Chapter 4: The Dream, the Truth, and the Potion
"Song Zhong!"
A loud shout came from behind.
The moment Song Zhong turned around, a huge fist smashed into his left eye socket with a swish.
Before he could react, another punch came flying at his chin. Song Zhong dodged and moved to the side, then suddenly raised his right hand and swung it forward.
"A sneak attack is not something a member of the Song family would do," he snapped coldly.
The attacker was enraged by his calm tone.
"You filthy bastard. If Grandpa weren't protecting you, I'd have killed you already!"
"I warned you not to use that word in front of me," Song Zhong said, and punched the man in the stomach. A red haze rushed into his eyes, dyeing his sockets crimson.
"Bastard, get out of the Song family!"
"Bastard!"
"Bastard!"
"Shut up!"
A righteous roar exploded from the mouth of Agas, who was fast asleep.
Kaka, who was standing nearby, looked nervously at his young master tossing on the bed.
"Master, the young master spoke something in Chinese," Kaka reported to Grindelwald, who was busy brewing a potion nearby.
"Wake him up," Grindelwald said, stirring the potion while flipping through the pages of a book. There was a problem with the magic stabilizing potion—he didn't know if it was because Agas had taken too much of it, but lately, Agas's need for it had increased.
Where exactly was the problem?
Grindelwald frowned, closed his eyes, and tried to sense it, but even his innate ability couldn't reveal the answer.
In the future vision, all he saw was Agas wearing a Hogwarts robe, standing beside that old fool with an innocent smile.
Tch, that brat never smiles at me like that.
Grindelwald exhaled and poured the completed potion into a bottle with a disgruntled look.
"Master, no matter how much I call, the young master won't wake up," Kaka stammered, tugging on his ragged clothes, clearly scared.
"Out of the way."
Grindelwald stretched out his right hand, and with a puff!, a stream of cool spring water shot into Agas's open mouth, drenching his face until he started to choke and gasp.
"Cough! Cough!"
Agas woke up in a daze, coughing violently and pointing accusingly at Grindelwald.
"Old man, you're trying to kill me! Murder!"
"If I didn't wake you up, you'd fight someone to death in your sleep and die of magical exhaustion."
Grindelwald snorted, staring down at the boy sprawled on the bed.
The more he looked at this kid, the more he thought Agas looked like Aberforth—stubborn and wild. Not even a sliver of Albus's elegance.
"Hehehe, so you were saving me! Why didn't you say that earlier? I misunderstood you," Agas chuckled awkwardly.
He recalled the dream and sighed. If I'd kept dreaming like that, my magic power really might've gone out of control... My temper is seriously hard to manage.
His body was strange too—not like a normal human's. These outbursts were becoming more common.
But then again... no one in this world is really normal, are they?
Agas smirked to himself.
I'm a perfect fit for this crazy magical world.
After all, this was a world where life could be snuffed out by a casual Avada Kedavra.
Although Agas had only lived to eighteen in his past life before dying in the Song Family's lab, everything went just as he had planned. When he died, the entire lab—its data, its personnel, even its so-called geniuses—was destroyed in red flame.
The Song family was a disgusting human-breeding factory. The "successful" experiments walked freely, while the "failures" like Song Zhong were locked away, used for cruel research.
The family wanted to transform human blood, to combine human and beast, in search of longevity. Song Zhong was their miracle—and their downfall.
They discovered too late that his blood had mutated. He couldn't leave the lab, but his blood was harvested daily.
And because they cared too much about preserving him, they all perished in the fire he started.
Maybe fate was too kind.
Maybe in this life, the universe really thought Song Zhong had done something right... and so he was reborn as Agas, into a world that suited a madman.
"What are you thinking about? Drink it."
Grindelwald handed him the potion. He only relaxed when he saw the color returning to Agas's cheeks.
"Dad, this potion tastes like grape. It's really good."
Agas squinted happily, enjoying the sweet flavor.
"But you know, if you just teach me how to cast spells properly, I can control my magic power. That'll stop it from going wild, right?"
"You idiot," Grindelwald scolded. "You're not even of age. Using magic recklessly now will drain your power and could make you a squib."
Agas shrank back slightly.
"But... you reminded me," Grindelwald muttered, now pacing with his hands behind his back. "If I remember correctly, there's something—an artifact—that can help you stabilize your magic."
He paused.
"But... the owner is in England."
Grindelwald narrowed his eyes, troubled.
Even if I get that item, will Agas be exposed to them?
He cannot meet Dumbledore yet. He's not ready.
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