"I will use my time studying at Hogwarts to the maximum," I replied with a barely perceptible smile to the man sitting across from me. "Perhaps in the end I will even manage to become a strong enough wizard or simply such a valuable specialist that everyone will suddenly stop caring about my nature."
"That's impossible... The effect might be the exact opposite. They will try to destroy an overly strong werewolf," Lyall whispered bitterly, chewing on his lower lip.
"Also possible," I didn't argue, having thoroughly thought this point over a long time ago. "However, the world is not limited to Magical Britain... If things get too tight here, I'll move to France."
"The French have hated us since the Hundred Years' War," the wizard and sincere patriot of his country immediately flared up, disliking the French and everything connected with them, just like all patriots of Britain.
"That may be so. However, their attitude towards werewolves is quite neutral. Better than in the rest of Europe," I shrugged, having studied this issue as well.
"In France, they are simply feared more than in the rest of the world... That's why they aren't touched," Lyall grimaced. "However, you are right, it might indeed be better for you there than on the islands."
"The French treat all magical creatures more leniently... Simply because there are more of these creatures there than anywhere else... And one shouldn't forget about the bloody rebellions of the Veela and werewolves," I smiled, commenting on my father's first remark. "But for now, France remains just one of my backup options."
"Is that so?" Lyall narrowed his eyes.
"I don't want to flee the country without even trying to settle down here," I answered somewhat uncertainly, partly doubting my own words. "I hope to become an apprentice in Potions or Transfiguration right after school... Then, being a member of the guild, it will be easier for me to get a job somewhere or simply sell my own skills."
"...A good option," the wizard was forced to admit after a rather long silence. "The title of apprentice provides many advantages. If I hadn't become a member of the Potions Guild in my time, I would never have gotten my current position... But obtaining the title won't be easy."
"I know... It will be impossible to hide my nature from the guild. Which means an attempt to get the rank of apprentice will automatically put me on the werewolf registry," I sighed, desperately not wanting to end up on that very list prematurely.
"It's better to get a suspended sentence in my past world than to get on this registry!" I understood perfectly well, knowing that they try with all their might to drive werewolves from the official registry into reservations that differ little from labor colonies or even real concentration camps.
"Moreover, the guilds themselves will do everything to prevent you from becoming a member," my father added to my words. "And here, even money is unlikely to change anything... Ordinary wizards dislike and fear werewolves too much."
"I know," I smiled tightly. "But I'm still going to try..."
"Try... But then register through the French guild. It's more difficult, but the chances of getting the apprentice rank are higher," the wizard advised. "And choose Potions. Good potioneers are valued everywhere."
"I know, I thought about it myself," I admitted, wincing at my next words. "But there are more problems with Potions..."
"At the very least, you need ingredients, a place to practice, and access to the Restricted Section of Hogwarts," Lyall understood everything immediately, forcing me to merely nod silently.
"I don't want to ask him for anything directly... But I won't be able to refuse help either," I raged mentally, still not perceiving the man sitting in front of me as someone close. He didn't even really fit the role of a guardian! More like a distant relative who allowed me to live with him for a while...
"And even better—someone who will provide all this and make sure you don't kill yourself during your training," Lupin Senior added to his words seriously, evaluating my joyless face with an attentive gaze.
"That's right... And that's exactly why I'm currently leaning more towards Transfiguration. I'm already doing great with it, and there is much more information about it in open sources," I nodded to the wizard, casting away these not-so-cheerful thoughts.
"True thoughts... But you are missing one important fact, Remus," Lyall looked at me seriously, but with a drop of mischief in his watery eyes. "I am a Potions apprentice, and we have a fully equipped potions laboratory in the house."
"Which I've been in a couple of times at most," I snorted, shaking my head negatively. "Besides, in the last two years, you haven't exactly been in a rush to teach me anything new."
"...Hogwarts has a good education. Until recently, I sincerely believed that it would be quite enough for all your plans and goals," the man grimaced, awkwardly looking away and frankly lying to me... and to himself.
"And now, after just one conversation, you decided to change your mind?" I quipped against my will, releasing some of the sarcasm that had accumulated inside me...
"All these conversations about the future... are stressful," I didn't know how to relate to all this, having somehow already gotten used to relying only on myself and my friends. Lyall, from the very beginning of our interactions, had acted as a neutral figure. Not interfering, but also not helping beyond a certain mandatory minimum for a decent parent.
"Yes, I decided," Lupin Senior nodded to me seriously, ignoring the sarcasm oozing from me. "You are no longer a little boy, since you've started looking into the future and soberly evaluating your own capabilities... From this moment on, the ban on visiting my laboratory is lifted for you."
"Am I only allowed to practice there, or..?" I clarified, outwardly calm, but with my heart stopping for a moment.
