NOVEL NEXT Chapter 231: The Moon
5 bonus chapter's coming out at 11 AM EST. So I ask that you save you're powerstones until then.
-----------
Creating something from nothing—trying to invent a completely new potion—was one of the most challenging things a wizard could attempt.
Even more so when there was almost nothing to use as a reference.
The Wolfsbane Potion only solved the issue of sanity, but it did nothing to cure lycanthropy.
And this research was very different from the one Harry and Snape had done on Witcher potions—those had been complicated, yes, but at least Harry had known their effects, their properties, and how they worked.
But…
A potion that could break the werewolf curse?
Harry had only heard of it.
The only thing he knew was that its most essential ingredient was a virgin's tear—which, luckily, wasn't too rare. If needed, he could just make Hermione cry a few times.
Beyond that?
Nothing.
It was enough to give both Harry and Snape a headache.
Dear Professor Snape, of course, did not hold back in his letters—
Accusing Harry multiple times of being infected by Sirius Black's reckless stupidity, wondering why he had suddenly decided to chase after something as absurd as this.
Of course, after every insult…
Snape would still write out his own ideas on the subject.
The Start of July
Sirius had finally settled down.
He barely went out for joyrides anymore—just played video games with Dudley from time to time.
The rest of his free time?
Spent in the living room, asking Petunia for help as he struggled to knit.
Parsley leaves were common.
But weaving them into a shirt?
Now that was difficult.
And worse—it could only use five leaves.
Sirius was completely overwhelmed.
The Dursleys had now been eating parsley for seven days straight.
Dudley and Vernon both had a greenish tinge to their faces.
Dudley, in particular, could barely take it anymore.
"Why eat this garbage when there are weight-loss potions?"
July 10th
Lupin finally moved out.
But instead of going to the Potter house, they set up a camp in an abandoned, empty field.
Harry had to return there every night.
The Full Moon
Lupin downed his final bottle of Wolfsbane Potion.
"Harry, your potion tastes way better than Snape's," he commented.
"If he didn't poison you, he was already being very restrained," Harry replied, taking the empty vial and vanishing it with a spell.
Then, he paused.
"Wait… you've only ever drunk mine and Snape's Wolfsbane Potion?"
Lupin froze.
His gaze flicked away.
"Ah, yes… the weather is quite nice tonight, isn't it?"
Sirius frowned—he could tell something was off, but he couldn't quite figure it out.
"George and Fred must pay you well—don't tell me you can't even afford Wolfsbane Potion?" Harry's tone dropped as he narrowed his eyes.
Lupin sighed. "The Weasley twins do pay me well—thirty-five Galleons per week!"
"They only make a little over five hundred Galleons per month in net profit."
Harry's frown eased slightly.
Thirty-five Galleons per week wasn't bad at all.
For reference—regular Hogwarts professors like Hagrid and Trelawney only made forty per week.
Even Ron's eldest brother, Bill, who worked as a Curse Breaker in Egypt, only earned twenty-five.
Lupin was already one of the highest-paid people in the wizarding world.
"But even that isn't enough for Wolfsbane Potion," Lupin rubbed his face. "A single bottle is twenty Galleons."
"But then there's the brewing cost, ingredient costs, and the potioneer's fee…"
He began counting on his fingers.
"A single bottle, in total, actually costs at least thirty Galleons."
He paused.
"And for the potion to actually work… you have to take it every day for an entire week before the full moon."
"That's over two hundred Galleons per month."
Even with a high salary, Lupin still couldn't afford it.
Harry and Sirius's Reactions
"Brilliant," Harry clapped sarcastically. "Have you transformed so many times that your brain has…?"
He stopped.
Then remembered—his Animagus form was also a wolf.
So, he corrected himself.
"…Has your brain shrunk to the size of a troll's?"
Sirius ground his teeth, frustrated.
"Remus, you—two hundred Galleons per month?!"
"Two hundred and ten," Harry corrected.
Sirius froze.
"Just two hundred? I can easily afford that! My uncle's savings alone could keep you supplied for a lifetime."
"And even if his isn't enough—there's still Black family money!"
"You know we're never short on gold!"
Lupin opened his mouth—
But Harry cut in.
"You saw how simple Wolfsbane Potion was to brew these last few days."
"It's not even difficult."
"I already have to brew daily, just to practice. This is nothing extra."
Lupin sighed again. "Alright… next month, I'll let you know."
Sirius smirked smugly.
"If I actually wanted to start a business, I could be the biggest herb supplier in Britain in no time," he bragged.
"Remus, our family will never run out of potion ingredients."
The Transformation
Harry checked the time.
"Alright, let's go. The moon's coming out."
They stepped out of the tent.
