allendalepharm Chapter 201 This is slander!
Chapter 201 This is slander!
Chapter 201 This is slander!
Following the secret path beneath the willow tree, we circled several bends and walked a few dozen steps before the view suddenly opened up.
Then everyone was stunned.
This should indeed be the cave of the eight-eyed giant spider, but the exit made on the wall is closer to the cave entrance, where you can see a huge waterfall rushing down.
As the group stepped out of the cave, they looked around and saw that, bathed in the moonlight, the clouds stretched out like a sea and the mountains rose like islands.
Looking down, the canyon was filled with shadowy, crawling giants, which seemed to sense their movements and rushed towards them like an ocean.
"Where did I get this?" Lockhart was stunned. He looked down at the wand in his hand in disbelief, then looked back at the entrance of the secret passage.
"Repel them with all your might!" Lupin suddenly waved his wand, knocking away a giant spider that was lunging at them from a tree. However, before he could even catch his breath, several more giant spiders, each as large as a heavy truck, scurried over from all corners at incredible speed.
Professor Kettleburn anxiously cast an Illumination Charm, finally allowing everyone to see the place clearly—they were on the summit of a mountain, surrounded by countless eight-eyed giant spiders.
"Give me your wand!" Even Grindelwald panicked, quickly trying to retreat back into the secret passage, only to see a large number of eight-eyed giant spiders crawling out of some passage in the cave.
Just then, a terrifying magical force of fear swept over everything around, and all the eight-eyed giant spiders that tried to approach froze in place, while several that got close convulsed and trembled and fell to the ground.
"Gurgle!"
The golden retriever stood with its hands on its hips on Lockhart's shoulder, its sharp gaze sweeping over everything around it, before suddenly letting out a threatening roar.
"What is this?" Grindelwald looked at the strange-looking little monkey with some curiosity.
“Three-handed, an extremely rare dark magic creature,” Lupin answered his question, gazing curiously at the little golden retriever. “Some dark wizards try to raise such creatures, but without exception, in some accidental mis-sealing, the Three-handed hollows out all their parts, hence the name ‘Shell Maker.’”
Grindelwald narrowed his eyes. He disliked the small animals kept by wizards and really disliked these strange magical creatures.
Lockhart, however, didn't care about his thoughts at all. He simply looked around with some confusion, then glanced at Hagrid, who stood to the side looking somewhat bewildered. "Where is this?"
"Deep in the Forbidden Forest." Hagrid's expression was somewhat solemn. "The Aragogs are dead. After consulting with Dumbledore, I released their offspring into the depths of the Forbidden Forest to prevent them from harming young wizards."
He strode up to a giant eight-eyed spider, pried open its mouth to examine its mandibles, and frowned deeply. "They seem to have overpopulated. There should be some werewolves living here. I'm afraid I've made a mistake. Those werewolves—"
"Werewolves?" Lockhart asked, somewhat puzzled. "I've heard rumors from students about werewolves in the Forbidden Forest of Hogwarts, but I always thought they were just rumors. Does Hogwarts really allow werewolves to settle here?"
Hagrid shook his head. "It's not a werewolf turned from a wizard, it's a very beautiful wolf."
He tried his best to explain, but he couldn't quite put his words into words.
"Actually, they should be considered wolf cubs," Lupin explained from the side, his expression somewhat sad. "On the night of the full moon, a wizard infected with wolf venom will turn into a werewolf. If two werewolves mate, the witch will give birth to a litter of wolf cubs."
"Werewolf cubs can never become human, but they possess intelligence close to that of humans and are extremely beautiful wolves in appearance."
Lockhart listened to the description with great interest, and subconsciously asked, "Can a Restoration Charm turn this wolf into a human?"
Lupin shook his head. "They were originally wolves, not humans, so how could they possibly revert to human form?"
This is an absolutely terrible thing. No one can imagine that a mother who is pregnant for ten months with a very large belly will give birth to a pack of wolf cubs.
The thought of that scene is terrifying.
