After Lightning had eaten his fill, Gerald said goodbye to Hagrid and returned to the castle with a cageful of Fire Salamanders as reserve food.
That evening, he worked overtime with his roommates in their dormitory, making Flying Letter Notebooks.
Percy came too. In a rare occurrence, he sat between Fred and George, discussing delivery dates and legal terms with the twins.
Lee Jordan and Kenneth were engraving Erasure Runes, their hands moving noticeably faster than usual at the prospect of making a fortune.
Time slipped by unnoticed. By the time Fred and the others could barely keep their eyes open, they discovered it was past two in the morning.
"Making a fortune really is equal parts pain and pleasure!"
After that declaration, Lee Jordan flopped down and went straight to sleep.
The next day was Saturday, and Gerald arrived at Lupin's cottage as agreed.
Since Lupin had frozen solid last time, Gerald had sent him several Flying Letters asking how his recovery was going. Lupin had replied each time that he had fully recovered, and when they met today, he did indeed look very well.
"Gerald, you're here. I can now fully control that ancient magic of yours, but in my experience, you'd be better off waiting a little longer as you are now. Your magical power is strong enough, but your fine control over its flow within your body still needs work. Of course, if you insist on learning it, I can teach you."
As Lupin spoke, he formed a tiny frost flower at the tip of his wand. It spun at his fingertip for a moment, then silently dissolved into the air.
The whole process was fluid and natural, nothing like his wretched state when he had frozen himself into an ice sculpture last time.
Gerald thought