In the forest, there was only one group that could make such a sound—the centaurs.
And centaurs were notoriously proud. They looked down on wizards, and had even less regard for dark creatures like vampires and werewolves.
If Lucas and the others were discovered by a group of centaurs, they would undoubtedly be killed under the pretense of "trespassing on sacred territory." Perhaps only the wolf cub, Morris, might be spared.
The werewolf extended his claws and leapt, climbing swiftly into the treetops to hide.
The Vampire had an even easier time. Thomas transformed directly into a bat and hung from a branch, blending perfectly into the surrounding darkness of the leaves.
Just as they finished hiding, two centaurs arrived nearby, pushing aside the underbrush with their bows to inspect the area.
The grass bore human-shaped imprints, stained with blood. The air carried a peculiar scent—like decaying meat mingled with the sweet fragrance of roses or fresh irises.
"Disgusting!" One centaur sniffled, then sneezed and said with disdain, "That vampire's gone."
The other centaur flicked his deep brown tail impatiently and growled, "He must have woken up before we got here. Damn bat!"
"Regardless, he was here." A platinum-blond centaur calmly observed the blood on the ground. "We need to find him. Vampires roaming freely in the Forbidden Forest cannot be tolerated."
They called out a signal, and before long, more centaurs came trotting into the area. One among them stepped forward—a lithe centaur with a silver-gray tail.
"Magrey!"
The centaurs who had arrived first all bowed their heads respectfully and moved aside to clear a path.
Magrey knelt down on one knee, dipped his fingers into a spot of blood on the ground, and chanted softly. His pale blue eyes quickly became distant and unfocused, as if they were gazing far beyond the forest to some unseen place.
The vampire Thomas's eyes widened immediately—he recognized this centaur as one of the elders of the herd, renowned for his skill in divination.
Not daring to linger any longer, Thomas silently detached himself, slipped through the gaps in the leaves and flew swiftly away.
Lucas hesitated, but didn't flee right away.
He knew that with his size, any movement he made through the trees would be easily detected by the sharp ears of the centaurs.
Besides, the centaurs were targeting the outsider vampire. Lucas and his family had Dumbledore's permission to live in the Forbidden Forest. As long as he wasn't caught alongside Thomas, he still had a chance to talk his way out.
So, the werewolf tucked his son inside his coat and motioned for him to stay silent.
Morris nodded vigorously, eyes wide with tension.
"He's gone," the centaur elder finally said after a moment. "He'll be out of the Forbidden Forest soon. We won't be able to catch him."
"Damn it!" one black-haired centaur roared in frustration.
"Calm down, Bane," Magrey said with a composed tone. "At the very least, he didn't cause us any harm."
"He went to the Acromantula colony," the platinum-haired centaur added. "Magrey, perhaps we should warn Hogwarts."
Magrey shook his head. "There's no need. The Acromantulas suffered a major blow just yesterday afternoon—over ninety percent of them were killed or injured."
Another red-haired centaur slowly stepped forward and added, "So when the vampire intruded, they assumed he was the one responsible for the massacre. Aragog and his offspring nearly tore him apart."
"Exactly," Magrey said. "Whatever that vampire intended to do has already failed. There's no reason to go out of our way to inform Hogwarts."
"Firenze, you should keep your distance from humans—especially those at Hogwarts," Bane said coldly. "I don't want to be seen as a servant of that school."
The platinum-haired centaur was indeed Firenze. At Bane's words, he frowned and replied:
"Our herd is close to Hogwarts. We're neighbors, and we should watch over each other. What's more, an increasing number of dark forces are surfacing. If we want to protect our herd, we must cooperate with Hogwarts."
"What do any of those things have to do with us? Centaurs should concern themselves with the prophecies of the stars!" Bane roared. "We have sworn an oath, Firenze—never to defy the will of the heavens!"
"Or perhaps," Firenze said angrily, "the stars are guiding us! Don't tell me you didn't see it—two years ago, Jupiter tore apart a comet! Its fragments are on a collision course with Jupiter again! This is a sign—a prelude to great upheaval in the world!"
Bane growled, "That's exactly why we must remain silent, protect our herd, and avoid unnecessary entanglements with the outside world! Just like our ancestors have done for thousands of years!"
He glared fiercely and bellowed, "Firenze, do you want the centaur herd to be dragged into war?"
