Chapter 107

Chapter 107

“Thanks for your hard work, dog. I’ll need you to lead me back later.” Suer crouched and rubbed Fang’s soft ears before stuffing another piece of meat into his mouth.

The great hound gave a pleased whine, wagged his tail, and carried the meat aside to devour it with his head down.

Suer straightened, surveyed his surroundings and nodded in satisfaction.

Moonlight draped everything in the clearing with a silvery-white mantle, soft as a curtain, while the forest beyond remained as dark as ever.

Perfect. Once the potion absorbed the essence of the moonlight, he could dig a hole nearby and bury it. Then, when the Thunder Lord finally unleashed his power, Suer could come back and reap the reward.

“Ptooey… Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey…” Suer took out a small glass bottle. By the time his mouth was unbearably dry, he had barely filled it halfway, all while taking care not to dislodge the Mandrake leaf beneath his tongue.

Everything was finally ready and the conditions were perfect. If he accidentally dropped the leaf now, all his efforts would be wasted.

Fang had long since finished the large piece of meat and now sat panting nearby.

He blinked curiously as he watched Suer. What was the two-legged creature doing?

Suer looked at the thick, bubbly liquid in the bottle and sighed with relief. With a nimble curl of his tongue, he drew the saliva-soaked leaf into his mouth.

“Ptooey…”

After soaking in saliva for a month, the once vivid green leaf had turned dark green.

“Please let it work on the first try. I don’t want to do that again. Merlin bless me, and I’ll burn you several pairs of Valentino stockings one of these days.”

Suer placed the little bottle in the centre of the clearing, pressed his palms together, closed his eyes and prayed.

According to the book, once the leaf absorbed the light of the full moon, it would return to bright green. At that point, the other ingredients could be added.

That would take a little time.

“I expect the castle is lively right now. Harry’s ability to speak Parseltongue should be about to come out.” Suer sat down heavily beside Fang and quietly spoke while folding Fang’s ears into all sorts of shapes.

“After that, Justin is due to turn to stone.”

“At least Morn won’t have anyone to play chess with for a while. Sigh.”

It was not that Suer did not want to warn Justin. He was not heartless; they had lived together for more than a year.

But the butterfly effect was terrifying. In his previous life, Suer had read an article claiming that a thread linked every event. In Chinese terms, it was cause and effect. If one disturbed that thread carelessly, events would be led onto an entirely different course.

If he interfered, Justin might even die.

Or Justin might escape the basilisk, only for another young wizard to lose their life instead.

Spending some time unconscious was far better than never waking again.

Yes, Suer was a transmigrator, but he had no miraculous cheat. He was merely an ordinary young Hufflepuff. If he had been capable of building a nuclear bomb with his bare hands in first year, he would have gone to Albania and obliterated old Voldy with one blast. Then none of this would have happened.

“I still need to study hard and make myself stronger.”

Suer casually plucked a blade of grass and put it into his mouth. Then he leaned sideways, pillowed his head against Fang and stared absently at the twinkling stars.

Just as Suer had guessed, the castle was extraordinarily lively.

Events followed the plot as expected. Malfoy finally confronted Harry. After a flashy exchange of spells, the blond young master bellowed an incantation in a powerful voice:

“Serpensortia!”

The creature it summoned was, in fact, a long black snake.

The young witches screamed and squeezed away to either side.

Lockhart overestimated himself and raised his wand to get rid of the snake, only to make it larger and infuriate it.
Little Black… No, the big black snake now lunged furiously at Justin Finch-Fletchley in the crowd.

Harry abruptly began hissing at it. To his own ears, he was saying with perfect clarity–“Leave him alone.”

But Justin was terrified. He screamed, turned and fled.

Harry looked around in bewilderment and found most people wearing the same frightened expression. Only his close friends looked worried for him.

What happened? Didn’t I stop the black snake from attacking another student?

Why is everyone acting like this?

…

In the Forbidden Forest, Suer finally saw the Mandrake leaf finish absorbing the essence of the moonlight. He sprang up, picked up the bottle and examined it carefully.

The Mandrake leaf looked just as it had when he first obtained it. It was no longer shrivelled in the slightest, and the saliva surrounding it had turned a luminous white.

“How magical,” Suer marvelled.

“Now for the hair and dew.”

Suer plucked one of his own hairs and placed it in the bottle. Then, looking thoroughly pained, he took a stoppered vial from his cloth bag. It was filled with transparent liquid.

“Barely a teaspoon, and it cost five Galleons. What a rip-off…”

This was dew, an essential ingredient for the Animagus potion. It had to be collected from a place untouched by either sunlight or human contact for seven whole days.

With an aching heart, Suer carefully poured the dew into the bottle of saliva. Every movement was slow and cautious. If he spilt even a single drop, that would be several silver Sickles gone.

“Last comes the death’s-head hawk moth pupa.” Following the book’s instructions precisely, Suer added a black pupa as the final ingredient.

Then he replaced the stopper.

He took a small shovel from his cloth bag, looked around, and buried the bottle in the place he judged darkest.

“Fang, remember this spot.” Suer marked the tree, but still did not think it safe enough. He called Fang over and made him familiarise himself with the place.

“The next time I come for you, bring me here.”

“Pant, pant.” Fang looked up at Suer with his tongue hanging out, then sniffed. “Whine… Woof!”

“Ha ha, good dog.” Suer knew Fang understood and happily rubbed his head several times. “Come on, let’s go back. If Hagrid comes out and sees you’re gone, he’ll be worried.”

Now all Suer had to do was wait.

But he was in no hurry. Thunderstorms would be frequent after Christmas. If he was lucky, he might even harvest the potion before Christmas.

“Next, I have to recite the incantation twice every day. I mustn’t forget…”

“Becoming an Animagus is such a nuisance…” Suer shook his head. It was not as though he had never considered preparing the Animagus potion in the Room of Requirement. The magical room could even simulate moonlight and thunderstorms.

It would be the perfect exploit.

But something told him he must not do it.

There was always a chance something might go wrong. No simulation could compare with the true environment, however realistic it seemed.

Far too many factors could affect the finished potion.

It was best to remain cautious in everything.

Under the Invisibility Cloak and with Fang leading the way, Suer returned smoothly to Hagrid’s hut. He fastened the chain to its hook once more, threw Fang several pieces of meat, and quietly made his way back to the castle.

A while later, Hagrid opened the door with a flushed face, carrying a basin of meat. He watched Fang tearing noisily at the pieces already before him and scratched his head in confusion.

“When did I feed yeh that meat?”