Cypher, lost in thought, failed to notice Luna's complicated gaze.
A trace of disappointment crossed Luna's face as she walked aside, preparing to brew the herbs she had bought into potions.
By the time Cypher came back to himself, Luna was already quietly brewing potions nearby.
Better not disturb her. He would summarize this experience first.
Cypher went over to the office area and sat down, taking out a quill and parchment.
He lightly touched the nib to the parchment and began writing.
First was Austin Charles, who claimed to be from the Shadow Empire.
The name might have been fake, but the organization's name was probably real.
There was no reason to make up an organization just to deceive him, was there?
Forget it. He would assume they were called the Shadow Organization.
Cypher drew a large circle around the Shadow Organization, then added a large question mark beside it.
Austin Charles had also said that they were allied with Grindelwald.
A like-minded wizarding organization based in Germany? Or the Ministry of Magic in Italy?
There might be a mole within the British Ministry of Magic. During the war, they had actually allowed Dark wizards to illegally enter the country and even fight their way to the outskirts of Hogwarts.
Wait... could the mole be at Hogwarts?!
Hiss—
Cypher buried the thought deep in his heart. He decided that the next time he saw Dumbledore, he would report this suspicion first.
Other international forces.
The Ministry of Magic in the United States had an unclear stance, but Grindelwald had humiliated them badly. It seemed that he had even killed their Minister. They should join the camp opposing the Saints, right?!
Other forces... he had never dealt with them, so he did not know...
After writing all that down, he had not actually reached any conclusions!
Cypher's brow furrowed tightly.
According to memories from his previous life, Grindelwald should have already taken control of Austria's Magical World this year. Yet the International Confederation of Wizards had not sanctioned them at all. Strange. Had they been threatened? Or were they willing to sacrifice territory to avert disaster?
Britain had not joined the war immediately, but later, it had been bombed relentlessly by the air force.
In other words, the British Ministry of Magic would only be beaten severely by Grindelwald before dragging its battered remnants onto the battlefield, gritting its teeth...
Could those few Dark wizards who had entered the country illegally become the excuse for war?
What a waste of a good hand... No, that was not right. The previous wizarding war had greatly weakened wizardkind. Now, wizards feared war, and when faced with invasion, they became ostriches...
Cypher sighed. In chaotic times, without true strength of one's own, one could only live every day in fear and anxiety...
Cypher sat at the table for a long, long time, writing down quite a few scattered thoughts.
Luna had long since finished preparing the potions.
She let the potions continue simmering in a large cauldron some distance away, bubbling away with gurgling sounds.
Meanwhile, she quietly came to Cypher's side and obediently sat down.
Suddenly, Cypher handed the parchment in his hand to Luna.
"Take a look. Do you have anything to add, or any thoughts?"
Luna took it and saw that it was Cypher's summary and prediction of the changing situation in Europe over the past few years.
Luna read through it carefully and filled in the information she had obtained through her personal connections.
It mainly turned Cypher's question marks into check marks.
"Sorry, I rarely trade with them for intelligence..."
Luna handed the parchment back and spoke softly.
"It's all right! If this had not happened, I would not have cared about these things either. Being strong yourself is what truly matters. We are not qualified to get involved yet."
Cypher comforted her, then suddenly changed the subject.
"Luna, how did you get to know Iris?"
Luna froze. She hesitated for a moment, not understanding why Cypher had suddenly asked that.
But after thinking it over, there did not seem to be anything that needed to be kept secret.
"My parents also died a few years ago while fighting Grindelwald's followers. My grandfather works for the Order of Merlin, and he is old friends with Dumbledore and the Deputy Headmaster. Iris also happened to spend a lot of time alone in the castle, so he sent me here to keep her company."
Was I overthinking it? Still, the wizard casualties... Cypher thought before saying, "Sorry, Luna. I made you remember something painful."
"It's all right. After getting to know Iris, my life has still been very happy!"
Luna gave Cypher a sweet smile.
"That Norman Dragon Blood Grass..."
"It's with me. We'll brew it together during the Christmas break!"
"By the way, your Mandrake leaf..."
Silence fell... Luna said in a tearful voice, "I think Doctor Bohan took it away. Some potions had adverse reactions with the Mandrake..."
"It's all right. We will not need it anytime soon."
The three of them were studying Animagus transformation mainly to better bring out the effects of the Potion of Magical Enhancement.
Now, the Potion of Magical Enhancement was still only a pile of ingredients, so Cypher naturally was not in any hurry.
The only pity was that the effort they had put in over the past half month had gone to waste again.
"The last failure was caused by the weather." Cypher thought for a moment before continuing, "I remember a very obscure Weather Charm. I wonder if it might work?"
Upon hearing that, Luna frowned and thought as hard as she could. After searching through her memories for a long while, she finally said,
"I'm afraid not. But reliable records say that storms caused by magical creatures such as Thunderbirds can work."
"Is that so? Then it may involve the power of nature."
Cypher murmured thoughtfully.
"The power of nature?"
At the mention of that, Luna vigorously clawed at her hair, tangling her smooth long hair into a mess.
She looked like someone who had spent a long time unable to solve an intricate and difficult math problem.
"Cypher, you said that this power of nature is the foundation for casting House-elves' magic. But no matter what Iris and I do, we cannot even get started. Suddenly, I feel so useless..."
Luna's eyes suddenly dimmed. Cypher hurried forward to comfort her and smooth her hair back into place.
"Don't rush. Once I become more proficient in Occlumency, and you truly learn the Patronus Charm, then learn Legilimency, you may also be able to learn these spells."
Luna did not believe him, but Cypher's face was full of concern. Suddenly, she felt that whether she believed him or not was no longer important.
Seeing Luna's mood improve, Cypher let out a sigh of relief. As someone from another world, he always felt out of place among the people of this world.
As for Madam Mary, she was like a ray of light shining ahead of him, guiding him to live well in this world.
Luna and Iris, on the other hand, were like candle flames cradled in his palms. Even in darkness, they left a little light in his heart.
He had to protect that little candle flame.
Eh? Protect...
Cypher seemed to realize something.
Under Luna's curious gaze,
Cypher took out his wand.
Rather than searching his mind for happy memories as the books described,
he instead prayed firmly in his heart that, no matter what, he would protect these two girls.
With sudden inspiration, Cypher softly called out,
"Expecto Patronum!"
Unlike the faint glow or little ball of light from before,
this time, what emerged from the tip of Cypher's wand was an independent creature, no longer connected to the wand by lingering threads.
Haha—
Cypher was thrilled, and Luna was as well.
But when the two looked closely, their expressions simultaneously turned into ones of helpless amusement.
"A liz?! A lizard??!!"
Before you continue