In the end, Cypher got his wish and had some tea.
He first called out to Ogg, who was walking ahead.
Pulling out his wand, he snapped off a branch beside his ear and Transfigured it into a wooden cup.
After he let go, the wooden cup wobbled over to the clay pot, dipped down, rose back up, and returned to Cypher's hand.
Cypher raised the steaming tea and gestured a toast to Ogg.
At last, Ogg's expression was no longer stiffly serious. A hearty smile appeared on his face instead.
"Good!" he praised loudly, then said, "Excellent Transfiguration and Summoning Charm. Finish that cup, and let's go!"
At first, Ogg had assumed Cypher was some wealthy young master. His unusual clothes and astonishingly fast curse-breaking speed, for example, had seemed like the result of family treasures.
However, Cypher's little display just now made Ogg realize that he truly had the skills.
That would make his own job much easier.
The three walked down another narrow trail.
Ogg had trouble walking alone through it, so with two people walking side by side, it was naturally a little cramped.
With no other choice, Cypher had Luna walk ahead of him.
Ogg cleared the way in front, while Cypher occasionally used magic to snap off branches that suddenly jutted out behind him.
Luna truly looked as though she had come on an outing.
Rustle—crack—
Leaves crunched underfoot, and branches snapped.
The three hurried through the silent forest with their heads down for quite some time.
Then, suddenly, the view before them opened up.
Cypher, the last to emerge from the trees, focused his eyes and found himself at the entrance to a basin.
"Ahead is the Diricawl colony raised by Hogwarts. Winter is coming soon, and I need you two to help build nests for them. They don't need to be fancy, but they need to be sturdy—sturdy enough to get them through the winter, at least."
"Okay!" ×2
The two answered obediently.
Ogg stepped aside and took a hammer and an axe from his back.
After hammering and chopping away for quite a while, he finally made a demonstration nest.
Ogg told Cypher and Luna that nests built to his specifications would be sufficient.
Cypher thought of the terrible magic outside Ogg's cabin.
Wisely, he did not ask why Ogg was not using magic.
Pure Transfiguration would not work. Once the magic ran out, the transformed nest would revert to its original form.
So the two of them had to build the nests using actual lumber.
Cypher walked over to the pile of logs nearby.
He gripped an axe in one hand and used Mage Hand to assist himself.
One swing chopped off a large section, and Cypher was quite pleased.
He was just about to raise his hand for another swing.
Then he saw Luna staring at him in shock.
"What is it?"
He looked around but found nothing. Cypher scratched his head, unable to understand.
"You're a wizard!"
Cypher froze. Right, I'm a wizard.
Left and Right Separate. (Note: Normally, traditional magic required Iris to compile magical runes before Cypher could cast it, because Cypher's wand had no "operating system.")
The block of wood split apart, but the surfaces were extremely rough, as though they had been forcibly torn open with brute strength.
Even Cypher could not stand looking at them. He hurriedly used a Fire Spell to burn off the splinters on the wood.
In the end, Cypher produced a pile of black wooden sticks giving off thin wisps of smoke.
Luna, who had been watching from the side for a long time, could not help laughing so hard she bent over.
"Come on, learn from me."
Blade Unleashed.
In Luna's hands, it was a cutting spell poised to strike.
Luna demonstrated it. All she had to do was lightly draw the tip of her wand across the wood.
It split apart as though cut by a machine, leaving smooth cross-sections.
But after Luna finished demonstrating, she discovered Cypher looking at her strangely.
She hurriedly asked what was wrong.
"Did you forget that my spellcasting works differently from yours?"
Hearing that, Luna stuck out her tongue to hide her embarrassment.
Fortunately, only one of them needed to know how to do it.
Luna's magic was far less abundant than Cypher's.
So Cypher was responsible for sending pieces of wood to Luna, while Luna cut them apart.
If Iris modified it, would it become Sectumsempra, the spell used by Severus Snape, son of Eileen Prince?
While working, a mischievous thought drifted through Cypher's mind.
