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The thing that had kept him up half the night was far more terrifying.
"Of course I'm talking about that little girl named Catherine. I've been watching her for a while; she should be a Squib." Lupin swallowed and his voice was hoarse.
"And then?"
Ian didn't look back.
He continued unpacking the gifts at the table.
Cho Chang had prepared a beautiful magic bouquet for Ian. The flowers were not only colorful and fragrant, but each bloom contained a different magic.
They would emit different scents depending on the weather.
"This is incredible. Just a moment ago, I sensed her magic power stirring. If nothing goes wrong, she should awaken her magic power next year!"
Lupin's voice was filled with shock and a little horror.
"That should be a good thing, right? Why do you look so panicked?" Ian paused what he was doing, a satisfied smile on his face.
"Looks like my younger sister is about to become my female junior." He finally put down the present and turned back, speaking lightly to the serious-looking Lupin.
"Do you know when the Book of Admittance records new students?" This was something Ian hadn't researched before, but he guessed that the old troublemaker gang might have touched on it.
"One year before the school year starts…"
Just as expected.
Lupin knew the answer.
They might not have access to the Book of Admittance or the Quill of Acceptance, but they had studied and investigated this legendary Hogwarts artifact during their student days.
"Looks like there's still plenty of time." Ian was in a great mood and dismissed the idea of looking into it three days later. He generously decided not to hold a grudge against Lupin for disturbing him so late.
"My gut tells me this definitely has something to do with you." Lupin, having witnessed Ian's impossible magical achievements, thought Ian's success in potions might be just as remarkable.
This was a little wizard who couldn't be judged by common sense or normal reasoning.
"Don't trust your intuition, trust science… no, trust magic," Ian quickly corrected himself, but that didn't stop Lupin from continuing to search for answers.
"Magic has proven itself over thousands of years, once someone becomes a Squib, it's nearly impossible for them to regain it… Yet today, without any major incident, the life of a Squib little girl was completely reversed…" Lupin's words made his meaning very clear.
He still suspected that the drastic change in Catherine had something to do with Ian.
Of course, this wasn't the main reason Lupin was up all night, breaking the rules he set for himself just to come find the little wizard and get to the bottom of things.
"You gave her that kind of water, didn't you?" Lupin wasn't a fool. In fact, as a Gryffindor, if a student was willing to think, they weren't much worse than a Ravenclaw.
He just reviewed everything that happened during the day and immediately sensed something suspicious, something that unsettled him deeply.
"I remember you gave that water to all the kids." This was what Lupin found truly chilling, Catherine wasn't the only one who drank that blue potion.
If… things really were what he feared… the consequences would be earth-shattering.
"I know what you're worried about. Don't be so sensitive. The water Catherine drank only works on Squibs," Ian said, seeing Lupin's determined expression, knowing denial was pointless.
"So! It really is what I think it is!?"
Lupin's pupils shrank sharply several times. Although he had anticipated this, hearing the definite answer still filled him with disbelief.
"Maybe, probably, possibly?" Ian replied with a series of uncertain words.
"…"
Lupin still wasn't used to the little wizard's casual attitude. He clenched his fists and paced the room anxiously, his expression growing more uneasy and worried.
"Have you told anyone else about this? You should tell your uncle, no, you should tell Dumbledore directly. You probably don't realize how much danger this potion could bring you."
Lupin was genuinely concerned for the little wizard's safety. Of course, mixed in with that was his worry about the chaos such a potion could cause if it became public knowledge.
"You know, I know, no one else knows. If it gets leaked out… hehe, then it's definitely your fault," Ian said without much concern for the risk of others coveting it.
He wasn't just powerful now, he also had many tricks to keep himself alive.
"Huh?"
Lupin's pacing abruptly stopped at Ian's words. "Then you might as well not have told me. Damn it, why didn't you just say earlier that your Head of House/Director worships a God who showed himself?!"
To be honest, the down-and-out werewolf somewhat regretted it now. Knowing such a secret, even if he never spoke it, would add another layer of psychological burden to his nights.
If time could flow backward,
he wished the little wizard had told him it was a divine revelation.
He would have believed it.
Even if he didn't believe, he would've pretended to.
"Catherine is also somewhat of a generic believer in God. But even if God really exists, have you ever seen Him truly intervene to help all His followers?"
Ian turned back and resumed unpacking the gifts.
"But your potion, this invention…" Lupin hesitated for a moment, then chose a gentler way to express the seriousness of the issue to the little wizard.
"You should hide it until the moment you're truly qualified to reveal it. Honestly, I'd bet your uncle wouldn't dare use this potion himself."
"The disasters this thing could cause are unimaginable… I'm not saying you can't use it to help those poor Squibs, but you should at least discuss it with Headmaster Dumbledore."
Lupin thought that with Albus Dumbledore's authority, the consequences of publicizing or using such a potion might be somewhat controlled.
"My skills aren't too bad, right?" Ian tilted his head slightly.
"See, it's the wizarding houses trying to be friendly." Ian held an invitation from the Greengrass house, sent along with a gift from Miss Daphne Greengrass herself.
Perhaps including the gift, everything was carefully chosen by Daphne Greengrass's parents and sent under her name.
If not—
Ian would have to suspect Daphne Greengrass of having some kind of masochistic tendency.
"Interests move people's hearts, kid," Lupin glanced at the invitation in Ian's hand and sighed heavily. He thought the little wizard might not fully understand just how treacherous human nature could be.
"I can't just watch Catherine's hope of going to Hogwarts be crushed, can I?" Ian actually understood what Lupin meant but felt he already had sufficient preparations to handle it.
"You're not wrong, but…"
Lupin wanted to say more.
Ian shook his head, cutting him off.
"No buts, Lupin senior. You should understand better than me the importance of family. Making your loved ones happy, that's worth more than anything else."
With a flick of his wand, the laboratory transformed back into his room. The gifts he received from the kids during the day were carefully arranged around the room.
"Catherine prays to God every day with Miss Helena. Yet, even though she carries wizard blood, God still chose to play a cruel joke on this faithful believer of His."
"I just corrected God's merciless joke… Wizards, magic, our very existence is for this: to control our own fate while also being able to change others' fate."
Ian replied softly.
"You…"
Lupin looked somewhat stunned.
"What do you mean?"
Of course, he hadn't really failed to understand. But at that moment, a faint voice inside Lupin's heart told him he might be about to catch a genuine glimpse of the little wizard's deepest thoughts.
"It's a simple truth."
Ian looked at the painting Catherine had given him.
It showed him.
And the people he cared about.
"For my friends and family, even if they don't receive a response from God, they will definitely get one from me… For a wizard, nothing should be impossible."
Ian's tone was gentle yet resolute.
"Even if God forbids it, it can't beat… my determination to grant it."
In this room with only two people, As he looked at the increasingly shocked senior before him, He reiterated his belief in "Wizards as gods."
(The End of this Chapter)