John attended Old Jack's funeral.
It was a very quiet funeral.
That day, all of Old Jack's children appeared.
The sorrow on their faces was impossible to hide.
After Old Jack's death, everything that belonged to him would naturally be inherited by his children.
In an ordinary family, that might have led to a dispute. In a wealthy family, it might even have drawn blood.
But here, the transfer of Old Jack's power was exceptionally calm.
Chudai resigned from his position as director of the Werewolf Affairs Office, and Sophie took over.
He became the new werewolf councillor, taking on the heavy burden of the werewolf community as well as the responsibility for his younger brothers and sisters.
"My lord."
When the children saw John arrive, they bowed to him.
John shook his head slightly, indicating that there was no need.
He came to Old Jack's coffin and looked at the old man lying among the flowers with a smile on his face. The heaviness in his heart also disappeared.
"He heard it," Chudai said beside John. "The freedom of werewolves."
"Yes. He waited a very long time for it." John reached out and brushed his hand over Old Jack's face.
The hideous scars on his face gradually faded.
"Go to heaven with the proudest bearing, Old Jack."
The scars left by a werewolf attack could not be healed, so John used magic to hide them for him.
The youngest, Tyro, was being held by Jack, while Seven and Ace followed behind Sophie.
Old Jack's grave was erected.
It stood on the hill near the werewolf community, where he could look at the place he had always cared about at any time.
Sophie came to John's side and said in a deep voice, "Werewolves will never betray you, my king."
John glanced at Sophie and reached out to pat his shoulder.
"Sophie, what you need now is to skip work for two days, find somewhere quiet, and let your emotions out."
He could see Sophie's heaviness, as well as his urgent desire to solidify his relationship with him.
"The banner of the Silver Hand will always stand in the werewolf community."
John's words reassured Sophie.
He was grieved by Old Jack's passing, and even more unwilling to see everything Old Jack had worked for collapse.
"Among Old Jack's children, you are the most different." John sighed and said, "What you bear is exhausting."
Chudai had taken over the position of werewolf councillor, which meant Sophie was now the only one left in the Ministry of Magic.
Sophie was moved by those words.
Parting by life and death.
John left the place and stopped beside a tree in the distance.
"Aren't you going to take a look?"
He turned his head and looked at the person behind the tree.
Lupin gazed over there, then shook his head and said, "I don't have the right."
"You've become different," John said lightly. "Did the Order of the Phoenix no longer want you?"
"I want to search for the answer alone," Lupin said. "Werewolf equality is something I never dared imagine."
He looked at John. This young king could give werewolves something that even werewolves themselves had never dared imagine.
"Dumbledore has no intention of competing with you for the title of king," Lupin said, placing a flower beneath the tree. "Sometimes, the Order of the Phoenix did things wrong, but it was not out of malice."
The Order of the Phoenix was already half-disbanded, and Lupin hoped John would not target it.
"I don't care whether he has that intention or not," John said, glancing at Lupin. "The Order of the Phoenix? It isn't worth my concern."
Hearing this, Lupin breathed a sigh of relief.
John's attitude showed that he did not take the Order of the Phoenix seriously at all.
That was exactly for the best.
"Where are your clothes?" John looked at Lupin's old clothes and raised an eyebrow. "I remember giving you some before you left your post."
"That set is too good. I'm afraid of ruining it." Lupin did not look embarrassed at all. He calmly spread his arms so John could clearly see the patches on his sleeves.
John curled his lip and walked forward.
Lupin naturally walked beside him.
"What are you going to do next?" John chatted casually with Lupin.
Setting aside some of the things that had happened at the Ministry of Magic, he did not have much ill feeling toward this werewolf professor.
Lupin wanting to be alone for a while also meant that they would no longer be enemies.
Lupin shrugged and said, "Find a job, preferably somewhere closer to the werewolf community. Old Jack once helped me, so I should help him protect this place."
"After werewolf equality, I no longer have to worry about my wages being docked or being reported," Lupin said. "I'll build a house, a bigger one, large enough for a family."
"Oh?" John stopped and glanced at Lupin in surprise. "You found a girlfriend?"
