Chapter 60 - Truth of the past (1/2)
For a whole month, the whole school began to whisper what might have happened to Neal who was absent from all of the matches. Stays quiet at the classes and doesn't appear at Great Hall at either breakfast, lunch or dinner.
Then, Neal requested Draco and his friends by writing on parchment to spread a rumor of him being hit by a curse because of a cursed item which made him mute for a whole month and also rendered him unable to digest the food properly.
In reality, Neal just skips lunch but eats breakfast very early and dinner very late in the kitchens itself slowly and carefully so that the mandrake leaf stays in his mouth. In his absence, the Quidditch team is also doing well. Although they have won two matches against Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, it wasn't as overwhelming as it is when Neal was present.
As a full moon arrived, Prof. McGonagall and Neal looked at the clear moon as he spits it inside the vial where the pure moon rays are striking it. Thankfully, as there are no clouds obstructing it, the process was done perfectly.
Then, he added one strand of his hair to the vial. And then, Prof. McGonagall said, ”good, now, did you bring the dew that hasn't been touched sunlight or touched human feet for a week?”. As Neal nodded, she said, ”now, add a teaspoon of it to the vial and then chrysalis of a Death's-head Hawk Moth”.
After adding it, she said, ”now, you should put this mixture in a dark place and it can't be disturbed. It's better if you send it to Dumbledore or your Guardian to keep it safe until you reach the final phase”.
Neal then pointed out his wand and started to write a word in the air, ”ok”. Professor McGonagall then said, ”Neal, you don't have the leaf of mandrake in your mouth anymore. You can talk. Neal slowly opened the mouth and breathed air through it first and replied, ”I almost forgot about it”.
She patted his shoulder, ”this past month must have been hard for you. But well done on completing the first half. Then, the next thing you have to do is wait until you see a lightning storm and should never take it out. But they will only hit here in the autumn. Since you should go home for summer vacation, I suggest you keep it in the Chamber of secrets. It will be safe there.
Until then, daily once at sunrise and once at sunset, you have to place the tip of your wand at your heart and chant the incantation ”Amato Animo Animato Animagus”. Remember daily without fail. Make no mistake.
Later, he stepped inside his suitcase and placed it under the bed and turning off all the lights. After seeing Isle who was playing with little animals in the forest, and then went to the desert habit to visit Blaze, the blue phoenix who already grew into a mȧturėd one within just a month.
The next day, Neal went to Dumbledore's office to meet him and asked, ”Professor, am I allowed to have a magical creature as a pet?”. As Dumbledore frowned, he told him about the egg he got from Li Su back in China.
He asked, ”so, is it a magical creature? What is it?”. Neal smiled while pointing his finger at Fawkes. Dumbledore was surprised, ”he gave you, a phoenix egg?”. Neal nodded, ”yeah. Since it isn't a dangerous creature, would it be possible for the Ministry to make an exception?”.
Dumbledore thought for a while and replied, ”I don't think it would be a problem, Neal. But a student is allowed to have only one pet. In that issue, I can't make exceptions for you. But if the majority of the governors accept it, then it can be made as an exception. I will send the letter to them”.
Later, Neal rejoined the team and Quidditch practices. As everything went smooth, the million galleon question, ”What happened to Neal Slytherin in the past month?”, remains a mystery and was forgotten in time as the Annual festival arrived.
During the annual festival, Harry saw Sirius Black is on the move chasing Peter Pettigrew and Ron Together in the Marauder's map that was given to him by the twin Weasleys a while ago, he informed Prof. Lupin about it as he was alone now.
Seeing his friend in danger, Harry didn't think of any logic and immediately started to rush towards the place where Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, and Ron after seeing that three of them are together indicating Black caught them and taking them somewhere with him.
In the middle of running, Harry crashed into Snape. When Snape tried to scold him, Harry didn't pay much attention and started to run again. Suspicious Snape started to follow Harry and saw him going into the underground passage below the Whomping Willow.
At first, he thought Harry was going secretly for Hogsmeade but when he saw the Marauder's map which fell from Harry's pocket during his struggle with the tree, he saw Lupin, Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew's name.