Chapter 565: Treatment (Part 2)
Chapter 565: Treatment (Part 2)
"Alright, you stay here and maintain his Life. The rest is up to me." Liam gestured for Hermione to stand where he had been. Soon, a stream of blood-red mist began to form between her hands and spread over the boy's body.
"I can ensure that this child's Life is maintained throughout this process. Now it's your turn." Once the Blood Mist completely enveloped the boy lying at the center of the Alchemical Array, it began to pulse like a heartbeat. Seeing this, Hermione turned to Liam, signaling that he could begin.
Liam drew his wand and tapped the air, activating the energy nodes on the Alchemical Array one by one. When all the nodes were activated, the energy from the entire array surged and merged into a cohesive whole. Soon, numerous red light points appeared on the boy's body, rising slowly as they were stirred by magical power. Finally, a blood-red werewolf, howling to the sky, formed in the air above the Alchemical Array.
This werewolf was extremely agitated, immediately trying to break free from the Alchemical ritual array. Liam knew that this werewolf represented the Werewolf Toxin within the boy, and only by subduing it could he save the child.
"The only constant in life is change." With this Latin incantation, accompanied by a gesture, a wave of magical power infused with the rules of alchemy surged into the Magic Array. The golden mist enveloping the array began to coalesce, forming thorny vines that wrapped around the blood-red werewolf in the air.
The werewolf's form struggled fiercely, and the boy at the center of the Alchemical Array began to convulse violently, like a fish out of water. Fortunately, Hermione's Blood Mist held him in place, and the energy from the Alchemical Array, transformed by the Blood Mist, turned into Life Force and infused his body.
"Life and Death in the Blink of an Eye." As Hermione saw the boy's Life Force rapidly depleting due to the werewolf's struggle, she chanted another spell. As she finished, the Blood Mist surrounding the boy began to swirl, forming a vortex the size of the Alchemical Array. This significantly increased the efficiency of converting magical power into Life Force, compensating for the rapid loss of the boy's Life Force.
With the additional Life Force, the boy's convulsions ceased, and he calmed down. As Hermione continued her magic, the boy's vital signs gradually returned to normal. This allowed Liam to focus entirely on transforming the Werewolf Toxin.
The Werewolf virus causes an irreversible transformation from human to werewolf. Liam's treatment plan was to transform a certain amount of the Werewolf Toxin already integrated into the boy's body, until the new werewolf toxicity reached a threshold, causing the transformation. Once the transformation was complete, the powerful Life Force of the new werewolf would fully repair the boy's body.
St. Mungo's had deemed the child untreatable because, as a biological toxin, the Werewolf Toxin quickly integrates into the human body, promoting transformation into a werewolf while also causing harm. Normally, it would only cause pain before the transformation, but the boy's severe injuries made him unable to withstand the Werewolf virus. Additionally, the virus had already mixed with the boy's Life Force, so any spell or potion used to treat him would inadvertently strengthen the Werewolf virus, which was why the Healers at St. Mungo's were helpless.
Now, Liam's Alchemical Array successfully used the rules of alchemy to separate the Werewolf-related elements from the Life Force within the boy's body. This allowed him to alter the Werewolf-related parts without harming the child.
From this point on, the treatment process was similar to before, with Hermione's magic providing support. Liam could shift his focus from maintaining the boy's Life to the transformation process of the new werewolf.
With the loss of Life Force as a backing, the Werewolf Toxin soon began to falter. The Werewolf's shadow on the Alchemical Array was completely entangled by golden Vines, forming a cocoon-like structure. The thorns on the golden Vines then deeply pierced into the Werewolf's body. During this process, the isolated and helpless Werewolf virus could only offer feeble resistance.
A few minutes later, the golden Vines cocoon began to slowly melt and gradually collapse inward. When all the golden Vines had dissolved, a golden four-legged shadow replaced the blood-red Werewolf shadow, floating above the Alchemical Array.
This was the image of a golden Gray Wolf pup, looking incredibly adorable. After the shadow ran around the Alchemical Array in a playful circle, it dissipated into a sprinkle of golden light, merging into the body of the child lying at the center of the array.
"He's come back to life", Hermione's voice, tinged with joy, immediately rang out beside Liam. Liam turned his gaze to the little boy, and indeed, the wounds on the child's body were slowly closing and disappearing. At the same time, Hermione was gradually dispersing the blood-red mist.
"His Life Force is recovering, and it's even stronger than before. He no longer needs my additional help", Hermione explained, then asked with a curious tone, "Why did he absorb the magic power from the Alchemical Array to heal himself? Was it because of what we did just now?"
"No, Werewolves are naturally like that", Liam said, his voice laced with a hint of envy. "They are a type of Magical creature, so like many other Magical creatures, they can heal themselves by absorbing magic power. Think about Professor Lupin when he was young; he didn't have Wolfsbane Potion. Being locked in the Shrieking Shack and struggling wildly would have surely injured him, but by the next day, he was just a bit tired, with no significant wounds left."
"Why don't our textbooks mention any of this?" Hermione asked, turning her head after using magic to move the child back to bed and gently tucking him in.
"Because Wizards have always viewed Werewolves as enemies, as dirty creatures. So, the records about Werewolves focus on how to identify and kill them. Basic physiological characteristics of Werewolves aren't a priority, so few people bother to document them. I only discovered this after treating Lupin and others", Liam explained, shrugging his shoulders. He then knelt down and began disassembling the Alchemical Array, placing the pieces back into his Spatial Bag, with Hermione helping him.
Once everything was put away, Liam informed Lupin downstairs. Soon, the door burst open, and the Montgomerys rushed to the bedside like a whirlwind. In response to their calls, their son finally opened his eyes.
However, due to the severity of his injuries and his current fatigue, the little boy only managed a few words before falling back asleep. The six of them quietly left the bedroom, closing the door behind them, and gathered in the living room downstairs.
"Thank you so much, thank you so much—" Mrs. Montgomery sobbed as she shook hands with Liam and Hermione. Mr. Montgomery also looked at them with grateful eyes.
"This is what we should do. We're glad to have saved an innocent life", Liam reassured her. It took several minutes for the Montgomerys to calm down. Then, Mrs. Montgomery prepared dinner for everyone, while Mr. Montgomery stayed in the living room to talk.
During the conversation, Liam learned that Mrs. Montgomery worked in the Ministry of Magic's Department of International Magical Cooperation. Her young son was bitten by a Werewolf because she refused a Death Eater's request to turn a blind eye to certain people and items from Southern Europe. The Death Eaters used this incident as a warning to other Ministry of Magic staff to stay out of their way.
"The one who attacked this time was Fenrir Greyback, the same one who bit me years ago", Lupin said calmly, as if recounting a story about someone else. "He is an evil madman who enjoys attacking children. A third of the people in our settlement were bitten by him. Also, he seems to be one of those so-called Pureblood Werewolves, who retain some self-awareness even in Werewolf form. This time, he came to bite people to intimidate others; otherwise, he wouldn't have left them alive."
"Using Imperius to control children, using Werewolves to kill children—what evil deeds will these Death Eaters do next?" Hermione's voice sharpened, revealing her anger.
"That's why we must fight them", Liam said, placing his hand on Hermione's shoulder. "I hope no more innocent lives are harmed."
(End of Chapter)
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