Professor Kettleburn, who clearly knew Lupin's secret, sighed and gently patted his former student on the shoulder.
"A manifestation of magical bloodline!" Lockhart guessed, stroking his chin. "If wolfsbane is considered a magical bloodline, it is undoubtedly extremely special!"
His expression flickered as he pondered whether the werewolf cubs were intellectually similar to those of children like Crabbe and Goyle.
I even wondered if Lao Fu's face had developed snake-like animalistic features and his thinking was showing signs of mental impairment, but I don't know if that's the problem.
The group quickly left the area. Even with Little Golden Retriever's "Stiffness Aura" protecting them, they were in danger of being buried inside as more and more eight-eyed giant spiders recklessly surged in.
After crawling out of the pit under the Whomping Willow, Hagrid hesitated for a moment before moving a large rock to block the pit entrance.
He needed to discuss the arrangements for these eight-eyed spiders with Dumbledore next. This secret passage would undoubtedly be much more convenient, and he planned to seal it off completely once everything was dealt with.
Unbeknownst to Hagrid, Grindelwald's heterochromatic eyes were gleaming, and he was watching Hagrid's temporary sealing of the hole with a strange expression, without uttering a word.
Well, even if he found out, he wouldn't think much of it. This simple-minded big guy also has a certain degree of innocence.
After all that trouble, it seemed like they were back to square one, but the atmosphere among them was very different from before.
It was past midnight, and they still hadn't found a suitable place to stay, but no one seemed worried.
Grindelwald has sat listlessly in Nurmengard Prison for ten years, long since indifferent to where he is. Lupin, on the other hand, has spent his days wandering, sometimes spending the night lying on a park bench—a habit he's also had. And Professor Kettleburn, who seems to have a physical disability and needs a better environment to rest, has often endured hardship and sleeping outdoors in his past life in pursuit of adventure.
Ultimately, Lockhart summoned the Lady in the Car, who had lived in the Forbidden Forest for some time, and the lady led them to a suitable campsite.
It's not far from Darenliu, on the back of a small hill, surrounded by streams, where fluorescent blue flowers and stained-glass-like pebbles are scattered at night.
The woman in the car clearly understood what Lockhart needed.
There is a very unique type of mushroom here. Some are only a few centimeters in size, while others are as tall as three meters. The large, thick, pinkish-purple caps resemble a giant roof, and hanging around them are some kind of immobile insects with plant-like characteristics.
Like a beaded curtain, it protects the mushroom stems from wild animals.
A house made entirely of natural materials.
This is where the differences between people really come into play. Grindelwald borrowed Lockhart's wand and used Transfiguration to turn some colorful crystal pebbles into a bed and walls, not wanting to shortchange himself at all.
Professor Kettleburn didn't hesitate to find a fungal house and crawled inside. Before anyone could react, snoring could be heard coming from inside.
Lupin cautiously observed every detail around him. When he returned, he saw Lockhart gathering firewood to light a campfire. He helped Lockhart use his wand to cast a spell to split the wood. "This place might not be suitable for long-term residence. I saw traces of demon birds. They should live not far away."
"I also saw the feathers of the Siberian Terrier. I estimate that these two bird species are competing for living space in this area."
It's going to be quite noisy next.
The Siberian bird is a small bird that looks somewhat like a peacock, with light blue feathers and spots all over its body. The male has a long tail.
The most distinctive feature of this bird is that it never makes a sound throughout its entire life, except for the moment before it dies, when it lets out a long, sharp cry, calling out all the sounds it has ever heard in its life.
Its feathers can be used to make truth serum and memory serum.
Interestingly, the Wicked Witch is a completely opposite bird. Apart from sleeping, it constantly makes high-pitched and mocking calls that can drive wizards mad.
If a wizard wants to keep it, he must cast a silent spell on it, and this spell needs to be strengthened every month until it can no longer be kept.
This is an extremely ancient species, which in ancient runes represents the number '4' because they have four bright and appealing colors: orange, pink, lime green, or yellow.
