[HP]Timepiece Countdown

A week later, Harry set foot on Massachusetts soil.

Although according to his own plan, he wants to arrive in North America as soon as possible, the sooner the better, but the necessary procedures cannot be ignored.Furthermore, he could not be sure that the man in black was Voldemort based on the acquaintance of the two witnesses.Finally, hearing that he was going to the United States on business, Dumbledore asked him to bring a personal letter to Mrs. Wilkinson, seeking her support in the cross-border pursuit of dark wizards.

Mary Wilkinson is a special advisor to the chairman of the Magical Congress of America (MACUSA), and also serves as the principal of the Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

That's why Harry waited in front of that towering granite castle.Although the history of Yvermoney is not as good as that of Hogwarts, it is also very famous in the world.Even without Dumbledore's instructions, Harry guessed he couldn't have turned down the chance to visit it.

There were still 10 minutes before the appointment time, Harry folded his hands, rolled his eyes, and casually looked at the surrounding scenery.

The sun has risen to half height, more or less dispelling the silvery white clouds hovering over the mountain top, but the conical spire of Ivemony Castle is still looming.From the outside, the rules of this castle are very different from Hogwarts Castle: a tower is immediately behind the entrance gate, and there is a tall circular building on the right further inside.

That might be the Great Hall, Harry guessed casually, and if Hermione was here, she would be able to tell exactly what the building was for.

But after a while, his gaze turned to outside the castle wall again.The top of Greylock Mount (GreylockMount) is flat and grassy.Not far away are scattered forests, almost every tree is as tall as a tower.One tree, however, with its many broad leaves and forked branches here and there, seemed particularly out of place in the uniformity of pointed conifers.

Harry suspected it might be a special species of wand wood.Curiosity was piqued, and he wanted to get closer to see if there were any Bowtruckles up there.But before he could do so, the castle gate creaked open.

"Sorry for keeping you waiting," a young man in a tuxedo appeared from behind the door, his manners were elegant and his words were polite, "Are you Mr. Potter?"

Harry nodded quickly. "Yes, I have an appointment with Mrs. Wilkinson at ten o'clock."

Hearing this, the young wizard showed apology on his face. "The principal has just received an urgent letter from Congress and has left the school now. But the principal asked me to tell you that if you don't mind, let me take you around the school and have lunch. If there is no accident, the principal will will be back."

"Ah..." Although Harry wanted to complete the task quickly so that he could go to New York, he still had a few messages to convey in person, and tried his best to win the other party's cooperation. "Then I'll trouble you... By the way, what's your name? Professor?"

The man smiled back, looking a little shy. "No, I'm just the keykeeper at the school," he explained, stepping sideways to make way for Harry. "Tom King, just call me Tom."

Tom...?

The name caught his ears, and Harry began to look at the other party seriously.Black hair and dark eyes, handsome face, neat bow tie and shirt, and a tuxedo that pinches the waist to make his legs slender... Hell, this man even wears white gloves!

The image of Filch, the Hogwarts key keeper, quickly appeared in Harry's mind, and he quickly stepped on that image.The difference between the two is too great, there is no way to compare...

Having said that, isn't it too wasteful for someone with such a face to be a key keeper?

Then again, the custodian of the keys of Ivemoney needs to be dressed like this?If he's not mistaken, Britain is the country that pays more attention to dress etiquette, right?

Then again...

Well, that's the name Harry associates with Voldemort.While elegance, coyness, and good manners are not what the Dark Lord is supposed to be, it's clearly an easy feat for the Dark Lord to pretend to be.In addition, the reason why he has such a guess now is entirely because he has no feeling——

Without opening the Occlumency barrier, there's no way he couldn't have noticed Voldemort standing in front of him, right?

While he did have misgivings, Harry politely glossed them over. "Okay, I'll trouble you then, Tom."

The first place they visited was the rotunda Harry had noticed outside.Harry had thought it was the Great Hall, and it was, but its most important function was actually the sorting house.

"Like Hogwarts, Ivemany has four colleges in total, and the logos are Horned Serpent, Wampus, Thunderbird and Pukucci, which in turn represent the wisdom of wizards. , body, soul and heart." Tom said, pointing to the wooden statues in the four corners.

Harry looked them all over.The long-horned water snake has two curly horns on its head, the cat leopard looks a bit like an armadillo, the thunderbird can attract thunderstorms, and the pukuchi looks like a hedgehog from the side. "I haven't seen them before," he commented objectively.