Firenze said with disappointment, "If all we needed to do was wait for dawn, then why would the gods give us the ability to read the signs written in the stars?"
He looked around, then fixed his gaze on Bane.
"We are not mere observers of the world, Bane—we are part of it. The stars have shown us the path. If we choose to do nothing, this changing world will leave us behind. The centaurs will become nothing but dust in the pages of history!"
"I'd rather become dust than be used by wizards, or commanded by humans!" Bane huffed coldly and turned, storming off deeper into the Forbidden Forest.
The other centaurs silently watched the heated argument unfold. Among them were the red-haired centaur who seemed like a leader, and Magrey, who had just performed a divination. None of them spoke.
Not until Bane disappeared into the woods did the red-haired centaur finally let out a long sigh.
He turned to Firenze and said, "Firenze, your concerns aren't unfounded. But…"
He looked up at the stars, gazing at them for a long moment before continuing, "We centaurs have our pride. Hogwarts—or rather, wizards in general—do not understand what it means to treat other races with respect."
His tone wasn't as fierce as Bane's, but his words resonated with most of the other centaurs. Some of them had initially leaned toward Firenze's view, but after the red-haired centaur spoke, the hesitation vanished from their faces.
Firenze frowned. "Ronan, we cannot turn a blind eye to change. You've seen it too—Hogwarts has changed more in the past two years than it has in the last thousand!"
Ronan responded with quiet melancholy, "Yes. Sometimes when I see those children coming out of the Maze, I feel a deep fear. The young of the wizards are transforming into warriors, while we centaurs remain frozen in place."
Firenze's face lit up with hope, and he said urgently, "Exactly! That's why we must…"
Ronan raised his hand to stop Firenze from saying more, sighing, "You're too impatient, Firenze—and impatience leads to mistakes. We still need to observe more carefully to see where the future is truly heading."
Ronan also turned and left, followed by Magrey, and the rest of the centaurs trailed after them one by one.
As a grayish-brown centaur passed by Firenze, he turned his head and said:
"I like you, Firenze, but I hate those wizards. They let those damned spiders into the Forbidden Forest, and now they've stuffed dragons in here too! This forest is our home, but the wizards have made a complete mess of it! I hate them!"
Firenze fell silent as well.
The wizards probably thought that placing the dragon far enough from the centaur settlements would avoid any problems. But to centaurs—who love to run free—the entire Forbidden Forest is their home. They deeply resent the growing presence of uncontrollable dangers within it.
The centaurs left one by one, until only Firenze remained.
He gazed at the sparse stars in the distance and watched for a long time, until the sun rose and washed away the starlight. Only then did he leave, heavy with thought.
Lucas climbed down from the tree, and frowned in the direction the centaurs had gone. After a moment of reflection, he pulled out a crumpled piece of parchment and began to write a letter.
Morris noticed the letter began with "Dumbledore" and asked curiously, "Dad, don't you dislike Dumbledore?"
"A promise is a promise, Morris. We must try our best to keep it."
Lucas replied with a stern face, "Besides, with Dumbledore around, you were taken into that school, treated, and came back safely. If he wasn't there…"
He didn't finish the sentence. The quill paused briefly before he continued writing.
...
When a fluffy-feathered owl swooped into the Headmaster's office, Wade was in the middle of an alchemy class with Professor Murray.
With tea poured and snacks set out, the lesson officially began. Professor Murray waved his wand, and a flat box flew off a bookshelf and landed with a thudon the table.
"Go ahead and open it," Professor Murray said. "This is the item we'll be studying for the next… at least month or two of class."
Wade opened the box and exclaimed in surprise, "A quill?"
Professor Murray chuckled.
"Wade, you've created quite a few impressive alchemical artifacts, but you've rarely worked with quills. Even something as delicate and fragile as this can teach you some fascinating things."
He picked up a slender green quill and said, "This one can refill ink automatically. As long as there's ink in the bottle, it keeps writing. Can you guess what spells were used on it?"
Wade observed it for a moment and said, "Linking Charm… Refilling Charm… I'd guess a Levitation Charm too? That would help the ink flow more smoothly while writing."
"Not bad."
With a slight flick of Professor Murray's hand, the quill disassembled into a pile of components.
"The way you fuse spells together is quite rare. Usually, when we need to enchant an object with multiple spells, we place each spell on a different structural component."
Wade examined it closely.