Sirius carefully held up the parsley-leaf shirt.
Werewolf transformations always caused the body to expand and enlarge—normal robes would tear instantly.
So, this thing?
It wasn't going to last long.
The wind shifted.
The clouds parted.
The full moon emerged—bright, silver light blanketing the land.
It was a beautiful night.
Lupin felt horrible.
The brighter the moon, the stronger its influence.
Harry and Sirius immediately transformed into their Animagus forms.
Lupin froze.
His body twisted.
His snout elongated, ears sharpened—his frame expanded.
Long, sharp claws emerged as gray fur spread across his body.
The Wolfsbane Potion worked.
Lupin suppressed the urge to howl at the sky, swaying slightly before collapsing into a seated position.
He opened his mouth—his voice rough and hoarse.
"Hey, Harry… this is probably your first time seeing me like this."
"Pretty ugly, huh?"
Harry shifted back into human form, walked up—
And reached out to touch him.
"Tch. Your fur is short and stiff. And the color's ugly."
Lupin blinked.
That's… what you're focusing on?
Sirius also turned back into a human.
They carefully helped Lupin put on the parsley-leaf shirt.
"You don't think werewolves are ugly?" Lupin asked, stiff and unmoving, afraid of ripping the fragile shirt.
"Other than the fur color? You're fine." Harry shrugged.
"If you were white, it'd be better."
"Or pure black," Sirius added.
"Gray just looks dull."
"Exactly," Harry agreed.
Lupin let out a laugh.
For the first time in decades, he looked up at the full moon—
And didn't see a monster's curse.
He finally understood why poets loved writing about it.
Perhaps… he could grow to like it, too.
For the first time in decades, Lupin looked up at the full moon—
And it didn't seem so cold, so distant, so cursed anymore.
Perhaps, he thought, he could grow to like it too.
But Harry and Sirius didn't have time to wax poetic about the moon.
They were too busy starting a fire.
Sirius, for some reason, had insisted on doing it the Muggle way—
With wood shavings, dry grass, and a conjured drill.
The idea was great.
But after half an hour, all they had was a tiny bit of smoke and zero fire.
Sirius finally gave up.
Frustrated, he flicked his wand—
With a whoosh, flames roared to life.
"Remus," Harry asked, as he pulled out ingredients from his bag, "do you want your food cooked or raw?"
"Cooked," Lupin answered immediately.
Harry nodded.
He and Sirius began grilling lamb, beef, and some vegetables over the fire.
They ate. They drank.
Even the Sorting Hat showed up—carrying Godric Gryffindor's portrait and Fawkes to keep them company.
They stayed up until nearly dawn.
That was when Harry finally noticed a change in Lupin.
His snout and ears were shrinking.
His body was compressing.
His fangs and claws were retracting, returning to normal human nails and teeth.
Within moments, there was no werewolf anymore.
Just Remus Lupin, sitting there, stark naked—
Wearing a parsley-leaf shirt.
"It worked!"
Sirius jumped up in excitement.
Harry didn't respond.
He simply raised his wand.
Lupin immediately held out his arm.
Harry took a small sample of his blood, mixed it with a prepared potion, and watched carefully.
Sirius couldn't wait.
"How is it?!"
Lupin's eyes held a quiet hope.
Harry shook his head.
"It didn't cure you."
They both froze.
"But," Harry continued, "that doesn't mean it didn't work."
He flicked his wand—
And Lupin's shirt vanished.
The moment the moonlight hit him again—
Lupin's face stretched, his body expanded, and his fur grew back.
He was a werewolf again.
Sirius gaped.
His brain crashed.
"Looks like the parsley leaf effect only works when the moon is weak," Harry muttered, writing down notes.
"It suppresses lycanthropy—but only slightly."
He checked his watch.
"It's 4:52 AM. The sun will rise in less than half an hour."
"So if I keep my shirt on…" Lupin mused, staring at his paws, "I'd turn back ten, maybe fifteen minutes earlier?"
Sirius kicked a rock, unimpressed.
"What's the point of that?"
Harry shrugged.
"It's actually good news."
He flipped through his notes.
"If this works, then that means lycanthropy can be suppressed. We just need to figure out why parsley works and use that to create a better cure."
He smirked.
"Who knows? Maybe this will be the key to developing an actual cure."
Honestly, Harry had expected nothing to come out of this.
The magic of two worlds was different.
If anything, he had been prepared for complete failure.
But now?
Even a small reaction was an unexpected success.
He sealed his notes into a letter, then whistled.
Hedwig reluctantly swooped down from her perch, grabbed the parchment—
And flew off into the distance.
The letter was headed straight for Severus Snape.
----------
Powerstones?
For 20 advance chapters: patreon.com/michaeltranslates