Chapter 543: Taking a Walk
Chapter 543: Taking a Walk
Recently, Ron has been receiving treatment in the Hospital Wing, and Harry and Ginny have been busy training. In this situation, Hermione felt a bit lonely, as her only close friend at the school was Ginny, who was now extremely busy with the Tournament. Hermione hardly ever saw her. So, on the following Saturday, when Liam went to the Forbidden Forest to treat the Werewolves, he brought Hermione along to take a walk and clear her mind.
"Ah, the feeling of breathing fresh air is so good", Hermione said, running lightly among the tree roots and stones in the Forbidden Forest, like a fawn. "The atmosphere in the castle has become increasingly oppressive lately, making it feel more and more like a prison. It's really nice to come out and take a walk in these circumstances."
"By the way", Hermione suddenly stopped, standing steadily on a large moss-covered rock and turning to ask, "the last two attacks seem very strange. I feel like there's a strange connection between them that I haven't figured out yet."
Liam thought back but couldn't come up with anything other than the fact that both attacks were likely carried out by Malfoy. He said, "Apart from the attacker possibly being the same person, I can't think of any common point between the two attacks. One used a necklace imbued with Dark Magic curses, and the other was poisoned wine."
"Let me think", Hermione followed Liam, pondering for a few minutes before suddenly saying, "Right, do you know where that bottle of wine came from?"
"That bottle of wine?" Liam thought for a moment and realized he didn't know its origin. However, he figured it shouldn't be too difficult to find out, given the limited number of places in the Wizarding World that produce wine. Investigating the wine's origin could be a good lead. "I'm not sure, but I can ask Slughorn when we get back. As a connoisseur, if he called it good wine, he must know where it came from."
Soon, they reached the vicinity of the Centaur Village, and Mr. Wolfe, as usual, came out to greet them. After some small talk, Liam noticed that Wolfe seemed hesitant, as if he had something he was embarrassed to say. He squatted down and asked, "Do you have any problems you want to talk about? Maybe I can help."
"That... that..." Wolfe stammered for a while before gathering the courage to say, "Can you let your friend take me to visit their pack? I think they might be my packmates, although they are a bit different from me—"
"Of course, it's no problem. Meeting some packmates is always a good thing, and I'm sure Lupin and the others will welcome you. Have you talked to Aunt Betty about this?" Liam asked.
"Yes, I mentioned it to her beforehand", Wolfe nodded. "This time, I just want to visit for about half a month to get to know my packmates. After that, I'll come back."
"I thought you were going to move in with them", Liam said. "After all, as a Werewolf, living with your packmates is very normal."
"I've thought about it", Wolfe said. "When I first discovered so many kind packmates, I considered moving in. But after some thought, I realized that the Forbidden Forest is my home. So, this visit is like seeing relatives and making a few friends. You know, the Centaurs are a bit too quiet, and apart from Aunt Betty, it's hard for me to find anyone to chat with."
"Then I wish you success in making new friends!" Liam said, blessing him. Hermione then accompanied Wolfe to visit his pack, while Liam headed to the back of the village to start treating the new Werewolves.
"There are now 39 Werewolves in the base, including me, which is basically the limit. The rest are Werewolves who enjoy killing, stealing, and robbing", Lupin said as Liam finished the treatments and took a break. This time, as usual, he treated two Werewolves. Liam had told them after Christmas that his skills had improved, and he could now treat two Werewolves at once.
"You need to be prepared. I'm worried that the Dark Lord might come and attack you. After all, your place is now likely the largest Werewolf community in Europe", Liam said seriously.
"We are all ready", Lupin nodded solemnly. "The three former Aurors have been training each of us, and everyone has been learning with great dedication. You've given us a home, a goal worth fighting for."
"I have the ability, so I naturally did it. You don't need to thank me so much. I believe others with the ability would also be willing to help you. I'm not as great as you say I am", Liam said, but Lupin interrupted his modesty. "But over the years, you are the only one who has truly done something for werewolves. This is very important to us because your kindness shows us that besides our family and friends, there are indeed people who care about werewolves and are willing to put in a lot of effort for us."
"That's quite an honor", Liam said, blushing slightly from the praise. He quickly changed the subject, "By the way, there's a special werewolf in the Centaur village. He hopes to visit you."
"A special werewolf?" Lupin asked, puzzled. Werewolves in wolf form were so rare that even after dealing with many werewolves, Lupin had never heard of such a case.
"It's like this—" Liam explained quietly. Lupin was amazed after hearing the explanation because most of the werewolves he had gathered were turned werewolves, with only a few being born werewolves. He had never heard of a werewolf in wolf form.
"Don't worry, we'll take good care of this packmate", Lupin nodded in agreement. "Whether he can transform into a human or not, he is still our packmate."
"Thank you", Liam smiled and then sent a crab Patronus to deliver the message to Wolf. Soon, Wolf and Hermione received the message and ran over, with Wolf carrying a blue cloth bag on his back.
"Can I go on a trip now?" Wolf shouted excitedly. Liam recognized the bag on Wolf's back as the spare one he had given Hermione.
"He's more enthusiastic about learning than most of our housemates", Hermione said, genuinely appreciating Wolf. "If Harry and Ron studied as hard as he does, they would have received all Outstanding grades in the last exam."
It seemed that in Hermione's eyes, Harry and Ron's biggest label was "slackers." But in reality, being a slacker or not depends on who you compare them to. The fact that they could take Auror elective courses proved that Harry and Ron were not bad students. However, compared to Liam and Hermione, who were thorough scholars, they did fall short. Hermione's comment showed how dedicated Wolf was to his studies. Liam believed that Wolf had the potential to become a sage among werewolves.
After watching Lupin and the other companions take Wolf away, Liam and Hermione quietly returned to the school. Over the next few days, they focused on their ongoing research and tried to figure out where the honey mead they had at Slughorn's party was produced.
This wasn't a complicated question. The day after Potions class, Liam directly asked Professor Slughorn.
"You mean the honey mead from that night?" Slughorn's expression turned serious when he heard Liam's question. "That bottle must have been the top-tier oak-aged honey mead brewed by Madam Rosmerta. I've been drinking her honey mead for 20 years, and I can recognize it just by the smell. It must have come from the Three Broomsticks Inn and was personally brewed by Madam Rosmerta. Only something of such quality would I mix into my collection. If it were honey mead from any other place, I wouldn't have confused it with my own."
"Thank you, Professor. I think I have a good idea of where the problem lies", Liam said, bowed, and left.
(End of Chapter)
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