Harry Potter: I am the Legend

Hoffa didn't dare delay. Putting on his gloves, he grabbed Chloe's arm and sprinted away.

He ran with incredible speed, fast enough to catch up to cars. Yet, unlike last time when he was chasing one, now he was the prey, hunted by a pack of bloodthirsty beasts.

Groups of black-robed wizards emerged like phantoms on the street.

"He won't escape!" one man shouted. "Anchor, let's go!"

"Got it!"

Two wizards mounted Thestrals and surged from the darkness, their speed increasing as they closed in on Hoffa. With high-pitched screeches, the wizards drew their wands in unison.

They slashed their wands, conjuring a chaotic web of crackling electricity that spread out, attempting to capture everything in its path.

Seeing the electric net sweeping toward him, Hoffa skidded to a halt, breaking the ground underfoot. He yanked Chloe along, diving into another direction.

At that moment, piercing howls erupted from the shadows. Enormous two-headed hellhounds, as large as lions, lunged forward. Their bodies emitted black smoke, red eyes glowing like embers, and saliva dripped from their sharp-toothed jaws, reeking of rot.

The two darted into an alley, weaving through the labyrinthine paths. At both exits, hellhounds skidded and collided with each other in their frenzied charge, forming a grotesque pile of snarling, tangled beasts.

While the dark wizards hadn't caught up, the hounds tore at the stone walls to create gaps.

Hoffa took off his gloves and handed them to Chloe.

"Quick, put these on and take me back!"

Chloe glanced around anxiously. "Not here! It won't work here."

"Why not? Wouldn't it be quicker to end this now?"

She stomped her foot. "It won't work! Time travel doesn't change location. We'll reappear exactly where we left, and they'll still be waiting for us!"

"Got it." Hoffa nodded, eyeing the iron gate being shredded by the hellhounds.

"Get on my back," he said, crouching.

"What?"

"No time to explain—just hurry!"

Chloe clung to his neck and climbed onto his back.

With a deafening crash, the gate was ripped to pieces. The hellhounds howled and charged into the alley.

Carrying Chloe, Hoffa leapt into the air, kicking a snapping dog head aside. Twisting midair, he used another hound's snout as a springboard, propelling himself onto a high rooftop. His eyes gleamed with golden light.

The sky churned with dark clouds, the air tense with the oppressive heat of an impending storm.

Golden patterns spread from Hoffa's hand, snaking across his body. His arms sprouted sleek, colorful feathers, dazzling in their brilliance.

Simultaneously, two massive white bones burst from his back. In seconds, they were encased in muscle and feathers, forming majestic wings.

Chloe, clinging to his neck, was stunned by the dazzling transformation. She had never seen anything so extravagant or awe-inspiring.

"I can't maintain this for long. Hold tight!" Hoffa called, his voice now sharper and birdlike.

Chloe nodded vigorously, gripping tighter.

With a powerful thrust, the Thunderbird launched into the sky.

On the ground, the hounds howled madly at the moon. Black-robed wizards arrived, their dark Mercedes cars cluttering the area.

From one car, a Gestapo officer, Müller Manz, stepped out, his black uniform pristine. His eyes gleamed with fanaticism as he gazed at the sky.

"It's him—Agmanis magic, just as described. Such a beautiful yet terrifying creature. Capture it!"

The wizards drew their wands. In the distance, enormous black bats smashed through windows, their leathery wings slicing through the air as they dived toward the earth. The dark wizards mounted the bats, gripping the coarse manes behind their necks.

The bats soared into the sky, their speed rivaling the Thunderbird's. Outnumbering it a hundredfold, they encircled Hoffa from all directions. The wizards atop them bent low, unleashing spell after spell.

The night sky lit up with a kaleidoscope of curses, each one a radiant yet deadly firework display.

The Thunderbird weaved through the chaos, its massive form as agile as a falcon.

"Can't you shrink down a bit? We're sitting ducks up here!" Chloe screamed.

The Thunderbird let out a piercing screech, diving into the clouds.

The bats, like vultures chasing carrion, shrieked and pursued relentlessly.

Breaking through the clouds, Hoffa arced gracefully beneath the moon, his ghostly steps allowing him to reverse his trajectory and slip past the bats. The swarm, deceived, dove headlong into the dark clouds in the opposite direction.

Within seconds, they had traveled dozens of kilometers.

Emerging from the concealment of ghostly steps, a towering structure loomed ahead—the Eiffel Tower, one of the tallest buildings in the world, standing over 300 meters high.

With his magical reserves nearly depleted, Hoffa reverted to his human form before they reached the tower.

Amid Chloe's screams, they plummeted like meteors, crashing onto the observation deck.

Crunch!

Rolling twice, Hoffa barely stopped himself at the edge of the tower. He gasped, suspecting a fractured rib.

