"Dumbledore?" Morris instantly perked up at the name. He loudly exclaimed, "I know Dumbledore! He's the strongest Wizard in the world!"
"Yes, he is," Wade said with a smile. "Have you ever met Dumbledore?"
"No, I haven't," Morris said, shaking its head. "I've only heard my dad talk about him. Sometimes he reads us the newspaper."
As they spoke, it turned around in Wade's arms, looking at the castle that was slowly receding into the distance.
Hogwarts looked beautiful in the morning light, enveloped in a thin mist, with the rising sun casting a pale golden glow on the castle's towers and stone walls.
Students hurrying to class and breakfast bustled about the castle, their young figures flitting nimbly past windows. The faint sounds of laughter and playful shouts could be heard, brimming with vitality and bringing the ancient castle to life.
Undisguised envy showed in Morris's eyes.
"Wade, can I really not study here?" It asked softly.
Wade was silent for a moment, then said, "Hogwarts students receive their acceptance letters when they're eleven."
"Eleven? I'll be an adult by then."
Morris sighed, resting its head on Wade's arm, its eyes fixed on the castle.
Wade had reached the edge of the Forbidden Forest, where the air felt cooler.
He was about to go find Hagrid and ask him to take the two-year-old back when he suddenly saw a figure emerge from behind a tree in the dark forest, watching him silently and warily.
Unlike Lupin, who could still integrate into normal human society, this person's eyes, nose, and ears looked very similar to a real wolf's. His face was pale, his eyes sunken, his hair as wild as a savage's, and his clothes were tattered. He wasn't even wearing shoes.
He carried a bow and arrows on his back, with scimitars and daggers tucked into his waist and leg. In his hand, he held a dark shotgun, its barrel pointed downwards, showing no intention of being raised.
Wade stopped and saw the man's name was Lucas Holden. He jiggled the young Werewolf. "Morris, is that your father?"
"Huh?"
Morris was trying to take in every detail of Hogwarts. It paused at the question, then turned its head to see the man in the forest and was so startled that it tumbled out of Wade's arms.
"Dad… Dad…"
Morris timidly lowered its head, tucked its tail, and whispered, "I'm sorry… I… I shouldn't have run off…"
The man said in a hoarse voice, "Morris, come back."
"…Oh." Morris reluctantly looked back at Wade and the castle behind him, then slowly walked towards the Forbidden Forest.
Its wounds had mostly healed, but it still appeared a bit weak. The man waited for it to slowly reach him, then bent down and scooped up the young Werewolf to examine it.
"I'm fine." Morris didn't want to be turned over and over, so it pushed its father's hand away with its small paw, saying embarrassedly, "Wade asked the school doctor to treat me."
"Wade, was it?" The man looked at Wade and said, "Thank you for saving my son."
Wade looked at his amber eyes, nodded, and said, "You're welcome. You should take him home. I need to go to class."
"Wait!" The man suddenly called out, then said, "Be careful, child. Many Vampires have recently come into the forest. They asked me for help guiding them and also contacted the Acromantula tribe."
Wade paused, first raising an eyebrow at the mention of the Acromantula, then after a moment of silence, asked, "Does Headmaster Dumbledore know about this?"
"Of course." The man's lips curved upwards as he said sarcastically, "He allows people of my 'dirty blood' to live in the Forbidden Forest. In return, we naturally serve as his scouts."
Wade tilted his head slightly at his tone and frowned. "I'm sorry, it sounds like Headmaster Dumbledore has helped your family, but I can't help but feel… you seem quite displeased with him?"
"…Displeased?" The man sneered. "No, I revere him. But Dumbledore? He's disappointed everyone, time and time again!"
Wade recalled the saying about how a small kindness is repaid with resentment, while a great kindness is repaid with enmity, and his face completely chilled. He asked, "What do you mean?"
The man narrowed his eyes and said, "You're still a student, kid. In your mind, you probably think your Headmaster is very great, trustworthy, and someone you can always rely on. But once you graduate…"
His voice abruptly cut off. His nostrils twitched a few times, and his teeth gnashed together.
