Ready

Perhaps because the spell's effect was rather crude, Hermione and Daisy frowned and racked their brains for a long time without coming up with a satisfactory new name, Sean, who was terrible at naming things, decided to be more direct.

"Wingardium Leviofa, it's the one!"

Hermione and Daisy exchanged a glance, then turned their heads away simultaneously.

"Don't you guys think this name is pretty straightforward?" Sean muttered behind the two of them.

"It sounds pretty imposing. I bet if there were a vote, this curse's name would get the most votes—"

"Hey, wait for me!"

Sean's busy academic life continued, and he found that the longer he stayed in Newmontgard, the more familiar and welcoming he became.

Although everything here is very different from Hogwarts, and the students here are not as friendly.

But after the Duelling Club, no one dared to openly cause trouble for Sean anymore.

During this time, the Weasley brothers learned about the seventh-year student from Newmontgard who had previously led a group to beat them up. His Fabian Aiken, from France, and his family was rumored to have connections with the Goblin in charge of minting coins; they were a well-known wealthy family in the French Wizarding World.

Furthermore, Fabian Aiken was a prominent Radicals student leader at Newmontgard School of Magic. In the later years, as students prepared to enter the wizarding world, small, factional groups began to emerge within the school.

These teams are similar to the precursors of some organizations in the wizarding community. Fabian Aiken's small team is said to be connected with the French Wizarding World Wizarding Rights Protection Association.

This "Wizarding Rights Protection Association" appears to be another version of the "Wizarding Reform Association" founded by Grindelwald. They believe that wizards are superior to Muggle, and most of the voices in the association are that wizards should rule the world.

It is said that the association's leader is currently running for minister of the French Ministry of Magic.

Sure enough, school is a microcosm of society. Even a small fight can have so many entanglements behind the ringleader.

However, none of these were within Sean's considerations. Students should resolve their own problems, and it's only right to pay back debts—besides, who doesn't have a few powerful backers behind them?

Sean asked the twins to find out Fabian Aiken's usual routes within the castle, as he would need them later.

His key task now is to wait for the full moon.

One day in mid-January, Sean got up early, dressed, and went to the window.

The weather outside the window was quite nice, with pale golden sunlight filtering through the thin clouds and illuminating the mountains beside the castle.

"Looks alright..." Even the usually calm Sean was a little nervous at this moment.

Today marks the thirtieth day since Sean began holding Mandrake leaves in his mouth, Sean can clearly feel that his saliva production is increasing. Moreover, the unpleasant, astringent taste of the leaves has completely disappeared, replaced by a sweet, metallic taste similar to blood.

If tonight's full moon is not obscured by clouds, then Animagus's first step will be considered a success.

Feeling nervous and slightly uneasy, Sean wasn't really in the zone all day. Fortunately, today's classes weren't too demanding, and no one bothered him at this crucial time.

Finally, after the afternoon Charms Class ended, the sky gradually darkened.

"Sean, are you going now?" Hermione asked the boy nervously from around the corner of the stone corridor.

Sean nodded. "It's getting dark quickly, I have to go wait."

To allow Sean to operate quietly, Grindelwald opened the east-side terrace of the castle to him, so that Sean could immediately take out the leaf as soon as the full moon rose in the sky.

The first step to becoming Animagus is to take out the leaf during the full moon, fill a Crystal Vial with saliva, soak the leaf in it, and let it receive the pure moonlight.

After the moonlight has been received, the crystal bottle should be placed in a quiet, dark place, absolutely not exposed to sunlight, and should not be seen or disturbed by wizards.

To ensure everything goes smoothly, Hermione and Daisy cannot travel with Sean.

"It will definitely go smoothly," the two girls encouraged each other.

"I think so too," Sean said with a smile.

By the time Sean and the two men reached the deserted east terrace, it was already quite dark. However, the sky was pitch black, and the moon had not yet risen.

"I hope there are no surprises... I hope there are no dark clouds..." Sean prayed silently.

As time went by, the huge chimes of "dong," "dong," "dong" rang out, the sound emanating from the clock tower on the northernmost side of Newmontgard Castle.

"Hmm?" Sean looked north in confusion.

This clock tower does not usually chime the time; it only rings when students need to gather.

"Dinner should have just ended by now..." Sean muttered to himself, hesitating whether he should go over to the meeting point.

