Chapter 458: The Werewolf
Chapter 458: The Werewolf
"Dumbledore?" At the mention of the name, Maurice immediately perked up, exclaiming, "I know Dumbledore! He’s the most powerful wizard in the world!"
"Hmm, yes." Wade smiled. "Have you ever met Dumbledore?"
"No, I haven’t." Maurice shook his head. "I just heard Dad talk about him. Sometimes, he reads the newspaper to us."
As he spoke, he turned around in Wade’s arms to look at the castle, which was gradually growing smaller in the distance.
In the morning light, Hogwarts was breathtakingly beautiful, shrouded in a thin mist. The rising sun cast a soft golden glow on the turrets and stone walls of the castle.
Students rushed to and fro, hurrying to class and breakfast. Young figures darted past the windows, their laughter and playful banter echoing through the air, infusing the ancient castle with a vibrant energy.
Maurice’s eyes shone with unhidden envy.
"Wade, can I really not attend school here?" he asked in a small voice.
Wade was silent for a moment before he replied, "Hogwarts students receive their acceptance letters at the age of eleven."
"Eleven? By then, I’ll be an adult."
Maurice sighed, resting his head on Wade’s arm and gazing at the castle without blinking.
Wade had reached the edge of the Forbidden Forest, where the air felt noticeably cooler.
He was about to go find Hagrid and ask him to send the two-year-old pup back when he saw a figure emerge from the shadows of the trees, silently and cautiously watching him.
Unlike Remus, who could blend into human society, this man’s eyes, nose, and ears closely resembled those of a real wolf. His face was pale, with deep-set eyes, and his hair was wild and unkempt. He wore tattered clothes and no shoes.
He carried a bow on his back and had curved knives and daggers strapped to his waist and legs. In his hand, he held a dark shotgun, the barrel pointing downward, not raised in aggression.
Wade stopped, looking at the man’s name—Lucas Holden. He jiggled the young wolf. "Maurice, is that your father?"
"Huh?"
Maurice had been trying to take in every detail of Hogwarts. Hearing Wade’s words, he paused, turned his head, and saw the man in the forest, instantly rolling out of Wade’s arms in fright.
"Dad... Dad..."
Maurice lowered his head timidly, tucking his tail and whispering, "I’m sorry... I shouldn’t have run around..."
The man’s voice was hoarse. "Maurice, come back."
"…Okay." Maurice looked back at Wade and the castle with reluctance, then slowly made his way toward the Forbidden Forest.
His wounds had mostly healed, but he still appeared weak. The man waited for him to slowly approach, then bent down, scooped up the young wolf, and examined him.
"I’m fine", Maurice said, pushing his father’s hands away with his small paws, embarrassed. "Wade had the school healer treat me."
"Wade, is it?" The man looked at Wade and said, "Thank you for saving my son."
Wade met his amber eyes and nodded. "You’re welcome. Take him home. I need to get to class."
"Wait!" The man suddenly called out. "Be careful, boy. There have been a lot of vampires in the forest lately. They’ve asked me to guide them and have made contact with the Acromantula tribe."
Wade’s eyebrows raised slightly at the mention of the Acromantulas, then he fell silent for a moment before asking, "Does Professor Dumbledore know about this?"
"Of course." The man’s lips curled into a mocking smile. "He allows people of my tainted blood to live in the Forbidden Forest. In return, we naturally act as spies for Dumbledore."
Wade, taken aback by the man’s tone, tilted his head and frowned. "I’m sorry, it sounds like Professor Dumbledore has helped your family, but you seem... dissatisfied with him?"
"Dissatisfied?" The man gave a cold laugh. "No, I fear him. But Dumbledore? He’s the one who has let everyone down time and time again!"
Wade recalled the old saying about ingratitude and his face turned cold. "What do you mean?"
The man narrowed his eyes. "You’re still a student, boy. In your heart, you probably think your headmaster is great, trustworthy, someone you can always rely on. But after you graduate…."
His voice trailed off, his nostrils flaring, and his teeth grinding together.
After a long pause, he spoke again, "When you graduate, you'll see the Ministry of Magic is corrupt, inefficient, and slow, always making a mess of everything. It's rife with discrimination and prejudice. Criminals run free, while law-abiding citizens get thrown into Azkaban for buying a second-hand wand..."
"You know there's a big problem, and you know there's someone who could fix it—maybe not all of it, but at least some. You ask him, again and again and again! But he always refuses!"
"All Dumbledore has to do is nod, and the position of Minister for Magic would be his for the taking!"
"But Dumbledore? He’d rather see a greedy fool in that position than leave Hogwarts!"
"Tell me, child, how can you be grateful to him in a situation like this?"
The werewolf asked, but then, seeing the still somewhat childish face of Wade, he sighed and rubbed his face.
"Sorry, you're still a kid, I shouldn't have said all that... go back to your studies, and stay away from the Forbidden Forest for a while."
Then, he picked up Maurice, who was holding his breath, and strode into the forest.
Wade stood there for a moment before turning and walking back toward the castle.
Hagrid, who had vaguely heard the werewolf's roar, was standing outside his hut, axe in hand.
Seeing Wade, Hagrid dropped the axe and asked curiously, "Wade, who were you talking to just now?"
"A werewolf who lives in the Forbidden Forest", Wade said simply. "His child was injured, and I found it."
"Oh, that one."
Hagrid relaxed, his bearded face showing a conflicted expression.
"What's wrong?" Wade asked, puzzled.
"Don't go near them, Wade", Hagrid said, tugging at his unkempt beard. "Sure, Remus is a good guy, and I like him. Lucas isn't bad either."
"And?" Wade smiled.
"Well... but Wade, you're too trusting when it comes to werewolves."
