The three parted ways at the High Tower. Will was heading up to the Ninth Floor, while George and Fred were bound for the Workshop on the Second Floor.
George and Fred thanked him over and over before they left. From the look of them, if Will asked them to kill Voldemort right now, they would raise their wands without hesitation.
The eighth floor of the High Tower was quiet today. Only Luna and Ginny were there, working on their homework. Neville was struggling over a Herbology essay—extra work Professor Sprout had assigned him.
Will greeted them and went up to the Ninth Floor. He wanted to make a few more preparations before trying his experiment again tonight. He had a vague feeling that he was one step away, and he could hardly wait.
Lately, he had been searching through every Charms book he could find, including those Slytherin had left behind. But few books recorded the transformation of one charm into another in any detail, let alone offered anything that could help Will.
After all, the vast majority of Wizards could neither observe nor sense the structure of Magic.
Time passed as Will turned the pages. At last, he set down a leather-bound book and rubbed his temples. Only then did he notice that the sun had vanished beyond the window. A full moon hung high in the sky, bathing everything in moonlight.
Lupin gazed at the bright moon and drained a glass of Grape Juice.
Ever since Will's surgery, Lupin had acquired a new pastime: basking in the moonlight on full-moon nights, with a bottle of Grape Juice to drink.
He would never forget how it had felt to stand beneath the moonlight for the first time after that "surgery." Grief, sorrow, wild joy, excitement, bitterness... It