Everyone except Snape sighed in relief when they heard him say this. "Had us worried there for a moment Nick." Flitwick said honestly. Nick shrugged "To be totally honest lycanthropies creation is a fairly easy thing to deduce once you have all these details. The wizard or witch behind it likely had a wolf as their Patronus but was unhappy with simply turning into a normal wolf via the standard Animagus ritual and thus tried to modify the ritual to turn into a magical wolf. They actually got fairly close too from what I can tell."-
"See they added a component to the magic that made the the transformed state of the finished product have the standard magical beasts features such as magic resistance and powerful body. However they did this through a form of , life magic , I suppose you could call it? This is where the infectiveness of the curse came from as it made the magic itself have properties of a living thing which included propagation. They also used a botched form of soul manipulation magic to try and modify their form from pure wolfen to a larger more robust form without taking the necessary steps to insure stability. All together this curse is a half baked idea at best." Nick criticized disdainfully.-
"I would need to witness a transformation personally before I can even consider trying to mess with the curse though since at the moment it's dormant but at the time of the full moon it will become active and may have more nuanced aspects I can't sense at the moment." Nick added honestly. Dumbledore nodded in understanding "A reasonable request considering the circumstances of the matter. As luck would have it the next full moon is next week on wednesday" he said calmly.-
Lupin looked horrified at the very idea of Nick being anywhere near him when he transformed. "You need not worry yourself professor Lupin as I doubt the old man would leave me without some form of protection." Nick pointed out to help calm the man. "That is correct as I myself or one of the other professors will be present to prevent any mishaps." Dumbledore said in agreement which did help Lupin to relax a little. "Before anything else is discussed however I believe it's time to talk about the true reason that you have been called here today Mr. Ravenclaw." Dumbledore then spoke seriously.-
"Exactly how far ahead of your peers in terms of studying?" He asked sternly. Nick thought about it for a moment before replying "About the middle of the fourth year in most classes and post graduate in the case of runes and transfiguration. I have currently been studying arithmancy but have trouble with it since I need to be very careful as the tomes on the subject lack many details." Nick answered without holding back at all. Everyone in the room sucked in a breath of air at his answer as they knew he was advanced but not THAT advanced.-
As the people in charge of those subjects they knew better than anyone how big of a qualitative difference the subject matter is from the second year in comparison to the fourth. The matter of Transfiguration was an entirely different thing since they had already been aware of that due to his regular use of the subject openly. Runes on the other hand was a surprise that came out of nowhere. Sure they knew that Nick likely was a little aware of them thanks to his apprenticeship with Olivander but clearly he was far more than just familiar with the subject.-
"I see. Then there is no problem with what we professors have decided to do in light of the return of Voldemort as well as the value of your time. It was thoroughly discussed between all of us and we have all agreed that your continued attendance of class with your peers for the moment is a waste of both your and their time. I am prepared to exempt you from all classes for the rest of the year and possibly the next so long as you pass the exams for this years classes early."-
"While we are reluctant to admit it your time and talents would be better spent self studying and preparing for the troubles to come. Those rings of protection you make for example are quickly becoming necessary for many and we all agree that you spending your time helping prepare us is better than sticking so strictly to tradition." Dumbledore spoke slowly but seriously and Nick's jaw hit the floor. It needs to be understood that in a thousand years of history since the school had been founded not a single student had been exempted from class for more than a couple months depending on the severity of the situation.