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.
----
The winter chill quietly receded as the snow outside the Castle melted into trickling streams, nourishing the flora that was silently budding.
Time passed, and a considerable period of peace had gone by since the puppet attack on Hogwarts.
Inside the Great Hall, a solemn commendation ceremony was held. Teachers and students gathered together, their gazes focused on the staff table.
"...In light of Lynn's display of extraordinary courage, calm judgment, and... exceptional crisis-management skills during a recent illegal intrusion threat against the school, which successfully prevented the situation from worsening and protected the safety of the school's faculty and students, to this end, with the approval of the Board of Governors, Lynn is hereby awarded the Special Contribution to the School Award, along with a prize of one thousand Galleons as encouragement."
Warm applause rang out from the audience.
Beside the Hufflepuff table, Edgar, William, and Ollie clapped their hands vigorously, sharing in the glory.
Lynn stepped forward and received a heavy velvet bag filled with Galleons from Dumbledore's hand, along with a finely crafted gold medal engraved with the Hogwarts crest and the words
"Special Contribution."
He wore a polite smile on his face, but in his heart, he was sighing silently.
In reality, the reward he wanted more was a few ancient-looking texts from Dumbledore's private bookshelf.
Unfortunately, when he tactfully expressed his interest, Dumbledore tactfully declined.
"The knowledge recorded in those notes is too ancient. They are not suitable for a young Wizard whose mind is still growing.
Curiosity is the source of wisdom, but sometimes it needs the guidance of a riverbank. Perhaps, when you are a bit older and have a more stable cognitive framework for magic and the world, we can discuss this matter again."
The tone was kind, the reasoning sound, and it was perfectly impeccable.
At the time, Lynn couldn't help but mutter in his heart: Why does this feel so much like the sense of déjà vu when an elder says, "I'll save this money for you for now and give it to you when you grow up," while smilingly taking away your money?
Peaceful campus life was not entirely without its "waves."
These waves mainly revolved around their Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Remus Lupin.
It is worth mentioning that since being seriously injured and hospitalized by Lennus last time, Professor Lupin had been in and out of the School Infirmary three times.
Yes, three times. You did not read that wrong.
The first two times were already common knowledge, but the third time was quite dramatic. It happened on the night of the full moon last month.
That night, Professor Snape "as usual" delivered that month's wolfsbane potion. Professor Lupin also "as usual" drank it.
However, whether Snape had tried some "improved" formula or there had been a simple "accident" in the brewing process, the taste and scent of that wolfsbane potion reached a heinous "peak."
According to Lupin's later description, he had just taken a sip when his face changed drastically. Before he could even make a sound to vomit, he was directly knocked out by that indescribably terrifying scent, his eyes rolling back as he fainted on the spot, completely unconscious.
As a result, during the Defense Against the Dark Arts class the next morning, the students waited and waited, but the Professor was nowhere to be found.
This was extremely rare for the responsible Professor Lupin. Soon, the news that "Professor Lupin is absent without reason" spread through the Castle.
While everyone was speculating, an "inside scoop" leaked from a certain Hufflepuff student who wished to remain anonymous, along with a certain pair of red-haired twins keen on "enriching campus cultural life":
Professor Lupin was likely not simply ill, but had suffered a backlash from the legendary "curse" on the Defense Against the Dark Arts class. His condition was critical, and he might even be... "about to pass away"!
Rumors fermented rapidly through word of mouth.
By the time it reached the ears of most students, it had turned into: "Professor Lupin is afflicted by an evil curse, hanging by a thread; Madam Pomfrey is at her wit's end, and Headmaster Dumbledore is doing his best to save him, but hope is slim."
For a time, a somber mood permeated the Castle.
Although Professor Lupin hadn't been teaching for very long, his gentle nature and practical teaching methods had won the affection of many students.
Many students, overcome with emotion, sought out Deputy Headmistress Professor McGonagall with red eyes, demanding to "see Professor Lupin for the last time," or at least let him know the students cared about him.
Professor McGonagall was bewildered by this sudden request for "end-of-life care." After finally managing to calm the emotional students and solemnly declaring that Professor Lupin was merely "unwell and needs rest, with absolutely no danger to his life," she immediately launched an investigation into the source of the rumors.
Following the trail, a certain student soon entered her sight.
When Professor McGonagall found Lynn by the Black Lake and sternly asked if he had participated in spreading false rumors about Professor Lupin's health, Lynn was completely stunned.
"Rumors? About Professor Lupin? What curse? What last time?"
He quickly thought back and remembered encountering the Weasley twins in the corridor a few days ago. They had indeed casually joked about things like, "Has Professor Snape's potion potency upgraded again?" and "Could Professor Lupin's fainting this time be related to the rumors about the Defense class?"
But he never expected that the twins' dissemination skills and the students' imaginations would be such a "perfect match," creating such a huge scene.
"Professor, this is absolute slander! I was just chatting casually with George and Fred, making a joke and remarking on the... uh, refreshing effects of Professor Snape's potion. How could I have instigated the spread of rumors? This is definitely a misunderstanding! The rumor underwent a terrible mutation during the transmission process! I swear on my family's name!"
Ultimately, after a stern warning from Professor McGonagall that there "won't be a next time" and a deduction of 20 points from Hufflepuff for "spreading false information and causing unnecessary panic," the matter gradually settled down.
Lupin woke up a day after fainting. Aside from lingering fears about the potion's taste, he was fine and soon returned to his post to personally clarify the rumors.
As for Lynn, he once again deeply experienced the "supernatural phenomena" of the Hogwarts rumor system...
---
Time continued to move forward.
Another early morning arrived, the sky neither dark nor light, with just a hint of pale light appearing on the eastern horizon. Hogwarts Castle was still in deep slumber, with only a few early birds chirping occasionally.
Lynn woke up early once again, quietly moving through the silent corridors and up the spiral staircase to the roof of an abandoned tower on the west side of the Castle.
The view here was wide, far from the dormitories, and rarely disturbed. It had become his fixed "cultivation" spot during recent mornings.
Lynn pulled out his wand and gently touched its tip to the position of his heart.
He closed his eyes, concentrated his mind, and began to recite the incantation he had long since mastered by heart.
"Amato, Animo, Animado, Animagus."
Thump-thump! Thump-thump!
A strong and powerful second heartbeat came from deep within his chest, overlapping and interlacing with his original heartbeat.
He had experienced this feeling countless times, and each time it reminded him that the preparation for the Animagus transformation had reached the most critical stage, with only the final step remaining.
Lynn lowered his wand and sighed.
This damn weather!
Since he had strictly followed the process and buried the Moonlight Potion in the ground, he had been waiting.
Waiting for a sufficiently violent thunderstorm.
However, during those winter months, the Scottish Highlands had been busy snowing, without a single decent rain, let alone a thunderstorm.
After finally getting through winter and into spring, the weather became a bit more active, and thunder could be heard from time to time, but every time it was just thunder without rain, or only a bit of drizzle, completely failing to meet the "thunderstorm" standard.