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Chapter 239: Waiting
Chapter 239: Waiting
After a busy day of preparations with Remus and Sirius, Vold was finally ready.
The open area in the woods was now completely enclosed by a dense canopy of branches and vines. The overgrown bushes deterred any animals from entering, and the devil's net hidden within ensured that even a mouse couldn't squeeze through.
Various habitats suitable for different creatures were set up around the area, such as freshwater and saltwater pools, miniature deserts, and snowy landscapes, all held in place by Weather Magic, maintaining their respective forms.
Vold was envious, wishing he could transport these environments into his cloakroom space and complete his Animagus transformation there.
However, Remus disagreed.
"The cloakroom space is indeed safe and free from external disturbances, but you can't transform there because it's separated from the real natural environment," Remus explained.
"During the transformation process, you need to establish a deep spiritual connection with your inner animal form, and this is more likely to be successful in a natural setting."
"Although there's no evidence, there have been numerous cases of failed transformations in enclosed rooms or caves. That's why wizards have concluded that the first Animagus transformation must be done in a wide-open space."
"And you know, my and Remus's Weather Charms aren't that great," Sirius added, tying vines to a stick with a rope. "These habitats can only be maintained for a limited time. After ten days or so, they'll gradually lose their magic and won't be as useful as you think."
Maintaining them for ten days was already impressive, but it was still far from the near-natural environments in Newt Scamander's suitcase space.
Vold could only sigh regretfully.
The next morning, Vold woke up, checked the time, recited the spell as usual, silenced the alarm clock just as it was about to ring, and opened the curtains to look outside.
The sky was overcast, and the air felt unusually humid, making breathing seem slightly difficult.
It seemed like a heavy downpour was brewing in the cloudy sky.
Vold, filled with anticipation, went downstairs after freshening up.
Remus was sitting at the table, flipping through a book. Hearing footsteps, he looked up and smiled, "Today's breakfast is toast and oatmeal porridge. What would you like to drink? Orange juice, tea, or milk?"
"Remus, didn't you sleep last night?" Vold asked in surprise, smelling the aroma in the air.
He had woken up with the sun, which was already early, but he didn't expect Remus to have prepared breakfast as well.
"I did sleep, I just woke up earlier," Remus replied with a gentle smile.
"Don't be so anxious," Vold said as he sat down and picked up a piece of toast. "It's just an Animagus transformation, you should be familiar with it by now."
Remus smiled.
Perhaps due to reading about various Animagus failures recently, Remus was more worried about Vold's transformation than Vold himself. His mood mirrored the weather outside; the darker the clouds, the worse he felt.
Vold, on the other hand, remained calm.
He had been preparing for this day for a long time.
It was like the final exam, where an entire semester's worth of effort was put to the test in a single exam. He had laid enough groundwork beforehand, so when the actual exam arrived, he felt it was just another ordinary day.
After breakfast, Vold took a biology book from the bookshelf, which contained information about various animals' limb structures, skeletons, muscle distribution, and lifestyles.
Voldemort had almost worn out this book, but he still didn't know what his animal form would be.
It was said that only at the moment of transformation would the image of the creature to be transformed into appear in one's mind.
If one hesitated, feared, or regretted at that moment, the Animagus transformation would likely fail, or worse—it might be incomplete, retaining too many human features, or even transforming into a monster.
While reading, Voldemort couldn't help but wonder: Succubi... and Centaurs... Could their existence be due to failed magic cast by ancient wizards? Of course, such baseless speculation couldn't be verified. If the two races heard it, they might even get a beating.
After reading for over an hour, Sirius finally pushed open the door and walked in.
"Hey, Remus, what did you make for breakfast?"
...
After breakfast, the three of them idled in the living room for a while, then decided they couldn't just wait around and went for a stroll in the village.
Voldemort bought some school supplies and some small gifts for the others, as well as a pack of prank products for the Weasley twins.
They sat at The Three Broomsticks for a while, and Madam Rosmerta wasn't unfamiliar with Voldemort either. She served him a glass of butterbeer that was completely non-alcoholic, and from its appearance, it was no different from the beer of others, even the foam was similar.
Voldemort also learned from Madam Rosmerta that most of the butterbeer she served was made by boiling regular beer and then adding melted butter.
The non-alcoholic beer, on the other hand, was brewed with milk, brown sugar, butter, and vanilla, and was a bit more expensive than the former.
"I usually only offer this to girls and children," Madam Rosmerta leaned against the counter and said with a smile, "Poor Voldemort, who made you unable to drink?"
Remus placed his hand on Voldemort's shoulder and said, "He's still a child!"
"Oh, right, I forgot." Madam Rosmerta teased, "Maybe because he's always with adults, it made me forget his age too."
"Madam, another beer, please."
Sirius put down his empty glass and then said to Voldemort, "There's nothing wrong with drinking a little, Voldemort. Giving it up is like giving up a part of life's pleasures. When I was in Azkaban, I always missed the taste of this."
He seemed to have only drunk a little, but he was already showing signs of drunkenness, and his gray eyes appeared dim and cloudy.
"Sirius!" Remus suddenly exclaimed.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm sober!"
Sirius nodded his head randomly, drank the refilled glass in one go, and then asked Madam Rosmerta to pack a few bottles of butterbeer.
"Once you succeed..." he said to Voldemort, "we'll celebrate with a drink."
But as soon as the three of them stepped out of the bar, Sirius, who seemed a little tipsy, immediately sobered up. He looked at the sky and muttered, "Damn it!"
Voldemort also looked up, feeling the wind blowing in his face, carrying a hint of moisture and a slight chill.
The wind had picked up.
The rain fell in thin lines.
It wasn't the storm they were waiting for.
(End of Chapter)
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