The mask felt slightly cool against his face, yet it was snug and soft. Alan could sense a faint enveloping sensation, as if the mask itself were alive.
In Tonks's eyes, however, Alan's current appearance was quite unsettling. The bloodstains on the mask hadn't been wiped away, and the leather was so thin it seemed to have grown directly onto his face. At first glance, he looked like a maniac whose skin had been peeled off.
Alan tentatively injected magic into the mask. Soon, the blood on the surface was absorbed into its texture, and the material began to change color. In an instant, the mask seemed to vanish. It transformed to match his skin tone perfectly, and the edges merged with his face until no seams remained. Alan felt a close connection with the item, as if it were his own face—a feeling of seamless integration.
After forming this link, he immediately understood how to use it. With a thought, his features began to shift like a lump of clay or a melting candle. The change was slow at first as he grew familiar with the functions. He didn't maintain the bizarre, melting shape for long; after about ten seconds, the substance retracted, and his face returned to normal.
Tonks watched with alarm, wondering if she looked this terrifying when she transformed. It wasn't until Alan finished the shift that she saw another version of herself standing before her. It was a face that looked more mature than Tonks's current appearance, with clearer skin. It was obvious that Alan hadn't simply copied her face but had modified it, creating a version of what she might look like as an adult.
"Wow, Professor, you're a pervert! You actually turned into a woman, and you're even prettier than me," Tonks complained, staring at the face that was strikingly similar to her own yet more refined.
"I couldn't help it," Alan said, shaking his head. "You're the only reference in front of me, so naturally, I experimented with your appearance first."
"Heh," Tonks scoffed, pouting. "But you're still a bit off compared to me; you can't change your hair, and your chest isn't as big as mine."
Tonks patted her chest for emphasis, her eyes darting around as she thought of something amusing. Her face began to shift, and in a blink, she transformed into Alan's likeness. She modified the details, disguising herself as a younger version of him and mischievously adding some baby fat to the cheeks.
The two of them—Alan with an adult Tonks's face and Tonks with a young Alan's face—stared at each other. Both felt a strange sense of incongruity.
"Haha, now I'm the Professor! I didn't realize you were so cute when you were young," Tonks chuckled. She walked over to the mirror and mischievously pinched her chubby cheeks, as if she were really rubbing Alan's face.
Alan gave her a no-nonsense flick on the forehead, making Tonks cry out in pain.
"Are you done playing? Come here and help me test this mask. The second bottle in the cupboard is a Revealing Potion spray; spray it on my face and see the effect." Alan pulled Tonks by the back of her collar and gestured toward the cupboard.
"Professor, you're so easy to tease," Tonks said, rubbing her forehead. She playfully stuck out her tongue but obediently retrieved the potion.
Tonks sprayed the Revealing Potion onto Alan's face liberally. This potion was designed to break the effects of Polyjuice Potion and Transfiguration and was used in high-security areas like Gringotts. When the liquid hit the mask, Alan felt nothing unusual. In the mirror, his appearance remained perfectly transformed.
"It seems the effect has been achieved," Alan nodded in satisfaction. A disguise mask that can ignore Revealing Potions was a true artifact of deception.
"It's a shame it can't change hair and body shape, otherwise you could disguise yourself as Professor Snape and terrorize the other students," Tonks teased.
"It looks like you don't have much affection for Professor Snape, but he isn't a bad person," Alan said, shifting his face back to its original form. He felt no discomfort wearing the mask; it was like having an extra layer of skin, so he didn't bother taking it off.
"Oh, please, you only say good things about your own Head of House," Tonks pouted, then looked up at him. "By the way, Professor, when are you going to get me a monocle too? We can wear them out together; how cool would that be?"
"Your spell proficiency is still too low. We can talk about it when you learn the Echo Charm," Alan said, wiping his monocle with a cloth and carefully placing it back in his eye socket.
Tonks's natural talent had progressed well under Alan's guidance, but her formal spellcasting was only at the level of an average student. To learn the Echo Charm, which required wandless magic, she would need to be at least in her fifth year.
They spent a bit more time testing the mask in the cabin before returning to the castle before dark. They skipped dinner at the cabin because Hogwarts was entering the final exam period, and Slytherin had entered a state of intense preparation.
In the final monthly exam before the finals, 95% of Slytherin's grades had reached an "E" or higher. This result energized the House; Alan's goal of achieving that standard for the entire House no longer seemed impossible. Everyone was working hard, particularly helping the young wizards who were still struggling.
What concerned Alan and the House Committee even more were the fifth-year O.W.L. exams. Based on current results, all fifth-years were achieving "E" grades, but requirements varied. For subjects like Divination, Muggle Studies, and Ancient Runes, an "E" was enough to advance to N.E.W.T. level courses.