From Darkness to Sudden Light

Thick, cotton-padded clouds hung over the Quidditch Pitch, and a chilling wind blew from the Forbidden Forest, its coldness seeping into the gaps in clothing and making people shiver.

"Attention everyone! Let's warm up with 20 laps first, then we'll do some combat training!"

As Oliver Wood blew his whistle, the team's seven starters and two substitute goalkeepers took off, riding various styles of flying brooms and flying around the field at high speed, their clothes and brooms whistling through the air.

After warm-up, the team split into two groups for a scrimmage. Group A consisted of backup goaltender Ron Weasley, Beater Fred Weasley, Chaser Katie Bell; the remaining Cormac Maclagan, George Weasley, Alicia Spinnet, formed the other group. Angelina Johnson played as the libero, assisting with passing to both teams.

Starting goalkeeper Wood Oliver piloted Firebolt and practiced Seeker drills with Harry.

The goalkeepers for both sides will be switched every game; this is a quick way for Wood and Ron to get the team together.

The broom streaked through the air, leaving afterimages and the brilliant crimson of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team in its wake, Quidditch training proceeded with great enthusiasm.

A flash of golden light disappeared in an instant.

The moment the Golden Snitch appeared, Wood immediately accelerated the Firebolt he was controlling, speeding towards the Golden Snitch's location.

Harry's breathing was a little rapid, but he was not anxious at all. He knew how fast the Firebolt was, and that the Nimbus 2000 beneath him definitely couldn't catch up.

Calmly recalling the direction in which the Golden Snitch disappeared, Harry quickly sped towards another stand, as if he had discovered the latest trace of the Golden Snitch.

As expected, goalkeeper Wood, lacking experience as Seeker, flew toward the stands at an even faster speed after seeing his movement.

Just as they were about to turn onto the stands, Harry suddenly swerved and accelerated in another direction. Wood couldn't dodge in time and crashed straight into the curtain of the stands, falling to the ground along the soft fabric. Fortunately, the Quidditch Pitch pitch was soft, and the curtain cushioned the fall, so Wood wasn't injured and quickly rose back into the air on his broomstick.

Harry, already in mid-air, was grinning and waiting for him, holding the Golden Snitch in his hand.

Wood lightly brushed him with the end of his broom. "Transfiguration of the Lansky feint? Seeker Harry Potter, I dare say, even Joseph Lansky himself wouldn't have done it any better than you."

Harry couldn't help but grin smugly. Just as they were about to continue training, an annoyed voice came from the other side of the field:

"You did this on purpose! You must have done this on purpose!"

The newly arrived substitute goalkeeper Cormac Maclagan, was a burly man who could probably block all three goals even if he stood still. He was shouting, "Those two Beater and that guy are brothers. They're favoring him and deliberately feeding him the ball!"

George and Fred rode around the Quidditch hoop on their broomsticks, seemingly unbothered by the slander, instead sporting faint smiles that appeared somewhat mocking.

Maclagan was even more furious. "Look, you guys admit it, don't you! You deliberately passed the ball to that little Weasley, and then deliberately made things difficult for me."

"Enough!" Wood rode up on his Firebolt. "Maclagan, apologize to George and Fred!"

"Hey! Captain Wood, you really should see what happened just now!" Maclagan shouted at Wood in a self-righteous tone, "That Weasley made so many saves, more than he did in the selection. If they didn't cheat, I'd eat a pound of Doxy's balls."

Ron's smile faded as he looked at his two older brothers blankly, unsure whether he had saved the ball on his own merit or whether George and Fred had actually let him win.

The Twins still wore faint smiles as they rode their brooms around the Quidditch hoop circle, seemingly completely ignoring Maclagan.

"I said, apologize!" Wood said sternly.

"Oh," Maclagan said in a nonchalant tone, "Well, sorry..."

He muttered a few words of apology under his breath, his tone very perfunctory, which made Wood frown. "Cormac Maclagan, if you can't fully trust your teammates, you can leave the team now."

The veins in Maclagan's temples were throbbing, and just when Harry thought he was about to make a scene, he made an ugly face at Ron, yelling at the air as he flew back to the goalkeeper's position, as if he had given in.

