Chapter 646: How Do You Know?
“Awakening?”
The word struck Wade’s ears like a cold hammer, sending a chill through his fingertips. The Toad in the cage had gone completely still—silent, as if it had already surrendered to stillness.
After a long pause, Wade asked, “What… is the ancient thing?”
This time, Lady Gray didn’t answer. She simply stared at him for a moment, then whispered, “Be careful… those things are far more dangerous than the Serpent Monster in the Chamber of Secrets.”
With that, the ghost turned and vanished through the massive oak tree and tangled underbrush, her pearl-white form fading into the shadows.
Wade didn’t follow. He lowered his head, glancing at the Toad inside the birdcage.
Perhaps his mind wasn’t strong enough to handle complex thoughts. The Toad remained crouched, dazed and motionless—until, after a long while, it finally snapped back to awareness, lifting its eyes to steal a glance at Wade’s expression.
Their gray eyes locked.
The Toad’s pupils snapped tight. Its belly puffed up. A soft, nervous “Goo…” escaped its throat.
Wade’s gaze grew smug—deep, knowing.
He looked at the anxious Toad, didn’t expose its identity, and simply carried the cage, stepping out of the dark forest.
Inside the cage, the Toad exhaled in relief, curling up tightly in the corner, watching the looming silhouette of the castle grow larger in the distance. Tears welled in its eyes.
Who knew, it thought, that a small, ugly, helpless Toad could survive so much… just to reach this place?
—
In truth, Lucius Malfoy’s first instinct had been to seek Narcissa’s help—to break the spell. But the Malfoy estate’s protection system was a family tradition, reinforced over generations. Even as master of the house, he couldn’t slip inside in Toad form.
He ate insects. Drank dew. Waited by the gates, hoping to catch a glimpse of his wife. He believed that if she recognized him—just one look at the leaf he’d prepared, inscribed with “Lucius Malfoy”—she’d come to his aid without hesitation.
But Narcissa was consumed by worry. She’d been searching everywhere for him, moving through the estate via Floo Powder and Apparition, never lingering near the gardens as she once had.
Lucius waited for two whole weeks—until, at last, he saw her emerge from the main gate.
The moment he leapt toward her, leaf raised, ready to reveal himself—she glanced at him with cold disdain. Then, without hesitation, her wand whipped through the air like a lash.
Lucius Malfoy: …
He refused to remember that day.
But he’d survived.
Heartbroken. Shaking. Trembling with fear.
The leaf had been reduced to ash. His body bore scars that refused to heal.
After that, he realized he shouldn’t show himself. He tried to send her messages—
Using captured insects to spell out his words. But before he could finish a single word, ants had already carried them away.
He abandoned the insects. Tried bright berries—only to attract birds, and worse, two nosy ravens who mocked him for days with their raucous “Gack-gack-gack” laughter, echoing in his mind for weeks.
He tried leaves—wind snatched them away.
Branches—too inconspicuous.
Finally, after endless effort, he gathered stones and arranged them into a message.
He waited.
And waited.
But Narcissa never came.
The closest they’d been was over a hundred meters apart.
Through a crack between fence and bush, he saw her—pale, hollow-eyed, her frame thin and lifeless, sitting alone on the pavilion.
His chest ached. He was frantic.
He jumped, called out—“Look at me! Look at me! I’m right here!”—but she didn’t turn.
Instead, a starling swooped down.
It seized the Toad by the back, flung it against the ground, and repeated the attack until the Toad was too weak to fight.
Lucius Malfoy—man of wisdom, seasoned in battle—barely escaped.
When he finally returned to his message, exhausted and trembling, a freezing chill surged from his legs up to his skull. His breath grew shallow.
At last, someone noticed.
But it wasn’t Narcissa.
It was two emaciated House-elves—Malfoy family servants.
The tiny sprites discovered the message, whispered to each other, one suddenly crouching to touch the shiny trinket on the ground. Then, it stared at its own fingers.
Lucius’s heart lurched.
He knew what the elf had seen.
In arranging the stones, he’d inevitably left behind traces of his own mucus.
That substance was common in potions—no wizard in the magical world could fail to recognize it.
They knew.
They knew the one who’d laid out the message… was a Toad.
One elf clutched the stone, looking around.
Lucius froze—pressing himself behind the bushes, hiding completely.
In another time, he would’ve marched out boldly, commanding them to fetch his mistress.
But now… he held his breath. His body trembled. He felt pinned by an invisible force.
After Dobby’s betrayal, he looked at the elves’ scars—old and new—tattered rags wrapped around their heads.
Could they still obey him?
Would they show him kindness… respect… if they saw him now—transformed into a weak, helpless Toad?
One elf returned to the house. The other scoured the area.
Hope flickered in Lucius’s chest. If they find her… maybe she’ll come…
But Narcissa never appeared.
In an instant, nearly every House-elf in the estate poured out of the manor.
They gathered the scattered letters, conferred briefly, then split up—scattering in all directions.
—
Thud… thud… thud…
A rapid rhythm of footsteps echoed through the forest. The ground trembled beneath the Toad’s body.
Lucius remembered that moment—the terror of nearly being found.
It had been the closest he’d ever come to death.
The Toad snapped back to the present, heart pounding, as a colossal figure emerged from the shadows between the trees—towering, monstrous, blotting out the sky.
For two seconds, his mind froze.
Then, slowly, he recognized him.
It wasn’t an enemy.
It was Rubeus Hagrid.
“Wade?” Hagrid’s thick beard glistened with dew. He carried an axe slung over his back. “I heard a student wandered into the Forbidden Forest. Thought it might be those Weasley twins again. Merlin’s beard—those two never stop causing trouble!”
“So?” Wade joked, “You’re preparing to chop them?”
“What? No! Just for protection.” Hagrid tucked the axe into his belt, then gestured for Wade to follow. “You shouldn’t be in here, Wade. You know the school rules.”
“Sorry,” Wade said instinctively, shifting the cage behind him. He shrugged. “I just thought… this place was perfect for thinking about the third Tournament project.”
The Tournament was the school’s top priority. Using it as an excuse was like a prisoner saying, “This is part of the plan.”
It was easy to believe.
But Hagrid’s reaction stunned him.
The half-giant’s eyes widened in shock. His thick brows knotted into a furious frown. He blurted out,
“You—how do you know? Who told you about the Third Tournament project?”
(End of Chapter)
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