"Well, good luck then. I hope I don't hear news about students going missing." Leonard shrugged.
"We're not suicidal. We'll be prepared before we ever go in," Fred said, then glanced at the Acromantula still struggling in the swamp. "Leonard, the swamp's almost dried up. Should we deal with the rest of them?"
Leonard looked over. It was just as Fred said—the swamp was nearly gone, drained rapidly by the sheer number of Acromantulas caught inside.
Their strong magic resistance had stripped away the swamp's magic as they fought against it, accelerating its collapse.
Still, this was far better than when they faced the Three-Headed Dog.
While a single Acromantula wasn't as magically resistant as the dog, this time there were many of them, and the Portable Swamp covered a much wider area.
As the swamp finished solidifying, the spiders were unable to break free—unlike the Three-Headed Dog.
The dog had overwhelming individual power, but the Acromantula excelled in group tactics and ambushes. In raw strength, they were far inferior.
"Didn't expect the Portable Swamp Unit 16 to work so well against Acromantula," Fred muttered with interest.
"It works, sure—but the danger is their ambushes. You two aren't even enough to get stuck in their teeth," Leonard said, lifting an Acromantula with a Levitation Charm.
"You want the venom, right? Get it yourselves." He dropped the spider at their feet.
Covered in mud, the spider thrashed violently. Though it had nearly drowned seconds earlier, it still snapped and flailed with unsettling vigor, making both George and Fred pale—after all, they'd nearly been eaten by one just moments ago.
But true Gryffindors, they recovered quickly. Taking turns, they fired Stunning Spells at the poor creature. After blowing a crater into the ground, they finally managed to knock it out. Then, laughing like a pair of bandits, they rushed in to extract its venom.
Leonard took one look and understood—they still weren't taking Acromantula seriously. Or at least, not seriously enough. He couldn't be bothered to correct them.
They were just friends, nothing more. He wasn't their father. If they got themselves killed by Acromantula next time, Leonard would—out of basic human decency—at least retrieve their remains.
Watching the inexperienced pair awkwardly harvest venom was borderline painful. Their movements were hesitant and jittery, and the slightest rustle made them yank their hands back dramatically.
The poor Acromantula quickly ended up in pieces because of them.
To spare his eyes, Leonard shifted his attention to the other Acromantula.
A silver vortex spiraled into focus within his vision. The world around him shifted from physical matter to visible streams of magic.
The magic flows of the spiders trapped in the swamp lit up clearly before him.
"Transfiguration…" Leonard murmured, inspiration blooming.
He tightened his grip on his wand, directing the magic flow inside one of the trapped Acromantulas using Transfiguration principles.
His model was the magical transformation he'd witnessed in the young unicorn, Claudia, after she drank that unknown potion.
A spell that reverses lycanthropy must exist somewhere—and its foundation would undoubtedly be Transfiguration.
The real problem was transforming a magical creature into a human.
Humans were different from magical beasts. Every human—even every Muggle—possessed a unique magical signature. Turning into a specific, existing person was achievable. But becoming someone who had never existed was exceedingly difficult.
This was why Polyjuice Potion required a person's hair—to lock in their magical pattern and ensure a perfect match.
Polyjuice Potion… another essential potion, also falling under the domain of Transfiguration-based magic, similar in principle to that unknown potion.
It could turn one person into another. But if animal hair was added, it turned the user into a half-human, half-beast creature—almost the opposite effect of the unknown potion, though the two potions weren't even on the same level.
The unknown potion seemed to have permanently altered Claudia's species, whereas Polyjuice required regular doses.
Also, half-human and half-beast… did werewolves count as that?
If someone used werewolf hair in Polyjuice, would the transformed wizard react during the full moon?
The clues were scattered and messy, lacking the key link needed to tie them together, leaving Leonard's thoughts equally tangled.
Even so, all of it was worth studying. With magical sight, he might uncover common ground—if only the unknown potion hadn't completely disappeared.
While thinking, Leonard carefully manipulated the magic.
It was different from casting a direct Transfiguration spell, making it slightly taxing. Still, with magical sight and his wand, it went surprisingly smoothly.
"Maybe I don't need to overthink this. The next ruin might have the recipe for that potion anyway," Leonard consoled himself quietly, lifting his wand to finish the spell.
One Acromantula glowed with a bright white light. Its body softened like clay, melting and re-forming into a humanoid shape.
The strange sight immediately drew George and Fred's attention.
They tossed aside the now-drained Acromantula corpse and rushed over.
"What happened? What's going on?"
"Is the Portable Swamp malfunctioning?"
"No. I'm practicing magic," Leonard replied, eyes fixed with anticipation on the glowing figure.
"What is that? An Acromantula? It looks… different," George murmured, squinting into the light. "It looks like… a person?"
"Was someone here before?" he added, unsure.
"Something's off…" Fred muttered, feeling his cheeks heat up. The silhouette in the light seemed… very curvy. And very unclothed.
And it was clearly a girl.
"It's not a person. Just spellwork," Leonard clarified.
The white light faded.
George and Fred stared, excitement on their faces—only for it to collapse into sheer horror.
There was no beautiful, unclothed woman.
Instead, standing there was a humanoid Acromantula—eight eyes, eight arms, and a curvy figure.
...
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