Hufflepuff looked at Erwin.
"So, you came here today to destroy me?"
Erwin remained silent. His quiet demeanor was answer enough.
A look of relief washed over Hufflepuff's face. "I suppose I should have faded away long ago."
She raised her hand, and a simple, unremarkable leaf appeared in her palm.
"It seems it has found its master," Hufflepuff said softly. "Gryffindor was right about you. You are the variable. You act to save everything, yet your decisions hold the power to destroy it all. The choice has always been yours."
She let out a dry, humorless laugh. "It's absurd, really. Both sides believe they are the players, using you as a mere pawn. Yet neither realized that you, the pawn, had long since escaped their control."
"The players are not them," Erwin replied, his voice steady. "They are merely gambling with everything they have. That is precisely why I am here. I am not a piece to be moved at will."
Hufflepuff nodded slowly. "Before I fade, can you tell me the truth? I know much, yet I understand so little. There are too many questions weighing on my heart."
Erwin shook his head. "You know I cannot, Lady Hufflepuff. Some things are meant for me alone. It concerns my very existence. I am sorry."
"I expected as much," Hufflepuff sighed, a flicker of disappointment in her eyes. "Still, it stings. Very well. Erwin, if you can, let Ravenclaw be. She is not like us. She knows too little, and she is too kind. If she knew the full truth, she would try to stop everyone's plans. Even now, Slytherin only tells her what she wants her to know."
"I know," Erwin said. "You have protected her, and I respect that. I have no intention of harming her. When I am strong enough, I will let her experience the world again."
"Experience the world again?" Hufflepuff's eyes softened with longing. "Is that her reward for her kindness?"
Erwin let out a small breath. "You were kind too, once."
"I was," Hufflepuff admitted with a bitter smile. "But some truths are too heavy to bear. I did many questionable things, and I still don't know if the ends justified the means."
"Our positions are different," Erwin said. "I have no right to judge you. But if I stood in your place... perhaps your actions were simply another form of kindness."
A genuine smile bloomed on Hufflepuff's face. "Thank you, Erwin Cavendish. Whatever your choice, we have wronged you. Let me help you one last time."
She raised her hand, and streams of earth-yellow energy swirled around her. Like ribbons of light, the magic drifted toward Erwin, wrapping around him.
Erwin raised a hand, gently touching the glowing strands. "Well then, Hufflepuff. Goodbye. I am glad I saw you before you vanished."
"Though I didn't particularly want to see you," she chuckled, her voice fading. "But I am glad I did. You are not what I expected."
Her form began to dissolve into motes of light. Her voice grew faint, a whisper on the wind, until it vanished entirely.
Silence returned to the chamber.
On the ground lay a rolled parchment and that ordinary-looking leaf. The golden energy surrounding Erwin faded away. He sighed, bending down to retrieve the items.
He unrolled the parchment. As expected, it was the transfer of authority over the Hufflepuff sections of Hogwarts. Erwin was familiar with the ritual—he signed his name at the bottom without hesitation.
The moment the ink settled, Erwin felt a strange, resonant connection to the earth and stone around him. He could sense the Hufflepuff common room, the dormitories, the secret passages. The authority was his.
Next, he picked up the leaf.
A Mandrake leaf.
But not just any Mandrake. This was the key to cultivating a unique Animagus transformation.
Erwin remembered the book he had once read—the theory of transforming into magical creatures. It had been written by Hufflepuff herself. At the time, it was dismissed as speculation, a wild experiment involving soaking Mandrake leaves in the blood of magical creatures and binding their powers with complex potions.
Even Erwin had thought it a pipe dream. The difficulties were astronomical. Ordinary Mandrakes couldn't withstand the magical pressure.
But Hufflepuff hadn't used an ordinary Mandrake. She had cultivated a king among them. And she had developed the potions necessary to make the impossible possible.
She had succeeded, yet never used it herself. First, because she was already an Animagus. Second, because using this leaf required magical power superior to the creatures bound within it.
It wasn't about raw strength. It was about the quality of magic.
To use this leaf, one needed divine power—power capable of overshadowing the essence of any magical beast.
Hufflepuff, powerful as she was, lacked that specific tier of magic. She had kept the leaf because no one else could possibly meet the requirements.
Until now.
Erwin held the leaf in his hand. He met every condition. The path to a unique Animagus form was finally open to him.