Hogwarts starts with stealing power.

Nawei was genuinely afraid that he would hold Lin Xia's team back.

Moreover, although he seems to have some talent in potions, he doesn't really understand the inspiration and ingenuity of the Weasley twins' potions research. He doesn't even understand the basic theory. How can he be their assistant?
Most importantly, he had absolutely no experience!

So, despite his usual lack of courage, he mustered up the courage to go to the lab that very night and knock on Lin Xia's lab door.

Seeing Lin Xia's surprised expression, he took a deep breath and bravely voiced his thoughts.

"Lin Xia, maybe I shouldn't attend the Weasley twins' paper presentation this time. I know nothing about their research, and I have no relevant experience. I'm still learning, and I don't think I'm up to the task!"

Neville mustered all his courage and finished speaking in one breath, his heart pounding.

He felt he had never been so courageous before!
Neville knocked on the door and told her about it, and Lin Xia was quite surprised no matter what it was about.

This was a major breakthrough for Neville, who rarely expressed his opinions unless it was a critical moment.

But that's precisely why Lin Xia insisted that he attend this paper presentation.

She said with a smile, "Navie, haven't you noticed? You actually dared to ask us for some things on your own initiative!"

Neville paused, then said, “Actively sought it? No, no, no, I didn’t actively seek anything. I just wanted to give up the honor of being the press conference assistant.”

Lin Xia: "You've been in the lab for so long, and apart from the things you accidentally said that forced you to do things, this is the first time you've proactively told me what you don't want to do. I think that's a huge breakthrough."

I'm wondering, if you continue to participate in this press conference, will you make even more breakthroughs?
"Navie, did you notice? When you were telling me your needs just now, the difficulties you thought you faced weren't actually that difficult."

Neville followed Lin Xia's words and nodded subconsciously.

Honestly, before he said it, he thought he couldn't do it.

But the moment he saw Lin Xia and met her amber eyes that seemed to see through everything, his mind went completely blank, and he blurted out the words he had prepared for so long.

After speaking it out, he felt relaxed and happy.

He actually said it! He really said it! He did it!

Lin Xia countered, "So have you ever thought about why you did this?"
The pressure from being the assistant at the press conference put so much pressure on you that you subconsciously pushed yourself to the limit. I think that's a great change. What do you think?

She changed the subject and turned to look at the people in the laboratory.

Aside from Harry and Ron, Hermione, Draco, and the Weasley twins, who had been spending all their time in the lab, had somehow come out and gathered together as if watching a show, as Neville made his demands to Lin Xia.

When Lin Xia asked them to speak, they all nodded in unison.

George and Fred didn't know what Hermione and Draco were thinking, but the twins were very clear about their own thoughts.

George thought to himself: Neville is really crazy. He actually thinks he can make demands on Lin Xia. Doesn't he know that this seemingly harmless and easy-going girl is actually the ultimate boss in the laboratory?
Fred thought to himself: Oh ho, Neville is something else, daring to refuse the task assigned by the Great Demon King. Let's see how the Great Demon King will torment you to death!

Lin Xia didn't know what the twins were thinking, but if she did, she would simply smile and assign them more research tasks.

Lin Xia looked at Nawei and said, "You see, everyone thinks you are gradually getting better, which is a great improvement. So you should definitely attend this paper presentation. I guarantee it will bring you more changes and allow you to try things you never dared to try before."

Neville said hesitantly, "Can I not go? I... I'm really afraid of messing it up."

Lin Xia said meaningfully, "That's not your press conference. There are other people who are worried about messing it up. Even they are not afraid that you will mess it up, so why should you worry?"
That one sentence effectively shut down countless other things Neville might say next.

Neville thought it over and over. On one hand, he felt that Lin Xia's words made sense. On the other hand, he felt that he needed to break through his own limitations. In another aspect, he really wanted to refuse.

Three thoughts battled in his mind, and finally he sat dizzily on the sofa in the public laboratory, lost in thought.