After a long while, he spoke again: "Once you graduate, you'll see that the Ministry of Magic is corrupt, inefficient, and sluggish. They always mess everything up, and discrimination and prejudice are everywhere. Criminals roam free, yet law-abiding people are thrown into Azkaban just for buying a used Wand…"
"You know there's a big problem, and you know there's someone who definitely can solve it… or at least improve part of it. You beg him, again and again! Again! And again! You beg him to step up! But he always refuses!"
"As long as Dumbledore nods, he wouldn't have to do anything, and the position of Minister of Magic would be handed to him!"
"But Dumbledore? He'd rather watch a greedy fool take that position than leave Hogwarts!"
"Tell me, child, in this situation… how can you thank him?"
The Werewolf asked, but then, seeing Wade's still somewhat childish face, he gave a wry smile and wiped his face.
"Sorry, you're still a child. I shouldn't be telling you all this… Go back to your studies. Don't come to the Forbidden Forest again for a while."
Then, carrying a breathless Morris, he strode into the forest.
Wade stood for a while longer before turning and walking towards the castle.
Hagrid had vaguely heard the Werewolf's roar earlier and was standing outside his hut, looking around, an axe in his hand.
Seeing Wade, Hagrid dropped the axe and asked curiously, "Wade, who were you just talking to?"
"The Werewolf living in the Forbidden Forest," Wade said simply. "I found his injured child."
"Oh… that guy."
Hagrid relaxed, a conflicted expression on his bearded face.
"What's wrong?" Wade asked curiously.
"Don't go near them on your own, Wade," Hagrid said, tugging at his messy beard. "Of course, Remus is a good person, I like him very much; Lucas isn't bad either."
"And then?" Wade asked with a smile.
"Well… but Wade, you're too trusting of Werewolves."
Hagrid bent down, looking at him worriedly. "Most Werewolves are extremely violent, especially towards Wizards. They don't have a good impression of them at all. During the last war, almost all Werewolves were on the side of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."
"I understand," Wade said earnestly, taking the advice. "I won't casually approach strange Werewolves again."
"That's good." Hagrid didn't doubt him and smiled happily. "Later, you can write an essay about how to properly identify a Werewolf…"
"Hold on!" Wade gestured, asking curiously, "Hagrid, why have you suddenly started assigning so much homework lately?"
Even when taking students out for a "picnic," he made them bring an essay as a "souvenir."
"Oh, Professor Kettleburn gave me that suggestion," Hagrid said. "I'm very worried that you all won't pass your O.W.L.s. I hear they're terribly difficult. Professor Kettleburn said that if you write more essays, the knowledge will eventually stick in your brain…"
Wade was speechless.
It was truly… unexpected that two people who usually didn't write much would conspire to use the "homework method" to improve scores.
He asked, "But Hagrid, isn't that a problem only fifth-year students need to worry about? You're already assigning it to us in third year?"
He enjoyed learning new Magic he hadn't encountered before, but Wade didn't have the patience to write essays over and over again on content he had already fully mastered.
Hagrid scratched his head and said simply, "There's no harm in learning early."
"There is," Wade said seriously. "If everyone knows this class has a lot of homework, not many new students might want to take your class next year! Even Hermione can't stand too many essays!"
Hagrid froze. "Really?"
"Of course," Wade nodded.
The Half-Giant fell into thought.
Wade quietly slipped away from him and headed towards the castle.
Speak of Hermione, and there she was.
As Wade stepped into the Entrance Hall, he saw Hermione get bumped, and the books she was holding scattered everywhere.
"Hey!" Hermione shouted angrily.
Pansy, who had bumped her, pretended not to see or hear anything and hurried into the Great Hall with a few Slytherin girls, then let out a gloating laugh.
Hermione's eyes instantly turned fierce with anger, but she was too busy to retaliate. She immediately knelt down and started picking up her books.
