A wave of nervous whispers rose through the classroom. Professor McGonagall prowled slowly between the desks like a hawk surveying her territory, her sharp gaze scrutinizing every student's movements.
"Mr. Finnigan! Are you swatting flies with that wrist? Again!"
"Mr. Weasley! Enunciate the spell! It's not 'FormaMutatioMutatioMutatio'!"
"Mr. Potter, willpower! Picture the texture of the button, not what a stone looks like!"
Her stern criticisms rang out without pause. Ron's pebble merely puffed out some smoke and turned even blacker; Harry's twisted once and became an irregular lump of metal; Seamus's split cleanly in two.
Hermione became the center of attention once more. Completely focused, her little face flushed slightly from the effort, fine beads of sweat forming on her forehead. She followed every instruction precisely, pronouncing the spell clearly, striving to make her wrist movements perfect as she desperately pictured every detail of a brass button.
"FormaMutatio!"
A silvery-white flash burst forth! The pebble on her desk... transformed! But not into a perfect button. Instead, it became a piece of metal with somewhat rough edges, a color somewhere between stone and brass, and an irregular shape... It barely resembled the outline of a button.
"The form is close, but the details are crude. Your magic control lacks refinement, and it lacks a metallic texture." Professor McGonagall walked over, inspecting the "metal piece" before delivering an objective yet merciless evaluation. "Miss Granger, your theoretical foundation is excellent, but practical work requires more precise control. Again."
Hermione's little face fell at once. The pride she had felt in Charms class vanished without a trace, replaced by frustration and a hint of grievance. She bit her lower lip, her eyes reddening slightly as she raised her wand again unwillingly.
Lynn watched it all. He understood Hermione's frustration. Transfiguration demanded an extremely high degree of detail and precise control, precisely the area that Hermione, relying on book knowledge alone, found difficult to fully grasp. He picked up his own pebble and focused, clearly constructing a three-dimensional model of a standard brass button in his mind—its size, curvature, smooth edges, central holes, even its subtle metallic grain. The Star Stone's power granted him formidable mental construction abilities.
"FormaMutatio." His voice was calm and even, his wrist moving with precise, steady care as it rotated half a turn with mechanical exactness.
A deep-blue flash vanished in an instant, so quickly it was almost an illusion. The pebble on his desk disappeared, replaced by a perfect button with smooth edges, an even color, and the genuine gleam of brass! Even the holes in its center were clearly defined and perfectly round!
"Perfect!" Professor McGonagall's voice carried barely concealed surprise and approval. She strode quickly to Lynn's desk, picking up the button for a careful examination. "Precise form, complete material transformation, and accurate, efficient magical control! Ten points to Gryffindor! Mr. Lee, very well done!" The initial scrutiny in her gaze toward Lynn had been replaced by intense interest.
Hermione looked at the perfect button on Lynn's desk, then at her own crude metal piece. The stark contrast made her even more dejected, and she nearly bit through her lip. She tried again, but her pebble only yellowed slightly, becoming even less like a button.
"Don't rush," Lynn's low voice sounded by her ear, quiet enough that only she could hear it. "Imagine its weight, the coolness of metal, the sensation of your fingers brushing over it—not just its appearance."
Hermione froze. Weight? Sensation? Before this, she had focused only on the visual form. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and tried to recall what it felt like to touch brass—the solid weight, the smooth and faintly cool texture. When she opened her eyes again, there was a new calmness in her gaze.
"FormaMutatio."
This time, the silvery-white glow was far steadier. The pebble on her desk became a brass button that, though its edges were still imperfect, already possessed a distinct metallic shine and texture! It was far better than before!
"Remarkable improvement!" Professor McGonagall nodded. "Maintain that feeling, Miss Granger!"
Hermione let out a breath and shot Lynn a grateful glance, her earlier discouragement replaced by renewed motivation. Lynn returned an encouraging look. Separated by their desks, the Star Stone and Moon White Stone seemed to silently share in the joy of success.
