With a flick of her wand, the feather floated steadily. Lys had started practicing non-verbal spells in her fourth year, and now, casting simple spells silently was no problem.
While Professor Flitwick was guiding other students, Lys was absentmindedly sketching anatomical diagrams on parchment.
Her mind was torn between whether to report the mysterious voice in the library to a teacher or investigate it herself.
Finally, considering the full name called out included her mother's secret identity in Knockturn Alley, Lys thought perhaps she needed to handle this matter herself.
In a few days, it would be a full moon. Hopefully, it would be a clear night to match the conditions she had deduced from her Astronomy class for the voice's appearance. Lys gathered her parchments and left the classroom after class.
The next class was Defense Against the Dark Arts. Maybe she could finish reading "Patronus Charm: A Peculiar Theory." Although the soul theories in it made her uneasy, being more informed was always better.
The noise ahead disrupted Lys's thoughts. She looked up to see the Gryffindor Marauders.
Lys could hardly believe what she was hearing. Such a sensitive topic, and they were discussing it loudly in a corridor where students could pass by at any moment?
"The Shrieking Shack... go early... Moony's not feeling well..."
Lupin is a werewolf, no surprise there. The kind that loses its mind on a full moon, going berserk, biting people, either killing them or turning them into one of its kind, with high magical resistance and strength like a bear.
Lys had realized this back in her third year. Lupin's illness pattern was identical to her father's.
What puzzled her most was the Headmaster. Her father knew to restrain himself to avoid harming family and strangers, perhaps because he had learned a hard lesson. But... why would the Headmaster allow a werewolf into the school? Even a young werewolf posed a potential threat to a place full of young, vulnerable wizards.
Squeezing Bang's belly to calm herself, Lys waited in the corner until the Marauders and some classmates entered the classroom before going in.
This class, the professor finally taught something useful—the Patronus Charm.
"Whoever can cast it gets 10 points."
But Lys could only sigh: Oh well~ it's still what the book covered... She unconsciously straightened her back only to relax again.
When it was time to demonstrate, Potter almost boastfully raised his wand.
"Expecto Patronum!"
A dazzling silver light burst from his wand, the silver mist quickly gathering into a strong stag. The stag shook its large, branching antlers, leaping around the classroom before trotting towards Lily Evans.
"The desire to protect Miss Lily Evans is so strong, thank you, beautiful lady, for providing my charm with endless power." That pompous tone, tsk, Lys was sure this kid had practiced a lot.
Too bad Snape wasn't around; it would have been interesting...
Lys noted that this term, Snape hadn't been bothering Evans in Gryffindor as much. Perhaps he finally realized a Gryffindor frequently invited by Slytherin would also be targeted for trouble?
Thanks to Elle's first-year gossip, Lys had cultivated a bit of fun at this school beyond just mastering skills.
Thanks to Severus Snape, the first wizard to speak to her at Hogwarts, a faithful provider of this little gossip.
Licking her cracked, painful lips, Lys turned her gaze to Lily Evans. The girl straightened her back, not giving Potter any response.
Evans also waved her wand.
"Expecto Patronum!"
A small fish, like a lily petal, darted around her like a little sprite, even pausing in her palm to blow a bubble before dissipating.
Finally, a Slytherin student managed to summon one, albeit barely and unstably, but it was a Patronus—a crocodile.
Lys decided to find time to bother—er, consult this classmate.
"Not bad, Gryffindor gets 20 points, Slytherin 10," the professor smoothed the crease in his book and continued, "There's much evidence that, although this isn't part of my curriculum, I want to tell you, many wizards' Animagus forms match their Patronus."
"So there's a rumor that although Dumbledore was once Hogwarts' Transfiguration teacher, the phoenix-shaped Patronus suggests this strongest white wizard couldn't master the signature Transfiguration spell—Animagus."
The professor shrugged and began reading from the textbook again, but it had already caught Lys's attention. Recalling Professor McGonagall's exclamations about Potter's group's exceptional Transfiguration skills, could she deduce they'd learned Animagus? If that's the case...
The last time she wandered the Forbidden Forest at night, the hostile, unfamiliar large black dog she encountered might have been...
Lys's lips curled into a peculiar smile. Calling Sirius Black a dumb dog was surprisingly apt, haha.
After her smile faded, Lys began deducing. Clearly, Prongs was Potter's stag, Moony was Lupin, Padfoot and Wormtail, by appearance, the dog was big, and Peter was small, so she should guard against small animals approaching in the future. Who knows what animal Wormtail refers to.
Feeling her school life had gained more complications, Lys started sketching anatomical diagrams on parchment to calm herself.
Perhaps by this year or the end of the term, she could resolve the issue with her arm.
And tonight was the full moon; she needed to address the library issue.
Clutching her book, Lys hurried to her next Potions class.
Absentmindedly stirring the cauldron before her, Lys was brewing Elixir to Induce Euphoria, which she had brewed before, though she ended up overdosed on euphoria.
After a few swings of the cauldron, Lys tossed in a handful of Daylight Bloom without looking, instinctively smacked the gray mouse skin on the table to shake off the dust, and threw it in too.
Because she didn't know what was in the library, she needed to bring extra alchemical gear, and maybe slip a small note into Bang's collar for emergency help if she fell? Hopefully, Bang could crawl fast enough if that happened...
Casually flicking a few drops of toad brain into the cauldron, the yellow liquid turned slightly green but returned to golden when whiskey was added.
No worries about Potter's map; they were going to see Lupin tonight.
Hmm, what's that smell? Lys looked down; her potion was fine, though its viscosity and clarity were far from standard, very... But the odor wasn't coming from her cauldron.
Awful...
"Ugh!" Some students couldn't withstand the olfactory assault and vomited, making the already poorly ventilated basement classroom's smell even more peculiar.
Worse, whatever was in the cauldron that caused the accident had hallucinogenic effects.
Lys shook her head, covering Bang's mouth as it snapped at the air, trying to focus on opening the classroom's only door to let the toxic fumes disperse.
The outcome was good; Lys blasted the door open, the largest piece no thicker than a finger.
Lys was close to the classroom door, and when her mind emerged from the swirling black space of colors, half the students were babbling incoherently on the floor.
Professor Slughorn was no exception, behaving like her mother when drunk, face flushed, rambling, "It's just academic speculation, right? Academic speculation!"
Using Levitation Charm, Lys carried the nearest classmates out of the Potions classroom.
Tossing those foaming at the mouth outside the door, Lys grabbed the professor's collar, mustering all her strength to shake him awake, "Wake up! Aguamenti!" A thigh-thick stream of water blasted the professor's face.
Wiping his face with a soaked sleeve, the professor quickly found an antidote in his sleeve and took swift action.
After ensuring all students were safe, the professor awarded Lys 20 points and deducted 30 from Hufflepuff.
"I'll tell Albus that future classes should pair Hufflepuff with Ravenclaw; maybe there'll be fewer accidents."
He wrung the water from his nose with a handkerchief, "I never thought teaching fifth years would nearly cost me my life!" Handing Lys a piece of pineapple candy, he asked, "Are you alright, child? Do you need to visit the infirmary?"
Lys said she felt fine, declining the candy, "Professor, did you find any texts related to those small stones last time?" She was more concerned about the stones since Bang wouldn't sleep well without them, making her multitask every night, leaving her exhausted.
Clearing his throat, Slughorn hesitated before changing the subject.
He had only made a casual promise at the time. He did have some impressions, but the child hadn't shown any particular interest or brilliance, so after flipping through a couple of books, he went to a banquet...
He'd find them soon, very soon!
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