Just then, footsteps sounded at the entrance to the terrace, and Grindelwald appeared with his hands behind his back.

"Gentlemen..."

"Shh..." Grindelwald put a finger to his lips in a gesture, smiling. "Now is the crucial moment. You just need to focus on the present."

He stood at the entrance, casually leaning against the stone wall.

"The full moon won't rise for at least another hour, so of course it's right that you came here in advance to prepare," he said, looking quite interested. "To avoid any accidents, I made up an excuse to send the students back to rest, so no one will disturb your actions tonight."

So the bell was ringing for me... Sean nodded gratefully.

"Thank you so much, sir."

Grindelwald waved his hand. "Of course you should thank me. I'm so considerate and kind—ha, isn't it a bit unusual? If it Albus, he would definitely be doing all this behind the scenes. I'm different. My purpose in doing all this is to build a good relationship with you, and now you owe me a favor, which you'll have to repay later—"

What an unpredictable old man... Sean smiled and nodded, "Of course, sir."

"I'm glad you understand. Oh, I can already feel our hearts drawing closer, it feels so good—" Grindelwald snapped his fingers, and a steaming hot Butterbeer and a sizzling steak appeared beside Sean. "There's still time, I won't bother you any longer, remember to eat~"

He waved with a smile and then left the terrace.

Frank and humorous, Grindelwald's personal charm is truly undeniable...

Sean sighed and took a sip of warm Butterbeer, munching on his steak while gazing at the sky.

However, even after the cup had been empty for a while and the warmth from the Butterbeer had dissipated from Sean's body, the moon still hadn't appeared.

The sky was like pure black velvet, with no clouds, no stars, and no moon in sight.

"It's not time yet, who knows..." Sean created a blue bellflower-like flame with a spell, and muttered to himself as he warmed his hands by the flame.

As time went on, Sean became increasingly anxious.

"Phew..." He glanced at the time. He had been here for four hours, and it was almost 10 p. m., but the night sky was still dark.

If it's past midnight, it means a full month has passed, and by then, even if the moon is high in the sky again, it's too late.

Sean gave a wry smile. Although he had mentally prepared himself, he knew that becoming Animagus wasn't easy. But failing due to bad luck was still a terrible feeling.

Time ticked by, and only twenty minutes remained until the end of the day. Just then, a half-moon finally peeked out from the highest point in the sky.

"There's still hope!" Sean's spirits lifted. The Potions in the crystal bottle only needed a few minutes of moonlight to activate.

The moon seemed to have heard his prayers, and the thick cloud in the sky finally began to move slowly.

The bright full moon finally revealed itself in full glory with only ten minutes left.

Having prepared in advance, Sean immediately opened the stopper of the Crystal Vial, filled it with saliva, and spat out the leaves to soak in it.

He placed the Crystal Vial on the railing so that it could be fully bathed in the pure moonlight.

"Three hundred, two hundred and ninety-nine, two hundred and ninety-eight..." Sean counted his heartbeats.

After three hundred heartbeats, he plucked a strand of his own hair and placed it in a silver teaspoon, which he then put into a crystal bottle. The dew on the teaspoon had been collected from a place that had not seen sunlight or been touched by humans for seven whole days.

After all the ingredients were poured into the crystal bottle, Sean saw that the liquid inside suddenly calmed down, the fine bubbles inside quickly disappeared, and his hair clung tightly to the leaves along the veins of the Mandrake.

Matches the description... Huff, Sean took a deep breath, then took out a brownish-black cocoon-shaped object and put it inside. It had a sinister face pattern on it, which was the Death's-head Hawkmoth Pupa.

After releasing the pupa, Sean immediately capped the bottle, placed the Crystal Vial into a sealed medicine box, and then rushed to the underground classroom.

"God is still looking out for me..." Sean thought happily as he quickened his pace.

It was already past midnight, and Grindelwald had issued a curfew notice. There were no troublemakers wandering around the castle at night, and Sean made his way to the underground classroom without any hindrance.

He quickly opened the Stone Chamber in the inner corner of the room and carefully placed the Crystal Vial inside.

Sean breathed a sigh of relief after closing the door to the Stone Chamber.

"Phew... It was a bit tight at the end, but it went surprisingly smoothly." He wiped the sweat from his forehead and muttered to himself with relief.

Next, we just have to wait for the storm to arrive.