Ignoring Sebastian's resentful glare, Lynn turned his attention to Anne.
She sat beside the table, leaning against the back of her chair. Her body appeared far more relaxed than before. She was no longer hunched over or curled into herself, and she could finally straighten her back. Her hands rested upon her knees, and her breathing had become calm and steady.
Lynn carefully studied her face.
Although her complexion remained somewhat pale, it was noticeably different from before. At the very least, a faint trace of color had returned to her cheeks.
"How do you feel?"
Lynn's voice wasn't loud, but it carried clearly through the cottage.
Anne didn't answer immediately.
She lowered her head and stared at her hands. She spread her fingers, closed them, and opened them again, as though confirming that they still belonged to her.
Then she placed one hand against her abdomen and gently rubbed it.
The corners of her mouth curved into a faint smile.
"Ever since I was cursed..." Her voice was soft and filled with relief. "I've never felt this light."
Lynn nodded without any visible change in expression, then extended a hand toward her.
"Give me your wrist."
Anne obediently raised her right hand from her knee and extended her arm, turning her wrist upward.
Her hand was painfully thin. The bones of her wrist protruded beneath her skin like the knots of a withered branch.
Lynn wrapped his fingers around it.
A brilliant white light suddenly flared from the point of contact, like a lamp being switched on in the darkness.
The radiance surged from Lynn's fingertips and spread along Anne's arm.
It flowed over her wrist, through her forearm, past the crook of her elbow, and into her upper arm. After pausing briefly at her chest, the light diffused outward and coursed through her entire body.
Lynn closed his eyes and carefully examined what the magic revealed.
He could "see" dark-red traces of the curse resembling countless slender threads. They clung to the walls of Anne's blood vessels, burrowed deep into her muscles, and coiled tightly around her bones.
After a moment, Lynn opened his eyes and released her wrist.
He met Anne's gaze, then noticed the anxious expression on Sebastian's face.
"It can be removed."
Only four words.
Yet the moment Sebastian heard them, his eyes lit up.
"How do we remove it? What do we need? I'll prepare everything immediately!"
His mind had already begun compiling a list.
Where could he purchase the necessary ingredients? Which ones would he have to gather personally? Who might be willing to lend them to him?
No matter how distant they were, how difficult they were to obtain, or how much time it required, he would find them.
This time, Lynn didn't keep him in suspense.
He waved his hand, and a sheet of parchment rose from the desk in the corner. It flipped twice through the air before landing neatly upon the table.
A quill leaped out of the nearby ink bottle. Its tip brushed twice against the rim to remove the excess ink, then hovered above the parchment.
Lynn considered the matter for a moment before beginning to write.
Several minutes later, he finished the final word and set down the quill.
He picked up the parchment, gently blew upon the wet ink, and handed it to Sebastian.
Sebastian accepted it and swept his gaze across the list.
His eyelids immediately began to twitch.
Phoenix tears.
Phoenix ashes.
Dragon Heart Fluid.
Monkshood Essence.
Unicorn milk...
The ingredients were listed one after another, with each entry clearly specifying the required quantity, processing method, and precise time at which it needed to be added.
Several ingredients even had additional notes written beside them.
Must be fresh.
Must not come into contact with metal.
Temperature must not exceed eighty degrees.
Each ingredient was rarer and more difficult to obtain than the last.
Sebastian's fingers tightened around the parchment, wrinkling its edges.
"These ingredients..." he began dryly.
"Elias has quite a few of them in stock," Lynn casually remarked from the side, as though discussing something entirely trivial.
Sebastian's head snapped toward Elias.
Elias was leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed, wearing an expression of perfect innocence.
When Sebastian stared at him, Elias shrugged.
"Phoenix tears and ashes—I have a small supply of both. Dragon Heart Fluid—not much, but it should be enough. As for Monkshood Essence, I have plenty. I brewed more than necessary for my Potions assignment."
He paused to think.
"Unicorn milk... I don't have any, but I know where to obtain it. There are Unicorns deep within the Forbidden Forest."
Sebastian's eyes brightened once more.
And so, within the cramped cottage, Lynn set up an enormous cauldron.
Elias crouched beside it and processed the ingredients one by one according to Lynn's instructions.
The Phoenix tears had to be warmed to body temperature—neither too hot nor too cold. Elias held the small vial between his palms, slowly warming it with his body heat.
The Phoenix ashes needed to be carefully sifted to remove the coarser particles, leaving behind only the finest powder.
Elias's hands remained steady as he gently shook the sieve. Grayish-white powder drifted into the porcelain bowl below like falling snow.
Sebastian stood on Lynn's other side and controlled the flames beneath the cauldron.
Whenever Lynn called for high heat, he intensified them.
Whenever Lynn called for low heat, he immediately reduced them.
Time passed little by little.
The liquid inside the cauldron gradually changed from transparent to milky white, then from milky white to crystal clear.
Once the flames had been reduced to their lowest intensity, Lynn approached the cauldron and peered into the liquid.