Wood turned to look at Ron, his expression equally serious. "That's what I also want to tell you, Ron. On the field, you must entrust all your trust to your teammates."

"I trust them completely..." Ron shrank back and looked at his two older brothers weakly, "But I don't really trust myself, so were you really taking care of me just now?"

Angelina flew over and tapped him on the head. "What are you thinking? Even if those two are taking care of you, does that mean the rest of us are taking care of you too?"

Ron immediately breathed a sigh of relief and his expression relaxed.

The Twins, who had been faking their smiles, flew over and bumped into him, saying with grins, "Don't worry, little Ronnie, we'd love for you to be eliminated."

"I won't be left out!" Ron shouted angrily. "When Wood graduates, I'm going to be the team captain, and then I'll give you two a good beating!"

Hearing this, the team members around him laughed so hard they almost fell off their brooms.

Only Wood looked rather grim.

After a few laughs and jokes, everyone was about to continue training with their brooms when another red-haired Weasley suddenly flew up from below, riding the obsolete training broom "Meteor," moving very slowly and somewhat wobbling.

"Captain Wood, I want to run for Seeker!"

Ginny's voice reached the crowd even before she appeared. The girl's face was beaming with a warm smile, as dazzling as a small sun that had suddenly risen.

From the window seats outside the Library, you can vaguely see the Quidditch Pitch, where players in crimson jerseys roam freely, and four red-haired Weasley are mixed in, easily visible from afar.

A young wizard with light brown hair walked over with a serious expression and said in a deep voice, "Mr. Morgan!"

Loren's expression turned serious, and he replied in a deep voice, "What is it, Mr. Finnigan?"

"I received some information about Potions Master, but I can't verify its authenticity, so I've come to you for confirmation. This concerns the future of the Empire, so I'm entrusting it to you, Mr. Morgan."

"It is my honor to do this for the Empire!" Loren nodded, pulled out his Potions Master paper from his homework, and solemnly handed it over.

Seamus accepted the assignment with equal solemnity, looking gratefully at Loren: "The Empire will not forget your contribution, and glory will be etched in your name, Loren Morgan!"

"Everything for the Empire!"

"Goodbye!"

"Goodbye!"

Hermione: "..."

Watching the two of them act out their affected mannerisms and deliberately exaggerated accents, and after Seamus left, Hermione couldn't help but mutter under her breath, "You two have turned something as simple as copying homework into an epic."

"How can you say that, Miss Granger Hermione Granger?" Loren looked at her seriously and said solemnly, "It's all for the glory of the Empire."

Hermione remained silent for a moment, then lowered her head and continued working on her Ancient Rune.

However, Loren approached again. "Miss Granger, the Empire now needs to requisition your Astronomy assignments."

As Loren spoke, he pulled out an Astronomy paper from a stack of completed assignments, gleefully preparing to extract the essentials and discard the dross— Hermione's paper was too long; he would only need to extract a few scraps to satisfy Professor Sinistra.

"Huh? How did you succeed so easily?"

Upon receiving the assignment, Loren suddenly frowned and looked at Hermione with a puzzled expression.

Hermione couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Is something wrong? Am I the kind of person who demands that you complete all your homework properly?"

"..."

Loren paused for a moment, then said, "No, isn't that right?"

Hermione gritted her teeth, took a deep breath, and resolutely snatched back her assignment. "Yes, I am. You must complete this paper on Pluto rigorously!"

Loren scratched his head, somewhat confused.

Sunday, November 28th.

In the gap between sunset and moonrise, a light drizzle drifts near the Castle. The rain is invisible in the dim light, but when you reach out to shield your eyes, the raindrops gently fall onto your sleeves and wrists, their cool touch seeping into your heart.

The sky was clear and the night was a pure black, waiting for the full moon to emerge from the darkness and illuminate the night world with its soft, faint light.

The young wizards followed in a line behind Professor McGonagall, taking steps of varying sizes as they made their way to the Edge of the Forbidden Forest, with Professor Lupin following behind as their caretaker.

