And so it went.
Time slipped quietly away.
In the blink of an eye, Dawn's life had settled into a regular and simple routine.
He was no longer obsessed with exploring the castle. Instead, he spent every afternoon reading through the books in the Ravenclaw common room.
But the collection contained an astonishing amount of knowledge, and finding clues among it was anything but easy.
Dawn bought reference book after reference book, yet even after once again relying on the power of Felix Felicis and the diadem, he found nothing else of value.
He also took time to memorize the special patterns of more than a dozen Hufflepuff students, using Muggles as copying materials so that he could read all of their memories.
Unfortunately...
Not a single one of them had noticed anything left behind by Hufflepuff.
They all simply regarded the barrels as nothing more than the entrance mechanism to the common room.
By comparison, the Weasley twins really did seem to possess a natural talent for exploration and adventure.
Their ability to make connections was particularly impressive.
Dawn shook his head.
But he had never placed much hope in this line of investigation, so he was not especially disappointed. After cleaning up the scene, he returned to Hogwarts Castle.
Time passed silently, yet relentlessly forward.
One day.
The last rays of daylight were fading, and evening had arrived.
It was once again the time for the healing sessions announced in the newspapers.
Patients who had been waiting anxiously came rushing in, among them quite a few foreigners.
Dawn treated everyone who came, refusing no one.
However...
When he looked at the disgusting man standing before him, whose entire body was covered in insect eggs, with maggots writhing inside his pores, he could not help frowning in instinctive revulsion.
But remembering that the reporter he had arranged to take photographs and publicize his work was standing nearby, Dawn hesitated for a long while before finally suppressing his nausea and beginning the treatment.
"All right. The curse on your body is no longer a serious problem. Keep an eye on yourself over the next few days, and come back to me immediately if anything happens."
Dawn removed the dragon-hide gloves that had protected him from the source of the disgust and spoke these polite words to the man, whose skin had returned to its former healthy complexion.
But he had already made up his mind.
If this disgusting creature really dared to come back without knowing when to stop, he would burn the entire source of his disgust to ashes.
The man could tell that Dawn was growing impatient.
After excitedly touching his own restored skin, he left behind a book about curses and hurriedly took his leave.
"Thank you... truly, thank you, Mr. Richter! Thank you so much!"
Dawn said nothing more. He summoned clean water to wash his hands, then controlled the book from a distance and copied it.
Afterward, he threw the original into the fire and burned it to nothing.
Then he ended that day's healing session.
After leaving behind a sharp boom, he Apparated back to the Vatican.
Fifteen days had passed.
It was time for him to see images in his dreams again.
Dawn shook off his earlier displeasure, swallowed a sleeping potion with anticipation, wrapped himself in the Invisibility Cloak, and lay down on the bed.
Before long, the room was filled with the sound of his long, steady breathing.
Then darkness descended.
A flash of white light appeared.
Dawn was already familiar with the process. He rammed his half-conscious awareness upward and plunged into the dream.
As daylight suddenly broke, he looked up and happened to see Professor McGonagall standing at the front of the classroom, speaking loudly.
"All right! That will be all for today's lesson! Before the next class, everyone is to submit an essay of at least ten inches on the subject of Transfiguring Inanimate Objects."
Dawn raised an eyebrow.
His timing was remarkably good. He had arrived just as Transfiguration class was ending, saving himself two hours of unnecessary waiting.
However...
He glanced at the bright and familiar Room of Requirement, no longer cluttered with piles of miscellaneous objects.
Although he had expected this, Dawn still could not help feeling disappointed that he had not seamlessly connected with Merlin and Lai's conversation.
Hopefully he could still gain something from this dream.
That was all he could tell himself.
He turned his head toward Lai and noticed that his translucent form was overlapping with several nearby students, so he moved a little farther forward.
Inside the classroom, Professor McGonagall gathered up her teaching materials and left first.
A moment later, the quiet room suddenly erupted into chatter.
The young wizards talked noisily among themselves.
"Hey, Lai! Are you going to the library to do your homework? Want to go together?"
Aemon Carter, who was sitting nearby, made the suggestion.
Lai closed his textbook, leaned back against his chair, and stretched before smiling and nodding.
"Of course!"
The two stood up and left together.
They seemed to have a very good relationship, discussing the finer points and difficulties of Transfiguration all the way to the library.
"By the way, Lai!"
Aemon suddenly had an idea.
"What do you think would happen if you used Transfiguration to create food?
Like turning a stone into food, then eating it and absorbing all the nutrients before the Transfiguration wore off.
What would happen afterward?"
"It would be terrible!"
Lai answered.
"The stone particles would appear throughout your body. Your flesh, your eyes, your brain... If it wasn't treated in time, death would be highly likely.
"Ugh. That must hurt!"
Aemon shuddered at the thought of stones becoming fused with flesh. Then he looked puzzled.
"But how do you know that?"
"It's in Transfiguration Gone Wrong."
Lai gave him the title and patiently explained.
"The book records numerous cases of failed Transfiguration. The situation you described is one of them.
It's kept in the library. If you're curious, you can borrow it later and have a look."
Transfiguration Gone Wrong?
Aemon repeated the unfamiliar title several times.
When he looked up again, his expression had become particularly complicated, filled with admiration but also a trace of dejection.
"Lai, you really know a lot!"
"Ha, I've just read a few more books than you have. It's nothing special."
Lai smiled modestly.
When Aemon asked what books a first-year student ought to read, Lai recommended several more titles.
Aemon memorized them one by one before asking, "Lai, do you really like Transfiguration? Then why don't you perform better in class?"
"I heard that Professor McGonagall runs a club related to it. Maybe you could join!"
"Transfiguration?"
Lai rubbed his chin and thought for a moment.
"Honestly, I don't dislike it. But compared with that, I'm much more interested in various spells right now."
"I see."
Aemon nodded, understanding.
But Dawn, who had been following beside them, suddenly froze.
Not interested in Transfiguration?
How could that be?!
For someone capable of seeing the special patterns, it should have been obvious that magic was a force that produced its effects by "changing" those special patterns.
Even if someone was interested in various spells, how could they possibly feel merely "not opposed" to the more fundamental art of Transfiguration?
Unless...
"Lai can't see the special patterns?"
Dawn murmured thoughtfully.
His pupils were filled with shock, but also with an indescribable excitement and delight.
Unique!
The word fascinated Dawn.
Even though he still had no concrete evidence, his steps had already become noticeably lighter.
The two boys and the translucent figure continued walking along the corridor.
Before long, the library doors appeared ahead.
Lai and Aemon entered, greeted Madam Pince behind the desk, then carried their books to a table beside the window and quietly began working on their assignments.
Dawn was in an excellent mood.
Even though all he could do was wait, he was not impatient in the slightest.
He was simply looking forward to one thing.
Once the two of them separated and Lai was alone, what would he say to Merlin this time?
___________
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