to welcome the new life that follows.

"Every day is so mysterious, what exactly is time?"

"Time is what makes this process repeat itself again and again."

The two chatted.

When they reached the very edge, the two turned around, and both Cheng Xiao and the woman who had appeared out of nowhere waved vigorously.

The three people, who were originally full of questions, could only subconsciously raise their hands and wave.

Goodbye, Brother Cheng!

After the three finished shouting, the man and woman disappeared again.

The three looked at each other in silence.

After all, it feels really strange to say goodbye to the same person twice in such a short period of time.

In the quiet environment, Ron spoke first:
"That lady from earlier, with her black eyes, black hair, and facial features, doesn't she look familiar to you?"

Hermione raised her hand and slapped her.

"Have you forgotten, Yue'er, the freshman from three years ago!"

Ron nodded, biting his finger: "Oh, that's why Brother Cheng's expression was so strange when Neville said he liked this guy."

"So these two are a couple."

Harry was both amused and exasperated.

"But don't you think this is all too strange?"

"And what exactly happened with Brother Cheng just now...?"

Hermione interrupted, "Don't worry, Harry. We'll meet again in the future, and we'll find out then."

"But now I finally understand what happened before."

Harry and Ron looked at each other and asked at the same time:
"whats the matter?"

Hermione smiled and said:
"Of course, it's the Goblet of Fire in the semifinals."

"Do you remember when we arrived at the college by train, Dean Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall greeted us?"

"I think it must be this future Brother Cheng who's behind this."

"If there were only one student, how could the Ministry of Magic have agreed and Dean Dumbledore have supported him?"

"How could the Goblet of Fire, a tournament with a century-long history, possibly become a four-way battle for supremacy?"

"And didn't you hear what Yue'er just said?"

"The dean of the Eastern Magic Academy is the future Cheng Xiao."

"I think that's why Brother Cheng got Fox in the lottery."

"Similarly, this is why Dean Dumbledore said a week ago that the Goblet of Fire tournament would be stopped, but it was able to continue as scheduled a week later."

Ron's eyes widened as he heard these deductions.

In this academy, the dean is Cheng Xiao in the future, and the students are Cheng Xiao in the past.

What, only one person in the entire college?

Harry rubbed his chin and looked at Ron and Hermione with a strange expression.

"Wait, don't you two care about the last thing Brother Cheng said?"

"What do you mean by saying your two children are naughty?"

"And another thing, when did you two start holding hands?"

Harry looked down as if he had discovered a new continent, and only then did he see this important thing.

Hermione raised her clasped hands:
"Um, when?"

"You were already pulling at it from the beginning?"

"We've been relieving ourselves inside the invisibility cloak for ages."

The girl was very confident and poised, but Ron suddenly became shy when faced with his friend's questioning.

You have to admit young people are quick-witted; they've already forgotten what just happened.

Seeing Ron reeking of decay and acting coy, Harry didn't know why, but he kicked him.

After Ron tumbled to the ground, the three of them wrestled around for a while. Then, Ron, not minding at all, dusted himself off, got up, and said:

"It's time to go, Harry."

As they spoke, the smiles that had just appeared on the faces of the three of them began to gradually disappear as they looked around.

Each person helped the other up, and then Kreacher found Peter Pettigrew's body.

After all, this was crucial evidence proving Blake's innocence.

Dobby, on the other hand, found the Death Eaters.

Then everyone grasped the blue flame goblet at their feet.

The next moment, the figure and the Goblet of Fire twisted and disappeared instantly.

The story of the three of them will surely continue.

However, from this moment on, no one may know what the future holds.
-
Returning to Hogwarts once again.

When the three of them opened their eyes, they were stunned to see the cheering crowd in the audience.

The professors, including Dumbledore, rushed over with drastic changes in their expressions.

Snape was the first to hug Harry.

Moody, who was limping, took the unconscious Blake and the others from the three of them.

But before Professor McGonagall could even ask a question...

Dobby and Kreacher, two little elves, appeared out of nowhere with six corpses and the unconscious Fleur and Krum.

The six corpses were the five Death Eaters and Peter Pettigrew that Cheng Xiao had dealt with.

At this point, the audience suddenly fell silent.

It then instantly boiled over.

One by one, they began to scream in panic and terror.

Some people even turned and ran before they could see clearly.

Half a day later.

"Could this be considered a blessing in disguise, since the school actually gave us an early holiday because of the unexpected incident?"

“It’s really great!”

Seeing Ron's excitement, Harry smiled and said, "Remember to write to me, or I'll get bored by myself."

Ron nodded: "Don't worry, I might even come to London to find you."

She was speaking to Harry, but after saying it, she looked at Hermione.

Yes, Hermione's family also lives in London.

Harry, of course, saw through Ron's little tricks perfectly.

Just as the two started playfully fighting, thinking that everything was over.

Hermione, who was walking at the very back, stared blankly at a leaf that had been blown out of the garden bushes.

At that very moment, Hermione's pupils suddenly contracted, and she froze on the spot.

When Harry and Ron realized something was wrong.

The two turned their heads and saw the man who had regained some of his spirits, murmuring to himself:
No, no, no...

If the second Brother Cheng came from the future, then we shouldn't have seen him, much less possess this memory.

"Because from that moment on, the future was no longer the future."

After he finished speaking, Ron and Harry still didn't understand what he meant.

A raindrop fell from the sky and landed on the back of Ron's hand.

One drop, two drops.

Ron and Harry looked up blankly:

"Is it raining?"

Hermione snapped out of her daze, looked at the raindrops falling, and subconsciously took a sip.

"No, this isn't rainwater, it's a potion of oblivion..."

After saying that, Hermione looked up into the distance.

Only then did they realize that the entire Hogwarts School of Architecture was covered by this light rain.

What's even more surprising is that some professors and students were clearly in the classroom or room.

But I also saw raindrops dripping down.

Even faster than Hermione's reflexes was Snape, a seasoned expert in potions.

But at this moment, this person just stood motionless on the windowsill, as if time had frozen in place.

A light rain was falling.

Rainwater collects in potholes on the ground.

The memories in everyone's minds began to change.

Cheng Xiao's figure began to fade and finally disappeared. (End of Chapter)