Ignoring his pain, he slipped the gloves onto Chloe's arm.

"Hurry!"

By now, much of Hoffa's body had become translucent—his arms, legs, neck, even half his head. Crystalline fragments peeled away from him, shimmering like starlight, a dire consequence of reversing time.

Seeing his disintegrating form, Chloe shut her eyes tightly and strained with all her might. Then, opening her eyes, she cried in despair, "It's not working—I can't do it!"

"Why not?" Hoffa's head swirled.

"Not enough magic!" Chloe showed him her palm.

The glove's gauge displayed 0.5X—half the magic of an average adult wizard.

Cursing inwardly, Hoffa realized his escape had drained too much energy.

The disintegration accelerated, crystalline fragments scattering in the wind.

Far off, the dark wizards and their bats returned, closing in like vengeful spirits.

"Hoffa, what do we do?" Chloe grabbed his arm, her eyes red with panic.

"Don't worry. Hold my hand." Hoffa spoke calmly, a surprising serenity in his voice.

Chloe gripped his hand tightly.

Closing his eyes, Hoffa silently invoked a forbidden spell—Blood Bloom.

Life force converted into magic. The glove's gauge spun rapidly, transferring power from Hoffa to Chloe.

Instantly, her eyes turned pure white, her expression contorted in pain.

Sensing the surge, the bats shrieked and rushed toward the tower.

As bloodlike tears streamed from Chloe's eyes, a flash of lightning erupted, and both vanished from the Eiffel Tower's summit.

The bats swarmed the tower, circling in confusion before dispersing in all directions.

The blazing sun now beat down on the steel beams, heating them enough to cook an egg.

Under the searing heat, the boy and girl lay unconscious until one groaned in pain.

Hoffa stirred, waking from the weightless dizziness of time travel. He felt as though he'd dreamed a strange, reckless journey—one where he had stolen something from himself.

Slowly sitting up, Hoffa's ears were greeted by the cheerful chirping of birds. On the Eiffel Tower, sparrows hopped about, seemingly unfazed by the scorching summer heat.

Turning his head, Hoffa noticed the girl with wine-red hair lying motionless beside him.

Seeing Chloe, Hoffa jolted upright as if shocked, hurriedly pulling his shirt away to inspect himself. Though his skin bore red, sunburnt marks from the intense heat, the terrifying transparent time scars had vanished—he had returned to his rightful time.

"Phew."

He exhaled deeply and sat heavily on the 300-meter-high observation deck, rubbing his hair with relief as laughter bubbled up.

"Ow…"

A groan broke his moment of calm.

Chloe had woken up. Exhausted, she dragged herself up from the steel platform like an old woman, clutching her back and groaning, "My head is killing me."

Hoffa couldn't help but chuckle at the red marks from the scorching metal on her face.

Noticing him laughing, Chloe touched her face in irritation. "What's so funny? Your face has them too."

"Ha!" Hoffa pointed at her, his laughter escalating uncontrollably.

Chloe weakly slapped him a few times, but soon joined in the laughter.

The two laughed for a long time, sitting atop the Eiffel Tower. Watching the bustling streets below and the blue and white foam of the Seine River, they fell silent.

At last, they had evaded the Dark Wizards' pursuit and escaped the merciless crushing of the laws of time.

But as the tension faded, Hoffa felt an unfamiliar emotion stir within him.

It had been a year, yet he still dreamt of Hogwarts—night after night, endlessly. No matter how many detours he took in Paris or Berlin, he always found himself facing the school and those harrowing memories in his sleep.

This wild temporal adventure had resurfaced memories Hoffa had avoided confronting and revealed to him a terrifying possibility.

In the glaring, scorching sunlight, he shook his head vigorously, trying to banish the thought, but it was futile. The idea spread like a virus, swiftly consuming his mind.

"Chloe?" Hoffa called softly.

The nun looked at him curiously.

"How far back can you travel in time?"

"How far?"

"Yes, the furthest."

"A couple of days, maybe. It's unpredictable; I can't control it precisely," Chloe replied thoughtfully. "If you're asking about the longest jump, that was when I was six years old—my magic surged, and I went back a week."

"Only two or three days?" Hoffa's gaze dimmed.

After another moment of silence, Chloe asked curiously, "What are you thinking, Mr. Bach?"

Hoffa raised his head. "Nothing."

(The fire in his eyes began to ignite again.)

"By the way, what's your relationship with… uh, Fatir Delacour?"

"Relationship?" Chloe shook her head. "I have no connection to him. I've never met him. I only know he's the newly appointed Minister of Magic."

"Then why is he having someone send you to London?"

Chloe rolled her eyes. "My great-great-great-great-grandfather is there. He's my only living relative."

