Chapter 40. Befriending Wolves.
Lynn and Cedric stayed until nearly midnight before sneaking back to the castle.
They were lucky; the journey was smooth, and they weren't caught by that old pervert Filch in his office.
Back in his dormitory, Lynn didn't rest immediately. He had already arranged with Cedric to postpone tomorrow morning's spell practice by three hours.
Although tomorrow was Sunday, there weren't many young wizards at Hogwarts.
Almost all the older wizards were out having fun at Hogsmeade, while most of the younger ones were still curled up in their warm beds at eight o'clock.
Lynn adjusted the light on his desk lamp and then opened the book Professor Fawkes had given him that day—*Advanced Dark Magic: An Exploration*.
According to the professor, this book didn't contain much spell instruction; it focused more on a basic explanation of the principles, effects, and applications of some dark magic.
This book wasn't exactly forbidden; it was more like a textbook used in older Defense Against the Dark Arts classes, teaching young wizards to identify various types of dark magic so they could deal with them.
Lynn didn't stay up too late; he just skimmed through the book before turning off the light and going to sleep.
The next day, at the Black Lake again,
Cedric was waving his wand, experimenting with his petrification spell on a frog, and chatting with Lynn about the previous night.
"I've been thinking about this all night and still can't figure it out. Why are there Werewolves who retain their rationality after transforming? Or rather, can someone like Ian still be called a Werewolf?"
The instant Cedric cast his petrification spell, Lynn countered with a spell-stopping charm, ending the spell.
This charm was taught to him by Cedric; it was quite difficult, and it took Lynn three days to fully master it.
"You aspire to be a Werewolf research expert?"
"Of course not." Cedric shook his head.
"Then why do you care if he retains his sanity after transforming? The fact that he can maintain his sanity is a huge advantage for us last night, isn't it? Otherwise, given the narrow space of that secret passage, we would all be finished. Being bitten and assimilated into a Werewolf would be lucky; the most likely outcome would be being bitten to death on the spot."
Hearing Lynn's words, Cedric recalled the scene from last night and suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
"Actually, we could definitely make contact with Iando in the future." Lynn twirled his wand on his fingertips, leaving a series of dazzling silver trails in the air.
Cedric agreed.
"You can tell he's actually very lonely. To hide his Werewolf identity, he has to keep his distance from those around him. Even if he knows he won't hurt anyone after transforming, no one will believe him."
"And we just happen to know his secret." Lynn shrugged. "Are you bothered by his Werewolf identity? Are you afraid he'll bite you?"
Cedric shook his head decisively. "Of course not. If he wanted to, he wouldn't have let us go yesterday."
"So he's quite pitiful. I saw him in Ravenclaw all alone, even when he ate, no one sat next to him."
Lynn stroked his chin. "Hogwarts doesn't seem to have a rule that every house's young wizards have to eat at their own house's long table, right?"
Cedric affirmed. "Of course there's no such rule."
"Hmm, that's good."
…
Ian felt like he might be under some kind of inexplicable curse.
Since arriving at Hogwarts, he hadn't found a single clue about what he was looking for.
Last night, he even miscalculated his transformation time, causing him to transform while still inside Hogwarts.
Unfortunately, the entire transformation was witnessed by two young wizards.
One of them, a Slytherin boy, seemed a bit dim-witted, unable to hold a conversation but insisting on awkward small talk, which gave the Werewolf a creepy feeling.
But that wasn't the worst part; these two wizards seemed to be sticking to him!
Ian fidgeted, holding his silver fork, mentally weighing whether to stab Lynn, who was grinning like a madman at him, to death.
Lynn, however, didn't see it that way. He thought his smile was incredibly friendly, that Ian would surely sense his sincerity, burst into tears declaring he was his lifelong friend, and then the system would reward him, setting him on the path to becoming a true wizard.
Every time he thought of this, he couldn't help but smile even more amicably.
This embarrassed Cedric, who tugged at Lynn's robe.
"Watch your mouth, you're drooling."
Lynn blushed, instinctively touching his lips, but there was nothing there.
This enraged him, and he grabbed Cedric by the neck with both hands, shaking him violently.
"Fine! You dare to lie to me!"
Cedric felt like his brain was about to pop out of his head from Lynn's shaking, but thankfully Ian intervened to save him.
"Why are you eating at Ravenclaw's table?"
Lynn's smile returned to its friendly tone, as if he hadn't just been the one assaulting him.
"Who says that all the young wizards from each house have to eat together? Hogwarts is made up of four houses, not the other way around. The more different the houses, the more we should interact."
He spoke righteously, but Ian clearly wasn't buying it, still speaking coldly.
"Then why are you sitting next to me?"
Having gotten used to being humiliated by Ian, Lynn didn't care about his words anymore.
"Can't you see how obvious he is? We want to be your friend."
Ian's refusal was equally decisive.
"Sorry, I don't need it."
Lynn was prepared to be as persistent as a leech.
"Don't be like that. Nobody can live without friends. Besides, aren't you keeping your distance from others because you're afraid your secret will be discovered? You can absolutely trust Cedric and me; we won't have any other opinions about your identity."
He added softly,
"We can also cover for you. Disappearing alone during the full moon always arouses suspicion, but with us, you'll have an excuse."
Lynn wasn't particularly good at making friends, but he was adept at understanding people's psychology.
Like now, he gave Ian an excuse to continue spending time with them.
"What excuse?" Ian asked.
"Next time you transform, you can tell your roommate you're going on a nighttime stroll through Hogwarts with us," Lynn said with a smile. "The young wizards at Hogwarts all yearn for a nighttime stroll."
Read 30+ advanced chapters ahead on Patreon!
patreon.com/Horizons685
~o(*￣︶￣*)o
(End of Chapter)