Hermione cried her heart out in Tver's arms.
But soon, she lifted her head, not even bothering to wipe the tears from her face.
"Professor, the crisis still hasn't been resolved…"
"Don't worry. Time doesn't pass here. No matter how long you stay, nothing outside will change."
Tver gently patted her head and pressed the stunned Hermione into a seat before looking at Harry and Draco.
"I don't need to invite you two, do I?"
"N-no need."
The two quickly pulled out chairs and sat down.
"Try this. Jeff is very good at making fruit pies."
A graceful, elegant lady beside them handed over a plate.
Harry and Draco felt inexplicably restrained. Neither dared refuse, so they each obediently took a piece of pie to soothe their hungry stomachs.
Seeing this, the lady chuckled.
"There's no need to be nervous. Seeing you children turn out so well makes us happy enough already."
Children?
Harry blinked, looking confused.
He was not exactly old, but this lady looked only about forty. Why was she calling him a child?
Could it be…
Some kind of special preference?!
Harry's eyes widened at once.
Helga suddenly laughed even more happily. "Rowena, it seems we've been misunderstood."
At that, Rowena, who was cutting sausages beside her, did not even raise her head.
"Only you. You're always saying confusing things. It would be stranger if people didn't misunderstand."
"If you ask me, it's a Gryffindor problem."
Salazar slowly lifted his cup, drinking milk with the elegance of someone tasting wine.
"Hey, hey, don't think I didn't hear you implying that about me!" Godric said loudly.
"Wow, our Mr. Gryffindor has actually grown clever. Perhaps we should hold a grand banquet to celebrate this once-in-a-thousand-years event."
Salazar smiled with pursed lips. Even an ordinary curve of his mouth gave that wicked-looking face a colder edge.
Then a startled cry broke off their argument.
"Are you the four founders?!"
Hermione was so shocked she stood up at once, her chair scraping sharply against the floor and drawing everyone's gaze.
Her expression stiffened, and she quickly sat back down.
"I'm sorry. That was terribly rude of me."
Harry looked down at her.
"These are…"
"They're the founders of Hogwarts, and the origins of our four houses. Helga Hufflepuff…"
"Stop, stop. I may not have read as many books as you, but I'm not so hopeless that I don't know such important history."
Harry quickly cut her off. "But are you sure you haven't mistaken them? The four of them… how are they still sitting here alive?"
"We're already dead, you know."
Godric said it with a laugh, then speared a sausage with his fork, took a bite, and chewed heartily.
That was even more frightening!
Even with a table between them, Harry felt a chill run down his spine. He did not know whether it was because their conversation had been overheard or because of what the other man had just said.
"Are you… ghosts?" Hermione asked hesitantly, without much confidence in her voice.
After all, ghosts could not eat sausages and drink milk like this.
"To be precise, we are the dead," Godric explained with a smile.
"This is Limbo, the gap between life and death, the only world where the living and the dead can coexist."
This time, Hermione and Draco looked blank, while Harry suddenly understood.
After his final battle with Voldemort, he had once entered Limbo.
But compared with the place he had seen then, this world was so real it was almost impossible to tell apart from reality.
"Limbo forms different worlds according to the creator's soul and abilities."
Godric pointed toward Tver.
"This is your Professor Fawley's Limbo."
"Hm?"
Hearing his name, Tver's ears perked up. He bit into his egg and looked up.
Seeing Harry, Hermione, and Draco staring straight at him, he asked, "Were you talking about me?"
"Professor, have you been staying here this whole time?" Draco asked curiously.
"That's right," Tver said with a nod. "Ever since I discovered the existence of Limbo, I created this world and have been trying to explore its deeper mysteries."
Exploring the mysteries of the world!
Hearing that goal, all three of them could not help but look envious.
Before they were Prime Minister, Minister, and Vice-President, they were genuine wizards.
To any wizard, exploring the mysteries of magic was an irresistible temptation.
"Of course, with your talent, even if you devoted your entire lives to research, you probably still wouldn't touch the edge of Limbo."
"…"
"So stay in your positions and work hard to benefit all humanity. I'm counting on you~" Tver said with a smile, the spoon still in his mouth.
Their mouths, which had fallen open in surprise, slowly closed, and their expressions became complicated.
This was definitely the real professor. This was exactly the flavor.
"Professor, there's someone incredibly powerful outside who's impersonating you. Do you know about that?" Hermione asked urgently.
"I know," Tver said after thinking for a moment, then shook his head. "But I also don't know."
The answer was completely beyond their expectations.
"Looking at how things have developed, no matter what, there will always be people dissatisfied with the current state of affairs. Once there are enough such people, an outstanding figure will emerge among them. That is inevitable."
Tver spoke softly. Though he was smiling, there was something unreal and ever-changing about him.
"As for who that person is, where he is now, and what he plans to do, I'm sorry, but I cannot know that."
"Then now that you do know… what are you planning to do?" Draco asked expectantly.
Tver only smiled and shook his head.
"I have always hoped this world would run according to rules and systems, whether or not there are flaws within them, rather than relying on overwhelming power to suppress everything."
"This time, Hermione handled things very well."
"I've already decided to leave the world to you. I believe you have the ability to stop this crisis."
Tver did not truly approve of solving problems through overwhelming power.
When he was in office, he had always emphasized that the future of magic must depend on mechanisms and systems to create checks and balances, or to guide magic onto a healthier path.
"But that person is far too powerful. His destructive capacity is terrifying. He nearly destroyed everything the wizarding world has worked for over all these years."
Hermione looked anxious.
In her view, as long as the professor acted, this crisis could be resolved easily.
Harry and Draco nodded along, looking at Tver with the same pleading eyes.
"Professor, there's no one in the outside world who can match that man's strength. If we can't capture him as quickly as possible, more people will be hurt, or even lose their lives."
"He committed such crimes while disguised as you. There must be another conspiracy behind it. Aren't you angry?"
Tver lifted his chin and thought for a moment, but still shook his head.
"Pain and death have always been part of this world."
"Speaking of which…"
Tver's calm eyes fell on the three of them.
"Do you know why humanity keeps developing, even if it leaves us exhausted?"