"Nicholas Flamel?"

"Exactly. He's currently working on a project for the Ministry of Magic, though I don't know the details. I heard the minister personally assigned him to it."

Hoffa's gaze sharpened as he processed this information. Suddenly, he understood Fatir's potential motive—a notion both alluring and terrifying.

Licking his lips, Hoffa blurted out, "I'll take you there."

Chloe's mouth fell open in surprise. "Huh?"

"I'll take you to London."

Hoffa repeated hoarsely, "The journey across the English Channel and France is fraught with danger. Trust me, you won't make it to London without my protection."

"But… why the sudden change? Weren't you against this before?"

"Well…" Hoffa scratched his head awkwardly. "That was a misunderstanding. I'm sorry for mistaking you for a thief."

"You're not going to Africa anymore?"

"No. Besides, it's been ages since I've been back to England. I might as well visit some friends while I'm there."

Hoffa looked at Chloe's shoulder as he spoke.

Chloe tilted her head, studying his eyes. After a moment, she folded her arms. "What, just because you're offering, I should accept?"

"I thought we were friends already," Hoffa said shamelessly, extending his hand.

Chloe burst into laughter, ignoring his outstretched hand.

"Please, Mr. Bach. You can escort me, but let's skip the friendship part. We've known each other for less than two days."

"That's fine." Hoffa withdrew his hand. "But if we're counting by the time continuum, it should be four days."

"I know time better than you do."

Chloe spoke solemnly: "You can take me back, but I have one condition."

"What condition?"

"You cannot kill anyone," Chloe said with both seriousness and sincerity.

Hoffa froze, looking at Chloe's determined expression. He thought to himself how he had encountered such an idealist.

After over a year of struggling to survive, he was no longer the carefree student he had been at Hogwarts. Especially in the borderlands between England and France, where Dark Wizards were as numerous as grains of sand. The idea of getting through without killing anyone seemed laughably naive.

If anyone else had made such a demand, Hoffa would've scoffed and told them to get lost.

But the tantalizing possibility before him was too precious to give up.

"Fine, I promise," he said, staring down at his toes.

"Really?"

Chloe couldn't hide the hint of a smile at the corners of her mouth, but the scheming Hoffa kept his head down.

"Are we going down or not?"

"Well, how about carrying me down from the tower first, bodyguard?"

After leaving the Eiffel Tower, Hoffa and Chloe returned to the docks along the Seine River.

Hoffa intended to find Norbert to inform him of his plans.

However, when they arrived, the once-bustling dock was eerily deserted. Wooden boards barred the entrance, bearing a sign that read: "Access Forbidden."

The entire dock had been sealed off.

"When we left, wasn't this place crowded with people?" Hoffa asked, perplexed.

"It's not the same day we left," Chloe said, shading her eyes from the sun. "The day we left, the sun wasn't this bright."

"Then what day is it now?"

"September 3rd. We're two days into the future," Chloe said, pointing to a distant bulletin board.

Hoffa walked over to the board and saw a freshly posted notice:

"Hurricane Approaching: Harbor Closed from September 3rd to October 1st."

Beneath the notice was a timestamp and a meteorological seal, confirming that today was indeed September 3rd.

"September 3rd… Does that mean we jumped into the future again?" Hoffa asked in astonishment.

"No," Chloe shook her head. "This is synchronized time. We spent two days in the past, but during those two days, the arrow of time kept moving forward. The time we lose in the past is subtracted from the future—or rather, it's compensated for in the present."

Having experienced the chaos of time travel, Hoffa mostly understood Chloe's explanation. Time, for living beings, was not a gift without consequences. It was precise, relentless, and cold.

But such philosophical musings were not Hoffa's concern at the moment. He had more immediate, practical problems to address. Due to the time gap, they were now completely out of contact with their companions.

If today was September 3rd, he had been missing for two full days.

According to the original plan, Norbert should already be on his way to Africa, while Delphina would have gone to England.

Without phones in this era, Hoffa couldn't simply call Norbert to find out where he was. Besides, he wasn't sure Norbert would agree to his crazy plan. If that guy were around, he'd probably shrug it off, saying it wasn't his problem.

Beside him, Chloe gazed worriedly at the empty docks, muttering, "What do we do now? Do you have an owl?"

"No," Hoffa admitted honestly.

"And you call yourself a wizard? Don't all Hogwarts students have owls?"

"Quit joking."

Hoffa looked at the deserted dock and said, "We need to get a boat. Without one, there's no way I can take you to England."

"That's easier said than done," Chloe replied. "There aren't any boats left around here."

"We could head to Le Havre in Normandy. I have a friend there who owes me a favor. I can ask him to lend us a boat."

The next chapters will require revisions. Please stay tuned for updates.

(End of Chapter)

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