Author's Note: Don't forget to vote, comment and leave a 5 star review to help the story grow and reach more people.
Read upto +30 Chapters worth of content ahead and receive extra updates daily by going to my Patreon and becoming a fellow Patreon.
Patreon: mrfanfiction140
Be sure to read my other Novels as well:
- Naruto: Multiverse Adventures
- Hunter x Hunter : The Alchemist.
----
Time quietly slipped into December.
Hogwarts was covered in a thin layer of early snow, frost condensed on the Castle windows, and the corridors were filled with students whose ears were steaming, looking as though they had just come from Madam Pomfrey's.
The latest issue of The Daily Prophet was delivered by owl, immediately sparking discussions among the students that were hotter than the weather.
"Did you see today's front-page headline in The Daily Prophet?" a Gryffindor student excitedly waved the newspaper.
"What does it say? Another self-commendation from Minister Fudge?" a friend beside him asked dismissively.
"No! The Ministry of Magic has officially retracted all wanted posters for Sirius Black and publicly declared him innocent! The real murderer was Peter Pettigrew! That guy blew up a Muggle street and killed so many people!"
"For real?!"
"Absolutely! The paper published a summary of the Wizengamot hearing and some of the evidence! And haven't you noticed? All the Dementors outside the school were withdrawn this morning!"
"Merlin... this is just... my second aunt's sister-in-law's neighbor's brother-in-law works as a clerk in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. He said that because of this, Barty Crouch and Fudge had a huge fight in the Minister's Office. Apparently, Crouch was so angry he nearly burned Fudge's dragonhide briefcase!"
"Oh, there's another piece of news here saying there's been a high frequency of vampire attacks lately, and the Ministry of Magic is reminding people to stay safe."
But without a doubt, the truth and long-overdue justice became the hottest topics in the common rooms and the Great Hall. Some sighed for Black, while others denounced Peter's despicableness.
Of course, all this clamor had nothing to do with Lynn for the time being.
He was currently deep in the Forbidden Forest, staring blankly at a small patch of unusually dense weeds he had planted.
The leaves of these weeds were thick, their edges still showing a dark green color even in winter, and the centers of the leaves gathered night dew that was heavier and more lustrous than ordinary dewdrops.
Using Transfiguration combined with alchemy techniques, Lynn had created a large transparent cover, firmly sheltering this patch of weeds to form a miniature greenhouse.
The interior of the cover was misty with water vapor.
Above the cover, Lynn had placed a small, delicately structured furnace, inside which burned a cluster of constant-temperature 'Gubraithian Fire' (An everlasting Magical Flame).
The heat from this magical flame was gentle and lasting; it wouldn't harm the plants but could effectively cause the temperature inside the cover to rise.
The heat evaporated the night dew on the weed leaves, and the water vapor condensed on the inside of the cold transparent walls, merging into larger droplets that slowly dripped along pre-set grooves into a crystal-clear bottle below.
Drip, drip... Lynn sat cross-legged to the side, watching the dew gradually accumulate in the bottle, feeling quite pleased.
From the full moon last month until today, he had kept that damned single Mandrake leaf stuck to the roof of his mouth!
The sensation was like eating a large mouthful of dry soy milk powder; the powder stuck fast to the roof of his mouth, impossible to spit out or swallow, reminding him of its existence every moment.
It didn't just affect his sense of taste; even speaking felt strange.
Not to mention that, to cooperate with the ritual, he had to chant the incantation "Amato, Animo, Animato, Animagus" every day at sunrise while facing the sun.
Finally!
As long as tonight's full moon arrived, he could take the torturous leaf out of his mouth and put it into that bottle of moonlight potion. This way, the preparation phase of the Animagus transformation would be mostly complete!
...Time slipped away quickly in anticipation, and night fell completely.
An almost perfect silver disk of a full moon rose into the sky, its cold and clear moonlight piercing through the bare treetops and scattering silver fragments across the ground.
Lynn carried his trunk and strolled toward the Unicorn habitat deep in the Forbidden Forest.
From a long way off, he cleared his throat and shouted toward the interior, "Anya! I've come to see you all!"
His voice spread through the quiet woods.
Clippity-clop, clippity-clop... × N
With Lynn's shout, not only did Anya come out, but light and shadows shifted deep in the woods as a large herd of Unicorns came running out in a bustle.
They were either carrying a small tuft of their own or a companion's shed tail hair in their mouths, or carefully holding a small bucket.
Lynn's gaze locked onto the thick liquid in those small buckets, and he blurted out:
"Acromantula venom?!"
He looked at Anya, his eyes full of wonder. "How did you get this? I remember they didn't give so much last time I went."
"Hehe~ the Centaurs 'helped' get it. They've been clearing out 'excess' spiders at the edge of their territory lately. Don't worry about the specifics. Hurry up, the agreed exchange! Give us the wine!"
Lynn: "..."
Those Acromantulas actually dared to lie to him, saying they had no more stock! Was he not good enough to them?
Every time he went, he helped them manage their population, taught them how to prepare the food they produced, taught them economics... and a whole bunch of other knowledge.
Lynn felt he had truly sacrificed a lot for the spider colony, and he was already starting to plan a sustainable way to fish the spiders dry.
Of course, that would have to be after he finished the big task at hand.
He hauled several large wooden barrels out of his trunk, filled with berry nectar wine brewed from honey, spring water, and berries unique to the Forbidden Forest.
Anya and her companions immediately crowded around happily and began to "inspect the goods."
The transaction was quickly completed in an atmosphere of unilateral impatience from the Unicorns.
Anya took a large, satisfied gulp of wine and then proactively led Lynn to a clearing in the Unicorn territory where the moonlight was most abundant.
This was the place.
Lynn took out the crystal bottle he had prepared, which contained the clear and transparent
"Moonlight Potion."
Under the direct radiance of the full moon, he carefully placed a strand of his own hair, a small teaspoon of dew, a slightly twitching Death's-head Hawkmoth chrysalis, and finally the single Mandrake leaf he had taken from his mouth into the potion.
The potion boiled slightly, emitting a soft glow, and then returned to calm, its color becoming like liquid moonlight.
Lynn dug a shallow hole, placed the crystal bottle upright inside, covered it with soil, and left only an inconspicuous mark on the surface.
"Done!"
Now, he just had to wait for a thunderstorm to arrive, and he could complete the final Animagus transformation.
Lynn was in an excellent mood.
He bid farewell to the Unicorn herd, who were already starting to get a bit tipsy, and walked briskly in another direction—toward the area where the Acromantula nest was located.
Before even getting close to that dark area permeated with the smell of spider webs, Lynn stopped and shouted at a volume loud enough to wake hibernating creatures:
"My eight-legged friends inside! Come out and hand over your stock! Don't hide! I know you definitely have private stashes of good stuff! Last time's 'cleaning fee' hasn't been settled yet!"
His voice echoed in the silent woods, carrying an air of righteous indignation, even if it wasn't entirely justified.
After a moment of dead silence, a scalp-numbing rustling sound vaguely came from deep in the woods, along with a few terrified screeches:
"Don't you come over here!!!"