Hogwarts: The Exemplary Wizard I Am Chapter 769: Black Forest - Novel Cool

Chapter 769: Black Forest

Chapter 769: Black Forest

In a dense forest, the uppermost layer of leaves shimmered with a silvery glow under the moonlight. However, the dense foliage blocked the moonlight, casting the tree trunks into deep shadows, with only the occasional coin-sized patches of light filtering through the gentle breeze.

This is how the Black Forest got its name.

It was not just at night; even during the day, the forest remained dimly lit.

On this particular evening, the serene Black Forest suddenly reverberated with rustling sounds, as if someone was stepping on the thick layer of fallen leaves and then snapping dry twigs.

The sudden noise startled birds and nocturnal small animals, causing them to scurry from their hiding places and seek safer shelters elsewhere... Briefly, the quiet forest came alive.

"The ground here is really difficult to walk on," Kyle said, pulling his foot out of the soft pile of leaves with a sigh.

"It's always like this. Once you get used to it, you won't sink in anymore," Newt's voice came from the side.

He seemed very familiar with the Black Forest, always managing to walk on the firmer ground and navigate nimbly between the trees.

Unlike Kyle, who would sink into the leaf piles after just a few steps and almost bump into trees several times.

"I don't like this place!" Kyle sighed.

"Most wizards don't like it," Newt said. "The dense trees significantly affect the accuracy of spells, weakening their effectiveness to the lowest. Even if many come, it's of no use. But precisely because of this, it has become the favorite base for some dark creatures."

"So, are there really werewolves here?" Kyle asked.

"Not only are there werewolves, but there are many of them," Newt said. "Because it's so secure, unless wizards are willing to put in the effort to clear these trees, no one can catch up to werewolves here. Gradually, the Black Forest has become their stronghold."

As they spoke, Newt seemed to step on something and slowly crouched down, picking up a bone from the half-covered leaves. It was unclear what animal it belonged to.

The bone was small, perhaps from a wild rabbit or some bird.

Newt wiped off the dirt, revealing bite marks on the inside.

"Oh, look at this. These are bite marks left by werewolves," Newt said.

Kyle leaned in to take a closer look.

However, the surroundings were too dark, and Newt didn't allow the use of Lumos Spell, so Kyle could only barely make out the bite marks.

"Are you sure it's from werewolves?" Kyle asked. "Could it be from some other animal?"

"No," Newt shook his head. "These are bite marks left by werewolves in their human form, distinctly different from animals. It seems we've entered their hunting grounds."

Newt discarded the bone in his hand, cautiously looking around.

Kyle immediately became excited.

It had been almost a week since they arrived in the Black Forest, and finally, there seemed to be some progress.

It all started about a week and a half ago.

It was probably two weeks after Kyle returned to Grimmauld Place when they received news that Lupin had been severely injured and was rushed to St. Mungo's.

And the culprit was a werewolf.

Everyone knew there were werewolves among the Death Eaters. Ever since Fenrir Greyback's accident at Hogwarts, the werewolf community had experienced several significant disagreements.

Later, one group of werewolves chose to leave and withdraw from the war under Lupin's persistent persuasion, while the other, more radical and violent group, joined forces, severely injured Lupin, and fled, fully pledging their allegiance to Voldemort.

Recently, every full moon night, they would appear, either in wizarding villages or on Muggle streets, and these werewolves would indiscriminately attack everyone they saw.

Their robust bodies and thick fur allowed them to ignore most spells, and in one night, they could capture or bite a dozen wizards.

If they were Muggles, the number would be even higher.

Moreover, these werewolves were cunning, only acting on full moon nights, and their locations were entirely random. The members of the Order of the Phoenix had tried to ambush them in advance, but without success.

Perhaps as an act of revenge, half a month ago, these werewolves ambushed Lupin, whom they considered a traitor to their kind.

If it weren't for Tonks sensing something amiss and rushing over with her team in time, Lupin might not have even made it to St. Mungo's.

Kyle still remembered seeing Lupin at St. Mungo's, his body wrapped in bandages, with an obvious bite mark on his shoulder.

