Ever since they stepped out of Flourish and Blotts, Harry had been unusually subdued.
Trailing behind Jane Yu in silence, he suddenly blurted out a question that came completely out of the blue:
"Am I going to die?"
Jane turned to him, utterly perplexed.
The Chosen One, the Savior of the Wizarding World, suddenly worrying about dying? What was going on?
Was this some kind of teenage existential crisis?
Well, he was a 13-year-old boy... Adolescence could do that to you...
She decided it was her responsibility to talk some sense into Harry.
After all, the wizarding world still needed its protagonist to save the day!
"Why would you ask that?" she inquired.
Harry hesitated for a moment, but then, as if a dam had burst, he began to explain his fears:
"After I ran away from home, I saw a huge black dog on Magnolia Crescent..."
"And just now, in the bookstore, that Divination book Death Omens—the cover had a huge black dog on it too..."
Jane immediately grasped the source of his anxiety.
In the wizarding world, where the line between the mundane and the mystical was blurred, premonitions and omens often carried weight.
A fleeting thought, an odd sound—these could sometimes foreshadow significant events.
Many Seers were particularly attuned to such signs.
But Jane didn't believe for a second that Harry was about to meet his end.
If the protagonist of the series died in his third year, what would be left for the next four books?
What would readers even read about?
Looking at Harry's pale, sweaty face and his labored breathing, Jane realized he might be on the verge of a panic attack.
What Harry needed, she concluded, was a psychologist—
But, alas, no such profession existed in the wizarding world.
So Jane decided to step in and play the role herself, using her own unique methods.
"Harry, what I'm about to tell you stays between us," she said, her tone serious as she placed both hands on Harry's shoulders and stared directly into his eyes.
"Follow me."
She led him to her room, Number 10, and began waving her wand around, pretending to cast anti-eavesdropping spells.
Harry sat down in a chair, clutching a teacup so tightly his knuckles turned white. Not even the warmth of the tea could ease his anxiety.
Jane sat across from him, clasped her hands together, and spoke with solemnity:
"I'm going to share a secret with you—a secret passed down in my family."
Harry's attention was caught. His green eyes flickered with curiosity as he waited for her to continue.
"In my family, there are people who specialize in calculating fate and understanding a person's destiny."
"As long as they know your date of birth and the exact time, they can predict your future."
"This is different from what Professor Trelawney teaches in Divination... It's a completely unique magical system."
Harry stared at Jane, astonished.
She must trust him immensely!
She was willing to share her family's secret with him!
The feeling of being trusted filled him with warmth, and he immediately promised, with conviction, that he would never reveal her secret.
Jane smiled mysteriously and pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill:
"And I happen to be one of those fate-calculators... Perhaps you'd like me to take a look at your destiny?"
Harry, without a shred of doubt, quickly provided his birthdate:
"July 31, 1980. But I don't know the exact time."
Not knowing the exact time might have been a problem for others.
But knowing that he was the protagonist and the Chosen One made everything much simpler.
Jane began scribbling on the parchment, pretending to calculate, and spoke with an air of profundity:
"Smart, very smart. The subject is brave, strong-willed, kind, sincere, honest, and empathetic... Although there's a slight tendency to be impulsive and rule-breaking, it's nothing major."
"Your life is filled with benefactors who will help you turn misfortune into fortune."
"You have an incredibly prosperous destiny, with a bright future ahead. While there will be many challenges and setbacks, you will ultimately achieve your goals."
Harry was stunned by her serious demeanor, his mouth agape in disbelief that the person she was describing was him.
"Is... is that true?" he asked, both delighted and anxious. "But I've always been so unlucky. I lost my parents at birth, my aunt and uncle... and my cousin hate me. I don't think I have any special talents... Last year, everyone avoided me because of Parseltongue... The Sorting Hat wanted to put me in Slytherin, saying I was ambitious—"
He stopped mid-sentence, realizing that the person across from him, a Slytherin herself, was now glaring at him with a less-than-pleased expression.
He quickly changed the subject, as if eager to validate Jane's words:
"So... am I still going to die? I mean... that dog? The death omen?"
Jane immediately launched into her second act—palm reading.
"Come, give me your left hand. Let me check your lifeline."
Harry obediently placed his hand in hers, looking at her with the expectant gaze of a puppy.
"Hmm, turn it over, Harry." Jane appeared to carefully examine his lifeline. "Don't worry, you're not going to die. On the contrary, as I said, you'll turn misfortune into fortune and live a long, fulfilling life."
Harry couldn't suppress the smile spreading across his face. He was visibly happier but still voiced his concerns:
"But I still have so much bad luck, so many misfortunes..."
Jane, however, shook her finger mysteriously and quoted an old Chinese saying:
"Heaven bestows great responsibilities on those destined for greatness. They must first endure trials of the heart, labor of the body, and hardships of life..."
"In other words, those who achieve greatness often go through many trials and tribulations before reaching their success."
"And you, Harry, have a mission sent by destiny... Destiny cannot be spoken of, cannot be revealed."
Harry felt that Jane's gaze was becoming increasingly enigmatic. Her profound expression calmed him, and he nodded firmly:
"I understand now. Thank you, Yu!"
At that moment, he felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude.
To help him, Jane had even revealed her family's secret techniques!
Wasn't she his benefactor?
She had saved him multiple times, comforted him when he was scared and lost after running away from home—
It truly was turning misfortune into fortune!
And everything she deduced about his personality from his birthdate—
Now that he thought about it, it really did sound like him!
Harry couldn't help but recall the events of the past two years...
No wonder Jane had discovered the secret behind Quirrell's head!
No wonder she had found the Chamber of Secrets and defeated the younger version of Voldemort hidden in the diary!
It turned out she was a Seer who could foresee the future!
With that realization, Harry finally let go of the worries in his mind.
He returned to his room, dug out the Monster Book of Monsters that Hagrid had given him, and happily began pulling its teeth.
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