Chapter 114

The evening wind howled past the window, and Harry woke with a restless heart. He found a bright full moon shining directly on his face, silvering the lawn outside and the Forbidden Forest alike.

Strange, he thought, it felt like yesterday was still the waning crescent.

"Stay away from the window!"

Harry spun around to find Professor Doudou peering out from the closet, "Hei Hei might use long-range attacks on your dorm—don't let him pinpoint your exact location."

Harry obediently retreated to his bed, pulled the covers back over himself, and drew the curtains. Elite Aurors worked hard enough—better not add to their burden.

Fortunately, he didn't dream anything strange in the second half of the night. When he woke in the morning, Neville was still soundly asleep in his own bed. Harry wondered if he'd been overly tense lately.

But at noon, they received terrible news: Slytherin falsely claimed their Beater was ill and changed the schedule— tomorrow's match would be Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff.

"There's not enough time—should we put Ginny in?" Wood hesitated.

"Hard to say—Hufflepuff might've adjusted their tactics too," Angelina suggested. "Stick to our original rhythm for now. At least let's win first."

"Yeah, I think Ginny's style suits the later stages—meaning the later part of the season," Fred said. "Wait until the scores are mostly set, then bring out our scoring formation."

"Then Harry stays in," Wood decided. "I still trust Harry against Cedric."

After chanting "Go!" three times, Harry packed his books and headed for the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom—but he didn't expect to find Professor Snape sitting there instead of Lupin.

"Professor Lupin isn't feeling well. I'll be substituting today," he said. "Where did you leave off?"

"What's wrong with Lupin?" Harry interrupted.

"Gryffindor loses one point," Snape said coldly. "For Mr. Potter's implied doubt in a professor's Potions expertise."

Harry was certain Snape meant he could cure Lupin—but deducting a point for no reason was infuriating.

"We just finished discussing grindylows," Hermione raised her hand, eager to earn that point back.

"Lupin's teaching pace is far behind—he's spoiled you all rotten," Snape said slowly, not adding the point. "Today we study werewolves."

"Who can tell me the difference between a werewolf and an ordinary wolf?" Snape asked.

"Neville, you tell me."

"I see no difference, Professor," Neville said dismissively. "Before a Stunning Spell and a sword, a werewolf is no different from an ordinary wolf."

"Good. Very good. Then tell me—what's the difference between a werewolf and an ordinary human?" Snape's voice had grown sharp.

"Same difference, Professor," Neville replied. "To a wise and upright person, a werewolf is no different from an ordinary human."

Snape was nearly speechless with rage.

"I'd like to ask you something, Professor," Neville stared straight into Snape's eyes. "Do you know what connection a werewolf has with the witch Lani?"

"Gryffindor loses three points," Snape snapped. "For Mr. Longbottom asking irrelevant questions in class."

For the rest of the lesson, no student dared speak. One word from anyone, and Snape had a reason to deduct points.

They copied notes on werewolves while Snape loudly criticized every part Lupin had taught, pointing out supposed errors in the data.

The dull atmosphere dragged on until class ended. Ron clapped Neville on the shoulder, grinning—everyone could see he'd thoroughly infuriated Snape.

"I'm curious—what exactly is this witch Lani?" Harry asked.

"I don't know. I heard it yesterday…," Neville hesitated, "in the Forbidden Forest. Someone mentioned that name."

"But what does that have to do with werewolves?"

Neville opened his mouth, then closed it again.

"Come on, Harry, he just picked a random question to annoy Snape," Ron shrugged. "Focus on the upcoming match—Snape's deductions are all on you to make up."

After evening training, Wood stared at the darkening sky, frowning. "Looks like a storm's coming tomorrow."

"That's why Slytherin is avoiding the match," he added. "They don't think they can beat us in weather like this."

Harry woke very early the next morning—the sky was still black. He thought the wind had woken him. A cold breeze brushed the back of his neck, yet the door was securely barred… and right beside him, floating in midair, was Peeves, blowing a miserable breath into his ear.

"What are you doing?" Harry roared. Peeves puffed out his cheeks and blew harder, then suddenly cackled from the back of the room—the laughter grew louder.