Sirius went crazy with rage, shouting and demanding to take revenge on the werewolves, but he was restrained by the others.

Sirius was alone, and even though his Animagus form was immune to the werewolves' bites, he couldn't withstand their numbers.

Moreover, the Animagus form couldn't use spells, not even Lupin, a true werewolf. The idea of a dog taking them on was practically a pipe dream.

However, just as everyone was arguing and discussing how to take revenge for Lupin, something unexpected happened—Newt suddenly arrived.

When he casually opened the door to Number 12 Grimmauld Place, everyone in the room was startled, but fortunately, Mrs. Weasley had met Newt at King's Cross Station last year, preventing any embarrassing misunderstandings.

The legendary Newt Scamander, a wizard whose long absence has piqued everyone's curiosity, has arrived with a purpose: to address the werewolf problem by bringing someone along.

Before Newt could finish explaining, Sirius was the first to volunteer, only to be politely refused by Newt.

It was a very polite refusal, as Newt, being socially anxious, rarely had the experience of turning down others. He stammered, saying he wasn't suitable.

Sirius, naturally unconvinced, believed his Animagus ability would be effective and that he was the most suitable candidate present.

Fortunately, the others understood and took turns persuading Sirius, suggesting that he should stay at St. Mungo's to take care of Lupin.

Anyone with half a brain knew who Newt was looking for... After all, apart from Kyle, no one in the Order of the Phoenix was familiar with Newt, and no one had even seen him before this.

And indeed, Newt was there to find Kyle.

In his own words, when Chris graduated, he began traveling to address the werewolf threat, and now that Kyle has graduated, the task naturally falls to him.

In a sense, this is a family legacy.

So, Kyle followed Newt into the Black Forest, searching for traces of werewolves.

It must be said that the process was truly boring.

"Should we keep looking?"

Kyle looked around and suggested, "Why don't we make some noise to attract the werewolves? I have cows and sheep in my trunk, which should appeal to them. We can just wait by the side..."

"There have never been cows in the Black Forest, Kyle."

Newt shook his head, "Werewolves are essentially wizards. They're not foolish enough to fall for such basic traps."

"What about rabbits?" Kyle continued, "Before I graduated, I specifically got various animals from the Forbidden Forest, including rabbits."

"The rabbits here and those in the Forbidden Forest are completely different species."

Newt continued his search. "Kyle, you need to be more patient. Due to their living conditions and instincts, werewolves are more vigilant than ordinary wizards. If they sense any anomaly, our efforts will be in vain. So, we mustn't rush."

"Your father is much better at this than you. When we searched for a group of vampires who sided with the Dark Lord in the Cambrian Mountains, we stayed there for three whole months, and he was always patient."

"Okay, okay, I get it," Kyle sighed. "I don't like it here. I don't like it at all."

The trees in the Black Forest were too dense. From above, one could only see leaves, and nothing else.

Otherwise, he could have ridden on Norbert and flown up, and with Dragon Blood, he would likely find the werewolves within a day.

But this method was definitely not feasible now.

Kyle sighed again, trying to calm himself, and continued following Newt.

...

Several more days passed, just as Newt had said. This was a task requiring patience. They found nothing, not even a single werewolf hair.

Kyle began to suspect that Newt's information might be flawed, and he considered speaking up several times, but ultimately held back.

Meanwhile, Newt also sensed Kyle's mood change but said nothing.

Kyle had few shortcomings, and if one had to name one, it would be his lack of patience.

It's not that Kyle was impulsive; on the contrary, he could be very patient in certain matters, such as guiding Fudge to believe in Voldemort's return.

Whether Fudge truly believed it or for other reasons, the Ministry of Magic did release the news of Voldemort's resurgence, allowing everyone to prepare in advance.

Newt's impatience, as he saw it, referred to matters outside of specific actions, such as the current situation of searching for an enemy's traces.

Perhaps it was due to different experiences, or maybe it was a bad habit learned from Dumbledore, but Kyle preferred to confront his opponents directly.

He was willing to spend time on strategies targeting his enemies rather than aimlessly searching for them.

