Night of the Full Moon

Time flies, and within the ancient ivory tower of Hogwarts, the young wizards' learning life continues to be filled with laughter and joy, a stark contrast to the increasingly tense situation outside.

As time passed, the autumn wind blew stronger and colder, bringing a touch of winter chill to the highlands where Hogwarts was located.

November 6, 1938.

This was the full moon that Xiwen had been waiting for.

Of course, he used a different method to determine the phases of the moon—the Eastern lunar calendar. November 6th in the Gregorian calendar is the 15th day of the ninth lunar month, which is also two days before the Beginning of Winter.

That evening, a full moon, as round as a jade plate, hung in the night sky.

The sky was filled with stars, not a single cloud in sight, and exceptionally clear.

A shooting star streaked silently across the sky and fell into the still lake, causing ripples to spread across the mirror-like surface. Upon closer inspection, it was the cool autumn breeze that swept across the water from afar, creating shallow ripples and carrying a wisp of mist that stirred the boy's clothes.

Xiwen stood atop the Astronomy Tower, gazing up at the starry sky. Behind him, the colorful stars scattered across the lake swayed gently in the breeze.

"Are you ready?" Helena emerged from under the tiles of the Astronomy Tower, asking with a hint of worry on her face.

"Don't be nervous. This is just the first step, there's no danger at all," Xiwen smiled gently at Helena, reassuring her.

Helena paused for a moment, then said with a strange expression, "It seems like I should be the one comforting you, so how did it turn into you comforting me?"

"Maybe you're just too worried," Xiwen teased, a smirk playing on his lips.

"Looks like you're not nervous at all," Helena said to Xiwen, pursing her lips. "Then you'd better get started, I'll keep an eye on things for you."

Xiwen nodded and took out a small box from his pocket. Inside the box were dozens of Mandrake leaves, all of which were the most suitable size leaves selected from the herbal shop.

Then, Xiwen took out a blade of grass and put it in his mouth.

"The taste is better than I expected, but it's a bit inconvenient to talk with a blade of grass in my mouth," Xiwen said indistinctly.

"Weren't you going to use magic to stick it to your palate?" Helena asked, suppressing a laugh, as she looked at Xiwen.

"That's right, but I still want to experience a little bit of what it feels like when others learn to Animagus Transformation." Xiwen nodded and said with a mischievous grin.

However, as he chuckled, Mandrake Leaf accidentally spurted from his mouth, flying over the railings of the Astronomy Tower and drifting towards the vast lake.

"Uh, not a success so far! I really don't know how those Animagus managed to keep it in their mouths for a whole month without any problems." Xiwen's voice became clearer now, and he sighed. "Luckily, I prepared twenty leaves, that should be enough!"

Then, in a very serious manner, he took out a Mandrake Leaf and put it in his mouth.

"So aren't you going to hurry up and set up the spell? Are you going to waste another leaf?" Helena watched his actions with amusement, and said helplessly, "I remember that a small leaf like this is quite expensive."

"Money is not a problem," Xiwen shook his head and said vaguely.

However, when he saw Helena's glaring eyes, he ultimately used a minor sealing spell from Kamar-Taj to fix the Mandrake Leaf to his palate.

"That's much better." After setting up the seal, Xiwen's pronunciation became slurred, and he said uncomfortably, "Aside from the slightly strange feel and the thickness of my palate being a bit uncomfortable, everything else is fine!"

Helena nodded slightly as she observed his behavior.

"However, there is still one problem that hasn't been solved yet," Xiwen suddenly said with a sigh, looking troubled.

"What's wrong? Wasn't the first step of the preparations already completed?" Helena asked curiously.

"I want to know what animal I'll become, so I need to use the Patronus Charm as a reference," Xiwen said. "If my Patronus is a pig or a mangy dog—the kind of animal that would lower my dignity—then I might as well not learn this Animagus!"

"Don't joke around. I don't believe you'd give up such a useful spell just because the Transformation form doesn't look good," Helena retorted with a knowing look.

"Yes, even if it doesn't look good, I'll still keep learning." Xiwen's eyebrows drooped, and he said listlessly. "But if my Animagus Transformation makes me lose face, whether I'll ever have a chance to use it in the future is another matter."

"Alright, alright, let me see how far you've progressed with your Patronus Charm," Helena interrupted his complaint, speaking with interest.

Xiwen didn't refuse, drew his wand, pointed it forward, and loudly proclaimed—

"Expecto Patronum!"

Strands of silvery light emerged from the tip of the wand, resembling a thick mist, yet showing no tendency to solidify.

After watching the white mist billow for a while, Xiwen reluctantly withdrew the spell and looked at Helena with a helpless expression.

Helena looked at Xiwen, frowned and thought for a while, then said, "Actually, the Patronus Charm appeared a long time ago. Even in my mother's time, there were many opportunities to use it to drive away dark creatures."

"In my opinion, this spell doesn't require such a high level of magical control; it requires an extremely strong positive emotion, such as joy or happiness."

"So, what's your happiest memory?" Helena asked, raising an eyebrow as she stared into Xiwen's eyes.

"The happiest memory?" Xiwen pondered.

Looking back on my past and present lives, whether it was the twenty years I spent in Kamar-Taj or the twelve years I spent in this world, there are many happy memories—the joy of playing and joking with my fellow disciples on the Himalayas, the satisfaction of listening to my teacher personally teach me magic, the emotion of receiving maternal love upon entering this world, the pleasure of spending time with my classmates at Hogwarts...

Ultimately, Xiwen has always been a very content person. But it is precisely because of this content nature that he finds it difficult to recall his happiest memories.

"Haven't decided yet?" Helena's expression gradually turned dangerous as she looked at the pensive Xiwen.

Xiwen looked at Helena's dangerous gaze with some confusion, wondering what he had done wrong.

By chance, he caught a glimpse of a few windows on the Main Tower of the castle that were still slightly lit, and felt a warm and familiar feeling.

Xiwen suddenly realized.

"My happiest memories are of walking hand in hand with you under the starry night, gazing at the countless stars in the sky, and watching the lights of the towers flicker..." he whispered to Helena.