Harry Potter: Eternity Wizard

Dumbledore gave Minerva McGonagall a task—to observe Roger more closely.

He hoped that by understanding Roger's inner world better, he could guide him onto the right path.

One Tom Riddle was enough; he didn't want to see another.

However, Professor McGonagall didn't approach this task like a spy conducting covert surveillance. In her view, for children burdened with heavy thoughts, communication was the only right way.

So-called "for your own good" secrecy would only push them further away. Only openness and honesty could bring people closer together.

To truly help someone, you had to become someone they trusted wholeheartedly.

After confirming that Roger's mind was far more mature than the average young wizard's, Minerva McGonagall decided to have a deeper conversation with him—about his plans for the future.

McGonagall had helped Roger a lot, both during the funeral and later when he had magical questions. So, when it came to topics he saw no reason to keep secret, he naturally chose to be honest.

"I won't work for the Ministry of Magic, and I won't return to the Muggle world. I want to study magic."

"Unless something unexpected happens, I'll dedicate most of my life to researching magic. I want to understand all of it," Roger said.

McGonagall could tell he wasn't just making a casual statement. He was completely serious. It wasn't like how children would say, "I want to get into an Ivy League school" or "I want to be a scientist or a superstar" out of admiration.

Roger truly intended to make magic research the central theme of his life.

"Why?" McGonagall asked instinctively, puzzled.

Most people sought success, recognition, and greatness.

Even children who dreamed of becoming scientists usually wanted to be legendary figures like Einstein, making groundbreaking discoveries.

They weren't simply obsessed with knowledge itself, wanting to uncover the mysteries of the world for the sake of knowledge alone.

So Roger's response surprised her.

"Because I don't want to die," Roger answered with a gentle smile.

"...Huh?" McGonagall was even more confused.

"Professor, do you like this world?"

Before McGonagall could respond, Roger continued, answering his own question.

"I do. I like it very much."

"After thousands of years of struggle, human civilization has finally entered an era of rapid development."

"In just three centuries, three industrial revolutions have transformed the world."

"By understanding the laws governing the world, even Muggles can harness wind, fire, and lightning—make the sun bloom upon the earth."

"Advancements in productivity and social structures have freed minds from their chains. Capitalism, communism, constitutional monarchies… a hundred different ideological movements flourish side by side."

"Movies, television, comics—everyone has the chance to share their inner worlds with the entire planet."

"The present is already incredible, and the future will only bring more wonders."

"And all of this… is just beneath our feet."

As he spoke, Roger lifted his head, gazing at the clear sky.

As if trying to see beyond it, to somewhere farther away.

"The Earth we live on is nothing but a speck of dust in the vast universe."

"There are nearly 400 billion star systems in the Milky Way, and the universe contains about two trillion galaxies like our own. And beyond the universe… perhaps there are even more universes."

Roger said "perhaps," but he was certain.

There were other universes beyond this one—because he himself had come from another.

On the plane back to Britain after the war, Roger had been lost in thought.

He had escaped the nightmare of war and found peace, yet he felt nothing but emptiness—just like those battle-hardened veterans who couldn't reintegrate into normal society.

He had no idea what to do next.

With his foresight, he could easily amass a fortune. With his ability to sense danger, making a name for himself in history would be as easy as breathing. If he were the old Roger, he might have indulged in such pursuits.

Wealth, fame, power, luxury—if he could have all these, his past self would've been ecstatic.

But after dancing with death so many times, after being baptized in blood and fire, Roger had come to a realization.

Everything was an illusion. Only being alive was truly valuable.

No matter how much he acquired, in a few decades, he'd still become nothing but a pile of ashes.

No matter how much he struggled, even if he could dodge a thousand bullets, even if he had wealth rivaling nations, he could never defeat time itself.

He had hesitated, wondering whether he should simply drown himself in worldly pleasures and self-deception—until the day the wizards came to arrest him.

Their arrival shattered all his previous plans, but it also gave his lost soul a new purpose.

He wanted to see continents rise and fall, to witness human civilization stepping beyond Earth and into the stars, to explore the boundaries of the universe's expansion and contraction.

He wanted to see stars die, to discover the infinite possibilities of life.

Entropy, heat death, the birth of the universe—what lay beyond it?

"I want to see all the wonders of existence. I want to meet countless fascinating souls. I want my story to be written into one tale after another."

He desired too much. He refused to let all the possibilities he had never experienced, all the wonders he had never seen, be buried with his aging body in the river of time.

Like tears lost in the rain.

"Human life is too fragile. A single cheap bullet can take it away. And even if I, with all my foresight, could dodge every malicious shot… I cannot escape the gunfire of time itself."

"I don't want that. So I made my choice."

He didn't want to die. He wanted to live forever.

And in the magical world, that might just be possible.

In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Nicolas Flamel had lived for over six hundred years.

The path did exist. And Roger was determined to go even further.

McGonagall looked at Roger, at the starlight shimmering in his eyes, and was momentarily speechless.

"Professor." Roger lowered his gaze from the sky and looked at McGonagall.

"Aren't you curious?"

"Don't you wonder how far wizards, Muggles—humanity—can truly go?" His voice carried an irresistible allure.

"With infinite time comes infinite possibilities. Given enough time, even a monkey could type out Hamlet on a typewriter. Given infinite time and magic, perhaps… wizards could reshape reality itself. Undo every regret. Attain everything they have ever longed for."