These are all members of the Animagus class. A few members who have completed the task of holding Mandrake Leaf in their mouths will bury the Secret Potion tonight, while most of the new members are here to observe and learn.

Without umbrellas, the little wizards chattered away the cold rain, their warm hearts the only thing keeping them warm.

"Ginny, I didn't expect you to fly so well! From the Seeker's perspective alone, you fly much better than Wood!" Harry exclaimed with delight.

Ginny's cheeks flushed slightly, though it wasn't noticeable in the darkness. "Th-thank you."

A week had passed since she rashly proposed joining the team. Under the persuasion and encouragement of Angelina and the Twins, Wood unexpectedly kept Ginny on the team, saying that he would observe her for a while and then decide what to do next. He made time to train the two substitute goalkeepers and had Harry lead her in basic Seeker exercises.

It was called practice, but it was actually instruction. Harry explained the specific rules of Quidditch, the Seeker's notes, and basic tactics to Ginny, little by little.

After two weeks, she has made great progress; at least Harry thinks she has made great progress.

Fred chuckled and chimed in, "Go Ginny! Once you replace Harry as the Seeker, Gryffindor will have four Weasley on the team. That'll be the Weasley family team!"

"You're right, Fred," George said, changing the subject. "But I think the biggest obstacle to this plan is the goalkeeper, don't you think, Ronnie?"

"No, no, no, George, the fourth Weasley I was talking about also includes— Charlie Weasley!"

"You two!" Ron gritted his teeth, feeling humiliated. "I'll beat the Mandrake Leaf out of your mouths!"

He charged forward yelling, while the Twins brothers circled Percy, laughing heartily.

Percy's temples throbbed; he had a premonition that if he didn't get away from here soon, he would be the one whose Mandrake Leaf would be damaged.

At the back of the line, Professor Lupin watched the scene of laughter, playful chasing, and playful fighting ahead, a gentle smile on his lips.

"Professor, how are you feeling now?"

Hermione, walking beside him, asked worriedly, concerned that Professor Lupin might Transfiguration in front of others.

Professor Lupin replied, "I feel pretty good, my mind is very clear. Don't worry, Hermione, the moon hasn't risen yet."

Loren said thoughtfully, "Since he can maintain his sanity after Transfiguration, Professor Lupin can disguise himself as Animagus and use it as a teaching demonstration."

Lupin smiled and shook his head, ignoring Loren's absurd idea.

"Professor, when Harry's father and the others were studying the Animagus, were you studying with them?" Hermione asked.

"Yes." Professor Lupin nodded. "They referenced many of my ideas regarding how to maintain rationality and balance one's animalistic instincts."

Animagus... Werewolf... Reason...

Raindrops fell from the dark night sky, their cool touch seeping into his mind. Loren felt a certain thought drifting in the rain, yet it was elusive.

His eyes suddenly lit up, and he asked excitedly, "Then why didn't you study Animagus, Professor?"

Lupin chuckled, "Have you forgotten? Werewolf can't maintain their sanity during Full Moon; they can't even complete the first step of the Animagus Ritual..."

Lupin suddenly froze, his voice gradually fading until he fell completely silent.

"Professor, you noticed it too, didn't you!"

Loren lowered his voice, but to Lupin, it sounded deafening, as if amplified by a Amplifying Voice: "The Magic Power of the Full Moon triggers strange Magic Power within Werewolf, causing Werewolf to lose control Transfiguration. What if, on the night of the Full Moon, Werewolf Transfiguration into animals devoid of Magic Power?"

Hermione's mind raced, and she quickly replied, "Animagus Transformation creatures don't have Magic Power in their bodies. If they don't have Magic Power, theoretically they won't be able to Transfiguration by the Full Moon —compared to the long-term purchase of expensive Wolfsbane Potion and the difficult-to-promote Human Transformation Spell, this method is practically cheap!"

Lupin didn't speak. His face flushed with excitement, and his lips began to tremble. This trembling quickly spread throughout his body, as if a surging heat was brewing, which even the dense cold rain couldn't extinguish.

The Full Moon had not yet broken through the clouds, but its faint light already illuminated the path ahead.