He quickly snuffed it out.
The two divided their work clearly and coordinated seamlessly. Before long, the wood had all been turned into nest components.
But then they had to nail the nests together.
That caused a problem, since Luna had no suitable spell for it either.
After seeing Luna nearly smash her own hand with the hammer again,
Cypher could not bear to watch any longer. After thinking for a moment, he decided to use a common carpenter's trick and join the boards together with mortise-and-tenon joints.
That way, Luna could easily assemble the nests, and from the outside, they would look as though they had been made from a single piece.
By the time Ogg, who had disappeared after assigning them their work, hurried back,
they had already completed a row of nests.
Ogg was surprised. He stepped forward to inspect their craftsmanship and praised them generously.
"Keep it up. Make two more rows, and I'll declare your detention finished for this morning!"
At Ogg's promise, both their eyes lit up.
They had thought they could finish the work in just half an hour.
In reality, half an hour passed, and they had only barely completed less than half of it.
It turned out that Ogg had gone to herd over a group of Diricawls.
They had been raised by wizards since they were young and were not afraid of people from Hogwarts.
So they kept coming over, surrounding the two of them, and watching their work with the vacant stares of foolish deer.
Many times, Cypher had to stop working and shoo them aside.
However, they would return again before long.
Even after Ogg brought over the last group of Diricawls, the two had still not finished their work, because they had to take care of this batch of birds.
"Find them shelter first."
"A tail feather like this means it's the head of that family."
"You only need to pluck one of its tail feathers. Don't worry, just one. They won't attack you."
"Put that tail feather in a nest, and they'll know it's their home."
When Ogg returned and saw the two floundering about, he remembered that they had not yet taken the Care of Magical Creatures class that only began in their third year.
He was both amused and helpless, and quickly explained how to settle the Diricawls into their new homes.
Near noon, the two finally finished the work.
Ogg told the exhausted pair with satisfaction that he would mark their detention performance as excellent.
"My conditions here are rather poor. I'm sure you don't want to stay here for lunch."
Outside the Forbidden Forest caretaker's cabin, Ogg spread his hands. It was not that he did not want to entertain them; the conditions simply did not allow it.
The two said they did not mind and waved goodbye to the man who was cold on the outside but warm at heart.
Just as Cypher was telling Luna that they could cook for themselves in the kitchen if they missed lunch,
Ogg suddenly called out to stop them from behind.
Under their gazes, Ogg hesitated again, as though he had something difficult to say.
After several breaths, he gritted his teeth and voiced his request.
After listening, Cypher understood. He turned his gaze to Luna. This time, it depended on her decision.
"Are you sure a unicorn is having a difficult birth?" Luna frowned, disbelief in her tone.
After all, unicorns had an instinct for avoiding harm and seeking benefit. A difficult birth like this... could it be...
"Yes, just as you guessed. She suffered a backlash from prophecy. I heard there's a potion..."
Ogg said tentatively.
"That's right, a Vitality Potion. It can help her recover her vitality quickly, but it has to be made fresh."
Hearing that, Ogg visibly relaxed.
"I'll prepare the ingredients right away. Could I ask you to come next week..."
"No problem!"
Luna agreed immediately. Helping a unicorn came with nothing but benefits.
When they said goodbye again, Ogg did not call them back.
"Why did Ogg ask you instead of seeking help from Professor Slughorn?"
Cypher frowned. After the previous attack, he was a little traumatized.
"Maybe Professor Horace Slughorn's hush money is too expensive." Luna tilted her head and smiled. "Besides, unicorns like young, pretty girls like me. I have a feeling this time, I'll gain something money can't buy."
"I'm still worried. Let's ask Professor Dumbledore. If he agrees, let Iris go with you too!"
"Hey! I've survived the black market on my own before. Something like this..."
Their voices gradually faded.
Their figures slowly disappeared into the dense forest.
Ahead stood Hogwarts' Main Castle.
What followed would be another ordinary weekend of daily life—
Before you continue