"You've met her. Nymphadora Tonks. But she doesn't like people calling her Nymphadora."
The two of them walked down from the hill to the entrance of the werewolf community.
Lupin looked at the werewolf community one last time and said to John, "I should go."
He held out his hand and smiled. "Goodbye, John."
John shook his hand and chuckled. "Goodbye, Remus."
Lupin turned and left.
"Remus."
John called out to Lupin.
Lupin turned back in confusion, and John said, "Are you interested in working at the Ministry of Magic?"
"The Ministry?"
"The Werewolf Affairs Office," John said casually. "Chudai resigned, so they're short on staff. The salary is a little higher than an Auror's. The only downside is that it isn't close to the werewolf community."
Lupin smiled. "I accept."
John smiled faintly and raised his hand, drawing it across the air in front of him. A golden trace opened into a passage leading to Hogwarts.
"Then please go to your superior for an interview."
The passage closed. Lupin stared at the place where he had disappeared and could not help rubbing his forehead. "He never does things the normal way."
...
One week after Old Jack passed away.
John had basically returned to his usual state.
He tossed aside the news of interview requests.
After werewolf equality was passed, even more people began paying attention to John's paper.
It probably would not be long before another First Class Order of Merlin landed in John's pocket.
But these things were nothing unusual to John.
His days returned to normal. Research, searching for inspiration in Ravenclaw's books.
February 14th.
On Valentine's Day, John tasted Daphne's new creation after her hard work.
At least it looked a little better. That was John's evaluation.
He put what seemed to be some kind of shrimp into his mouth.
As John ate, he felt the magic in his body become active, and he froze slightly.
"Did you make this in the Midnight Kitchen?" John looked at Daphne in confusion.
Daphne was stunned. "No."
No?
John stared at the plate, thought it over, and cut open a piece of shrimp.
Godspeed.
Everything slowed infinitely in John's eyes.
The instant Malfoy scooped up a spoonful of mashed potatoes and was about to put it into his mouth, John moved so quickly that no one noticed.
That piece had already entered the mashed potatoes. As time returned to normal, John watched Malfoy eat the mashed potatoes.
"Ugh!"
Malfoy suddenly collapsed to the ground, twisting and crawling darkly across the floor.
"What is this feeling?" Malfoy was drenched in sweat as he muttered to himself, "It tastes like a tyre that's been left in a Muggle car factory for more than ten years, but it also gives a kind of magical palpitation."
"Contradictory. Too contradictory!"
Malfoy sprinted wildly through the Great Hall, leaving everyone around him dumbfounded.
John fell into thought. "Could Daphne have learned Hufflepuff's cooking method?"
Infusing emotions into food.
The result of that was that deliciousness would be amplified, but conversely, if something tasted bad, that would also be amplified.
The magic contained within this dish had the effect of nourishing the body. After John ate it, he felt that it benefited both his magic and his body quite a bit.
Daphne, who still did not know what had happened, watched Malfoy sprint out of the Great Hall with a puzzled expression.
John said calmly, "Perhaps something stimulated him."
Stimulated?
Could her sister have dumped Malfoy?
Daphne's burning gaze of gossip fell on Astoria.
Astoria, however, was even more confused.
She had no idea why Malfoy had suddenly gone mad. It was as if someone had cursed him.
But how was Malfoy's stamina this good?
That day, Malfoy ran back and forth through the castle more than a dozen times.
His physical condition was astonishingly good.
John, the culprit, could not help sighing with emotion that Daphne's magical cooking was truly nourishing.
If Malfoy ate it continuously for half a month, he might even reach Neville's level of physique.
However, considering that just one bite had made Malfoy like this, if he ate an entire portion, Malfoy would probably choose to kill himself on the spot.
February continued calmly and orderly.
The seventh-year curriculum was intense, and the exams also increased the students' academic burden.
Many people began to regret not studying some of the seventh-year material in advance during their sixth year.
Time was about to enter March, and just as March approached, one piece of news reshuffled the pure-blood alliance once again.
The new Sacred Twenty-Eight was born.
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