Chapter 97: Post-Battle Trivia
Chapter 97: Post-Battle Trivia
After listening to Liam's account, Hermione's attention was indeed drawn in.
"Oh, how tragic. A soul almost like a human, yet forced to live as a wolf. It's not his fault, yet he has to bear everything."
"It's not that bad", Liam quickly interjected, seeing Hermione's imagination running wild with Wolf's tragic life. He didn't want her to start a Wolf Protection Society before the House-Elves had a chance to help.
"Life among the Centaurs might be a bit dull, but Mr. Wolf has clearly adapted to it. He doesn't mind living as a wolf; he just finds it a bit boring."
"You're right", Hermione conceded after hearing Liam's reassurance. After all, Harry had met the Centaurs last year, and from Harry's description, Hermione knew they were kind beings. The only issue was the difficulty in communicating with other creatures.
After listening to Liam's account, Hermione learned that he had promised to chat with Wolf whenever he had the chance. She then asked to join the next conversation.
Thinking that it wouldn't be dangerous, Liam nodded in agreement to Hermione's request.
Finally, Hermione took out a newspaper-wrapped sandwich and a bottle of Pumpkin Juice from her bag and handed them to Liam: "I thought you probably didn't have dinner tonight. These are for you."
"Thank you very much." Liam gratefully took the food and started devouring it, as he was truly famished after battling in the Forbidden Forest all afternoon.
After Liam finished eating, he went upstairs to his dorm to grab his backpack, and then he and Hermione went to the Library to study.
Life returned to its usual calm. Liam and Hermione took turns chatting with Wolf a few times. Additionally, Liam received the reward from the previous battle: three liters of Giant Octo-Eyed Spider venom, over thirty liters of Giant Octo-Eyed Spider blood, and a large bag of processed Giant Octo-Eyed Spider shells.
Firenze had delivered these items in two large baskets on his back. As soon as Liam received them, he stored them in the emporium, where they could be kept fresh.
Originally, they could have obtained much more from the thousands of Giant Octo-Eyed Spiders, but the repeated explosions and flames during the battle had destroyed a lot of the materials.
Especially the Giant Octo-Eyed Spider venom, which could only be collected from the last batch of spiders killed. The venom quickly degrades after the spiders die, which is why it is so expensive on the market.
Of course, this skirmish also put Liam's plan to kill the Basilisk on hold. Fighting a giant spider had already resulted in so many unexpected issues, revealing many problems he hadn't noticed before.
So, Liam designed some weapons and asked Dave from the Plants vs. Zombies world to help manufacture them. Since the Plants vs. Zombies world was in a busy recovery phase, everyone was very busy, so it might take one or two months to complete the weapons.
However, this delay had its benefits. The Basilisk, being a cold-blooded creature, wouldn't hibernate due to its magic power, but it would still be affected by the cold weather. In a couple of months, the weather would be even colder, making it easier to hunt the Basilisk.
During this time, Liam would not waste a moment. He planned to use the spider shells and blood to create a batch of talismans to enhance his strength.
Time passed slowly as he practiced. Soon, it was mid-October, and the weather in Britain was gloomy and cold. Especially when you lived in an ancient castle, you could keenly feel how difficult this period was.
This situation also led to a widespread outbreak of colds, and the wizards' magic did not provide much resistance against it. Fortunately, after a period of exercise, Liam's constitution had improved, and he didn't catch a cold this year. So he could take some schadenfreude in watching many of his classmates have their ears smoking after Madam Pomfrey forced them to drink cold medicine.
Due to the continuous rainy weather, Liam often saw the Gryffindor Team players coming in, covered in mud and utterly exhausted. Practicing in such weather was quite strenuous.
So Liam came up with a recipe for Red Sugar Ginger Tea and asked the Weasley Twins to bring it to the House-Elves in the kitchen during their nighttime wanderings. From the next day on, a pot of Red Sugar Ginger Tea was always kept warm by the Common Room fireplace. The rate of people catching colds due to the rain significantly decreased.
Although few people knew it was Liam's idea, he was still happy to see his classmates avoid the troubles of the common cold.
Of course, Madam Pomfrey was one of the few who knew. Since the drink was for the students, the House-Elves naturally asked her to verify the recipe when they received it.
During Liam's last stay in the Hospital Wing, Madam Pomfrey had recognized his handwriting, so she quickly figured out who had provided the recipe. After confirming that the recipe was effective in preventing colds, Madam Pomfrey called Liam to the Hospital Wing to ask how he had come up with it.
Fortunately, the medical practices in the wizarding world were based on the ancient Greek theories of dryness, moisture, cold, and heat, which aligned well with many Traditional Chinese Medicine principles. So Liam asked his father to buy several English versions of Traditional Chinese Medicine books from Chinatown and send them to the school, then gave them to Madam Pomfrey.
It must be said that the vast majority of the school's faculty were top-notch. Even though Madam Pomfrey's medical knowledge far surpassed Liam's second-rate understanding of Traditional Chinese Medicine, she still studied these unfamiliar medical concepts seriously and asked Liam, a student, about any parts she didn't understand.
Her willingness to learn and her humility in seeking knowledge from a student is what made Madam Pomfrey the healer of Hogwarts. This mindset would make her an elite in any field.
One afternoon, Liam was leaving the Hospital Wing and heading back to the Common Room when he saw Nearly Headless Nick nervously holding a letter.
He approached and greeted him, "Hi, Sir. What are you doing here?"
"I received a reply from the Headless Hunt, hoping they'll accept me this time", Nick said anxiously. After saying this, he opened the letter, but his expression quickly turned to one of dejection.
"Just a half-inch, I really didn't want it to be this way", Nick muttered. Seeing Nick's sadness, Liam decided to comfort him. After all, he had been able to use the Room of Requirement thanks to Nick's help last time.
"Sir, if you have anything that's troubling you, you can sit down and tell me. I think talking about it might make you feel better", Liam said, gesturing for Nick to join him.
"Oh, you're willing to listen to Nick's rambling? Thank you so much!" Nick said, then followed Liam into an empty storage room. Liam cleaned off a few wooden crates and sat on one, using a larger crate as a table, while Nick sat on the other side.
Once they were settled, Liam said, "I think I have a new spell I've learned that might cheer you up a bit."
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
