Hogwarts: Wizards of Eternity

“I heard you now have a position in the Ministry of Magic, and it's even specifically related to the thing you're currently researching.”

“But why do I get the feeling you're not particularly happy about it?”

The Hogwarts courtyard in the early morning was silent and deserted. A light drizzle deterred students from leaving the confines of Hogwarts Castle during their weekend break.

Taiwan Fiction Net → 𝘁 𝘄 𝗸 𝗮 𝗻 . 𝗰 𝗼 𝗺

The rain wasn't heavy, but most people disliked the feeling of dampness in the chilly weather.

“Because there's really nothing to be happy about.” Roger and Professor McGonagall gazed together at the rainy morning scene of Hogwarts, his face devoid of any expression.

Today, Roger had uncharacteristically not brought a book to study, nor was he tirelessly working away in the laboratory.

After receiving the letter of appointment from the Ministry of Magic, Roger had made another trip there.

The political struggle had ended, but the atmosphere in the Ministry of Magic remained poor – serious, oppressive, and lifeless.

Everyone was on edge, fearing for themselves.

His office was not just an empty shell; it was fully staffed. At a glance, it was clear that his subordinates were connected to the people on the Board of Governors, and they were all extremely respectful towards him.

Unlike the others he encountered in the Ministry of Magic, they didn't have that feeling of oppression. Instead, their eyes held a light. This light didn't come from their backgrounds, nor from the victory of their faction in the recent struggle.

Those who had won the political battle were only more cautious in dealing with external affairs, avoiding the possibility of becoming losers one day.

But Roger's subordinates believed that what they were doing was a grand undertaking. They felt that under the leadership of the 'prophet,' they could accomplish a feat that would immortalize them.

It was precisely this hope of seeing their life's ideal realized that made their mental outlook so different from others.

— Just like himself before.

“The power of the Ministry of Magic is merely a superficial thing granted by others. It exists because wizards decided to cede a portion of their power to make wizarding society more efficient. And my authority is simply the result of some faction's whim.”

Roger was very clear-headed. He knew that what others lent him was not his own, and he didn't think that having or not having this so-called 'authority' could affect the path he would take in the future.

For Roger, becoming the head of the Virtual Reality Industry Office was not as impactful as meeting his subordinates.

“Compared to a suddenly bestowed position, my path of magic is more worthy of attention.” Roger said softly.

Roger's words, along with the sound of the spring rain pattering on the ground, entered Professor McGonagall's ears, causing her to turn her gaze from the rain and look at Roger.

“So, is there a problem with your path of magic?” After all, with Roger being so open about it, Professor McGonagall could easily sense that he was not in a good mood.

Roger shook his head: “There isn't any problem. Everything is progressing, it's just—”

“Compared to the past, the pace of everything has changed.”

When he first came into contact with magic, while reading the books Professor McGonagall lent him, Roger could feel his understanding of magic being refreshed every day.

After entering Hogwarts, Roger received Professor McGonagall's personal and generous instruction, and had access to a vast amount of knowledge in the Hogwarts library. At that time, his strength advanced by leaps and bounds, and he could basically cross a threshold every few days.

In just three months, Roger had grown to the point where he needed to choose a path of magic, obtaining the ticket to the world's top wizards.

After the path was completely determined, Roger completed a new breakthrough and achieved the Fruit of Longevity.

But after that, the pace of Roger's path slowed down.

As the person involved, Roger was very clear about the reason.

Because he had reached the boundary between himself and others. He had already exhausted the shoulders of his predecessors.

In this world, besides himself, there were also people who had achieved longevity: Nicolas Flamel, Voldemort,

and even earlier creators of Horcruxes.

Although longevity does not mean immortality, and many long-lived people died young before reaching their lifespan limit, this does not change the fact that this is a path that predecessors have trodden.

During the process of achieving longevity, Roger had too many people to learn from. Whether successful or not, their ideas could provide Roger with assistance.

But more important than assistance was actually a sense of direction.

As the saying goes, the biggest secret of a nuclear bomb is the existence of the nuclear bomb itself. If someone has succeeded, Roger knows which direction to strive in.

But after longevity, everything was different.

Throughout wizarding history, only a handful of people have been able to achieve longevity. Furthermore, Roger could only recall Voldemort as the only person who continued to explore immortality and had concrete data.

And in Roger's eyes, Voldemort's approach was completely opposite to his, lacking any reference value.

The road built by predecessors ended here. Every step forward required Roger to blaze his own trail.

Walking a road and building a road are worlds apart in terms of difficulty. Roger's progress inevitably began to slow down.

He was still moving forward, but it was difficult to see the kind of explosive breakthroughs in key technologies. When standing too high, ordinary technological innovations had lost their meaning for Roger.