However, in a real war, not all enemies would be foolish enough to stand idly by. More often, they would hide in the shadows like werewolves, only emerging at critical moments to cause trouble.

This was the most troublesome aspect for Aurors and the Order of the Phoenix, making the search for them a crucial task.

Newt brought Kyle along this time, in large part to take the opportunity to train him in this area of weakness.

For the same reason, Newt wasn't in a hurry. After all, there was still some time until the next full moon night, and they could search slowly.

The two searched the vast Black Forest from day to night and back again. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, creating bright columns of light in the forest, making it both mysterious and beautiful.

Kyle, in contrast to his increasingly agitated state, was suddenly joined by a small creature resembling a praying mantis that leaped from a nearby tree onto his shoulder.

It was a Treant.

Just like the Forbidden Forest, the Black Forest was a place frequented by magical creatures, so the presence of a Treant wasn't unusual.

The little creature leaned close to Kyle's ear, its mouth opening and closing as if it were speaking, but its voice was too soft for Newt to hear, so he instinctively turned his attention to Kyle.

Kyle's expression initially froze, then turned serious.

"A cave, footprints... a wizard... firelight at night... are you sure?" Kyle asked, his voice filled with surprise.

The Treant communicated something to Kyle, who suddenly became excited.

"Where? Take me there quickly!" Kyle exclaimed.

Then he turned to Newt.

"We've found the werewolf. Come on."

With that, the Treant hopped onto a nearby tree with its short legs, and Kyle hurriedly followed.

To be honest, Newt was still a bit dazed.

From Kyle's words, it was clear that the werewolf's hiding place had been located.

But Newt still had his doubts about the Treant's involvement, and he followed with a sense of skepticism.

As they weaved through the bushes, they encountered more Treants, each of which seemed to be intentionally waiting and joined Kyle's pursuit upon seeing him.

The Black Forest was vast, and by the time they reached their destination, half a day had passed.

From a distance, Kyle caught a whiff of a peculiar odor, like something burning.

Before them was a well-hidden cave. Not only was the cave concealed by the surrounding mountain terrain, but even the entrance was covered in vines. If one wasn't paying close attention, they might pass by without noticing it at all.

Newt quietly approached Kyle and, with just a glance, could confirm with absolute certainty that someone had been living there.

As to whether it was the werewolf, Newt believed that aside from them, no one would be bored enough to go camping in such a remote location.

"How did you manage this?" Newt instinctively turned to Kyle and asked, a hint of envy in his voice.

"With the help of the Treants," Kyle whispered. "This is their territory, after all."

"What I mean is, when did you find so many Treants?" Newt turned and looked at the Treants behind them.

"What the hell?" Kyle turned and looked, startled.

"No," he shook his head repeatedly. "At that time, only one appeared before me. I saw that it was very brave and not afraid, so I spoke to it a few more words..."

Kyle paused, then continued, "Maybe it found help for me."

Not only Newt, but even Kyle himself found this a bit unbelievable. He had only casually mentioned it, and yet the Treant had actually helped him find the werewolf's trail, and in such a remote location too.

But Newt clearly had other thoughts.

He stared at Kyle and clicked his tongue. "Sometimes, I really envy your magical talents."

By enlisting the help of Treants, they had effectively expanded their team to include numerous informants, and more importantly, these informants were highly discreet.

This was especially true in a place like the Black Forest... who would suspect a common Treant? Even Newt wouldn't have suspected them.

The presence of these magical creatures in the forest was entirely reasonable, and it would be strange not to see them.

However, this method was only feasible for Kyle, who could freely communicate with magical creatures. Others, including Newt himself, couldn't understand the Treants' language.

He could only roughly guess their intentions based on their actions.

Newt's thoughts turned to Chris.

If, years ago, when they were searching for vampires in the Cambrian Mountains, Chris could have sought the help of Treants like Kyle, they might not have had to spend several months there.

Having such a convenient ability and not using it, Chris was indeed a foolish student.

Why had he accepted such a foolish student in the first place?

(End of Chapter)

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