Yurik the Eccentric, a magizos conservationist from Ravenclaw at Hogwarts during the Middle Ages, once tried to prove to the Wizarding Council that the call of the Witch Bird was beneficial to wizards, but unfortunately he was unsuccessful.
"They have no effect on us."
Lockhart smiled and gently drew his wand, then tapped it on the pile of firewood in front of him.
Two-colored flames rose up, bringing a gentle and alluring power to soothe the soul, spreading outwards.
Soon, the Evil-faced Bird and the Silent Bird flew over, but there was no quarrel; they simply stayed quietly on nearby branches.
Just like how cats instinctively approach a fire pit to warm themselves in winter.
In fact, it wasn't just these two types of birds that experienced the wondrous power of the Soul Campfire.
Lupin felt it even more deeply.
He stared blankly at the campfire, his long-standing defensive and vigilant posture and micro-expressions relaxing, and the weariness that had been secretly accumulating over the years finally overwhelmed him.
"What kind of magic is this?"
He murmured to himself, gazing intently at the campfire.
"Soul Fire!" Grindelwald walked over, looking down at the fire, his eyes filled with memories. "The signature move of Lady Doris Benitez (the Forest Witch)."
Throughout his decades in Nurmengard, he would reflect on whether the things he had done in his past life were good or bad.
He himself didn't have an answer.
Perhaps different judgments will be made in different eras and under different conditions of wizarding societies.
But he knew that he had helped many people in that era and benefited greatly from it.
For example, he saved the Forest Witch, which led to the Forest Witch begging Gilderoy Lockhart for help, and thus he finally broke free from his imprisonment in Nurmengard.
Of course, all of this did not come to pass by passively. He made some efforts to guide the "future" in the direction he desired, which ultimately led to the destruction of Nurmengard Castle and gave Albus a reason to stop imprisoning him.
He paid the fee.
As a prophet, he glimpsed Lockhart's exploration and yearning for that Obscurial-like guardian artifact, thus propelling this future forward.
It can be said that Lockhart's ability to unleash such powerful protection in the face of the train attack is largely due to this incident.
Of course, this is always the case with what he does. Some people are grateful and become loyal to him from then on, while others feel resentment and anger from the bottom of their hearts, like Lockhart.
Grindelwald didn't care.
His life has always been like this.
"Damn it!" Grindelwald suddenly cursed under his breath, looking warily at the soul bonfire before him, his brow furrowing slightly. "This magic is different from the one I remember?! Is it affecting my mind?"
Lockhart shrugged. "Of course they're different. The Forest Witch's soul fire is her soul fire, and this is mine!"
Grindelwald understood the weight of those words, gave him a deep look, and finally nodded. "You want to learn castle-type magic, right? I'll teach you!"
Lockhart chuckled. "Even if I were to put you back in Nurmengard?"
"Heh~" Grindelwald stood with his hands behind his back, squinting at the starry sky peeking through the gaps in the tree canopy at night, completely at ease.
He simply said, "You need my help to deal with Dumbledore, and I know you're the one who least wants me to stay in Nurmengard!"
Lockhart's eyes widened immediately. "That's slander!"
Grindelwald sneered, "Who knows? No one can truly see through a person."
As the saying goes, when people don't see eye to eye, even half a sentence is too much. The two of them were too lazy to pay attention to each other anymore and went back to the colorful mushroom houses they had chosen to sleep.
Only Lupin remained, quietly curled up beside the soul's campfire, licking his wounds with a forlorn expression. The night wind ruffled his somewhat disheveled hair; at 33, his hair was already gray, and his face was filled with loneliness and desolation.
No one knows how much time had passed, but a beast's roar came from the depths of the forbidden forest, awakening the entire forest once again. Unbeknownst to them, another night had passed.
Oh, it's not exactly staying up all night, at least not tonight.
He hadn't slept all night, but it felt like he had gotten the perfect rest, and he felt much more relaxed.
The magic of this soul bonfire is truly wondrous.