Hagrid's hut was warm and cozy. The fireplace released enough heat to firmly block out the freezing wind and snow outside.
The air was thick with the smell of rock cakes and tea.
Hagrid dabbed the corner of his eye, his voice still a little choked up:
"...I really can't thank you enough, Lucien. If it hadn't been for you, I'm afraid I really would have ended up in Azkaban."
He couldn't help but shudder.
"That place is no fit for a human! Those Dementors, they're terrifying..."
"Dementors?" Ron asked curiously from his chair. "What are those?"
Hermione immediately jumped in to provide the facts:
"They're the guards of Azkaban, a kind of Dark magical creature. They suck all the happy memories out of a person, leaving you with only your most painful ones. They can even give you a 'Dementor's Kiss' and suck your soul right out of your body..."
Harry and Ron listened, their faces pale, shrinking their necks in unison.
"Hey! Don't you worry now," Hagrid quickly reassured them, trying to make his voice sound light. "As long as you're good and don't do anything to land yourselves in Azkaban, you won't run into those things!"
Lucien picked up his teacup and silently took a sip, a quiet thought stirring in his mind.
No need to go to Azkaban. You'll be seeing them at Hogwarts next year anyway.
Hagrid's spirits soon soared again, his face glowing red.
"The truth about fifty years ago has been cleared up. The Ministry of Magic officially notified me that I can go to Ollivanders and buy a new wand! I can use magic out in the open now!"
Ron blinked, as if he'd suddenly remembered something, and turned to Harry:
"Wait, Hagrid. Harry told me that when you came to the Dursleys' to get him, you turned his rotten cousin into a pig, didn't you?"
Hagrid's big, hairy face instantly went white. He waved his massive hands in a panic.
"Shh—that, that was an accident! You two absolutely must not say anything! Just pretend it never happened, all right?"
The trio promised in unison that they wouldn't breathe a word.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione still looked a little confused, but Lucien's gaze fell on the noticeable pink umbrella leaning by Hagrid's bed.
Even though Hagrid's wand had been snapped by the Ministry fifty years ago, Dumbledore had secretly repaired it using the Elder Wand and kept it concealed inside the umbrella, disguised for use.
While they were talking, Hermione glanced unintentionally at Lucien, feeling that his dark green eyes seemed deeper than usual.
The moment their eyes met, she suddenly felt a slight stinging sensation in her eyes and couldn't help but close them, letting out a soft hiss.
Noticing Hermione's strange reaction, Lucien asked:
"What's wrong?"
Hermione shook her head, rubbing her eyes.
"Nothing... It just felt kind of weird looking into your eyes."
Harry nodded in agreement.
"I felt that too just now. Like I strangely didn't want to look directly at them?"
Upon hearing this, Ron, determined not to be spooked, leaned in and stared, but quickly turned his head away after less than two seconds.
Hagrid grumbled in his deep voice:
"I didn't feel anything, did I? They look the same as always."
Lucien was thoughtful. He took the silver-rimmed glasses out of his pocket and put them on:
"How about now?"
"Much better!"
Lucien pondered it for a moment and realized what was happening. He had just finished upgrading the Seer's Eye with the Basilisk's eye, and the magic hadn't fully retracted. It was inadvertently leaking out.
His original abilities had all been enhanced to varying degrees, including catching the flow of magic, enhanced dynamic vision, and microscopic zoom...
But most significantly, the eyes had gained a new ability:
Simply making eye contact with a living creature would cause that creature to fall into a state of rigidity or paralysis, with varying degrees of severity.
It did resemble the Basilisk's deadly gaze, but the effect was nowhere near as strong.
After all, he had only used the Basilisk's eye as a material for modification, and a wizard's magical circuits were completely different from a Basilisk's, making it impossible to fully replicate the original owner's power.
Lucien had experimented with a large rooster he borrowed from Hagrid.
If he maintained eye contact for a long enough period, the creature's stiffness would continuously deepen, eventually reaching a fatal effect.
But the process was too slow!
To take down a simple chicken, he had to stare at it for several seconds before it was near death.
Afterward, he compensated the rooster by giving it a nice, hot bath infused with various spices.
It smelled quite good, actually.
Lucien later discovered through further attempts that even brief eye contact caused stiffness that varied depending on the target's magical strength.
Simply put, the stronger the target's magic, the less effective the stiffness.
While he hadn't tried the deadly effect again, he could infer that if he wanted to reach the point where he could simply stare and kill anyone, Lucien figured he would need to stock up on a lot of eye drops; staring for that long would cause dry eyes.
Therefore, Lucien decided this ability was rather useless. He estimated it would have a minimal impact on true powerhouses like Dumbledore.
Perhaps the ability was also linked to the difference in magical strength between himself and the target.
Lucien theorized that if his own magical power became strong enough, both the stiffness and the deadly effect would also increase.
He planned to wait a while, let his magical power grow significantly, and then test the comparison.
Still, Lucien felt this ability was best suited for situations where he completely overpowered his opponent.
Facing someone much weaker than himself, a single glance could kill, but what was the advantage beyond looking cool?
When sparring with an opponent of similar strength, the stiffness effect could certainly be used to create an opening.
Lucien glanced at Hagrid, contemplating why he had said he didn't feel anything. Aside from the fact that Lucien hadn't truly engaged the Seer's Eye—it was just stray magical leakage—the other reason was Hagrid's high magical resistance as a half-giant!
Lucien had a feeling that even without a wand, Hagrid could probably shrug off other wizards' spells and flatten a large number of people with a single, massive shout.
The conversation quickly shifted to their Christmas holiday plans. Lucien mentioned he wasn't planning to stay at school this year.
After all, he had quite a few things to take care of outside.
Ron said excitedly:
"I'm going home! Fred and George have been saving up to buy me a new wand!"
"They've saved for a whole month! They mess with me all the time, but deep down, they're acting like real big brothers, aren't they?"
Harry listened, his eyes filled with unconcealed envy. He always longed for the lively, warm atmosphere of the Weasley house.
But Lucien's expression was slightly confused. The twins saved up for a month to buy Ron a wand?
A wand only cost seven Galleons.
Was the salary he paid them really that low?
Oh, Ron, that boy...