That afternoon's History of Magic class was taught by Professor Binns—a translucent ghost professor whose monotonous voice sounded like chanting—and covered "The Rise and Fall of Medieval European Wizarding Councils." To most first-years, it was an excellent lullaby. Harry and Ron soon began nodding off. Hermione forced herself to stay alert, diligently recording key points in her Starry Notebook—with the Pen of Stars, her thoughts flowed, and the starlit writing appeared with incomparable smoothness. Lynn seemed to be listening, but part of his mind was actually occupied with figuring out how to repair the crack at the tip of the Pen of Stars, as well as the subtle connection between the Astrology Compass and Hermione's moonlight magic.
By evening, the day's classes had ended. At dinner, the "sky" above the Great Hall had turned a deep inky blue, scattered with sparse stars.
"We have Astronomy tonight!" Hermione's eyes lit up as she checked the timetable. "It's at the very top of the North Tower! We'll be able to see the entire night sky!"
As night deepened, the chill seeped in. Led by the prefects, the first-years passed through the silent castle corridors and climbed a long, narrow spiral staircase of stone before finally reaching the observatory atop the North Tower. The view was wide open, the night wind biting, and the deep-purple sky stretched like an enormous velvet blanket studded with dazzling diamonds. The Milky Way spanned the heavens, breathtaking in its magnificence.
The Astronomy professor was a tall, slender witch with long silver hair and gentle eyes—Professor Aurora Sinistra. She handed out Brass Astrolabes and Star Charts.
"Tonight, we will learn about the ruler of the autumn sky—the Corona Gryphi constellation." Professor Sinistra's voice was as soft as the night breeze. She pointed toward an eastern pattern of several bright stars shaped like a crown. "And the Moon Lake nebula beneath its protection..."
Yet Lynn's gaze was involuntarily drawn to another patch of sky. Southwest of Corona Gryphi, a star emitting a soft milky-white glow shone with unusual brightness. Not far from it, a deep-blue star with restrained light complemented it, as though the two formed a natural Star Chart in the night sky. The Star Stone against his chest grew faintly warm, as if answering that expanse of stars. Instinctively, he looked at Hermione beside him.
Hermione was intently comparing the Star Chart, using her Brass Astrolabe to measure angles. Under the starlight, her little face looked especially serious. The Moon White Stone pendant at her chest gave off an extremely faint, gentle halo in the darkness, almost as though it shared the same origin as that milky-white star on the horizon.
Lynn's heart stirred. He quietly took the palm-sized Astrology Compass from his pocket. While Professor Sinistra guided another group of students, he gently placed the compass on the cold stone railing. Holding the Star Stone in one hand, he fed in a faint thread of magic. At the same time, he concentrated fully, no longer forcing an imitation but instead striving to sense the pure, unique aura of moonlight energy radiating from Hermione beside him.
This time, there was no chaotic conflict. As Lynn's Star Power carefully touched and wrapped around the moonlight aura Hermione naturally emitted like a flowing stream, the engraved star-track lines within the Astrology Compass lit up once more—softly and steadily! Silver points of light flowed slowly, forming a tiny yet clear dynamic Star Chart! More wonderfully still, at the center of the chart were the two mutually radiant stars in the night sky, milky white and deep blue!
Upon the compass's warm jade casing, a line of tiny ancient characters formed from starlight quietly emerged:
"Twin stars shine together, their paths intertwine—the beginning of destiny."
Lynn's heartbeat quickened slightly. Without revealing anything, he put away the compass and let his gaze fall once more on Hermione's focused profile. The night wind lifted the loose strands by her cheek, and starlight fell into her bright eyes. Separated by only a short distance, the Star Stone and Moon White Stone resonated silently beneath the vast night sky, like two stars lost in the universe that had finally found the paths drawing them toward each other.
Professor Sinistra's voice drifted over. "...Remember, children, the stars not only guide your way; they also reflect the soul. When you are lost, look up. The stars that belong to you will always be there."
As if sensing something, Hermione raised her head from the Star Chart and met Lynn's deep gaze. The two smiled at each other beneath the starlight. No words were needed; a strange understanding and warmth quietly flowed between them. The night wind remained bitter, but on the observatory, it seemed a warm star-lamp belonging only to them had been lit.
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