Chapter 39. Be Normal
After assessing the situation and finding no danger, Lynn and Cedric emerged from the secret passage.
Looking at the Werewolf sitting quietly under the tree, indifferently watching them, Cedric whispered in Lynn's ear,
"He doesn't seem to be going berserk. Could it be that we guessed wrong, and he's not actually a Werewolf?"
Lynn rolled his eyes.
"What else could he be but a Werewolf? A dog-man?"
They thought they were speaking softly, but they didn't notice that Ian, sitting under the tree, twitched his ears, his wolfish face turning somewhat dark.
"Should we go over and say hello?" Cedric now followed Lynn's lead without question.
Lynn, of course, wouldn't refuse; to complete his mission, he needed to talk to Ian.
They cautiously approached Ian, maintaining a safe distance of about ten meters. Then, Lynn gave him a polite smile and waved.
"Hi!"
But Ian didn't seem to want to acknowledge him, still looking at them coldly, showing no friendliness whatsoever.
"I think you might have forgotten me." Lynn tried to be friendly with Ian, bringing up the only connection between them.
"We shared a compartment on the train to Hogwarts, and I introduced myself to you. My name is Lynn Bellok."
Ian didn't speak.
"You don't need to introduce yourself. I remember your name during the Sorting Ceremony, right? Ian Campbell, right? And you were sorted into Ravenclaw. Honestly, I knew you were incredibly intelligent the first time I saw you."
Ian didn't speak.
"What state are you in now? Were you in Werewolf form? You're still able to maintain your sanity, oh! That's really impressive!"
Ian didn't speak.
"The moonlight is beautiful tonight, and your transformed form is truly magnificent! It would be even more magnificent if you could chat with me!"
Ian hadn't spoken yet, but his gaze had already shifted from indifference to looking at someone as if they were crazy.
Even Cedric was getting fed up with Lynn; he'd never seen Lynn engage in such an awkward, cloying conversation.
Even Lynn, with his thick skin, was now furious. If it weren't for the system's mission to chat with this Werewolf cub, would he have needed to put up with this?
"Does becoming a Werewolf make you mute?! Can't you even say a word?! Even if you can't speak human language, a wolf howl would do the trick!"
Ian didn't howl, but he finally spoke, annoyed by Lynn.
"Can you be quiet for a moment?"
As soon as he spoke, Lynn's face lit up with surprise, but then his expression fell.
[Mission 1 Completed!]
[Constitution Attribute Activated, Constitution +1]
[Mission 2 Activated: Gain the friendship of Werewolf Ian.]
[Reward: Constitution +3]
Getting this Werewolf cub to speak is already so difficult, and now he wants to be friends with him?
In comparison, he would much rather the system give him a task like feeding Professor McGonagall dried fish or pulling Dumbledore's beard.
But that extra bit of physique attribute was just too tempting!
After receiving the physique attribute point reward, Lynn could clearly feel the changes in his body.
His five senses were enhanced, his muscles became more robust, his breathing became more even, and even his heart felt like it was beating more powerfully than before.
This evolutionary-like pleasure fascinated Lynn.
How should a mage allocate stat points?
Lynn could now give a definitive answer: adding points to Spirit or Intelligence was a heretical path! Only adding points to Constitution and Attack was the right way!
Didn't true mages wield their wands to smash their enemies' skulls?
What use was magic other than for lighting?
Almost instantly, Lynn made his decision.
To become a true mage, and for those tempting three points in Constitution, he was determined to befriend Ian!
He sat cross-legged in front of Ian, a sickeningly sweet smile on his face that made Cedric sick, and said affectionately,
"Ian, don't be so heartless. Look how nice the weather is today. You startled us just now. It's not too much to ask that you chat with us to make up for it, is it?"
"Ugh!" A dry heaving sound came from Cedric's side.
Even Ian became somewhat uneasy; he thought Lynn was either mentally unstable or had a questionable sexual orientation.
Their behavior made Lynn lose face. He glared at Cedric, wanting him to explain his earlier vomiting.
"Be normal, Lynn. You're scaring me." Cedric's face was pale; he seemed genuinely frightened by Lynn's actions.
Lynn wasn't good at making friends with strangers, especially when the other party wasn't being proactive.
He coughed twice to ease his embarrassment and then said to Cedric,
"It's already past ten o'clock, which is when Filch is patrolling the castle most diligently. Why don't we sit here for a while? This Ian must be bored by himself. We can keep him company and watch the stars and moon."
Before Cedric could speak, Ian couldn't help but interject.
"I don't think he's bored, I just find you a bit noisy."
"Nonsense! You're clearly the most boring one!"
Ian resisted the urge to bite Lynn and silently chose not to argue.
Cedric also thought Lynn's words made a lot of sense.
It was during the strictest patrol time of the castle caretaker, Filch, and if they went back now and were caught, they certainly wouldn't tell the truth.
Ian's admission as a Werewolf must have been approved by Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall. Considering Professor McGonagall's reaction when the Auror named Kingsley said he wanted to investigate him,they certainly didn't want the secret of Ian being a Werewolf to become known throughout the school.
Even if he was a special Werewolf who retained his rationality after transforming, there would definitely be panic among the young wizards, and parents would definitely put pressure on Dumbledore!
So Cedric sat cross-legged on the ground, forming a triangle with Lynn and Ian.
"Why did you transform outside the secret passage? Didn't you have time to go in?"
Compared to Lynn, Cedric seemed more like a normal person to Ian, so although his tone was still somewhat cold, he at least answered his question.
"I misjudged the weather today; the moon was too bright. The transformation started prematurely as soon as I opened the secret passage."
His answer only confused Cedric more. His knowledge of Werewolves mostly came from books; he had never seen anything like Ian's situation.
"May I ask, were you bitten by another Werewolf to become a Werewolf?"
This time, Ian didn't answer.
He looked up at the bright, full moon in the sky, remaining silent.
After a long pause, he answered irrelevantly,
"I hope you can help me keep my secret."
Lynn and Cedric exchanged a glance, and without hesitation, they answered in unison,
"Of course, no problem."
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(End of Chapter)