HP: Azkaban's Outstanding Graduate

"professor?"

Without any further pleasantries, Sagres pulled out a slightly worn blank parchment from his robe and handed it over.

"This should be returned to its rightful owner."

Harry took it with a puzzled look. The moment his fingertips touched the parchment, a familiar line of ink appeared: "Moonface, Wormtail, Bigfoot, and Prongs proudly present to you—The Marauder's Map!"

It's a Marauder's Map!

Harry was both surprised and delighted; he had almost forgotten about the treasure that Sagrais had "confiscated."

"It...it's still useful to me..."

Harry tried to explain, worried that the professor would take it back again.

"I know."

"But I must apologize to you," Sagres said calmly.

Harry looked up in confusion upon hearing this.

Sagles continued, "Because it seems that I've damaged its ability to conceal its secrets, but its most basic and important functions remain unaffected."

“Oh, it’s alright, Professor…” Harry suddenly realized, “Anyway, almost all the professors already know its secret.”

Sagles nodded. "It's yours, which is why I'm returning it to you. But I hope you'll use it wisely, not just for nighttime strolls."

After saying that, he nodded slightly, turned and left, just as suddenly as he had appeared, leaving Harry clutching the map he had lost and found again, his feelings complicated.

……

That same evening, Remus Lupin was organizing his lesson plans in his rather simple office when a gentle knock sounded on the door.

"Please come in."

The door opened, and Sagres appeared in the doorway.

"Professor Greengrass?"

Lupin was somewhat surprised, then gave a sincere and warm smile. "Please come in! I never expected you to come. I've been wanting to formally thank you again; you gave me... a second life."

His tone was full of gratitude, and his eyes were bright, no longer showing the gloom and fatigue of the past.

Sagles entered the room, his gaze calmly sweeping over the surroundings before finally settling on Lupin. "How are you adapting to your new body?"

"very good!"

Lupin's voice was filled with barely concealed excitement, "I'm completely in control now, and I've never felt so good. Even... the night of the full moon is no longer torture, but rather a... significant enhancement."

He paused, then added, "Of course, I still take the potions Severus prepares on time to ensure everything goes smoothly."

Sagles nodded, seemingly satisfied with the answer.

He paused for a moment, then suddenly spoke: "Professor Lu Ping, I..."

"Just call me Remus, Professor Greengrass."

Sagles nodded. "I'm not here today just to offer my greetings."

"please say."

“On behalf of an organization, I formally extend this invitation to you,” Sagres said calmly. “Its name is ‘Bronze Feather.’”

Lupin's smile faded slightly, and he became serious: "An organization? I've never heard of it..."

"Of course you wouldn't have heard of it."

Sagles shook his head. “We operate discreetly, exploring forgotten knowledge and focusing on addressing hidden dangers that conventional methods cannot solve. I believe your abilities and experiences, as well as your renewed beliefs, are highly aligned with our goals.”

Looking into Lupin's surprised eyes, he continued, "You are no longer a werewolf, but you possess more unique powers and perspectives. 'Bronze Feather' needs someone like you. Here, we can provide you with a broader platform, like-minded companions, plenty of Galleons, and... unlimited supply of normal-tasting wolfsbane."

Lupin was somewhat stunned; he never expected Sagles to make such an invitation.

A secret organization?

This sounds like Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix.

But the thought of Sagrais's abilities and the resources and power he might represent made Lupin's heart race.

He spent his entire life fighting against darkness, longing to be accepted, and yearning to truly make a difference.

Now, a brand new opportunity is presented to him, and the invitation comes personally from the very person who gave him a new life.

If that's the case, why refuse?

He no longer wanted to imagine a future where, after leaving Hogwarts, he would return to the gloomy docks and barely make ends meet by carrying and unloading cargo.

Without much hesitation, the surprise in Lupin's eyes was quickly replaced by a settled determination.

He took a deep breath and nodded solemnly in response: "I join. Professor Greengrass, thank you for your trust. Whether to repay your kindness or for the higher goal you have described, I am willing to dedicate all my efforts to it."

Sagles seemed to have anticipated this answer, showing no surprise on his face.

“Very good. I will introduce you to the other members at the next gathering. Be prepared, Professor.”

He left those words behind and then turned and left the office.

As Lupin watched his departing figure, he felt as if the future was slowly unfolding before him in an unexpected way.

……

Sagres' invitation to Lupin to join the Bronze Feathers was not a spur-of-the-moment decision, but a well-considered one.

First, due to the influence of his father Lyle Lupin, Lupin had a fairly in-depth and unique understanding of dark creatures such as Boggarts and Disturbance Spirits.

While this expertise is somewhat niche, it makes Lupin a semi-expert in dealing with specific magical threats, which is exactly the kind of special talent the organization needs.

Secondly, thanks to Sagrais's magical reshaping, Lupin has not only broken free from the constraints of the full moon transformation, but also possesses superhuman physical abilities and reflexes, making his overall combat capabilities quite formidable.

Sagres needed a reliable operative who could independently carry out field missions and handle difficult situations, and Lupin fit the bill perfectly.

Chapter 256 Forerunner

At the edge of the floating arena, Hermione Granger was once again teleported out by a white light.

