Befriending the Werewolf

Linley and Cedric didn't return to the castle until close to midnight, sneaking back in under the cover of darkness.

They were lucky; the journey was smooth, and they weren't caught by that perverted old Filch and taken to his office.

Back in the dormitory, Linley didn't rest immediately. He had already agreed with Cedric to postpone their morning spell practice session by three hours.

Although tomorrow was Sunday, that was precisely why there wouldn't be many young wizards at Hogwarts.

Basically, all the older young wizards had gone to Hogsmeade to have fun, while most of the younger ones were still curled up in their warm beds at eight o'clock.

Linley adjusted the light of the desk lamp and then opened the book Professor Foxx had given him today—"Advanced Dark Magic: An Exploration."

According to the professor, this book didn't teach too many spells; it focused more on explaining the principles, effects, and applications of dark magic in a relatively accessible way.

The book wasn't considered forbidden. It was more like a textbook used in advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts classes, teaching young wizards to identify various dark magics so they could deal with them once recognized.

Linley didn't read too late. He just skimmed through the book before turning off the light and going to sleep.

The next day.

Still by the Black Lake.

Cedric was waving his wand, experimenting with his Petrificus Totalus on a frog, and started talking to Linley about last night.

"I've been thinking all night and can't figure out why a werewolf would still have its sanity after transforming. Or rather, can someone like Ian even be called a werewolf?"

The moment Cedric cast his spell, Linley countered with a Finite Incantatem, nullifying his spell.

Cedric had taught him this spell himself. It wasn't easy, and it took Linley three days to master it completely.

"Are you aspiring to be a werewolf research expert in the future?"

"Of course not," Cedric shook his head.

"Then why do you care if he keeps his sanity after transforming? Isn't it a great thing for us that he could maintain his sanity? Otherwise, in the narrow space of that secret passage, we would all be finished. Being bitten and assimilated into a werewolf would be lucky; the most likely outcome would be being bitten to death on the spot."

Hearing Linley's words, Cedric recalled the scene from last night and suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

"Actually, we could interact more with Ian in the future." Linley spun his wand on his fingertip, leaving a trail of brilliant silver streaks in the air.

Cedric agreed with this.

"I can tell he's very lonely. To hide the fact that he's a werewolf, he has to keep people at a distance. Even if he knows he won't hurt anyone after transforming, others won't believe him."

"And we happen to know his secret." Linley shrugged. "Do you mind his werewolf identity? Are you afraid he'll bite you?"

Cedric shook his head decisively. "Of course not. If he wanted to, he wouldn't have let us go yesterday."

"So, he's quite pitiful. I saw him alone in Ravenclaw before; no one even sat next to him during meals."

Linley stroked his chin. "Hogwarts doesn't seem to have a rule that young wizards from each house must eat at their own house's long table, right?"

Cedric confirmed, "Of course, there wouldn't be such a rule."

"Well, that's good."

Ian felt like he had been cursed by something inexplicable.

Since arriving at Hogwarts, he hadn't found any clues about what he was looking for.

Last night, he had miscalculated the timing of his transformation, which led to him transforming while still within Hogwarts.

Unfortunately, the entire transformation process was witnessed by two young wizards.

Especially since one of them was a Slytherin boy who wasn't quite right in the head, forcing awkward conversation when he didn't know how to chat, which made him, a werewolf, break out in goosebumps.

This wasn't the worst part. The even worse part was that these two young wizards seemed to be latching onto him!

Ian fidgeted with his silver fork, contemplating whether to stab Linley, who was giving him a lecherous grin, to death.

Linley, however, didn't see it that way. He thought his smile was very friendly, and Ian would surely feel his sincerity, then burst into tears, declaring him his lifelong best friend, and finally receive a reward from the system, setting him on the true path of a mage.

Every time he thought of this, he couldn't help but smile even more friendly.

This made Cedric, sitting next to him, feel incredibly embarrassed. He tugged at Linley's robe.

"Be careful, you're drooling."

Linley's face flushed, and he subconsciously touched the corner of his mouth, only to find nothing there.

This made him furious. He grabbed Cedric by the neck with both hands and shook him violently.

"How dare you! You actually dared to lie to me!"

Cedric felt like his brain was being shaken out of his head. Fortunately, Ian spoke up and saved him.

"Why are you two eating at the Ravenclaw table?"

Linley's smile returned to its friendly demeanor, as if he hadn't been the one being violent just moments ago.

"Who says young wizards from each house have to eat together? The four houses together form Hogwarts, not Hogwarts divided into four houses. The more different the houses are, the more we should communicate with each other."

He said this with righteous indignation, but Ian clearly wasn't buying it and replied coldly.

"Then why are you sitting next to me?"

Having grown accustomed to being rebuffed by Ian, Linley no longer cared about his words.

"Can't you see it's that obvious? We want to be friends with you."

Ian's refusal was just as decisive.

"Sorry, I don't need that."

Linley was prepared to be as persistent as a piece of taffy.

"Don't be like that. No one can live in this world without friends. Besides, you keep your distance from others because you're afraid your secret will be discovered, right? You can absolutely trust Cedric and me; we won't think anything else about your identity."

As he said this, he lowered his voice.

"We can even help cover for you. Disappearing alone every full moon is bound to arouse suspicion. With us, you'll have an excuse."

Although Linley wasn't very proactive about making friends, he was good at understanding people's psychology.

Just like now, he gave Ian an excuse to continue interacting with them.

"What excuse?" Ian asked.

"Next time you transform, you can tell your roommates you're going on a nighttime tour of Hogwarts with us," Linley said with a smile. "The young wizards at Hogwarts all yearn for nighttime tours."