11

The next day I woke up with a headache, and when I got up, dressed, magically adjusted my clothes, and went to wash my face, I remembered what had happened yesterday, and clenched my fists until they turned white, then my face blurred in amazement.

- What the hell kind of cheese? How could I make it with a Henge? And how could I shake hands with Filch?! What the hell had got into me last night?! - and grabbed his head, then thought for a moment and took his hands off his head with a sniffle. - Whatever...

But as he entered the faculty lounge, he saw students huddled here and there, discussing... a strange ghost capable of witchcraft and the equally strange disappearance of Filch in the night! And the fact that Gryffindor was saying that Filch and his cat had been turned into cheese by a mad ghost. Oh, my God, there's so much gossip!

I sat in my chair, thinking about my transformation, and realised that after a few minutes in Sheogorath's disguise, I was pretty pissed off! Madness was the only word to describe what was happening! And then what? When I took Filch back to his flat and got his ass kicked? It's a good thing he didn't take the form of the mask, as he had originally intended. Otherwise, the level of madness would have destroyed Hogwarts. Still, it was an interesting idea to create an artefact... and the twins were nearby. Hmm, I'll have to think about that...

After a while, the Headmaster lined everyone up, and we found ourselves in the main hall, a few stairs and corridors later. And the whole hall, all the faculties, were discussing only one thing: the frankly strange ghost that had appeared at Hogwarts last night. And everyone agreed on one thing: this ghost was completely insane! Before breakfast, Dumbledore rose from his seat, looking almost sleep-deprived.

- Good morning, children. Before breakfast, I would like to inform you that there is a new ghost in the castle. He's strange and offers everyone cheese, of which he has plenty. He knows magic, so be careful! Also, Mr. Filch was found asleep in his room this morning. Someone's played a cruel trick on him! By giving him the Illusion of Youth! The illusion couldn't be undone! - I wish you could do something that's real. Idiots. - And now he's in the care of our physician, Madam Pomfrey. He keeps breaking out, screaming that he's been blessed by Sheogorath, Lord of the Daedra. No one has ever figured out what that means, but be careful. Only go with the headmaster and at least three seniors! We'll deal with the ghost - good luck, he's more likely to deal with you, and I dread to think what he'll do. - If you meet Filch, don't give him your wand, as he seems to think he's got it back. I think he's senile and..." but before he could say more, Filch burst into the hall, wand at his side, shouting:

- You don't believe me, do you? You don't believe me?! I have to believe you! - He picked up the wand and struck it on the floor, releasing a ball of magic. I was under the table almost instantly. There was only one thought running through my mind, how? And the ball that flew from the staff hit one of the candles on the wall, which instantly fell off and turned into a chicken. It clucked and scurried through the momentarily silent room, a chicken the size of a sparrow. Now I've seen everything... - I've got my magic back! And I don't need my wand! I have the Lord's staff! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!!! - And in the next instant, this is no longer a grandfather, he flew out the door and ran off somewhere. Snape, Dumbledore and Minerva followed him.

- Yeah, what a shot..." he muttered from under the table.

- Tell me about it," came a voice from nearby.

- Filch and his magic... I don't want to turn into a chicken..." came another voice. I looked around and was surprised to see Draco and Hermione under our faculty table.

- What are you two doing here! - I wondered.

- There wasn't enough room under our desks," Ron complained, peeking out from behind Granger's head.

- I see," I replied, though nothing was clear.

Cautiously climbing out from under the table, I looked around for my breakfast and again couldn't understand what was going on. For my breakfast was qualitatively different from that of the others. They had pumpkin mash, pumpkin juice, toast and jam. I had scrambled eggs and bacon on my plate, milk in my glass and scones with sugar and sultanas that were warm! What was going on in this school? Many people looked in my direction with open amazement. And the neighbour next to me gulped when he saw the buns. I held one out to him.

- Do you want one? - He looked at me gratefully and, nodding, took the muffin and wolfed it down with his pumpkin juice. We quickly ate the rest of our breakfast and, accompanied by the headmaster and some older students, we headed off to class. On the way, I overheard a conversation between the Weasley twins.

- What a year this is! Our jokes pale in comparison to what this ghost is up to!

- Tell me about it, George! We've got to think of something bigger and better! And find this strange ghost! If he accepts us as his apprentices, we'll be no match for him!

I could hear no more conversation, for we were far away. But the followers of Sheogorath were beginning to appear. The school was screwed... History of Magic had taught me nothing new, except for an eerie sleepiness that was overlaid by all the adventures. And then there was Potions. And Snape. Annoyed by the morning's run, Snape had to take McGonagall to the wizard because Filch, completely mad from her returned youth and magic, had turned her into a goat. As I later learned.

- Mr Potter! - Well, hello, canon... What a lot of people we have here! A great hero and vanquisher of evil! But know this, because of your fame, you will not get away with this! - He looked at my bored face and blared.

- Are you so sure of yourself? Then tell me, where can I find the Bezoar Stone?

- In the medicine cabinet. In your cupboard. But generally this stone is found in the stomach of ruminants, especially goats and less commonly bulls and cows. Less common in other mammals. Extremely rare in humans.

- Amazing! Have you opened the book, Mr Potter, and read anything at all? Then tell me, what's the difference between wolfsbane and aconite?

- Nothing, they're the same plant. Only Aconite is the processed flowers of the plant, and Wolfsbane is the root.

- Since you know so much, what is it used for? Aconite and its root?

- Aconite flowers are used to make a potion against werewolves. Large amounts kill them. A small amount gives them terrible pain and weakness. It is also used in a potion to restrain werewolves. All infected are forced to drink it, even though it is extremely painful for them. Aconite root is used in a number of potions against lycans and werewolves. It has little effect on the latter.

