Harry looked up at the figure descending from the sky.
Lucien stood atop a bright yellow cloud. It clearly wasn't an ordinary cloud, but something solid enough to support his weight.
And the strange creature beside him made it impossible for Harry to look away.
It resembled both a horse and a deer, with a pair of short, white jade-like horns on its forehead. Pale golden scales covered its body, while a crimson mane along its neck and back fluttered gently in the night breeze.
When the creature lowered its head and met Harry's gaze, its eyes were as clear as two springs. Merely looking into them seemed to calm Harry's emotions.
"Truly magical..."
Ron leaned closer and nudged him with his elbow.
"Hey, those fireworks must be the show Lucien mentioned, right?"
"Must be," Harry nodded.
Lucien lightly jumped down from the cloud and landed beside them.
He looked up at the night sky, where the flames were still constantly shifting.
In fact, aside from the fire element, elements such as water and lightning could also be controlled with ease, freely drawing and writing through the air. They simply lacked the enhancement of a spell on the level of Firestorm.
Besides, against the night sky, blazing flames were ultimately far more brilliant and spectacular.
The firelight reflected across their faces, warm and bright.
Harry's voice pulled Lucien back to reality.
"Lucien, these magical creatures... did you conjure all of them?"
He pointed toward the dragon and Thunderbird not far away.
Lucien didn't answer directly.
With a light tap of his wand, a piece of gravel on the ground instantly twisted and transformed.
In the blink of an eye, a massive Occamy appeared before them, its body rapidly expanding until it was the size of a house, its scales shimmering beneath the night sky.
"Whoa!" Ron took a step back.
Harry's eyes widened as well.
Of course, they both knew about Lucien's thesis on Magical Creature Transfiguration.
Out of curiosity, they had specifically gone to the library to find that issue of Transfiguration Today.
The result was...
They couldn't understand any of it.
Those complicated runic formulae and analyses of magical circuits were complete gibberish to second-years.
They only knew that Lucien was impressive, but they had never had any real idea of just how impressive he was.
Seeing it with their own eyes now finally gave them some sense of it.
"So that's how it works..." Harry said in realisation. "Those dragons and Thunderbirds, were they really created through Transfiguration?"
Lucien smiled.
Creatures like Unicorns could be found deep within the Forbidden Forest, but Thunderbirds and dragons could not.
If word of tonight's events spread, it might attract the attention and investigation of the relevant departments within the Ministry of Magic.
But Lucien wasn't worried, because he genuinely could conjure magical creatures through Transfiguration.
If anyone came to investigate, he could simply say that they had all been created with Transfiguration.
He was using tonight as an opportunity to let Norbert, Aether, and the others come out and play openly.
When it came to magical creatures, especially dangerous ones like dragons and Thunderbirds, the Ministry of Magic did indeed have regulations prohibiting private ownership.
But there were exceptions.
Newt, for example.
Everyone knew that Newt's suitcase was filled with all kinds of magical creatures, yet people tacitly accepted that there was nothing wrong with it.
Because of his expertise and reputation in that field, people simply assumed that Newt must have had his reasons.
As for Lucien, he currently had no widely recognised achievements involving magical creatures. He had neither published academic research nor produced any well-known works on the subject.
[Ding! Advanced Fire Elemental Magic Pattern loan repayment complete!]
The system's notification suddenly sounded in his mind.
Lucien was slightly startled, then looked up at the fireworks still blazing across the night sky.
The firelight reflected in his dark green eyes like two tiny flames dancing within them.
The loan description had required him to "contribute to" the atmosphere of Valentine's Day.
Judging from the scene before him, he had more than fulfilled that requirement.
Love was like fire.
Quite fitting.
[Host, what can truly teach you about love is...]
The corner of Lucien's mouth twitched.
He really wanted to ask what sort of network the system was connected to.
Lucien ignored the system's teasing.
He simply watched the flames in the night sky, the young boys and girls holding hands beneath the fireworks, and the smiling faces gathered around the magical creatures.
Did love really need to be learned?
...
Daphne Greengrass walked alone by the lake.
She idly kicked a pebble, watching it roll into the water and send out a small ring of ripples.
Her brilliant blonde hair bounced with every step, standing out even in the darkness.
The lawn in the distance was very lively.
Long queues had formed around the dragons, the area beneath the Thunderbird's tree was packed with people, and the Unicorns were surrounded so densely that it was almost impossible to get through.
Laughter, cries of amazement, and the shouts of the Cupids maintaining order blended together, carrying clearly even from far away.
Daphne didn't go over.
After seeing the figure in the sky, she already knew that the fireworks and those magical creatures, just like the adorable alchemical puppets called Cupids, were all Lucien's handiwork.
Daphne didn't know whether these magical creatures had been raised by Lucien or created through that profound Transfiguration she couldn't understand.
The former would indeed violate Ministry of Magic regulations, but Daphne came from a pure-blood family, and the Greengrass family held important positions within the Ministry. From a very young age, she had understood one truth.
Rules were made by the strong and those who held power.
And Daphne was absolutely certain that Lucien would become the kind of person for whom rules made way.
If she really wanted a photograph with those magical creatures, she could simply ask Lucien privately later.
There was no need to be like Malfoy, foolishly running off to wait in line for one.
________
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