Harry and Ron couldn't watch the show for too long either.

After resolving Neville's problem, Lin Xia called all her assistants and the Weasley twins together for a short meeting.

The meeting mainly focused on communicating with the twins.

Lin Xia told them what tasks to assign to their assistants, what to explain, and that some important points of discussion should not be made by the assistants.

Otherwise, the professors who come to observe the class will suspect that the potion was developed by their assistants.

Finally, Lin Xia said, "I will compile a document for you, including a copy for the assistants, which will record what should be said and what should not be said."

It's just a press conference; don't reveal the key steps to making the [Inspiration and Creativity] potion.

Trust me, the professors who come to audit the classes all have their own unique research strengths. They might just discover your secret weapon without you even realizing it.

The Weasley twins exchanged a knowing smile.

Want to extract secrets from them?

Sorry, but growing up, they've always been the ones who extract secrets from others.

George, as if struck by a thought, said with interest, "If they really want to know, I don't mind revealing a little secret."

Fred added, "But we can't guarantee the authenticity of this secret."

George said with great regret, "Actually, I really wanted to have a discussion with them, such as how to find the right truth on the wrong path."

Fred: "Yes, that's a great idea, I agree!"

The twins were speaking in cryptic language, which the others couldn't understand, but Lin Xia did.

She shrugged indifferently. The inspiration, ingenuity, and magic potion were the twins' research results, and she had no right to interfere with how they wanted to use them.

She was also quite curious about the suggestion of twins, wondering if it could actually trick some professors.

After all, if you don't covet this potion, then there won't be any danger.

But if you covet it, be prepared to get nothing and waste a lot of time.

In the evening, Lin Xia returned to the Golden Cabin from the laboratory.

She thought for a moment and then activated the tracking rune array.

But this time, the scene that appeared before her eyes was not the scene around the snail-sheep beast, but the scene near the rat Banban.

Yes, while Peter Pettigrew and Sirius Black were facing off, she also silently set up a tracking magic rune array on Peter Pettigrew.

Setting up the tracking rune array was actually quite a big commotion, but in order to make it more concealed, she made some modifications to the rune array.

This makes the tracking magic rune array less comprehensive; it can only pinpoint his location, and whether or not one can see his surroundings depends entirely on luck.

If a place is particularly suitable for casting magic runes, such as having a magic magnetic field, then it may be possible to see the scenery around him.

However, if Peter Pettigrew is in a place completely devoid of magic, then the tracking rune array will be of little effect, and may not even be able to locate him.

There's no way around it; after all, when the tracking magic rune array was set up, many functions were removed to enhance its concealment, so it was inherently incomplete. Therefore, whether it performs well or not depends entirely on luck.

Lin Xia waited for a while, and a blurry scene appeared in front of her. She couldn't help but raise her eyebrows.

I was lucky tonight; I was even able to see what the surrounding environment was like.

It was a dark place with some strange shadows that looked like tree shadows.

Since the scene can be reflected, it means that the place he is in is full of magic.

The desolate yet magically rich place immediately reminded Lin Xia of the Enchanted Forest.

"Could it be that Peter Pettigrew escaped to the rarely visited Enchanted Forest?"

That's not surprising; once he transforms into a rat, his size allows him to escape anywhere.

Even living in a hard-to-find underground sewage system would be acceptable.

Lin Xia was very curious about how he got here, and at the same time, she confirmed that her intuition was correct.

When she saw Peter Pettigrew, she thought she would have a hard time catching him that night, but to her surprise, he actually managed to escape by sheer luck.

Just as she was about to further activate the tracking magic array to locate his location, the scene before her suddenly vanished without warning.

Lin Xia watched with interest and restarted the tracking magic rune array.

However, this time the magic rune array did not provide any feedback. Peter Pettigrew suddenly came from a place full of magic to a place without magic. What happened?

Even if a wizard used Apparition, it would be impossible for him to move from the magical world to the Muggle region so quickly.