Wade quickly walked over, waved his Wand, and all the books on the ground floated up into Hermione's hands.
Finally, a thick copy of A History of Magic remained, which someone had already picked up.
"Here, Granger," Carlyle said, handing over the book.
"Thanks." Hermione took it, then glanced at Wade and reminded him, "Class is starting soon, Wade. Remember not to be late!"
"Mmm, I won't miss the time," Wade said. "Why didn't you put all your books in your bag?"
He had cast an Undetectable Extension Charm on everyone's SSC bags, allowing them to hold many books with almost no weight.
"Oh, I was planning to return these books to the Library on the way," Hermione said anxiously. "I have to go now!"
The girl hurried away. When Wade turned around, he found that Carlyle had left at some point.
"Looking for that little fang from earlier? He left with his girlfriend."
A figure hanging in a portrait on the wall, perched on the frame, suddenly spoke.
"Griffiths?" Wade looked at the red-haired figure in surprise, then asked, "Girlfriend?"
"I'm guessing so," Griffiths said with a smile. "Although I haven't heard anything, they're so close, their relationship must be extraordinary."
Wade didn't care about Carlyle's romantic history, but he still warned, "Don't spread rumors, or students might complain, and you'll be moved to the Astronomy Tower again!"
Griffiths' expression became serious, and he made a zipping motion over his mouth.
After watching Wade enter the Great Hall, he complained to the person next to him, "Young people nowadays are increasingly disrespectful of their elders."
The person in the adjacent portrait had their eyes closed, sleeping, and didn't respond.
Griffiths was happy to talk to himself: "But that's good. If they were always so polite, it wouldn't be any fun… Oh, you don't have to pretend to sleep. I won't bother you today."
The old man in the pointed hat next to him seemed determined to "feign sleep" to the end; not even a strand of his hair moved. Only faint snores proved that it was still a Magic world portrait.
Griffiths' expression became somewhat sad. He retreated to his original spot and sat there dejectedly, as if he too had become a static portrait.
...
The Werewolf Lucas threw his son onto his shoulder, letting him cling on, then strode towards the Chao Family's home, scolding Morris for being disobedient and getting into danger.
For some reason, from last night until today, the Forbidden Forest seemed to have suddenly become friendly. He had slept outside for an entire night, not in a cave or a built nest, and surprisingly hadn't encountered any danger.
Suddenly, Lucas paused. At the same time, Morris also looked up, sniffing hard with his wet nose, trying to catch a hint of something amiss in the air.
"It smells like roasted meat, Dad," Morris whined miserably. "I'm hungry."
"Wait a moment." Lucas pushed aside the tall grass and cautiously walked towards the source of the smell.
A man was lying on the ground, covered in blood and looking extremely dishevelled. He had several burn marks on his body, and his hair was almost completely gone.
Lucas carefully identified him for a moment, then froze.
"Isn't that the guy who was asking about the Acromantula nest the other day? If I remember correctly, he claimed to be a Vampire."
Lucas looked back towards Hogwarts, seeing only an endless expanse of trees and leaves.
Without much hesitation, he dragged the man up from the ground. Finding that he was still breathing, Lucas carefully dripped a few drops from a crystal vial in his waist pouch into the man's mouth.
Good Potions always had an immediate effect. Before long, the man weakly opened his eyes and coughed a few times.
"Hey, Thomas," the Werewolf asked, "Negotiations with the spiders didn't go well?"
"Lucas... It's good to see you."
Thomas recognized the guide he had hired before. He stood up, clutching his head, and said with a mixture of bewilderment and defeat, "The negotiations completely failed... or rather, it wasn't as meaningful as we thought it would be—there were far fewer members in the spider tribe than expected."
"Fewer?" The Werewolf didn't understand. He remembered seeing countless spiders in the nest when he passed by not long ago.
Just as he was about to ask, the Vampire opposite him suddenly made a "be quiet" gesture.
Both of them fell silent, and Morris remained completely still.
Then, they heard chaotic, shuffling footsteps gradually approaching, finally stopping.
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