"You can?"
"Yes."
Snape and Lupin hadn't exactly gotten along. In fact, they'd had plenty of conflicts during their school days.
But now they were adults and members of the Order of the Phoenix. Snape wouldn't deliberately cause trouble over past grudges if he could help the other party. Out of respect for Dumbledore, he had done his best to ask Ethan for help.
He had thought Lupin's condition would be troublesome to deal with, perhaps requiring some sort of examination or consideration before deciding if it could even be addressed. He never expected Ethan to answer so readily and confidently.
"This... don't you need to examine Professor Lupin's condition first?"
"An examination is fine."
Ethan had many potions capable of altering physical conditions, but most were used to strengthen his crew. A few had effects like detoxification or clearing abnormal states.
Lupin's issue shouldn't be too serious. He just needed to remove the 'toxin' that had invaded his body and altered his constitution.
The most difficult scenario would be if Lupin's physique had been completely transformed into that of a werewolf. Even then, Ethan could handle it. In fact, with his current ability, he didn't even need to brew a potion. He could resolve it directly with magic.
Still feeling uncertain, Snape followed Ethan to find Lupin and sent a message to Dumbledore along the way.
He wasn't worried that anything would go wrong, but Lupin wasn't aware of any of this. If Ethan suddenly approached him, Lupin might misunderstand their intentions. Someone respected and trustworthy like Dumbledore needed to be present.
"Not here."
Just as they found Lupin and before they could explain, Dumbledore arrived and motioned for the confused Lupin to follow him.
"What's going on?"
Professor McGonagall was also there, watching the group curiously.
Snape always wore a gloomy expression, as if the world owed him a fortune. But McGonagall knew Dumbledore had always trusted him, and Snape had worked hard and loyally at the school, never betraying that trust.
Lupin had only just become the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor that year, but she knew Lupin and Snape hadn't gotten along during their school years.
Now, with Ethan, a third-year student, involved too… had the two professors gotten into a conflict over a student?
But when the group headed straight to Dumbledore's office, and Dumbledore even cast a spell to seal the entrance, McGonagall realized the situation wasn't that simple.
"What happened, Albus?"
"Don't worry. It shouldn't be a bad thing."
Dumbledore looked to Ethan with uncertainty, then received a clear response.
"It's not a bad thing."
On the way there, Ethan had already closely observed Lupin's condition. His situation was far better than expected. He was only infected with the 'werewolf' virus, which had altered his constitution and caused him to transform during full moons.
"It's just a matter of removing the virus from his body."
Of course, saying it was simple was one thing. For the wizards or medical experts of this world, that virus had fully integrated with Lupin's body, making it inseparable. With existing magical or scientific means, there was no way to extract it. Perhaps some legendary wizards might have succeeded, but unfortunately, they only existed in legends.
"This..."
Dumbledore wanted to say that if it were that simple, it would've been resolved long ago. But he couldn't be sure that what was a troublesome issue to them wasn't simple in Ethan's eyes.
"Do we need to make any preparations?"
"No need."
Ethan reached for his wand, then realized he had gotten used to acting low-profile recently. There was no need to use a wand here. Though Professor McGonagall didn't know about his situation, Dumbledore hadn't asked her to leave, which meant he was ready to let her in on it.
Lupin, who had been standing quietly, also began to understand what was going on. He was a calm and thoughtful person. Even without someone explaining things, he had pieced it together from the conversation.
This mysterious person named Ethan seemed ready to help him solve the problem that had plagued him for half his life.
"This... is it really possible?"
"Don't talk. It might hurt a bit. Try not to bite your tongue."
Extracting the virus, which had merged deeply with his body, would certainly not be a comfortable process. If Lupin accidentally bit his tongue... well, it didn't really matter. Ethan could restore it anyway.
With a light snap of his fingers, blue and white magical energy slowly began to radiate from Ethan, gradually wrapping around Lupin and enveloping him in a soft white glow.
"This is..."
Professor McGonagall was shocked by the magical power Ethan had released. It wasn't just powerful, but also incredibly pure. Even with her lifelong experience in magic, she couldn't claim to wield such refined and immense magical power.
She turned her head to glance at Dumbledore and Snape. Both wore calm expressions, showing no surprise. It was clear they had known about Ethan's abilities for a long time.
"Who exactly is he?"
By now, McGonagall had completely given up the naive idea that Ethan was just a child from a regular wizarding family who had awakened his magical talent.
His immense magical power, and the ease with which he cast such powerful spells without a wand or incantation, said everything.
Treating him as a normal child at this point would mean assuming she had suddenly lost all common sense.
"Ah..."
Wrapped in the white light, Lupin at first felt nothing. But soon, a strange sensation crept in, followed by a searing pain that seemed to tear into his very bones. It felt like every cell in his body was being ripped apart and violently extracted. The pain was so intense he couldn't hold back.
"Quiet."
Unfortunately, he had just let out a syllable before Ethan silenced him. No matter how wide Lupin opened his mouth or how hard he tried to scream, no sound came out.
"He didn't stop Lupin from making sound, but isolated the sound from reaching us?"
Then, they saw plumes of black smoke drifting out of Lupin's mouth. The smoke gathered into a viscous black liquid, suspended above his head.
At this point, even Dumbledore didn't dare speak. They were afraid to interrupt Ethan during the casting. In their minds, this was the most critical part of the treatment. Whether Lupin could be cured depended on this moment.
"Done."
Just as that thought passed through their minds, the black smoke stopped flowing. The blob of black liquid, about the size of a fist, floated quietly in the air. The blue and white magic around Lupin faded and, as Dumbledore noticed, returned to Ethan's body.
"Ah!"
As Ethan spoke, he withdrew the silencing spell, and the tail end of Lupin's scream came out. He realized the pain had already passed. Though he still felt a tingling sensation, the unbearable pain was gone.
Now free of pain, Lupin staggered. Professor McGonagall quickly stepped forward to steady him.
"Thank you."
To everyone else, it had looked like Lupin had just stood there in the light making dramatic faces. But to him, he had truly been screaming for a long time. His throat was raw, his voice hoarse.
"Don't talk. You need to rest."
McGonagall was about to help Lupin sit down when she saw Ethan raise a hand and point a finger at him. A golden light washed over Lupin, especially around his neck, as if a ribbon of gold was gently brushing it.
"Cough, cough."
Lupin felt all the discomfort in his body vanish. Even his voice had returned.
"This..."
"Done."
After dispelling the Holy Light, Ethan raised his hand and beckoned. The ball of black liquid floated to him and hovered in front of his face. He studied it for a moment, then a flame appeared from thin air, consuming it completely until nothing was left.
"Useless stuff."
Werewolves in the Harry Potter world had nothing remarkable about them, apart from transforming during the full moon. It was no wonder that they had been driven into the shadows by wizards.
This bloodline had no benefits at all. Naturally, Ethan had no interest in it.
"From now on, you can enjoy the moonlight as much as you like. You don't have to worry about turning into a werewolf anymore."
Lupin could vaguely sense this, but still found it hard to believe. Could the problem that had haunted him for so long really be resolved so easily?
"Who exactly are you?"
For Dumbledore and Snape, it was a question they hadn't asked for various reasons. For Lupin, there was nothing stopping him. So he simply asked.
"Ethan. Someone who's been a bit bored lately, so I came to Hogwarts to spend a few years, learn some new things, and do a few good deeds... a mage."
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)