Furthermore, the boundary between the magical world and the Muggle world is actually very blurred. It's not that the area where your left foot is located has magic, and the magic disappears instantly when you step out with your right foot. There is a very long, very thin zone of magic in between.

So, did Peter Pettigrew accidentally wander into some place that drained all the magic?

Thinking about it this way, Lin Xia was even a little jealous of Peter Pettigrew's luck.

These kinds of places are usually used to house special rare and exotic objects, which is why the magic power is extracted so thoroughly.

"It's a bit of a pity. We were just one step away from pinpointing his location. Perhaps this is fate, fate preventing me from finding you so quickly..."

Lin Xia muttered to herself and put away her wand.

She was in no hurry.

At the same time, not only was she searching for Peter Pettigrew, but some Aurors in the Ministry of Magic who were skilled at tracking were also searching for Peter Pettigrew.

This group of elite Aurors received a top-secret mission, personally issued by Dumbledore, and none of them dared to slack off.

If anyone were to observe all of this, they would realize that this group of exceptional Aurors had tracked Peter Pettigrew to the Enchanted Forest where he was.

How remote is this magical forest?

Even the Aurors were unaware that there was a magical forest in this area.

"It's a miracle. I never knew this land had nurtured a small forest."

A wizard who seemed to be leading the team said in a deep voice, "Record the terrain here, and report it to higher authorities after the search is complete."

“Also,” he paused, “I have a feeling something’s not right in this forest. Everyone be careful. After all, he’s a serious criminal who’s been on the run for 12 years. He won’t be caught so easily.”

The small magic forest, under the cover of night, had a somewhat eerie feel.

Upon entering the forest, the Aurors all felt a sense of tension.

But they didn't know where this tension came from; they just had a vague premonition deep down that this place was unusual.

They walked only 100 meters forward before suddenly stopping.

The leading wizard, with his intuition honed through countless life-and-death experiences, issued a sharp warning to him.

If they continue forward, they will die!
The wizard decisively halted the search and led his men to slowly retreat.

One member questioned, "Why don't we continue searching? This forest isn't very big; we can finish searching it quickly."

The captain shook his head solemnly: "Don't go in if you don't want to die. My intuition tells me that this place is extremely dangerous and beyond our ability to search."

Or perhaps the night imbued the forest with a greater sense of danger. I don't know how to explain it, but if you're not afraid, you can go in and search alone.

Since the captain had said so, the team member naturally didn't dare to go in alone.

He could still have some confidence if a group of people went in.

But if someone enters a dark, magical forest, even if it's just an ordinary, harmless forest, accidents can easily happen.

At the same moment, Peter Pettigrew was in a dark and damp place, feeling his negligible magic being slowly drained by some force.

He trembled all over, letting out sharp squeaking noises, as if this would embolden him to escape towards what he perceived as a safer exit.

The mouse, whose fur was almost completely gone, had a human-like glint in its eyes, looking as anxious as a puppy forgotten by its owner.

It couldn't wait to find its owner.

Another day of sunrise and sunset, and the next day, the sun rose as usual.

The day after the incident, they finally found Professor Lupin in the Defense Against the Dark Arts office.

He is organizing the materials.

Hermione rushed to him and asked nervously, "Professor, what's wrong...?"

Lupin looked at her with his melancholy eyes and said expressionlessly, "I regret to inform you that, Miss Granger, I will not be working at Hogwarts."

Ron covered his face with his hands and muttered, "Oh God, this is really bad news. Without you, I'm going to have a hard time learning Defense Against the Dark Arts."

Hermione frowned, puzzled, and asked, "But that's not right, I already promised the headmaster—"

Suddenly, Lupin smiled at her from in front of her: "I thought that's what I was going to say to you, but unfortunately, I'll be able to stay at Hogwarts."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief; it turned out to be a false alarm.

When did Professor Lupin learn to joke?
It seems that Sirius Black's appearance has rekindled his will to live. (End of Chapter)