- OK, everything makes sense except your line about the Lycans. Who are they? - I was too tired to work out that it wasn't about this world, so I just blurted it out:

- The same werewolves, but cursed with a dark curse. They were the same werewolves, but cursed with a dark curse. And their full wolf form is much larger than a classic wolf. About the size of a bull, to be exact. But the full transformation is only possible for the oldest Lycans. The bite is also contagious, but only a tenth of those poisoned will survive the transformation. Silver is extremely effective against them, as it is against vampires, but its liquid form is far more poisonous and dangerous to them. Liquid silver is a potion. Aconite has little effect. Neither will holy objects. Holy water is useless. So only silver and liquid silver.

- Huh, first time I've heard of such monsters," Snape raised an eyebrow.

- "They are very rare. They live in the deepest forests and sometimes, though very rarely, they venture into human settlements. Such Lycans are extremely dangerous, for their curse intensifies after a taste of human blood, making them stronger, more ferocious and faster. Eventually, however, they lose their minds.

- A beautiful story, Mr Potter.

- It's not a tale, it's a nightmare, Professor Snape,' I said, still not quite sure what I was saying. I wanted to sleep too much. What's wrong with me?

- Perhaps you could make that liquid silver of yours, then? - He caught me at my weakness, the professor.

- Of course. Nothing complicated about it. You need mercury, silver, lead, sulphuric acid and a pinch of aconite root," I shrugged, already feeling strange. And when he could concentrate on his surroundings, he saw the round eyes of all the students and the panting anger of Professor Snape.

- Well done, Potter! Well, you won't be making your Boiling Potion today, you'll be making your Liquid Silver Potion," I muttered to myself. How did I get so messed up?

- I will provide you with all the ingredients you need," Snape grinned, keeping his promise after all. I was given the furthest desk and Snape hovered over me, placing all the ingredients I needed on the desk. After shrugging my shoulders and cursing my tongue once more, I began to make the potion. First of all, I had to build a fire under cauldron number twelve, a cauldron of such good, cold steel. It's an amazing cauldron, capable of melting any metal, though I don't need much temperature for the metals I want.

Pour in lead and it melts without steam. Pour in mercury and silver shavings, bring to a near boil but not to the boil, add acid and wolfsbane. Then I muttered a spell and tapped the cauldron. There was a clear sound of metal in the classroom and, holding my hand out in front of me and directly over the cauldron, I began to recite a prayer to myself. As soon as he finished, he began to stir the silver liquid thoroughly, and after two minutes, he turned off the flame under the cauldron, took the cups and poured the potion into them. Snape, standing behind me, continued to hum and giggle. And when I put my hand over the cauldron, it twitched, but held on.

- Mr Potter, why did you put your hand into such a dangerous brew? - he asked.

- It was important to feel some of the steam from the potion," I lied immediately. - The strength of the rising steam is measured by the readiness of the potion, sir.

He took one of the five two hundred millilitre vials of the potion in his hands, pulled a piece of wolfskin from the cupboard and, after the vial had cooled, opened it and poured it over the skin. I think he expected the liquid to turn back into metal, but it didn't. It poured quietly over the piece of skin, like water, and... The skin hissed and immediately burst into a bluish flame.

- Amazing, Potter. You're not exactly a dullard, are you? But we'll see what you can do in your other classes. I'll bet it's better than expected,' I swallowed my indignation, shrugged and sat back in my corner. During the lesson, Longbottom's kettle burst and another boy's burst. And they were taken to hospital.

When the lesson was over, he came in for his meal and heard the people around him discussing the strange ghost and the new face that had blessed Filch - Lord Daedra Sheogorath.

Filch, I learnt from the same gossip while devouring a delicious and hearty lunch, had been caught and returned to the hospital in the morning, and then Mrs Pomfrey discouraged all the teachers by saying that the tests had shown a perfectly healthy, rejuvenated and magically recovered Filch, whose staff had been taken away and put away somewhere. Instead of indignation, Filch just laughed suspiciously. Then he suddenly came to his senses. The madness left his eyes and he looked around in surprise. Then he asked about the strange way they were looking at him. For the experiment, the caretaker was given the wand of one of the teachers and he easily lit the Lumos. And then he used it on Levios. Without any sign of fatigue. No longer an old man, but a man, they left him in the hospital wing for a week, just in case, for this madness was frankly abnormal, and many speculated that Filch might snap again. But his cat, Mrs Norris, was given to him anyway. And to the surprise of the Headmaster, Snape and the witch Doctor Pomfrey, he took the cat in his arms, looked at it closely and gave it away:

- And what idiot called a cat a cat? - You must have been able to picture in your mind the three expressive looks that stared back at him.

- I?!

This hilarity was known to almost everyone, for Neville, who had gone to the hospital and witnessed the scene, had told everyone everything. The next thing anyone knew, everyone was doing what they were doing. The members of the Quidditch team went to practice, those who were interested went to watch the practice and sigh with envy. But our faculty went to the living room in almost full force and were surprised to find Professor Flitwick there.

- Hello, guys," he greeted everyone. - Unfortunately, I have to inform you that your former Dean, Professor Carter, has retired of his own accord. And now I'm taking over as your dean. I hope we get along.

People who heard the news were slightly dumbfounded, but still accepted the new dean, for no one doubted his pedagogical and teaching skills. He really deserved the place of our dean. I was the only one who suddenly realised that it seemed that I was about to be tortured with the question of "what and how and why". Cthulhu, save my brain... though, after my reincarnation as Sheogorath, is there anything there to save? And my thoughts were confirmed. Within the space of an hour I was summoned to his office by our new Dean. When I entered, the door slammed shut behind me and immediately the multi-layered barrier against eavesdropping and magical espionage was lit up.