After floating through outer space for a week, He Shenyan opened his eyes again.
He had brought the Magic Power within his body under control, keeping it at an acceptable intensity. However, until he fully mastered this extra Magic Power, he would not be using any high-powered spells again.
Otherwise, if the Magic Power erupted again, it might indiscriminately cause an unprecedented—and perhaps never-to-be-repeated—explosion inside him.
By "high-powered," he meant spells capable of blowing apart an entire planet. Even he had only used them a few hundred times.
With no plans to return to Hogwarts just yet, he flew to the Moon instead. The magical barrier constantly revolving around him had kept his freely falling body from being smashed to death earlier, while also allowing him to breathe freely in outer space now.
He Shenyan recalled Ancient One's assessment of Magic Power. As she had said, it truly was extraordinarily versatile.
The Mage slowly descended. Dust scattered beneath his feet across the lunar surface, yet not a single grain touched the hem of his black robes. He stood there, his black hair drifting above that silent, uninhabited world.
And so, He Shenyan quietly gazed at the blue planet not far away.
It floated in the dark universe, rotating slowly yet steadily. That rotation might continue for a very, very long time—long enough for countless generations of life upon it to come and go.
And the Earth remained.
He had once wandered the cosmos in his previous world and seen far too many beautiful planets in that boundless starry expanse. Earth's scenery was merely a grain of sand in a desert among them.
And he had only been in this world for a single year.
Why was he willing to risk his life to protect them? He did not know the answer himself.
At that moment of tangled emotions, He Shenyan thought of Ancient One and smiled without realizing it. Perhaps that was why she had agreed to let him study at Kamar-Taj in the first place.
"You really did see through everything, Teacher," He Shenyan murmured.
"Professor He hasn't taught us for a week. Professor Snape's classes are pretty good too, and he isn't as fierce as he used to be, but I still wish Professor He would teach us."
A Gryffindor girl walked down the noisy corridor with her companion. Harley, Ron, and Hermione were resting beside a floor-to-ceiling window, and when they heard those words, their expressions all became strange.
Ron whispered, "What do you think? If Snape heard them talking about him like that, would he go back to being the way he used to be?"
Harley shot him a glare and said irritably, "First, call him Professor. Second, I don't think he was ever that fierce!"
With that, she turned and strode away, leaving Ron standing there with an innocent look on his face. The silly boy turned to Hermione and asked in complete confusion, "Did I say something that made her mad?"
Hermione rolled her eyes. She shoved the books in her arms into Ron's hands, lowered her head to tie her shoelaces, and began complaining about just how dense Ron was.
Sunlight passed through the clouds, fell upon the window, then shone over her fluffy brown hair.
Ron was not listening to a word Hermione said. He stared blankly at her profile, completely unaware of how obvious his gaze was. Hermione, having finished tying her shoelaces and risen to her feet, promptly drove her elbow into him.
She snatched her books back, her face red as she ran off too. Watching the girl disappear into the distance, Ron grinned foolishly. Then a flash made him cry out as he covered his eyes.
"Oh! Little Ron finally gets it!"
"Yes! He finally gets it!"
Ron opened his eyes to find his twin brothers standing before him, laughing as they sang a strange little song about Little Ron finally getting it. Fred still had a camera in his hand.
Ron immediately lunged at them.
During the scuffle, the photograph drifted to the floor and was lost. Ron might never learn that the picture which had led to him chasing his two brothers through the corridor—and even earned them two weeks of classroom-cleaning punishment from Filch—was completely black.
Fred had forgotten to take off the lens cap.
When he remembered it afterward, he did not tell Ron. Instead, he and George grinned wickedly as they discussed using that long-lost black photograph to extort two months' worth of Ron's allowance.
They used the money to buy Ron an excellent present on his birthday.
"I think we'd better not tell that child that his pet rat is an Animagus."
Professor McGonagall looked at the twitching fat man on the floor with disgust and spoke to Dumbledore, who stood beside her.
"I agree, Minerva. I agree."
As he spoke, he stopped Lily Potter from throwing several more nasty curses at Peter to vent her anger. He also gave Snape a meaningful look, telling him to take Lily away before her emotions completely collapsed.
Snape had never displayed such remarkable emotional intelligence in interpersonal matters. He understood immediately, softly comforted Lily, and led her out of the room.
Professor McGonagall looked at Peter Pettigrew on the ground. For the first time, the stern woman who rarely smiled revealed a complicated expression.
"I never expected the traitor to be you, Peter," she said.
Still twitching, Peter struggled to breathe. He spoke in broken fragments, tears actually streaming from his eyes.
"I'm sorry, Headmistress, but I had no choice. He... he was too powerful. The Dark Lord... I was scared, Headmistress. I was scared. I wasn't as brave as James, Lupin, and Sirius. I didn't mean to do it. He forced me! He forced me!"
This man, who had willingly become a rat to escape punishment and survived in such a miserable way for years, was now weeping uncontrollably as he spoke words of repentance to his former Head of House and respected teacher.
But Professor McGonagall only shook her head sadly. "You tore a family apart. You made an innocent man spend years in Azkaban, burdened with crimes that were never his. Peter, if you still consider yourself a Gryffindor, then you should be ashamed of yourself."
"I... I repent! I repent! Headmistress! Please!"
Peter seemed to realize what was about to happen. He screamed and begged for mercy, calling out to his Headmistress in an attempt to soften McGonagall's heart.
But white light had already appeared in Dumbledore's hand.
The light flashed past. Peter froze with that terrified expression on his face, transformed into a statue.
Dumbledore supported McGonagall, who could barely stand from grief, and helped her into a chair. "I will take him to the Ministry of Magic and see that he is tried. I will speak with Sirius as well. Minerva, do not force yourself too much. This was Peter's own choice."
Professor McGonagall gave a bitter smile. Looking at the floor ahead, she spoke wistfully. "I understand. I simply... feel that it was not worth it for them."
Second update
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