Harry fumbled for his alarm clock. It was only 4: 0. Though he tried to sleep again, Peeves made it impossible. Now awake, he couldn't ignore the thunder rumbling outside the castle walls, or the rustling wind through the trees of the Forbidden Forest. In a few hours, he'd be on the Quidditch pitch, battling that wind.

Finally, he gave up on sleep, rose, dressed, and washed. He sat staring into the fireplace in the common room for a while, then picked up his Firebolt 2000 and slipped out quietly.

Outside the dormitory, he saw Zhang Qiu leaning against the wall on the eighth-floor corridor, holding her blue Divination journal.

"You woke at 4: 0, didn't you?" she said. "I was worried about you—Divination said you…"

"Really? What else did it say?" Harry yawned.

"It said a cat will bring you close to the truth." Her tone was odd—Harry suspected the original wording wasn't that.

"Whatever. We'll deal with it when it happens," Harry said carelessly. "Let's get something to eat. A warm bowl of oatmeal in the morning will help."

"Oh, by the way—I'll make you a bowl of beef noodles," she said. "In Tianchao, eating beef noodles before a match has special meaning. My Master told me."

The house-elves generously let them use the kitchen. Zhang Qiu made two steaming bowls of soup noodles; Harry's glasses instantly fogged over.

"By the way, Snape substituted for us yesterday," Harry said, making small talk. "Neville really got under his skin."

"Did he?" Zhang Qiu smiled at him.

"He asked if werewolves had anything to do with witch Lani. Snape couldn't answer, and immediately docked him three points." No sooner had he spoken than Zhang Qiu's smile froze.

"Werewolves…" she murmured.

"Do you know something?"

"I told you before—my Master taught me a spell to mend Lupin's fate," she whispered. "Two nights ago, I cast it."

"What?"

"By the name of the witch Lani, I declare: Do not disturb the mother's muddy slumber. Sinner, sing of it through the ages—the last queen of Kalia, Full Moon Reina, is the embodiment of the high black night." She recited the incantation. "I don't know what it does—only that its name is 'Reina's Full Moon.'"

"Maybe it's coincidence—or maybe I don't understand," Harry said slowly. "Neville and Snape might know something—but I can't say for sure."

"What are you hesitating about?" Zhang Qiu said. "Did a werewolf appear that night?"

"If I remember right, Wednesday night was the waning crescent," Harry said. "Today's still the waning crescent—it's still in the sky."

Indeed, when the sun rose, the moon had not yet fully vanished.

"But Thursday night, I saw a full moon," Harry said. "I suspect this spell's effect is to turn the phase into a full moon—or at least summon one within a small area."

"I really don't know," Zhang Qiu said. "That night I just hid outside Lupin's office, slipped on an Invisibility Charm, whispered the spell, then ran off."

"But Neville heard it in the Forbidden Forest—doesn't that contradict?" Harry was baffled.

"Perhaps he told a kind lie. You've already guessed it—you just don't want to believe."

Harry said nothing.

"Divination said your class was meant to be taught by Snape," Zhang Qiu said calmly. "But what if Lupin wasn't sick? Wouldn't that break the Divination? To restore his fate, I had to cast the Full Moon spell—but who would fall ill over a single full moon?"

"That's what Neville meant—he must've realized Lupin's a werewolf, but didn't want to expose it. We all like Professor Lupin," Harry sighed. "If anyone found out, he'd be reported and fired."

"No parent would accept a werewolf as a teacher."

"That fits—he was nicknamed 'Moony' during his school years," Harry nodded. "But Neville's right—in the eyes of the wise and upright, a werewolf is no different from an ordinary human."

"And yet Snape chose to teach werewolves today—such a petty trick isn't upright," Zhang Qiu sneered.

"I didn't say that—wait, you didn't sneak in and eavesdrop again, did you?" Harry stared.

"To verify the Divination further," she shrugged. "And today, we've drawn closer to the truth—another thread has been mended."

"But Divination said we'd need a cat," Harry scratched his head.

"Meow!"