His brow furrowed slightly, and he narrowed his eyes as though confirming something.
Then he straightened and retrieved a crystal vial from a nearby shelf.
He positioned it beneath the cauldron's spout and lightly tapped the metal with his wand.
The transparent Potion flowed through the spout and dripped steadily into the crystal vial.
Lynn raised the vial to eye level and examined it against the candlelight.
The liquid's color was perfectly uniform, without the slightest trace of separation or sediment.
Satisfied, he nodded, sealed the vial with a cork, and handed it to Anne, who was standing beside the table.
"It may feel rather unpleasant after you drink it, so endure it as best you can. Once you get through the process, you'll be cured."
Anne lowered her gaze to the amber liquid in her hand.
Her emotions were indescribably complex.
She felt nervous, excited, and joyful, yet beneath it all lingered a faint sense of unreality.
Is this truly happening?
The curse had tormented her for so long that she had begun to believe she would remain this way forever.
She had imagined herself slowly withering away in this cottage, confined to her bed and never again seeing the towering spires of Hogwarts.
Yet the Potion in her hand was telling her something entirely different.
She could recover.
Anne took a deep breath.
She pulled out the cork, raised the vial to her lips, tilted her head back, and swallowed its contents in a single gulp.
The Potion slid down her throat.
It wasn't bitter as she had imagined, nor did it possess any unpleasant or pungent odor. Instead, it carried only a faint fragrance.
At first, Anne merely felt a warm current flowing through her body.
The sensation was so comforting that she couldn't help closing her eyes.
Then the temperature began to rise.
It felt as though something deep inside her had suddenly ignited.
Flames surged from the gaps between her bones, burning through her muscles, blood vessels, and every inch of her skin.
Her pale complexion rapidly turned bright red.
Fine beads of sweat appeared across her forehead, streamed down her cheeks, and soaked into her collar.
Then came the pain.
It felt as though countless tiny needles were stabbing outward from within her body.
Anne endured the sharp pain spreading through every inch of her, refusing to make even the slightest sound.
It's almost over.
I only need to endure a little longer.
After some time, strands of pitch-black mist began seeping from Anne's body.
The curse was being expelled.
"Just a little longer," Lynn said. "You'll return to normal soon."
The moment he finished speaking, a thick mass of darkness erupted from Anne's body.
The pitch-black mist had nearly condensed into a tangible substance. It surged into the air before instantly dissolving into nothingness.
Anne's body violently jerked backward.
The back of her head struck the chair with a dull thud.
Her eyes closed, her head fell to one side, and her entire body went limp as though all her strength had been drained away.
She stopped moving.
"Anne!"
Sebastian's voice cracked with panic.
"She's fine," Lynn calmly assured him. "She only fainted."
He returned his wand to his sleeve and approached Anne. Placing two fingers against the side of her neck, he checked her pulse.
A moment later, he straightened and looked at Sebastian.
"Let her sleep. She'll be fine once she wakes up."
...
When Anne opened her eyes again, the first thing she saw was the familiar ceiling.
She had stared at the wooden beam above her countless times, beginning with the first night the curse's agony had prevented her from sleeping.
But this time, when she opened her eyes, there was no pain.
Nothing hurt.
There was only warm sunlight streaming through the window and the enticing aroma of food drifting through the cottage.
Anne slowly sat up in bed.
She turned toward the source of the aroma.
Beside the table, Sebastian carefully lowered a pot of steaming soup onto its surface.
He looked up, and their gazes met.
Sebastian froze momentarily.
"Anne, you're awake!"
His voice was loud and bright, echoing throughout the small cottage.
He immediately turned toward the door and shouted,
"Lynn, you're incredible! She really woke up!"
Lynn's calm voice drifted in from outside.
"Just a routine procedure. Nothing worth mentioning."
Anne paid no attention to their exchange.
At that moment, she cared about only one thing.
"Has the curse been lifted?" she asked, her voice slightly strained.
Sebastian turned back toward her.
"Lynn already examined you while you were asleep."
He paused briefly before continuing.
"The curse has been completely removed."
Anne's eyes instantly lit up.
"Then can I return to Hogwarts?"
Her voice carried unmistakable urgency. She had clearly been waiting a very long time to ask that question.
"Not yet."
Lynn's voice came from the doorway.
Several plates of steaming food floated into the room behind him, traveling in a neat row from the kitchen.
Lynn approached the table, and the dishes obediently descended, arranging themselves neatly across its surface.
He lowered his wand, slipped it back into his sleeve, and turned toward Anne.
"You still need time to recover from such a serious illness. Once the color has fully returned to your complexion, you'll be ready to go back to Hogwarts."
Anne opened her mouth, wanting to argue.
She had spent far too long confined to that bed and trapped inside this tiny cottage. She could hardly wait to return to Hogwarts, sit in a classroom again, and resume the life that had been stolen from her.
However, Lynn seemed to see through her thoughts.
"You wouldn't want to risk the curse returning, would you?"
---
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