"It's normal," Tom nodded. "You are British, and they are all magical creatures unique to North America."

"Then how do you know which house a student has been selected by?" Harry asked curiously.

Tom gestured to Harry to look at the gold knot decoration set into the center of the floor. "Students stand on the Gordian Knot, and which statue responds, he will go to the corresponding college. If more than one statue responds, then students can have their own choices."

"Oh?" Harry found himself jumping up, "Can I ask what the reaction was?"

"You can try it yourself." Tom gave Harry another look. "The students are all in class at the moment, and I don't think the headmaster will mind."

Harry felt that this man named Tom King must be able to read minds.But again the old saying, he really wanted to try. "I hope they will show some face." He walked over and stood up, suddenly feeling a little nervous about being late, "If they don't respond, then I will..."

Before the words were finished, the Thunderbird sculpture came to life.It soared from its pedestal and hovered under the circular dome of the hall.

Together the two looked up at the huge bird. "Thunderbird students are mostly adventurous," Tom said softly. "It's no surprise."

Harry thought the description sounded a bit like Gryffindor. "I think too... eh?"

Hearing the surprise, Tom looked at Harry, and followed Harry's line of sight to the Pukucci statue.The animal had already placed its bow and arrow, as if it would shoot at a certain target in the next second. "A kind-hearted healer," he said, with a dry tone for some reason, "maybe you..."

Before the words were finished, the cat and leopard also let out a roar.

The two looked at each other in the empty hall, each in disbelief. "I think there might be something wrong." Harry broke the silence first, he was a little embarrassed by the strange atmosphere, "I guess this is not common?"

Tom just stared at Harry. "Cats and Leopards usually choose the Warriors," he said almost flatly, "but I don't think there is a mistake."

"But..." Harry wanted to say that it was impossible for all three Houses to want him, but he was choked up when he noticed that the gemstone on the water snake's forehead also started to sparkle.

Tom noticed too. "Four houses want to admit the same student, which happens about once in ten years." He picked up where Harry had left off—and now he was no different from the way he behaved at the gate— — "I bet the principal likes you a lot."

Logically, Harry should be proud.But at this moment, he just wanted to restore the sculptures to their original state, so he quickly jumped away from the complicated knot. "I've already graduated from Hogwarts," he quickly stated his position, not knowing why he was so anxious, "I don't want to do it again!"

Tom smiled, perfectly curved, just like his clothes. "That's really our pity." He bowed slightly, and stretched out his right hand toward the opposite of the door they came in. "Now, let's visit the next place."

Harry took two steps in that direction and stopped suddenly. "Are you an Evelyn graduate, Tom?"

"No," said Tom very quickly, "I haven't been to school."

This would explain why he was willing to be a key keeper, but Harry always felt that something was not right.Regardless of judging people by their appearance or their so-called intuition, he did not believe that this man's magical ability was mediocre. "So have you tried this knot?"

Tom froze, as if he hadn't expected Harry to ask that question.However, this only lasted for a very short moment. "Personally, I don't think it makes sense," he refused bluntly, "it's hopeless anyway..."

"How could that be?" Harry immediately retorted, "I've heard of Mrs. Wilkinson's character, she will never give up on any possible student! As long as you are willing to learn, she will definitely teach you whether the sculpture responds or not." your!"

I have to say that these words blocked Tom's back. "Okay." Tom could only reluctantly compromise, "but you must promise me that no matter what the result is, it will stop here."

Harry guessed that Tom was asking him to keep it a secret, and immediately nodded vigorously.Under that earnest gaze, Tom moved reluctantly—

The jewel on the horned water-serpent's brow lit up almost as soon as his toes touched the sign.Tom wanted to get up and pull away immediately, but Harry had expected it, so he rushed over and hugged him around the waist.At this instant, the cat and leopard roared, the thunderbird fluttered its wings and soared into the air, and Pukuqi's arrow really shot out this time, deeply piercing into the opposite wall.

Harry looked up and saw the man staring at him too. "'Four academies want to recruit the same student, and this happens only once in ten years.'" He repeated what the man had just said word by word, with the corners of his mouth grinning, not to say that he was not proud, "Do you think What is the probability of two cases appearing at the same time," he deliberately bit the accent behind, "Tom?"