In Hagrid's garden.
Lucien drew his wand and tapped the ground lightly.
"Speluncaium."
A small, shallow pit formed. Lucien placed the sealed box containing the potion vial inside, then waved his wand to smooth the soil back over it.
Next, he summoned several stones and arranged them on the ground in an irregular pattern.
He waved his wand again, layering several complex spell traps over the area.
Then Lucien took a few Magical Chomping Cabbages from his gourd container and planted them nearby. "Bite the person's hand off if someone tries to dig here other than me, okay, little cabbages?~" Lucien said in a sing-song voice.
"And Hagrid, could you keep an eye on this spot for me?"
Hearing Lucien's request, the half-Giant thumped his chest with a reassuring boom.
"Don't you worry! I won't let anyone disturb it!"
Lucien nodded seriously.
"Thank you."
The mixture needed to remain in a dark, quiet place until the next thunderstorm arrived.
Before that, the crystal vial couldn't be disturbed at all, nor could it be exposed to sunlight.
Sunlight would cause the worst kind of contamination and mutation.
Lucien glanced at the spot where the potion vial was buried.
Unfortunately, it had to be placed in the soil—an essential step for interacting with nature.
It allowed the ingredients in the mixture to slowly fuse and transform, like waiting for a seed to germinate.
Because of this, he couldn't store it in a Spatium Extendere container yet, even though that would have been far more convenient and safer.
Lucien had originally considered burying it deep in the Forbidden Forest.
To keep wild beasts or magical creatures from digging it up, he could have asked Lumen to guard it.
After all, nothing in the Forbidden Forest could defeat Lumen.
But then Lucien remembered something else.
Quirrell—more precisely, Lord Voldemort inside him—was likely preparing to hunt for a Unicorn.
If Lucien was unlucky enough to cross paths with Lord Voldemort, it would become very troublesome.
So, after weighing everything carefully, Lucien felt that Hagrid's place was the best option.
Normally, aside from himself and Harry, no one would wander out here for no reason.
With the holidays approaching, there would be even fewer people around.
Besides, Lucien didn't plan to leave it buried for long—only about ten days.
And Hagrid was trustworthy.
Dumbledore was willing to entrust his life to him, after all.
Hagrid might not be good at keeping secrets, but when it came to doing things properly, he was completely reliable. Ehm, let's not mention the wicked-looking cabbages that looked eager to chomp someone's hand.
"Lucien, I suddenly thought of something."
"Hmm?"
Hagrid looked up at the night sky and rumbled,
"Even if it's the weekend, Young Wizards aren't supposed to be outside at night, right? And you even went out of the Castle."
"Lucien, since it's not convenient for you to go back now, why don't you stay here for the night?"
Uh… late-night strolls and wandering the Forbidden Forest really had become a habit.
It had simply become second nature.
It was actually very easy for him to return—After all, Lumen's Apparition could handle it effortlessly.
However, staying overnight at a friend's place once in a while was perfectly normal.
"Uh… would that be a bother?"
"Oh, no bother at all, none at all. I'll go tidy up first, alright?"
Hagrid happily hurried back into his hut to straighten things up; he was genuinely excited that someone was willing to spend the night at his home.
Once Hagrid went inside, Lucien summoned Lumen.
Looking at the tiny shrunken form of Little Qilin, Lucien rubbed its forehead.
"While I'm not here these next few days, keep an eye on the area for me."
"Okay, Master."
"And don't secretly eat Hagrid's vegetables. I'll bring you some."
"…Alright, Master."
Miniature whirlpools appeared in Lucien's eyes as he watched Lumen affectionately rub against his palm.
No magic circuit…
...
Inside the hut.
"Lucien, do you want a bedtime story?" Hagrid suddenly asked just as he was about to put out the lamp.
A bedtime story?
Lucien was momentarily speechless—he hadn't expected Hagrid to offer something like that.
This half-Giant was far too gentle.
He shouldn't waste the man's good intentions.
"Sure."
Hagrid then pulled out a small booklet from somewhere.
Well… it was actually a proper book, but in Hagrid's huge hands, it looked like a little pamphlet.
"Once upon a time, in the magical world, there was a family…"
But Lucien hadn't listened for more than a few minutes before Hagrid's storytelling suddenly stopped.
A moment later, loud snoring followed.
Lucien couldn't help feeling both helpless and amused.
He shook his head, raised his wand, and tapped it lightly.
He cast a Silencing Charm on himself, then extinguished the lamp.
…
In the early morning, just as the sun rose,
Lucien had already gotten up.
Facing the rising sun, Lucien pointed the tip of his wand at his heart and recited:
"Amato Animo Animato Animagus."
This was the third step in becoming an Animagus.
While waiting for the thunderstorm, at every sunrise and sunset,
he had to point his wand at his heart and speak this specific incantation.
He couldn't miss a single repetition.
"Morning, Lucien."
"Morning, Hagrid."
Hagrid pulled on his mole-skin coat, slipped into his beaver-skin boots, and tugged on his rabbit-fur gloves.
He was dragging a fir tree he had cut from the Forbidden Forest, ready for the Christmas decorations.
Lucien raised his wand and tapped it lightly, making the fir tree float off the ground.
"Oh, thank you, Lucien."
"You're welcome."
The two of them walked together toward Hogwarts Castle.
As soon as they entered the Great Hall—
"Lucien, morning!"
Harry and Ron were eating breakfast and waved at him.
"Lucien, are you staying at school too? Not going home?"
Christmas was a time for families to gather, and most students chose to return home.
Unfortunately, Lucien had plans this year, coinciding perfectly with his Animagus transformation.
Still, with Lumen's Apparition covering such a long distance, if he had enough time, he could teleport home and give Aunt Penelope a surprise.
"Yup. Not going back for now. Oh, right, Ron, here—Scabbers."
Lucien pulled a shedding rat out of his pocket.
The moment Scabbers was placed on the table, he scrambled forward, leaping straight into Ron's arms.
Then he burrowed quickly into a pocket to hide.
He never wanted to see that demon in human skin again.
________
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