Different Agendas

"You both look quite lively!"

In the Transfiguration Class office on the second floor of the Main Castle.

Professor Dumbledore looked at Cypher and Luna, whose complexions were rosy, and said with a smile.

"Not too bad, thanks to Fawkes and Doctor Bohan."

Cypher cast a grateful look at Fawkes, the phoenix beside him.

Under Cypher's gaze, Fawkes spread his wings slightly, indicating that it was nothing.

"Sit down. Would you like some pastries as well?"

As he spoke, Professor Dumbledore took another plate of pastries from a drawer.

Cypher and Luna shook their heads repeatedly. Neither of them wanted snacks sweet enough to make their throats burn.

"What a shame..."

Professor Dumbledore sighed and pulled the plate of pastries toward himself.

"Professor, the people who attacked us a few days ago..."

Professor Dumbledore looked as though he was enjoying a relaxing moment after breakfast.

Cypher felt a little awkward bringing it up.

Professor Dumbledore sighed upon hearing his question.

"I'm sorry. Not a single one of the Dark wizards who attacked you was caught. However, judging by the traces they left behind, they did indeed use a small-scale warding spell."

After a brief hesitation, Professor Dumbledore continued.

"I also went to Hogsmeade to ask around. Those people were indeed foreign Dark wizards. They came here illegally to seize a potions ingredient."

Cypher guessed that Professor Dumbledore had gotten the information from Aberforth.

In fact, he had. As the older brother, Professor Dumbledore had been subjected to a merciless round of mockery from his younger brother. Only after he mentioned that those people had chased and tried to kill two students the previous night did Aberforth finally speak.

Cypher was just about to say something when Luna beat him to it.

"Norman Dragon Blood Grass! It was the herb we won at the auction in the Hog's Head Pub."

Professor Dumbledore raised his eyebrows.

"Norman Dragon Blood Grass? The one you asked me to help find a long time ago... Wait, Luna, did you go smuggling again behind my back?!"

Professor Dumbledore's expression suddenly turned serious as he fixed Luna with a pressuring stare.

"Professor, Luna did it for me..."

Seeing Professor Dumbledore's stern expression, Cypher hurriedly tried to take the blame upon himself.

Unexpectedly, since he was not an adult, Professor Dumbledore instinctively overlooked him.

"So what if I did?!"

Cypher stared in surprise at Luna, who had suddenly bristled.

He could hardly believe Luna had just talked back to Professor Dumbledore.

"You promised me. You promised to cure Iris's illness, but all these years, you've been busy with this and that every day. Once you stabilized Iris's condition, you just washed your hands of it. And every time you opened your mouth, you used the greater good to brush me off."

"The herbs Iris and I needed were still things I traded for with blood, sweat, and tears! You said you would help me. All these years, you did help me. They all know I'm your adopted daughter. They don't dare threaten me, but they also know you won't attack them without reason. Do you know what they call me on the black market?"

"Galleon Princess! My potions are better than everyone else's, yet I pay more than everyone else! And now! You're still blaming me? If you could have found even one plant, would that day's incident have happened?!"

By the end, Luna's voice was hysterical. Cypher fell silent.

After hearing her out, Professor Dumbledore's expression shifted from sternness to shame.

In the end, he let out a long sigh and leaned back on the sofa, staring blankly at the ceiling as though remembering someone.

Cypher finally managed to sort out the whole story.

But now that he was caught in the middle, he had no idea how to break the silence.

Still, not knowing what to say did not stop him from pulling Luna close to comfort her.

It seemed Professor Dumbledore could not determine who exactly had attacked them either.

Fortunately, they most likely could not enter Hogwarts.

He had not exposed the existence of the secret passage.

Because he had broken through the ward and Apparated outside to escape.

At last, Luna's emotions gradually settled.

Seeing that the timing was about right, Cypher spoke.

"It's alright, Professor. I'll take good care of Luna from now on."

Professor Dumbledore came back to himself and glanced at Cypher.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say that Cypher was a child too.

But before the words could leave his mouth, he thought of himself. Back then, he had learned to Apparate in his first year in order to care for his younger sister, who could not manage daily life on her own—a spell that even graduating students might not know.

All so he could get home in time after class every day.

Now, Cypher was just as outstanding as he had been back then.

In fact, judging by some of the ways Cypher handled matters, his thinking was far more mature than his own had been at that age.

In the end, Professor Dumbledore remained silent, tacitly agreeing. From now on, he would no longer interfere in whatever the two of them did, as long as they did not harm Hogwarts students.

