With a flick of his wand, the heavy velvet curtains flanking the floor-to-ceiling windows parted, revealing a breathtaking view of the full moon. Lupin's eyes widened in stark terror. "No! Don't do this!"
Fiennes chuckled, a chilling sound that echoed in the room. "Relax."
Moments later, Lupin's body was rapidly transforming. Thick, coarse wolf fur erupted, his head contorting into a grotesque parody of a canine skull, a frantic rabbit-like twitching preceding the final, horrifying shift into a wolf's head. Half-suspended in mid-air, the monstrous creature strained against the restraining chains, its immense weight causing them to groan and rattle.
"Magnificent!" Fiennes exclaimed, his voice awash with manic glee, as if admiring a masterpiece. "A perfect Animagus. Did you know?" He turned to Anton, his eyes bloodshot with feverish excitement. "They don't understand. This is the pinnacle of Animagus transformation – a terrifying war machine, easily replicated."
"Confringo!"
A jet of red light erupted from Fiennes's wand, striking Lupin's form. Wolf fur flew, but the werewolf's skin showed only minor scratches.
"See? Perfect," He chortled, his voice rising in pitch. "Praise the ancient wizards! They created the ultimate magical creature – the Animagus!"
He paused, taking a deep breath. "Praise Democritus Belby, inventor of the Wolfsbane Potion, which ameliorated the werewolf's irrationality!"
His voice boomed, echoing with unhinged enthusiasm. "Praise Alex Fiennes! I will perfect this magic, enabling transformation at will, anywhere!"
Over the werewolf's enraged roars, Fiennes's manic laughter filled the room. He pointed his wand at Anton. "Drink the Oculus Potion."
Anton hesitated only a moment before raising the crucible and draining its contents. An icy wave washed over his brain, followed by a disorienting blink. He had an extra eye!
Fiennes, in his enhanced vision, appeared as a luminous, human-shaped block of gray-brown, laced with dark green filaments that seemed cracked and broken. Three peculiar patterns were discernible within those cracks – identical to the runes etched on his own wrist!
Looking down, he saw that the seemingly ordinary wooden floor concealed a magical circle, pulsing with the same gray-brown and dark green light. Above, Lupin's form throbbed with countless lines of light blue energy, swirling like ocean currents.
The sensation was utterly alien.
Each attempt to focus on the intricate details of his enhanced vision felt like his skull was fracturing under an unbearable weight of information. The overwhelming sensory overload induced a wave of nausea, forcing him to retch violently.
"Hahaha!" Fiennes cackled, his voice ringing with manic glee. "My potion is truly magnificent!"
"Quickly, cast the Soul-Shifting Curse on the werewolf," Fiennes urged, thrusting the wand into Anton's hand, his eyes gleaming with feverish anticipation.
Anton met his gaze calmly. "Teacher, if this potion is so remarkable, why don't you drink it?"
Fiennes's anxious questioning was always a prelude to either a devastating curse or a hasty, ill-considered answer – a pattern Anton had learned to exploit. He wagered the old wizard was now desperately hoping to avoid becoming the next victim.
"The Oculus Potion demands exceptional physical strength," Fiennes admitted, his voice laced with anxiety. "My body is far too frail to withstand even a single drop."
"Quickly, lad! Cast the Soul-Shifting Curse on the werewolf. Let us proceed to the final stage of this magnificent experiment!"
"Very well," Anton replied smoothly, a faint smile playing on his lips. He raised his wand, pointing it at Lupin. "Animus Transferro!"
The spell ignited, an invisible tether forming between him and the werewolf.
"Excellent!" Fiennes snatched up a parchment adorned with strange patterns rendered in dark green light. "Close your eyes, use your enhanced vision to examine the werewolf's body, and tell me – what lines are missing?"
The combined effects of the Soul-Shifting Curse and the Oculus Potion sent Anton's world into a chaotic frenzy. Overwhelming panic threatened to overwhelm him, a dizzying kaleidoscope of frantic movement blurring his vision to the point of inducing another bout of vomiting.
Yet, perhaps hardened by repeated exposure to the Cruciatus Curse, he persevered. He focused intently on the swirling images within Lupin's body, finally discerning the dark green cracks as lines, expanding and contracting in a mesmerizing, rhythmic dance, revealing a complex magical pattern.
Then, as if a tightly stretched rubber band had snapped, he was violently yanked back. Gasping for breath, as if he'd been suffocating, he stared blankly at the sunlight streaming through the window and at Lupin, now back in human form. It was midday, yet it felt like mere moments had passed.
"Quickly!" Fiennes urged, slapping a parchment onto the table. "While the details are still fresh in your mind, help me complete this pattern!"
The parchment was a chaotic mess of overlapping lines in various inks, evidence of numerous attempts. Anton pursed his lips, picked up the quill, and meticulously added his own strokes, subtly incorporating a deliberate error.
"Excellent, simply perfect!" Fiennes marveled at the newly added lines, his gaze then falling upon the flawed section. His brow furrowed. "No…why is it connected there? What does it signify?"
'Because it's deliberately wrong,' Anton thought, a smirk playing on his lips. 'This deceptive line should be quite frustrating, wouldn't you say?'
Two months of close observation had provided invaluable insights into the dark wizard's erratic nature. Fiennes was a madman, a brilliant but unscrupulous practitioner of magic. When confronted with an intractable problem, he could remain fixated on it for an entire day.
And now…
Anton quietly lifted the cauldron he'd strategically placed behind him after drinking the Oculus Potion, ensuring it remained unnoticed by Fiennes. It still contained a small amount of the potent brew.
"No, no," Fiennes muttered, his concentration unwavering, but a sudden chill entered his voice. "What the..." His eyes widened in disbelief, focusing on the cauldron in Anton's hand. "What… what did you do, on my behalf?"
Anton smiled faintly, his other hand already reaching for his wand. He darted to the floor, swiftly approaching the werewolf's iron restraints.
"No! No!" Dark green cracks spiderwebbed across Fiennes's body. "No!"
The cracks widened, a beam of light erupting vertically from beneath his collar, splitting his head. Yet, he remained shockingly alive.
"You…you poisoned me! You infernal little…" A shriek, even louder than Anton's tortured cries, ripped from his throat. "Give me back my wand!"
Fiennes lashed out, a blinding jet of light hurtling towards Anton.
'Wandless magic!' Anton thought, barely registering the speed of the attack. It was impossible to dodge.
He stumbled, falling to the ground, but his eyes blazed with defiance. "The Cruciatus Curse?" He noted its unusual weakness. He'd become almost immune to it, having endured it twice every three days for the past two months.
Gritting his teeth, he rose, thrusting Fiennes's wand into Lupin's hand. "Your turn, Moony. Let's see what you can do."
Lupin, stunned by the sudden turn of events, gently waved the wand, shattering the chains binding him. With another flick, he deflected Fiennes's Cruciatus Curse. He turned to Anton, a wry smile on his face. "The name's Remus Lupin."