She staggered a step before regaining her balance, fine beads of sweat appearing on her forehead, her brows furrowed tightly.

The confident glow that usually shone on her face after solving difficult problems was gone, replaced by an unusual anxiety and self-doubt.

She had just challenged a dark wizard's mirror image, who was skilled in mental interference and silent attacks, and the result was even worse than before.

She couldn't even mount an effective counterattack before being overwhelmed by the opponent's endless stream of insidious tactics, ultimately leading to her defeat.

"……wrong,"

She muttered to herself, her wand gesturing unconsciously in the air, her eyes somewhat unfocused, "The Ironclad Charm is strong enough, but it can't stop his repeated sneak attacks... The Attack Charms are powerful enough, but the casting animations are too obvious, and he always manages to dodge them or distract me with trash talk... There isn't a single spell currently available that can perfectly counter both rapid sneak attacks and sustained mental attacks at the same time..."

She put away her wand and walked toward the Great Hall, a routine she had been practicing for many days.

Lost in her own mental maze, Hermione didn’t even notice Sagrais brushing past her.

She only met Sagles's gaze when she suddenly looked up, as if trying to find an answer in the air.

As if grasping at a straw, or perhaps desperate to vent her confusion, she blurted out, "Professor! I... I've consulted 'The Complete Book of Common Black Magic and Its Counterspells,' 'The Adaptive Evolution of Defensive Magic,' and your 'Advanced Magic Topology'... but it seems... it seems none of these books offer a perfect answer! Every solution has its flaws. Are we just supposed to passively memorize all these known dangerous patterns and then pray that the next attack falls exactly within the range we've 'previewed'?"

Her tone was full of frustration, an emotion she rarely experienced despite her extensive reading.

Sagles neither comforted her nor gave her a direct answer.

He spoke slowly and calmly: "Miss Granger, books record the wisdom of the past, not a prison that binds the mind, much less a panacea for dealing with all the unknown risks of the future."

He paused, then continued, “Your enemies will not politely attack you chapter by chapter according to the table of contents of the Standard Spells.”

So what you mean is?

Seeing the confusion and bewilderment in Hermione's eyes, Sagrais gave her one last piece of advice: "What I'm trying to say is, if you find that your existing shield isn't strong enough, or your existing sword isn't sharp enough, why is your first reaction always to look for older shields and swords in books, instead of trying to forge your own?"

After saying this, Sagles said no more and walked away.

Hermione stood there, stunned. These words were like a cold key, suddenly prying open a door in her mind that she had never thought of opening willingly.

She has always been dedicated to mastering and understanding verified knowledge, and she certainly knows the concept of "creation," which the professor mentioned to her last time.

But she always believed that it was something for the distant future, the domain of masters like Dumbledore and Flitwick, and that she was not qualified to touch it.

But at this moment, Sagres's cold words, combined with her visceral sense of defeat, created a strange chemical reaction.

An unprecedented idea began to grow wildly: true strength lies not only in how much known magic you have mastered, but also in whether you have the ability and courage to face and engage with the "unknown"!

If there are gaps in the existing magic system, why... can't she fill them?

Once the idea took hold, it could not be contained.

Hermione was immediately captivated by this grand and challenging goal.

She no longer studied merely to pass exams or prepare for challenges; she began a frantic search with a clear purpose of "research" and "deconstruction."

She delved into the core principles of spellcasting: the influence of every subtle angle of a gesture on the channeling of magic, the relationship between the vibration frequency of each syllable of a spell and its magical effect, and the precise ratio between the degree of concentration of willpower and the output of magic...

She devoted herself to studying the microscopic effects of ancient runes on magical shaping, and even tried to reverse-engineer the thought processes of some famous spell creators from the clues in the library's restricted section and Professor Flitwick's occasional guidance.

This process was much more difficult than simply learning and memorizing; her "Principles of Magic" and "Introduction to Magic" were almost worn out from repeated reading.

During this period, she also experienced numerous failures: small explosions caused by uncontrolled magic when trying to combine spells, spells with carefully designed effects that completely deviated from expectations or even went in the opposite direction, and severe headaches and magic depletion caused by prolonged excessive concentration...

However, each failure deepened her understanding of the nature of magic.

After a period of painful training and systematic relearning, she was pleasantly surprised to find that she had been able to understand the underlying principles of many basic spells and successfully combine two or more spells in a skillful way, producing a practical effect of "one plus one is greater than two".

It's like the fusion of "raging hurricane" and "raging flames" from before.

But that wasn't enough; she began to prepare an even bolder plan—to truly start from scratch and create magic that was entirely her own.

That day, she was once again overwhelmed by a mountain of thick ancient books in a quiet corner of the library—"The Structure of Magic," "The Nature of Magic," "Ancient Runes and Spell Analysis"...

Her brow furrowed, her quill flying across the parchment as she rapidly calculated complex sequences of magical runes and models of magical nodes.

"You look like you're trying to express magic with a formula."

A clear, ethereal voice sounded from the side.

Hermione looked up and saw Luna Lovegood’s dreamy eyes.

Standing next to her was Astoria Greengrass, who was quietly and curiously looking at the daunting pile of books in front of Hermione.