Harry tilted his head back, staring at the figure descending from the sky.
Lucien stood atop a pale golden cloud. It definitely wasn't an ordinary cloud—it looked solid, like something that could actually carry weight.
And the strange creature beside him made it impossible for Harry to look away.
It resembled a cross between a horse and a deer, with a pair of short white-jade horns on its forehead, pale golden scales covering its body, and a mane of vivid red running down its neck and spine that fluttered gently in the night breeze.
When the creature lowered its head and met Harry's gaze, its eyes were as clear as two spring pools—so pure that just looking into them made Harry feel strangely calm and steady.
"Amazing…"
Ron elbowed him. "Hey, those fireworks were the 'main event' Lucien mentioned, right?"
"Must be." Harry nodded.
Lucien leaped lightly down from the cloud and landed beside them.
He glanced up at the night sky; the flames were still shifting and dancing.
In truth, he could control water and lightning elements just as precisely, painting freely across the sky—but they lacked the extra power of a spell like Partis Temporus.
Besides, on a night like this, nothing burned brighter or more beautifully than fire.
The warm, bright glow reflected on everyone's faces.
Harry's voice pulled Lucien back to the present.
"Lucien… those magical creatures… did you… create all of them?"
He pointed at the fire dragon and Thunderbird not far away.
Lucien didn't answer directly. He tapped his wand at a pebble on the ground. The stone instantly twisted and morphed—within a blink, a massive bird-snake coiled in front of them, its body swelling rapidly until it was the size of a house, scales gleaming with an eerie light in the darkness.
"Woah!" Ron jumped back a step.
Harry's eyes widened too.
Of course they knew about Lucien's paper on magical-creature Transfiguration.
Out of curiosity they had even gone to the library and dug up that issue of Transfiguration Today.
The result?
They couldn't understand a single word.
All those complex rune formulas and magic-circuit analyses were completely over the heads of second-years.
They knew Lucien was incredible, but they had no real sense of how incredible—until now.
"So that's how it works…" Harry said, suddenly understanding. "The fire dragon and Thunderbird… they really were Transfiguration?"
Lucien smiled.
Unicorns existed deep in the Forbidden Forest, but Thunderbirds and dragons definitely did not.
If word of tonight got out, the Ministry's relevant departments might come sniffing around for an investigation.
Lucien wasn't worried, though—because he really could Transfigure magical creatures.
If anyone came asking, he'd just say they were all Transfiguration constructs.
And tonight was the perfect excuse to let Norbert and Ethel come out and play in the open for once.
The Ministry did have strict rules against privately keeping dangerous magical creatures like dragons and Thunderbirds.
But there were exceptions—like Newt Scamander.
Everyone knew his suitcase was full of all sorts of magical beasts, yet no one ever made a fuss.
His knowledge and reputation in the field made people believe he had good reasons.
Lucien, however, didn't yet have any widely known achievements in magical creatures—no published papers, no books.
[Ding! Advanced Fire Element Rune loan fully repaid!]
The system notification suddenly rang in his mind.
Lucien paused, then looked up at the still-burning fireworks in the sky.
Firelight danced in his dark-green eyes like two tiny flames.
The loan description had said to "add fuel to the fire" for Valentine's Day atmosphere.
Looking at it now, he had definitely gone above and beyond.
Love is like fire.
Pretty fitting.
[Host, the one who can actually teach you about love is…]
Lucien's mouth twitched. He really wanted to ask the system which shady network it was connected to.
He didn't bother replying to the teasing.
He simply stood there quietly, watching the flames still burning in the night sky, watching the boys and girls holding hands beneath them, watching the young faces laughing around the magical creatures.
Does love… need to be learned too?