Christian began by watching Jim's life from birth in 1983, meaning Christian should have been older than him. Nothing was significant, so he fast-forwarded the memories until December 1991, to be specific.
After coming home, everybody in Jim's neighborhood celebrated because the Soviet Union had announced its dissolution. Christian knew the memories were from the future, but that one was the final nail in the coffin, especially since it should happen this year.
The memories continued rapidly until 1993. In this short period, Christian learned how to identify 'primary memories," or memories that greatly influence a person's life. This particular memory of Jim was a television show called Bill Nye The Science Guy, an educational American show that taught children easy-to-understand scientific concepts and experiments. Jim loved it, and it seemed to inspire his future career choices.
Christian was excited because this show was perfect for him to write his book's [Science] section. He continued forward and had to skip many "primary memories" since many were about Jim watching the show or events that he did not care about or were irrelevant – until 1997. Jim's friend lent him a book called Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.
"Harry Potter? It can't be," muttered in shock. He had read the books [Modern Magical History], [The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts], and [Great Wizard of the Twentieth Century], and they all mentioned Harry Potter and how he defeated the greatest Dark Wizard in history—Voldemort.
Christian hurriedly focused on the book. He read faster than Jim, so he had to keep skipping the memory to see the next page. When he saw the names McGonagall and Dumbledore, he knew they were talking about the magical world. The final proof is that when Harry arrives at Diagon Alley and talks to Tom, Christian stops as the bafflement and shock are too much.
"Why is the magical world being discussed in a book? Jim should not be a wizard since he's fourteen in this memory and has not awakened any magical abilities. Plus, who is J.K. Rowling?"
Christian felt he was about to have an existential crisis, but he put everything back in his mind and continued reading. He was engrossed and forgot the time, so the book was almost finished in less than 2 hours.
"Christian!"
"Who dares interrupt me?" roared Christian, waking up from the Mind Palace and standing up. Eleanor took a step back as her heart raced. The glowing purple eyes made her feel powerless, and a tangible power seemed to travel through his hair, making her believe they had turned white for a moment. That gaze was like a divine being looking down on mortals.
"C-Christian?"
"Aunt Eleanor? I'm so sorry." Christian was beyond embarrassed.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm fine."
"No, you're not. You don't usually lash out like this. I knew the pressure was getting to you."
"I'm alright. I was just meditating, and you startled me. I apologize for how I reacted."
"Are you sure?" asked Eleanor.
"I am."
"Alright. However, I will tell your mother to schedule more meetings with Mr Bart to prevent future outbursts."
"That's not a bad idea," nodded Christian. "Did you want something?"
"It's time for Capoeira."
"Already?" Christian was not in the mood and only wanted to finish Jim's memories. "Can we cancel for today? I'm not feeling too well and would love to rest."
"That's fine. Do you want to do the same for Professor Hallmark?"
"Yes, please."
"Okay, but are you sure you're alright?"
"I am," nodded Christian before heading to his bedroom. As he closed his mind, he entered the second Mind Palace and continued reading. For the next six hours, Christian did nothing but read the Harry Potter Books, finishing the first three. His only concern was to finish them as soon as possible.
…
Tiara returned with a heavy frown. She saw the quiet Eleanor on the couch reading a book and immediately felt something was wrong.
"What's wrong with you?"
"Huh? Did you say something?"
"I ask what's wrong with you."
"Oh, nothing." Eleanor decided not to talk about her feelings when she faced Christian. The sensation that a hidden primordial force inside him had slipped out in a moment of anger remained deep in her mind, but she did not want to add more worries to Tiara.
"You need to schedule more sessions with Bart for Christian."
"What happened?"
Eleanor explained what had happened: "He is under a lot of pressure, and it begins to show."
"I will talk to him and call Bart tomorrow."
Eleanor nodded, "What about you? Why did you walk in here frowning?"
"I tracked him down but only found an empty house with a letter saying he would contact me when the time was right."
"This can be considered good news, I guess," commented Eleanor.
"Yeah." Tiara went to check on Christian, but he pretended to be sleeping. He woke up the next day after barely four hours of sleep. However, he was already a quarter into the Order of the Phoenix. Everyone noticed and asked about his state, but he was distracted and barely responsive. Tiara told him she would book an emergency session with Bart when things continued during his writing time.
Christian had to reassure her that he was alright, but was creating a new type of Occlumency, hence his distraction and constant closing of his eyes as if he was meditating. His mother did not believe him until he gave her a vague description of the Mind Palace, and she finally relented; Tiara even gave him a few days off.
By the third day, Christian had finished reading the books from Jim's memories, but they only filled him with dread of the future. The books did not mention him or his mother, which worried him. A part of him wanted to deny that it was the future, but the book's details were too vivid.
He finally calmed down and decided to continue making all the memories to find answers. So, he saw everything until Jim's death on Christmas of 2025. He had to skip many parts, for example, memories of his time in high school and university. Many of these memories were things he wanted to experience personally and learn from, but he had to prioritize other things. So, Christian had to choose which to view, skip, and return to later.
Once everything was finished, he opened his eyes while in a meditating pose on his bed. He exhaled and muttered, "The future is bleak."
According to this book, the magical world is about to enter a period of strife and chaos. And unlike how this book ended happily, it might not be the same because his existence might have already created a butterfly effect. Christian was not being pessimistic out of nowhere. His primary source of worry was the prophecy about himself, which should further aggravate those future events.
The only good news is that he found a way to slightly reduce his existential dread. From Jim's memories, he learned a term that would explain many things: Isekai. In one of Jim's memories, he learned about fanfictions, especially those involving being transported or reincarnated into the book or movie someone loves.
Something similar must have happened to Jim, but he failed to take over Christian's body, leaving his memories in the process. Such action led to a butterfly effect that fundamentally changed his "timeline", another word he had just learned.
The issue is why the events in his world were a book in another world. Christian could not explain it, so he decided not to think much about it. Then there is the issue of the world of Muggles. By comparison, every event and historical figure seemed to be the same up until this year, 1991.
By that logic, future events will also be the same. In just 30 years, Christian will have to see and experience the Global Recession of 2008, Global Warming, a Global Pandemic, Another Recession, the effect of Late-Stage Capitalism, the Rise of Conservatism and Fascism Globally, World War 3 (but not called such by the media), a Public Genocide, and the Rise of Unregulated AI.
Christian wanted to use the excuse that the wizarding world was isolated, so these things had nothing to do with him. But he could not ignore his aunt, as this was her world.
'Maybe things will be different. After all, this world has magic, but Jim's did not,' Christian convinced himself. Unfortunately, this half-hearted excuse could not ease the burden in his mind.