Late at night.
Inside the suitcase world, in the study.
Warm orange candlelight flickered across the room, wrapping the bookshelves and desk in a soft glow.
Lucien sat at the desk, one hand flipping through a thick tome on curses while the other scribbled notes across parchment. The quill scratched steadily, line after neat line filling the page.
Curses came in endless varieties, and the ways to break them were even more varied. Some needed specific counter-spells, others rare ingredients, a few could only be lifted by the original caster, and some had no cure at all—just time slowly wearing them down.
Lucien rubbed his forehead and turned another page.
At least things had been calm lately. No dark wizards, no monsters, no schemes. Hogwarts was actually, genuinely peaceful for once.
Students went to class, played Quidditch, and lived normal lives. No major incidents, no chaos.
It let Lucien focus—study, practice, dig deeper into curses. He caught himself thinking more than once that this was what school was supposed to feel like.
Classes, books, magic practice, curse research… pretty damn nice—
[Ding! Loan triggered: Plague Doctor's Mask (Monthly Loan)]
[Loan Name: Plague Doctor's Mask]
[Loan Duration: 30 days]
[Loan Reward: Obtain the Plague Doctor's bird-beak mask. When worn, it greatly enhances your ability to observe, analyze, and understand curses, diseases, and injuries.]
[Loan Task: Improve three curse-related potions.]
[PS: The mask is part of the full "Plague Doctor" set.]
Lucien's quill paused mid-stroke.
He was used to the system's sudden ambushes. He set the quill down and scanned the details with practiced ease.
Plague Doctor?
More accurately, the bird-beak doctor.
In the Muggle world the look dated back to medieval Europe, when the Black Death was ravaging everything. Doctors wore long waxed robes, black hats, and those eerie bird-beak masks packed with herbs and spices to filter the air. Glass lenses protected their eyes, and they carried wooden sticks to examine patients without touching them.
Back then the outfit was both hope and terror—symbol of possible salvation and the nearness of death.
The mask alone sounded useful. Anything that sharpened his curse analysis would help with Nagini's treatment.
But Lucien was more curious about the full set. Everyone knew a complete outfit always delivered bigger bonuses than a single piece.
The task—improve three curse-related potions—was straightforward. He already had Snape's books and recipes spread out on the desk, all hand-picked for their curse connections. Between his own Potions talent and everything he'd learned, this was well within reach. He could always ask Snape for pointers too. Might as well use the youngest Potions Master alive while he was around.
Honestly, the longer he studied, the more he felt monthly and weekly loans had become almost routine. Only the yearly ones still offered any real challenge.
"System, accept the loan."
For once the system didn't answer instantly.
The candle flame flickered.
Lucien frowned. After more than ten years, was the thing finally glitching?
He was about to ask when the delayed notification finally sounded.
[Ding! Plague Doctor's Mask (Monthly Loan) successfully granted.]
[Evaluation: Doctor, what you bring is healing… and death.]