"I will take charge of your training," Lyall nodded, answering the unspoken question. "However, don't count on too much. I haven't had that much free time lately."
"That's fine, I'll be able to practice on my own too... Especially if you aren't going to teach me how to brew any overly toxic and dangerous concoctions right from the start," I smiled timidly, feeling a considerable spiritual uplift.
"It's shameful to admit, but how glad I am about the current circumstances!.. I don't know how serious my father's help will turn out to be and how many ingredients he will decide to buy for me. But in any case, it will be much more than I could have counted on," I thought enthusiastically, hoping to seriously get down to Potions closer to the middle of the next school year.
By that time, I should have accumulated some savings from tutoring. Which should have been just enough to purchase most of the basic ingredients... And then I could move on to practice, with a more intensive study of the theory.
"And this can still be considered a good plan... But Lyall's initiative and help can seriously speed it up," I noted mentally, slowly calming my excessive enthusiasm and starting to adjust my own schedule taking into account the new lessons with my father...
Of which there weren't expected to be that many. No more than three a week, and even those would be devoted exclusively to the practical part of Potions. As for the theory, I would have to handle it myself, fortunately, Lupin Senior promised to borrow the necessary literature from his acquaintances... But even this was quite enough for a start.
Especially since I am not going to abandon or reduce my main workouts in any case...
"Even if I don't manage to overtake Sirius and James in the study of magic during the holidays, I will at least break away from them even further in physical shape... At the same time, I'll strengthen my mental shields and learn to empower spells with an additional infusion of magic," I reasoned in exactly this vein from the very beginning of the summer holidays.
And I didn't intend to deviate from the intended plan, especially since my successes in the chosen areas completely satisfied me, and in some places frankly delighted me... Thus, I am in almost permanent awe of my gradually growing sensitivity to magic. Seriously! It no longer reminds me of a light breeze of wind that accidentally reached my skin through a warm winter sweater.
Every day the sensation of magic becomes... more and more material, if I may say so. Magic still seems to me something very abstract and elusive... But no longer like a breeze running somewhere nearby, but like warm streams of water running over my skin.
At the same time, the direction of movement of these streams is gradually ceasing to be something irreconcilably chaotic. My will and desires, multiplied by concentration and attempts to look somewhere deep inside myself, allow me to set a movement vector for these abstract streams of magic.
Which so far comes to me with great difficulty, but I am moving in the right direction, having already learned to freely change the brightness and size of Lumos, as well as starting to practically juggle objects with the help of Leviosa... This spell, by the way, is starting to appeal to me more and more every day.
It's not for nothing that Leviosa has the most variations and interpretations known to magical science. With skillful use, the spell can naturally replace hands, simultaneously granting a wizard a couple of extra limbs... Which is very convenient, especially when you decide to walk on your hands during training, and there are several clearly unnecessary pieces of furniture in your way.
"Standing on one hand while making a wand movement with the other is certainly not easy... But it's still easier than thinking ahead and clearing the room before such workouts," I snorted mockingly to myself. "By the way, I'll have to try using Leviosa wandlessly. I've already learned to cast it non-verbally and without additional gestures... The final stage remains," I smirked, already imagining how I would show off my own skills in front of the Marauders...
It's just a pity that not all my dreams were destined to come true. The summer holidays flew by too quickly. Time literally melted away due to constant training and lessons with Lyall, which were inevitably followed by independent practice in Potions. Honing and consolidating skills, brewing simple, but not the most basic potions, could be done without the supervision of a more experienced wizard...
In general, I didn't even really have time to realize how July gave way to August, and James suggested that our entire brave company gather in Diagon Alley... Judging by Potter's letter, he and Sirius had just stopped being tortured in training, being allowed to spend the last two weeks of summer having a real rest.
Which is why they were inviting Peter and me to Diagon Alley—to buy everything necessary for school, taste the new items on the menu at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour, and simply have a blast on the eve of the upcoming school year.
"Uhm, alright... This year I can leave the school preparations to you," Lyall nodded to me after reading Potter's letter, which I had handed to him myself, agreeing that I would somehow manage to make all the necessary purchases. "But don't spend too many Galleons on sweets!"
"I wasn't even planning to... I'm more drawn to lingering in the apothecary or looking for something interesting at the junk shop," I snorted, internally purring with satisfaction in anticipation of the upcoming meeting with my friends.
During the summer holidays, I managed to miss them... At the beginning of August, I even tried to drag them out somewhere myself. But since Potter and Black were busy training with personal tutors, nothing worked out.
"By the way, I'll have to properly interrogate the guys about new spells and tricks... I'm sure they managed to master quite a lot during this time," I made a note to myself, still feeling some envy regarding the additional training of the couple of heirs of ancient and wealthy magical families.
I hate yielding and losing! Even if my friends-rivals are initially in a much more advantageous position!