Hermione's love for him seed to manifest as a form of ntal resonance between the two of them. Arthur was certain that Hermione could now sense his shock just as clearly as he could feel her emotions.
There were likely other effects as well—but Arthur didn't have the leisure to investigate them right now.
His mind was in complete turmoil.
Hermione… had fallen in love with him.
He had to admit that, deep down, he had entertained a bit of a "raising" mindset—but Hermione was still just a teenager. In Arthur's eyes, she was firmly in the raising phase.
Yet sohow, this girl had matured on her own.
More precisely, her mind had matured—her body, however, had not.
This developnt was entirely outside Arthur's expectations. At this mont, he desperately wished his system had a favorability interface, just so he could see exactly how high Hermione's affection level was.
Even without such a feature, judging by the emotions resonating in his heart, her affection was clearly hovering near the maximum.
But this was not the ti to be distracted by such thoughts.
Arthur could feel fear rising from Hermione's side—fear born from his prolonged silence. She was beginning to worry that he might reject her feelings.
Arthur gently stroked her fur and spoke softly,
"Silly girl… have you really thought this through? I already have a fiancée."
Hermione lifted her head in his arms and looked at him seriously.
"I've thought about it very carefully. You're too outstanding, Arthur—you were never going to belong to just one person. Since that's the case, I'd rather secure a position closer to the front."
This way of thinking wasn't unique to Hermione.
Penelope likely thought the sa way.
Hermione even suspected that the unfathomable Luna might share similar thoughts.
Arthur lightly tapped Hermione on the head and laughed,
"So in your eyes, your cousin is just that much of a philanderer?"
Hermione stuck out her tongue in her cat form. At the sa ti, the heavy stone weighing on her heart finally fell away.
She knew—Arthur had accepted her feelings.
She was extrely grateful that she was in her Animagus form right now. If she'd been human, she might not have had the courage to say those words aloud.
"Alright," Arthur said, regaining his composure. "We've spent enough ti here. Let's move on to the next room."
They had lingered here far longer than planned, and Arthur still hadn't achieved his real objective for the night. If they delayed any longer, dawn would break.
The next room they entered was filled with clocks.
Grandfather clocks, wall clocks, pocket watches—large and small, every kind imaginable.
The ticking of countless chanisms filled the room, like the synchronized march of soldiers—orderly, rhythmic, relentless.
At the sa ti, dazzling lights—brilliant as cut diamonds—leapt and danced through the air. The spectacle was even more breathtaking than the planetary chamber they had visited earlier.
At the far end of the room stood a towering, bell-shaped crystal glass enclosure, as tall as an adult. It rested on a table, filled with a constantly churning, luminous stream of shimring mist.
Inside floated a tiny, jewel-like egg.
With a soft crack, the egg split open, and a hummingbird erged. Carrying the broken shell, it slowly drifted upward with the current—then descended again.
As it fell, the bird's vibrant feathers gradually dulled. By the ti it reached the bottom, it slipped back into the egg, and the cracks sealed themselves.
The cycle repeated endlessly.
This was the Ti Chamber—the place where the Ministry stored Ti-Turners.
And Ti-Turners were Arthur's true goal tonight.
Ti.
What a miraculous force.
To the Unspeakables, this chamber existed to study grand questions like exploring the past and glimpsing the future. In the end, their conclusion was simple: grasp the present—because the past cannot be changed, and the future cannot be reached.
But was that really the truth?
In the end, the Unspeakables had never truly mastered ti. They rely played clumsily with it through Ti-Turners.
And those who toy with ti are inevitably toyed with in return.
If soone truly mastered ti… could the past and future be altered?
Arthur didn't know.
But he was about to beco soone who wielded ti itself.
Ti was a form of special power, and by all logic, it should be absorbable—just like the others.
Though Arthur possessed the Zen Garden, where he could freely adjust ti flow, that did not an he had mastered ti.
He could only control ti within the Zen Garden. Outside of it, he could rely sense ti's presence—not command it.
Ever since he'd detected the ti power embedded in Hermione's Ti-Turner, Arthur had wanted to co here.
Ti was a power no one could resist.
His gaze fell upon a glass cabinet filled with countless hourglasses.
Every single one of them was a Ti-Turner.
Arthur could hardly wait.
Before beginning, he had Hermione leave the room.
He wasn't sure what effects absorbing ti might cause.
If it were simple acceleration—rapid aging—that could be managed. With the Philosopher's Stone, lifespan wasn't a concern.
What he feared was temporal turbulence—being flung into so unknown era.
So Arthur explained everything to Hermione, including the possible risks, and asked her to leave.
Though worried, Hermione obeyed.
She knew that once Arthur made up his mind, nothing could stop him. All she could do was avoid interfering—and silently pray for his safety.
Once Hermione had gone, Arthur began.
He first dismantled every protective and alarm enchantnt the Ministry had placed here, ensuring nothing would trigger an alert.
Then he opened the cabinet.
He took out one hourglass and shattered it.
The sand spilled out—but instead of falling to the floor, it faded midair and vanished.
At the sa ti, Arthur felt ti around him accelerate violently.
One second outside—
Several months within.
Strangely, his thoughts weren't affected.
His mind experienced one second, while his body endured months.
In other words—his body aged by months.
It felt like ti itself was punishing him for destroying the Ti-Turner.
An ordinary human would have starved to death long ago.
Fortunately, Arthur had already reached the level of a demigod. Eating was no longer a necessity.
He was profoundly grateful he'd sent Hermione away. Had she remained, she would've been reduced to bones in monts.
Yet the result pleased him.
He confird that the Ti-Turner's effect ca from the sand itself.
The sand was ti power given physical form. Once freed from its container, it rapidly dispersed—producing the terrifying effects he'd just experienced.
With that understanding, Arthur hesitated no longer.
He shattered every single hourglass and activated his ability, absorbing the ti sand.
But this ti—
Arthur overestimated himself.
Or rather, he hadn't realized that even a demigod's body had limits.
For the first ti ever while absorbing special energy, he felt saturation.
His body could not absorb any more.
Yet a portion of ti sand remained.
Which ant it would disperse naturally.
The result—
Arthur's body began to age at an extre rate.
For ordinary people, this would be called aging.
For Arthur, it could only be called growth.
A normal young man would turn into a withered old corpse in under half a minute.
Arthur endured it for over a minute—
Equivalent to two to three hundred years.
When the remaining ti sand finally vanished, Arthur examined himself.
He had grown several centiters taller—now standing at roughly 180 cm, fully adult in appearance.
By physical age alone, he should've been long dead. No ordinary human could survive centuries.
But for a demigod, bodily growth ant greater power.
As his height increased, the strength within him grew denser and more profound.
The only pity—
Ranni had been in the Zen Garden.
She'd missed a perfect opportunity for growth.
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