"HP: Too Late, System!"Chapter 337: Now That's So Professor Holmes
As Lupin's gentle voice washed over the crowd, the students below found pieces of themselves reflected in his words.
"Let me leave you with something I learned in the Shrieking Shack: 'The moon is destined to become full, but what truly frightens us isn't the moonlight—it's our fear of turning around and seeing the Patronus standing behind us.'
May your hearts always burn as brightly as the hearths of Hogwarts—warming yourselves, and lighting the way for those whose footsteps wander in the shadows.
Now, if you'd like, you're welcome to bring your questions to me—though fair warning, there's only one Chocolate Frog left tonight, and its wrapper just happens to feature Merlin telling a dreadful joke."
"That's the end of the first part of today's lecture. Thank you, all of you, for staying with me even after learning I'm a werewolf.
Let's take a twenty-minute break. I hope to see everyone back for the second half. Oh, and by the way—tonight is a full moon!"
He finished with the mischievous air of someone who'd just pulled off a prank, grinning as the crowd erupted into chatter.
"Oh Merlin, tonight's the full moon!"
"Remember that chapter on werewolves? Aren't they supposed to be all restless and wild before and after the full moon? Just look at the Professor..."
"Is he spinning us a yarn?"
"So, what's more likely—Harry scoring zero on his exams, or the Professor actually being a werewolf?"
"Professor, wait for us! We're just running to the loo, we'll be right back!"
"Don't go anywhere, Professor! We don't need twenty minutes, just keep talking!"
Most of the students stayed put; only a handful dashed off toward the Quidditch pitch bathrooms.
The Daily Prophet reporter hurried forward:
"Mr. Lupin, if I heard you right, you've called yourself a werewolf several times now. Yet, you seem perfectly fine?"
Lupin smiled serenely.
"Would you care for a photo, sir? I'm certain a picture with a werewolf would make tomorrow's front page."
"No need to rush—my next topic is precisely whether I'm truly a werewolf. Here's a little spoiler: I'll be staying right here until midnight tonight."
The second part of the lecture began almost immediately.
With a light tap of his wand on the crystal orb, five shimmering potions appeared, suspended in midair. Sunlight refracted through them, casting rainbow halos across the stage.
Lupin's Adam's apple bobbed as he smiled with quiet relief.
"Good morning—again. Though I introduced myself earlier, I think it's worth doing so once more for this talk. I am Remus John Lupin—a werewolf who once left three hundred and fifty claw marks on the stone walls of the Shrieking Shack."
"Today, I stand before you not as 'that dangerous creature to be isolated,' but as a witness, a beneficiary, and, above all, a messenger of hope. I want to share with you these few bottles of a new Wolfsbane Potion—a potion that has changed the course of my life."
"First, let me thank its creator: the banana-loving honey badger—Professor Douglas Holmes. Not only did he improve the Wolfsbane Potion, but he also allowed me to share his philosophy and methods with the world today."
"I still remember my first day at Hogwarts, when he found me. His eyes sparkled like will-o'-the-wisps in a cauldron, and he was clutching a crumpled piece of parchment covered with magical formulae—an extraordinary blend of Eastern and Western traditions.
'Remus, did you know? In the East, people say: "Sour nourishes the liver, spicy the lungs, bitter the heart, salty the kidneys, sweet the spleen"—five flavors, five organs, each with its own healing power.'"
At the back of the crowd, Sirius pursed his lips, fighting back laughter. He hadn't been there that day, but Moony had told him all about it—he'd nearly gone off to find Snivellus for a new batch of Wolfsbane. (See Chapter 207.)
Clearly, with a story this rich, the speech had to be written by Douglas himself.
"Red, blue, gold, silver, and brown—these five potions each correspond to a flavor: the zest of lime, the heat of ginger, the bittersweet of wormwood, the brine of sea salt, and the warmth of honey..."
At this, the students below exchanged knowing grins, recalling Professor Snape's acerbic comments in class. If there was ever a potion that screamed 'Douglas,' this was it.
"Douglas's breakthrough wasn't just in making the potion taste better—he completely reimagined how it heals."
"The blue potion, with lapis lazuli powder and nightshade juice, follows the Eastern 'sour nourishes the liver' principle, repairing liver cells damaged by years of transformation...
What exactly are cells? You can ask Professor Holmes after class.
But that's beside the point. After just two doses, I noticed that the white hairs falling out during my morning combings had dropped by two-thirds—a clear sign my liver was healing."
"The gold potion (spicy) uses ginger and malachite as a base, targeting the residue of Dark Magic in the lungs..."
"Andrographis and phoenix feather fragments help slow the adrenaline surge during transformation—so I no longer find myself clutching my wand until my knuckles turn white on full moon nights..."
"Deep-sea salt crystals and basilisk shed scales repair the potion metabolism disorder I developed after years on the traditional brew..."
"But his most ingenious design is this: he wove the Eastern theory of the seven emotions—joy, anger, worry, thought, grief, shock, fear—right into the magic.
When honey and licorice are the main ingredients, the sweetness on your tongue activates the hippocampus—the part of the brain that governs empathy... Another new term! I suppose you all know what to do..."
The students chorused at once:
"Ask Professor Holmes! Haha!"
"Now that's so Professor Holmes!"
At that moment, none of them felt the slightest fear of Lupin's werewolf identity. If anything, they were fascinated. Perhaps, for the first time, the wizarding world was listening calmly—almost eagerly—to a werewolf tell his story.
Lupin shrugged, smiling as he continued.
"After six months on the new potion, I remember one full moon night in particular: I didn't transform. Instead, I sat under the moonlight and could hear my own heartbeat, clear as day.
It wasn't numbness from being forcibly suppressed by the potion. It was genuine humanity in control. I could feel the wolf inside me, but it no longer threatened to overwhelm me like a flood. Instead, it flowed gently, like a stream held back by Merlin's beard..."
A reporter called out from below:
"Mr. Lupin, can this new Wolfsbane Potion really stop transformations completely? As far as I know, lycanthropy has never been cured—Wolfsbane only suppresses the ferocity, not the change itself?"
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