"Sometimes, relationships between elders and younger people fall apart because small things pile up over time,"

Cypher said softly.

"If you cannot keep a promise you made to Luna, Professor, then you should apologize promptly. Adults are arrogant toward children. They think everything they do is for the child's own good, without realizing how deeply the child's heart can be hurt."

That poisonous bowl of chicken soup left Professor Dumbledore dumbfounded.

After a long while, he gave a bitter smile, rose to his feet, and solemnly apologized to Luna.

"I'm sorry, Professor. You had to deal with such an unpleasant matter first thing in the morning. But next, I have one piece of good news and one request."

Upon hearing that, Professor Dumbledore, who had received Luna's forgiveness, smiled again.

"What a coincidence. I have good news too. In one sentence: Iris will return to school tonight."

"Really?!"

After silently crying beside Cypher, Luna suddenly perked up.

For a moment, Cypher saw the image of Iris teasing others. He could not help wondering whether Luna's hysterics had been an act, merely to escape a lecture...

Luna did not care that she had exposed a "flaw." At that moment, she was genuinely happy.

Normally, Iris would need nearly half a month to recover.

For her to recover so quickly, could it be...

"Yes. Iris's condition has improved greatly recently. It has let me see a glimmer of hope for a cure."

Upon hearing Professor Dumbledore's confirmation, Luna excitedly exclaimed that it was wonderful.

Although Cypher did not know what illness Iris had, if Professor Dumbledore said there was hope for a cure, then it was not something impossible to resolve.

Subconsciously, Cypher overlooked the fact that Professor Dumbledore had said it was only a glimmer.

"Now for our good news."

Cypher and Luna exchanged a glance, then raised their wands at the same time.

"Expecto Patronum!"

At the tip of Cypher's wand, the same lizard-shaped Patronus appeared.

As for Luna, a sphere appeared.

This sphere was the result of Cypher teaching Luna how to cast the Patronus Charm after succeeding the night before.

Neither of them knew what it was, but that did not prevent them from being independent Corporeal Patronuses.

When Professor Dumbledore saw their Patronuses appear without any threads connected to their wands.

He could not help clapping in admiration.

After stepping forward to examine them closely, he said to the two of them.

"These resemble the juvenile forms of some creatures. You will need to use more and happier emotions to help them grow. Honestly, only I could answer this for you. No one else has ever seen such a situation. There are no records of it either. You should know that my Patronus was once an egg as well, until I saw... Anyway, it eventually became a phoenix."

After hearing that, Cypher's heart skipped a beat.

"Professor, did you say a phoenix?! Then are ours Magical Creatures too?!"

"Yes. Congratulations. Your Patronuses are far more powerful than those of ordinary wizards. If your senior Newt were here, perhaps he could tell you what Magical Creatures they are."

"Don't look at me like that. My knowledge of Magical Creatures is not that profound."

Professor Dumbledore smiled. He thought Cypher's expression conveyed shock that even he did not know what kind of juvenile Magical Creature it was.

"No... Professor," Cypher swallowed and asked nervously. "Can you become an Animagus, Professor?!"

"I cannot!" Professor Dumbledore answered bluntly, then understood something.

"You want to learn Animagus transformation?"

Cypher nodded repeatedly.

"This... is somewhat difficult. I need to confirm something before I can give you an answer."

"It's alright, Professor. We can wait. We only want to learn Animagus transformation so we can make better use of the Awakening Draught. We will not need it anytime soon."

After that, Cypher finally got the Legilimency spell from Professor Dumbledore.

He took Luna to the Room of Requirement.

His medical leave lasted until tomorrow at the latest. After that, he would have to attend class.

In a hidden corner of Hogwarts.

A little boy was making a deal with a shadowy figure.

"Give me power, and I'll help you!"

The boy's tone was stubborn and resolute. Though it was a deal, when he spoke, it sounded as if he were ordering a subordinate and demanding repayment of a debt.

The figure chuckled softly.

"No problem. This is a powerful curse. Take it and learn it. The letter contains what you need to do."

The boy snatched the spell from the figure's hand and reluctantly accepted the envelope.

"I want more!"

He flipped through it on the spot and found that there was really only one spell.

Oh, no, two. There was also the countercurse.

The boy was dissatisfied.

"Boy, you came to me because you crave power, while I can find someone else. If I did not urgently need your identity to help me do things, you would not receive even a single spell."

"Hmph—"

Upon hearing that, the boy left angrily.

The figure stood there in silence for a moment. His expression changed several times before he finally strengthened his resolve.

For the sake of the plan, every sacrifice was worth it.