## Chapter 238: It's Great to Be a Black Dog
"What? Of course not!"
Lupin was startled, then chuckled wryly.
"I just admire her vitality; it has nothing to do with romantic feelings."
In truth, Abigail's personality always reminded him of James and Sirius.
Not the Sirius of today, but the Sirius from when they were teenagers, when they were still wild and reckless.
They used to talk about how, even after graduating, the four of them would stick together. They'd travel the world, exploring remote and dangerous places, leaving the legend of the Marauders in every Ministry of Magic.
But after graduation, they were immediately thrust into war. James also married Lily and soon had a child…
Life felt like a fast-forwarded tape. Lupin felt like he hadn't even processed it, and the former quartet was down to just him.
He looked back, and there was no one beside him; he looked forward, but didn't know where the path led.
The dreams of his youth, like mist, were blown away by the gales of death and war, leaving no trace.
Lupin's expression dimmed slightly. Seeing this, Wade stopped talking.
The two walked along the tracks left by the carriage and soon arrived at Hogsmeade.
From a distance, Wade saw a Banshee perched on a tall, spire-like rooftop. Its bird-like wings were folded behind it, and a pair of greenish-grey eyes stared at the two for a moment before turning away disinterestedly.
Banshees are also a type of magical creature. Like centaurs, they live around wizards but are separate from them.
However, unlike centaurs, who prefer to live in groups, Banshees mostly live alone, or in groups of two or three.
Most of them hide in human cities or villages, but only in pure wizard villages like Hogsmeade can they fully spread their wings without having to disguise themselves as ordinary humans.
This Banshee was one of Hogsmeade's residents. Hogwarts students would occasionally see her when they went out.
Lupin and Wade paid little mind to it, walking around the base of the tower where the Banshee was.
Hogsmeade also had more Easter decorations. Painted eggs and bunnies were everywhere, and there were even wizard tourists who had come from other places.
Lupin's home was as warm as ever, with several bunnies hopping around by the door. A red-eyed bunny, wearing blue clothes, squatted by the entrance, curiously watching the two.
Wade squatted down, reached out to poke it, and asked, "Is Sirius not here?"
"He went shopping. To ensure the safety of Animagus transformation, he needs to make some preparations," Lupin said.
He picked a few green vegetables and lettuce from his garden, commanded them to jump into the sink to wash themselves clean, and then fly onto the cutting board.
The chopping knife immediately sprang up, thudding as it chopped all the vegetables.
Wade looked at the bookshelf and saw several new books, such as Culinary Magic, Delicious Things Require Proper Magic, Household Magic Compendium, and so on.
While these spells were practical, they weren't part of the Hogwarts curriculum. Wizards who wanted to learn them had to teach themselves.
Wade went upstairs to put away his luggage, changed into comfortable home clothes, and then heard the roar of an engine next door.
At this moment, the aroma of food wafted from the kitchen, and then Lupin emerged from it.
When the two went next door, they saw that Sirius had already returned. His attire was incredibly trendy—
A black leather jacket and boots, sunglasses, and black hair blowing in the wind behind his head.
Sirius was also riding a huge red motorcycle, painted with golden lion patterns. Sirius had clearly made many modifications to it, so much so that Wade couldn't recognize the brand at all.
Wade squinted—if his eyes weren't playing tricks on him, Sirius should have just descended from the sky.
"Sirius," Lupin said helplessly, "You know the Ministry of Magic prohibits the misuse of Muggle items."
Sirius said nonchalantly, "Anyway, both it and I are invisible, so no one else can see us—Hey, Wade, I guess you're ready?"
"Of course," Wade said with a smile.
"You haven't forgotten to cast the spell even for a day, have you?" Sirius said seriously. "Don't lie, you know this is a matter of life and death, very important."
"Of course I haven't forgotten," Wade said. "Twice a day, sunrise and sunset, I haven't missed a single casting."
"Good lad!" Sirius ruffled his head carelessly twice and said, "Come with me, let's see what we've prepared for you."
They walked together along a path through the woods for about ten minutes, reaching a valley in the nearby forest.
Here, there was a makeshift wooden cabin, crooked and held together by magic to keep it from collapsing. Vines wrapped around it like a spiderweb, leaving only a narrow path.
The branches and vines of the tree canopy extended so long that they intertwined, forming a giant net overhead. Sunlight filtered through the narrow gaps between the leaves, showering down like rain.
A pit had also been dug in the clearing, filled with water, looking very clear.
A young deer was drinking by the pit. The footsteps of the few people startled it. It leaped away, and after jumping to the edge of the woods, it looked back at them before running off.
"Damn it, when did this place get opened up?"
Sirius walked over, pointing his wand at the gap where the deer had entered and exited. The surrounding bushes immediately lengthened until they firmly blocked the gap.
"What are these for?" Wade asked curiously.
"Didn't you say you once dreamt of flying?" Lupin said. "Dreams during Animagus practice also have a predictive element. Your animal form is likely a bird."
"Back then, I dreamt of running on all fours and spinning in circles looking for my tail. I thought it would at least be a leopard or something…"
Sirius, who had walked back, said gloomily, then continued, "Animagus transformation needs to happen in an open wilderness. But if you turn into a bird and fly away, and your mind is taken over by bird instincts, forgetting to fly back, where would we find you?"
This was the greatest danger of practicing Animagus transformation: it could very well turn a wizard into a true animal, causing them to lose their sense of self and human consciousness.
"So, to keep you from flying off, we've cordoned off this entire area," Lupin said. "Also, if you turn into a fish, there's plenty of water here so you won't suffocate."
The first Animagus transformation had to take place in an open area. If the transformed body was too large, a narrow space could literally crush the person. It also couldn't be in a complex environment, lest the transformed body be too small and get lost.
Ideally, there shouldn't be other creatures around, to prevent the transformed person from blending in and running off, or being hunted as prey by other animals.
Some creatures require extremely specific living conditions, necessitating special arrangements.
All these various sources of danger were systematically eliminated by the two adult wizards. After tidying up for a bit, Sirius suddenly asked with a sigh of relief,
"Remus, why were we so incredibly bold back then, just starting our transformations without a care in the world?"
"It's truly amazing we survived! It was so good to turn into a black dog..."
Before Lupin could answer, he said, drawing out his words as if still shaken, as he poured two packets of sea salt into the puddle.
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