The initial testing of the Mental Connection Crystal Spheres was a resounding success. The communication was crystal clear, completely fluent, and utterly devoid of delay.
Fred and George quickly became addicted to the device, finding all sorts of creative ways to sing to Maurise through the magical network. Heaven only knew how they managed to manipulate their vocal pitch while actively casting the Telepathy Charm.
Regardless of their methods, when a horrendously out-of-tune rendition of A Cauldron Full of Hot, Strong Love exploded inside Maurise's mind, he immediately and unilaterally severed his connection to the sphere. He decided it was best to leave such angelic melodies for Neville to suffer through.
After having their fill of fun, the group settled down on the sofa. Fred was still happily rolling the crystal sphere around in his palm, unable to put it down.
"Maurise," he spoke up suddenly. "How do you come up with these things? Why are you always able to create such incredible magical products? It was the same with that skeletal broom."
Leaning comfortably against the armrest of the sofa, Maurise replied evenly, "It only takes a little bit of inspiration, coupled with the drive to actually make it happen."
"Ah, inspiration," Fred sighed dramatically. "Come on, Maurise."
Maurise smiled slightly. He did not really know how to explain it himself. Perhaps luck played a significant part as well?
Truthfully, his initial goal for the Mental Connection Crystal Sphere was to replicate the smartphones from his previous life. Unfortunately, his magical engineering skills were not quite at that level yet. The current product could only be considered a makeshift substitute. The mere fact that it required the user to master the complex Telepathy Charm was highly inconvenient.
If he had to draw a comparison, wizards in this world already had something called Two-Way Mirrors. They were pairs of enchanted mirrors that allowed people in different locations to see and speak to each other. Maurise's crystal spheres were only slightly better than Two-Way Mirrors because they supported multi-person group chats. However, Two-Way Mirrors were astronomically expensive and not something the average wizard could afford.
In short, there was still plenty of room for optimization.
Between the flying brooms, the crystal spheres, and the Animagus preparations... before he knew it, his daily schedule had become entirely packed once again.
---
As April drew to a close, the full moon Maurise had been eagerly waiting for finally arrived.
That night, he rode his skeletal unicorn deep into the Forbidden Forest and stopped in a wide, open clearing. High above, a perfectly round moon hung in the sky, casting its pristine, silvery light over the shadowy woods.
"Perfect." Maurise nodded in deep satisfaction. If tonight had been cloudy, the Mandrake leaf he had diligently kept under his tongue for an entire month would have been completely ruined.
He carefully pulled a small crystal phial from his robes, which he had already filled with his own saliva. He placed the saliva-soaked leaf inside, added one of his own hairs, and carefully poured in a single teaspoon of silver dew collected from a place that had not seen sunlight or felt human touch for a full seven days. Finally, he dropped in the chrysalis of a Death's-head Hawk-moth.
The entire process went off without a hitch.
Maurise let out a long breath of relief and buried the crystal phial beneath the roots of the largest tree in the clearing. Now, all he had to do was point his wand at his heart and recite the incantation Amato Animo Animato Animagus at every sunrise and sunset. He would have to keep this routine up until the next lightning storm.
At this moment, Maurise could not help but wonder what exactly was going through the minds of the ancient wizards who had perfected this Animagus ritual. Such a complex, convoluted series of steps surely hid many profound magical secrets.
He leaned against the thick tree trunk and looked up at the full moon, falling into deep thought. 'What is the underlying principle driving all of this?'
Amidst his random musings, Maurise suddenly realized a very critical problem.
Thunderstorms in Britain primarily occurred during the autumn and winter months. Right now, it was the end of April, heading straight into May. While a sudden storm was not entirely impossible, the probability was pitifully low. He probably would not see lightning anytime soon.
"A slight miscalculation," he muttered to himself.
---
Early May marked the arrival of another highly anticipated Hogsmeade weekend for the students. Because he had to wake up at sunrise to chant his Animagus incantation, Maurise was up exceptionally early.
By the time he finished his daily tasks and headed to the Great Hall for breakfast, he found it already packed with bustling students. Everyone seemed incredibly excited about the upcoming trip to the village. Unfortunately, he had other matters to attend to today and likely would not be going.
Maurise sat down in his usual spot and noticed Kyle reading the Daily Prophet with intense concentration.
"Any news?" Maurise asked casually while reaching for some toast.
"Still about Sirius Black," Kyle replied, looking up from the page.
Maurise paused and looked at him. "Has he been caught?"
"No," Kyle said, sliding the newspaper across the table. "But the Ministry of Magic guarantees they will catch him this year, and they have officially authorized the Dementors to perform the Dementor's Kiss on him if necessary."
Maurise took the paper and began skimming the front-page article.
Sitting across from them, Marietta overheard their conversation and leaned in anxiously.
"Sirius Black could very well be hiding inside the castle right now," she whispered, rubbing her tired eyes. "I did not sleep well at all last night. I kept thinking about what we would do if he sneaked into our dorms. He is a murderous fugitive, after all."
Beside her, Cho Chang set down her pumpkin juice and spoke in a gentle, comforting tone. "There is nothing to worry about, Marietta. We have Dumbledore here to protect us."
Marietta shook her head, still unconvinced. "But Sirius Black still has not been caught."
"I think Cho is right," Maurise chimed in mildly. "There is no need to panic. Sirius Black has been on the loose for this long without harming anyone in the school, which means he is not here to go on a random killing spree. He likely has a specific, alternative objective."
"Is that so?" Marietta blinked a few times, finding some comfort in the logic of his words.
"Undoubtedly," Maurise said, returning his attention to the newspaper. "This matter has absolutely nothing to do with us."
He was just about to move on when his peripheral vision caught a line of fine print tucked away in the corner of the page.
The Ministry of Magic is offering a reward of 5,000 Galleons for the capture of Sirius Black. Anyone providing actionable clues leading to his arrest will also receive 1,000 Galleons.
"Maurise?" Kyle asked, confused by his sudden, intense silence. "What is wrong?"
Maurise slowly looked up, folded the newspaper neatly, and adopted a perfectly solemn, righteous expression. "I believe that every single person at Hogwarts has a fundamental duty to contribute to the safety of our campus."
"All evil shall be brought to justice!"
Kyle, Cho, and Marietta exchanged thoroughly bewildered looks. Every single one of their faces was painted with pure confusion.
Of course, Maurise was only putting on a brave front. Earning that massive Ministry bounty would undoubtedly be incredibly difficult, especially without the slightest clue of where Sirius Black was currently hiding.
After breakfast, Maurise returned to the Ship in a Bottle to continue modifying his latest flying broom prototype.
On his sturdy workbench, the new broom was finally taking shape. The sleek, silver-grey handle was completely covered in intricate runic carvings. Building upon the previous model, which almost exclusively relied on the "Haste" rune, he had meticulously added a series of functional runes such as "Stability," "Protection," and "Cushioning." The only thing left to do was to continually fine-tune the magical balance.
Maurise was just about to pick up his carving tools when he suddenly sensed a familiar magical fluctuation. He pulled the crystal sphere from his pocket.
The crystal was pulsing with a bright, urgent light, indicating that someone was frantically trying to contact him.
He directed his mental energy into the orb and immediately heard Fred's panicked voice echoing loudly in his mind.
'Bad news, Maurise! I just saw Sirius Black!'
Hmm?