"My apologies, Mr. Ferguson. Since I couldn't get a reply, I had no choice but to drop by uninvited."
Harvey stiffly turned his head, and sure enough, he saw the one person he least wanted to see: the old man, Dumbledore.
"Respected Headmaster Dumbledore, what brings you here?"
Nothing good ever came from this old man showing up. Harvey started to regret ever coming back to this world.
Dumbledore, dressed in finely crafted purple wizard robes, spoke with utter calmness:
"As a centenarian, I have lived long enough, and now I am nearing the end of my life."
"The only thing I cannot let go of is the safety of my students."
"My boy, although on the surface you always seem to care about no one, I know that deep down, you actually have a kind heart..."
Seeing Old Man Dumbledore acting like he was entrusting an orphan on his deathbed gave Harvey a massive headache. He called him by his nickname and interrupted:
"White-bearded old man, you should be saying these things to Harry. He's the Savior, isn't he?"
Dumbledore's face remained serene as he spoke mildly, "Although Harry is a brave and intelligent boy, he has not yet fully grown into his role."
"I would much prefer it if you could help look after the lovely young wizards in the school. After all, your current strength is nearly surpassing my own."
"The new waves drive the old waves forward; having an outstanding student like you is truly a blessing for Hogwarts..."
This old man's flattery made Harvey's scalp tingle.
"I can't shoulder such a heavy responsibility. You know I've never liked playing the role of a guardian."
"You should put your faith in Harry. He lacks neither hard work nor luck; clearly, he is the perfect person to entrust this to."
Dumbledore could see Harvey's deep-seated resistance. He let out a long sigh, his face turning incredibly gentle:
"The wizarding world is currently fraught with danger. If Hogwarts ever faces a crisis, I hope you can lend a hand within your capabilities."
"This is the final wish of a dying old man. My boy, can you promise me this?"
Harvey furrowed his brows tightly, staying silent for a while.
"Actually, there isn't a lack of ways to prolong the flickering candlelight of your soul."
"Give me two months, and I will cure your soul's injuries."
This was the best solution Harvey could come up with.
In reality, Dumbledore was suffering from the backlash of Voldemort's Dark Magic. His physical injuries had actually healed long ago.
What was difficult to heal was the soul damage caused by the evil Dark Magic.
In the wizarding world, injuries to the soul were almost incurable. But in the Marvel Universe, there were many life-extending and healing treasures.
If Harvey put his mind to it, he should be able to get his hands on one or two treasures to cure Dumbledore.
Hearing that his soul trauma still had a chance to recover, Dumbledore's eyes, however, remained as calm and ripple-free as a still pond.
"Having been Headmaster for so many years, I, too, feel fatigued. Reaching the end of my life like this is actually a release for me."
Harvey felt utterly helpless inside.
It seemed this old man, much like the Ancient One, had simply lived long enough and had enough of it all...
"Headmaster, you should really try to keep living. Don't you want to see the scenery at the very apex of the path of magic for yourself?"
Hearing this, a rare flicker of emotion appeared in Dumbledore's eyes, and he began to speak in a somewhat mystical tone.
"Perhaps. But who can see the future clearly?"
"Every wizard wishes to pursue that distant, unreachable light of magic. Yet, in all these thousands of years of history, no wizard has ever achieved it..."
As he spoke, Dumbledore smoothly changed the subject, his eyes crinkling into a smile:
"When one gets old, one tends to have these inexplicable moments of sentimentality. It's getting late, so I won't disturb your rest any longer, my boy."
Watching Dumbledore turn and leave with a dashing flair, Harvey joked:
"Goodbye, white-bearded old man. Make sure you don't die on me—at least, not right now!"
Dumbledore paused his steps, seemingly rendered a bit speechless by Harvey's bluntness, but ultimately continued walking away.
After the old man who had seen through life and death left, Harvey checked the time.
"It's already 7 PM. It's all this old man's fault for trapping me in conversation for over three hours..."
Harvey grumbled in annoyance as he picked up the letters with dried ink and walked out of his room.
He went to the Owlery and sent all the letters out.
Then, Harvey grabbed a white owl, opened a cross-world portal, and returned to the Marvel Universe.
————————————
7:20 PM.
Midtown Manhattan, New York. 139 Marigold Street, Garden Villa.
Over a hundred fully armed agents, under the cover of night, had tightly locked down the entire garden villa.
The nearby vantage points were all occupied by elite S.H.I.E.L.D. snipers.
Even the Avengers, who had just finished saving the world, had arrived.
Clint held a custom compound bow, his sharp eyes locked onto the villa from a vantage point five hundred meters away.
Outside the villa's eastern wall, Natasha, clad in a black combat suit, was leading an elite field squad, preparing to execute a breach operation.
"The objective of this rescue mission is to save Captain America, Steve Rogers."
"Squad A will act as the vanguard. After breaching the target location, eliminate any enemies that appear and locate where the hostage is being held."
"Squad B is responsible for outer perimeter feints and extraction. If the rescue meets heavy resistance, move in immediately for support..."
Natasha was assigning tasks to the special agents, formulating a detailed combat plan.
The atmosphere outside harbored a hidden, chilling intent to kill, yet inside the villa, it remained peaceful and serene.
Wanda sat by the dining table in the kitchen, looking at a large table full of delicious, mouth-watering food, propping her head up as she dozed off.
She had already cooked a simple feast, all just to wait for Harvey to return.
"Sizzle..."
Harvey had just stepped out of the glowing blue cross-world portal.
"BOOM—!"
A deafening explosion stunned him.
"What the hell is going on?"
Who did I piss off now?
How is it that the moment I get back, my house gets blown up!?
...
The infamous FGM-148 Javelin portable anti-tank missile struck true, blasting a huge section of the villa's eastern wall into rubble.
Fully armed special agents, wearing bulletproof vests, wielding HK-416 assault rifles, and wearing night-vision goggles.
Swiftly crossed the collapsed wall under the cover of the explosion's smoke and dust, advancing toward the main structure of the villa.
...
Hearing the sudden explosion, Wanda was also dumbfounded. Her sleepiness vanished instantly, and she said with a face full of terror:
"Are we being attacked by terrorists?"
"I've survived so many airstrikes and bombings in Sokovia; that explosion sounds exactly like a rocket-propelled grenade..."
BOOM!
A muffled explosion drowned out Wanda's nervous voice.
At this moment, the villa's front door was blown open by miniature C4 explosives, and the special agents continued their assault.
Harvey was incredibly confused. He had clearly cast a Muggle-Repelling Charm on the villa long ago; how could there still be blind fools interrupting him?
Mobilizing the magic within his body to sense his surroundings.
He then realized, the Muggle-Repelling Charm had actually failed???