Just like the Second Heart magic ring in Roger's “Alchemy Scrap Heap.” To Muggles, it was a miraculous thing that could completely solve heart problems, but to Roger, it wasn't even a toy.

And the boundary between self and others...

“Professor McGonagall, I have a feeling of being very crowded.” Roger also turned his gaze back and looked at Professor McGonagall.

“This world is like a small glass jar, and I am locked inside it with others.”

“It's very full here. My body is very large. If I move my body, I will squeeze others and inadvertently crush many lives.”

“If I move violently, I will break the jar, and the broken glass may even injure myself—but I can't change the status quo or break the predicament for the time being. This feeling is so frustrating.”

When researching longevity, Roger only needed to use himself as the experimental subject, freely wielding magic, and he could rely on 'eating himself' as motivation to keep moving forward.

But after achieving longevity, it was a different story. Simply experimenting with new magic was not enough to support the exploration of his path to immortality.

Roger had reached the stage where he had to 'eat all living beings.'

But he didn't have the ability to do so. If he acted rashly, it could lead to many problems, not only putting himself in danger, but also putting many others in danger.

Before his strength broke through to a new stage, Roger needed to be like Dumbledore, unable to arbitrarily disrupt the existing social order.

Many of Roger's researches were as dangerous as the Terminator's Skynet. If they were widely spread before he had the ability to handle the consequences of Pandora's Box being opened, it would be irresponsible to others,

and even more irresponsible to himself.

From first learning magic to achieving longevity on December 26th, Roger spent about four months.

And from the end of December to the end of April, another four months, Roger hadn't even touched the edge of immortality, only developing virtual reality and completing the initial preparation stage.

Losing two 'accelerators,' Roger's cultivation had entered a period of sedimentation from a period of high-speed growth.

And based on the current progress, this period of sedimentation will not be too short.

“This is something that almost every powerful wizard has experienced.” After listening to Roger's sentiments, Professor McGonagall roughly understood why Roger was suddenly in a bad mood.

“Magic is closely related to the mind, and a person's mind is basically fully formed around the age of 30, and there is rarely much growth.”

“The rapid advancement of mental power in youth, to the stagnation or even regression in middle age,

only seeking progress in the proficiency of skills and the amount of knowledge mastered, is the norm for almost all wizards.”

And this state of no positive feedback is also one of the main reasons why many wizards basically give up on continuing to improve their magic after graduation.

The road ahead is not only difficult, but almost immediately visible.

The psychological gap from fast to slow, the bitterness of struggling and not making progress... Professor McGonagall had experienced these things, Snape had experienced them, Dumbledore had also experienced them, even Voldemort and Grindelwald were the same.

Decades of effort to exchange for a breakthrough progress is too common.

“There are peaks and valleys, sometimes you have to stop, or even go back to look at the road you came from, to make sure you haven't lost your way. These are all things you need to experience.”

Roger sighed softly: “I understand the principles, and I won't waver in my determination for eternal life, but it's inevitable that I will feel irritable, lost, or even anxious.”

“Irritability isn't always a bad thing.” The corners of Professor McGonagall's mouth curled up in an arc.

In Professor McGonagall's view, the Roger of the past was too lofty and ethereal.

Judging from Roger's growth experience, the Gulf War undoubtedly had a huge impact on the formation of his personality.

In the war, on the one hand, he had to play the role of a holy prophet who was powerful and impeccable in all aspects. This was his protective color and the spiritual pillar of everyone around him.

People needed to feel that their leader was an invincible mythical figure, so that they could have the courage to face tomorrow.

Excessive role-playing at all times made him disgusted with lies, and also made him always subconsciously think about problems from a higher angle that surpassed ordinary people. On the other hand, the complex situation on the battlefield forced him to not stop, he must move forward, forward, and forward again. If he slowed down, death would follow closely.

"You said before that Harry is like a bowstring stretched taut, but aren't you the same?" Professor McGonagall watched Roger.

Golden hair swayed in the light rain, his fair and delicate face was expressionless, and like the other eleven-year-old first years, he barely reached her chest.

His accomplishments always made people subconsciously ignore his age, ignore that he was also a person.

He was not a cold machine, nor was he an emotionless god.

Having experienced the Gulf War, Professor McGonagall could sense that Roger was always demanding himself to meet the standards of a 'god'.

Never confused, never hesitant, indestructible, able to overcome all difficulties. On the surface, this was not a bad thing, but the 'human' element in Roger was fading more and more.

Only now that Roger was forced to slow down did Professor McGonagall sense those human qualities still remaining in him.

"Roger, do you still remember what you were like before the war?"

"You say Voldemort is unrecognizable compared to who he once was, but what about you?" Professor McGonagall asked very seriously.