Hagrid bent down, looking at him with concern. "Most werewolves are extremely violent, especially toward wizards. They don't have a good impression of us. During the last war, almost all the werewolves were on the Dark Lord's side."
"I understand", Wade said sincerely. "I won't approach those unfamiliar werewolves again."
"That's good." Hagrid, reassured, smiled happily. "You could write a paper on how to properly identify werewolves..."
"Wait a minute!" Wade gestured, puzzled. "Hagrid, why have you become so keen on assigning homework lately?"
Even when taking students on "field trips", he now made them bring back a paper as a "souvenir."
"Oh, that's Professor Kettleburn's advice", Hagrid said. "I'm worried you won't pass your Owls. I hear they're really tough. Professor Kettleburn says that if you write more papers, you'll remember the knowledge better..."
Wade was speechless.
Two people who rarely wrote anything had come up with the brilliant idea of using homework to improve grades. It was... truly unexpected.
He asked, "But Hagrid, isn't that something for fifth-year students to worry about? You're already assigning it to us in third year?"
He enjoyed learning new magic, but writing papers on things he already knew was not something Wade had the patience for.
Hagrid scratched his head and said earnestly, "It doesn't hurt to start early."
"It does", Wade said seriously. "If everyone knows your class has a lot of homework, there might not be many new students willing to take it next year! Even Hermione can't handle too many papers!"
Hagrid was stunned. "Really?"
"Of course", Wade nodded.
The half-giant fell into thought.
Wade quietly left him and headed toward the castle.
Speaking of Hermione, there she was.
As Wade stepped into the entrance hall, he saw Hermione being bumped by someone, causing the books in her arms to scatter.
"Hey!" Hermione shouted, angry.
Pansy, pretending not to see or hear, quickly walked into the Great Hall with a few Slytherin girls, then burst into malicious laughter.
Hermione's eyes flashed with anger, but she was too busy to retaliate. She immediately crouched down and began picking up her books.
Wade quickly walked over, waved his wand, and the books on the ground floated up and into Hermione's hands.
The last one was a thick volume of magical history, which had already been picked up by someone else.
"Here, Granger", Carr said, handing the book to her.
"Thanks", Hermione replied, then glanced at Wade and reminded him, "We need to get to class, Wade. Don't be late!"
"Sure, I won't miss it", Wade said. "Why didn't you put all your books in your bag?"
Wade had cast a non-verbal extension charm on everyone's bags in the Ssc, allowing them to hold many books with almost no weight.
"Oh, I was planning to return these to the library on my way", Hermione said hurriedly. "I have to go now!"
The girl rushed off, and when Wade turned around, he realized Carr had already left.
"Looking for that little fang? He left with his girlfriend."
A figure in one of the wall portraits suddenly spoke, leaning against the frame.
"Griffiths?" Wade looked at the red-haired man in surprise and then asked, "Girlfriend?"
"I'm guessing", Griffiths said with a smile. "Though I haven't heard any news, they've been getting pretty close. Their relationship must be special."
Wade didn't care about Carr's romantic life but warned, "Don't spread rumors, or the students might complain, and you'll be moved to the Astronomy Tower again!"
Griffiths's expression turned serious, and he mimed zipping his lips.
After watching Wade enter the Great Hall, Griffiths complained to the portrait next to him, "Young people these days have no respect for their elders."
The person in the adjacent portrait was sleeping with their eyes closed and didn't respond.
Griffiths continued talking to himself, "But that's good. If they were always so respectful, it wouldn't be as interesting... Oh, don't pretend to be asleep. I'm not looking for trouble today."
The old man in the neighboring portrait, wearing a pointed hat, seemed determined to keep pretending to sleep. Not a hair moved, and only a faint snore proved he was still a magical portrait.
Griffiths's expression turned a bit melancholic. He retreated to his original spot, sitting there dejectedly, as if he too had become a static portrait.
...
Werewolf Lucas hoisted his son onto his shoulder, letting him lie there, and continued scolding Morris for being disobedient and getting into danger as he strode home.
For some reason, from last night to today, the Forbidden Forest seemed to have become friendlier. He had slept outside, not in a cave or a built nest, and yet he hadn't encountered any danger.
Suddenly, Lucas stopped in his tracks. Morris also lifted his head, sniffing the air with his wet nose, trying to detect the odd scent.
"It smells like roasted meat, Dad", Morris said pitifully. "I'm hungry."
"Just a moment", Lucas said, parting the grass and cautiously approaching the source of the smell.
A man lay on the ground, covered in blood and looking disheveled, with several burn marks on his body and almost no hair left.
Lucas studied him for a moment, then froze.
—Wasn't this the person who had asked him about the Acromantula nest a few days ago? If he remembered correctly, he claimed to be a vampire.
Lucas glanced back at the direction of Hogwarts, seeing only an endless expanse of trees and leaves.
Without much hesitation, he dragged the man from the ground and checked for a pulse, finding he was still breathing. He then took a crystal vial from his belt and carefully dripped a few drops into the man's mouth.
Good potions always work quickly. Soon, the man struggled to open his eyes and coughed a few times.
"Hey, Thomas", the werewolf asked. "Did the negotiations with the spiders not go well?"
"Lucas... it's good to see you."
Thomas recognized the guide he had hired, got to his feet, and said, puzzled and dejected, "The negotiations completely failed... or rather, they weren't as meaningful as we thought—there were far fewer members in the spider tribe than expected."
"Fewer?" The werewolf was confused. He remembered seeing countless spiders in the nest when he passed by not long ago.
He was about to ask a question when the vampire suddenly gestured for silence.
They fell quiet, and Morris remained still.
Then they heard the sound of chaotic, thudding footsteps approaching, eventually stopping.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