The nib, the shaft, the connecting points at the top and bottom, and even a tiny wooden bead—each part was enchanted with a different spell. Yet when combined, they worked together harmoniously.
Using materials prepared in advance by Professor Murray, Wade quickly assembled an identical quill of his own, finishing it in just two or three minutes.
Professor Murray nodded in satisfaction.
"The shaft and feather can be broken down into even finer parts. If needed, we can add some extra spell carriers to it—like this anti-cheating quill."
He took out a second quill. It looked ordinary, but to Wade's eyes, it was even more dazzling than the first.
"See, there's an Anti-Interference Charm, Detection Charm, Recording Charm, and even a Restriction Charm. These spells are designed to prevent students from using dishonorable methods to get good grades during exams."
"Of course, I know you've encountered it before, but you should still take another careful look at it from an alchemist's perspective."
"Alright."
Wade took the anti-cheating quill, inspecting, observing, and studying it.
He had used this kind of quill in the final exams over the past two years. But in the exam room, Wade couldn't exactly take apart the exam quill to study it himself.
Professor Murray saw that Wade replicated an almost identical quill in just over ten minutes. A smile appeared on his face, and the wrinkles at the corners of his mouth deepened.
At the same time, he noticed Wade smiled too—but it wasn't the satisfied smile of success; it had a mischievous edge.
Murray's eyes narrowed slightly, smiling as he said, "Wade, I didn't have you study this so you'd get a chance to cheat on exams."
"Oh no, I just suddenly thought of something…"
Wade put down his replica and said with a grin,
"With the communicator beans now available, the usefulness of this kind of quill isn't what it used to be. So maybe this year, the exam hall will ban communicator beans and add a detection spell at the entrance."
"That's a good point," Professor Murray stroked his chin. "I'll bring this suggestion to Dumbledore."
Wade smiled, looking forward to the scene where some students show up wearing communicator beans, thinking they've found a new way to cheat—only to be caught by the professors right before the exam.
"Let's move on to the third one…"
Professor Murray picked up a third quill. It was pure black, with feathers on both sides showing slight signs of decay, giving off an ominous feeling.
"Give it a try," Professor Murray handed it over.
Wade held the quill and lightly drew on the paper. A sharp pain shot through his arm, causing him to frown, and a bright red streak appeared on the paper.
He rolled up his sleeve and saw a thin wound on his arm. Blood slowly oozed out, but then the wound quickly healed, as if nothing had happened.
"It carries a curse," Professor Murray said. "A very ancient magic that uses the user's blood as ink during writing and causes intense pain. It's a common dark magic tool."
He took the black quill from Wade's hand and put it back into the box, and said at the same time:
"Items that show problems immediately when used are actually the least frightening, Wade. The truly dangerous monsters often come wrapped in beautiful clothes, making people willingly fall into the abyss."
"I've heard of a 'wish-fulfilling' quill—whatever you write becomes reality, but the ink it consumes is the writer's luck. Very terrifying, yet many people long for it."
"But that's just a legend. What we're actually going to study today is this—"
Professor Murray held up a sky-blue quill, the longest among several quills, with a somewhat special tip.
"This is a shorthand quill. It can automatically record information and can modify it according to the owner's thoughts. It's a favorite among reporters and writers."
He placed the quill in Wade's palm and said, "The automatic writing charm isn't particularly special, but the way it connects to the wizard's thoughts is very creative—that's the focus of today's lesson."
"This is different from injecting thoughts into a magical doll, which is one-time use. This—uses the user's current thoughts to continuously influence the quill."
"Don't underestimate this kind of charm. A very few wizards skilled in this can make animals understand their thoughts or even compel others to act according to the caster's will, believing those thoughts are their own."
Wade's eyebrows twitched slightly as he asked, "Like the Imperius Curse?"
"No, the Imperius Curse isn't much," Professor Murray said. "It's like the gods or demons in myths who confuse or manipulate humans. There are legends of magical items that can influence the thoughts of billions worldwide."
"...That sounds a bit scary," Wade asked thoughtfully. "How do you avoid that kind of influence?"
"That's just legend, Wade. If a magic could affect billions of people, the cost would be unimaginable."
Professor Murray smiled, "But once you learn the spell, you'll naturally learn how to resist them. Now, let's start with the quill."
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⭐Harry Potter: Becoming a Study God (HP:BSG)- +235 Chapters
⭐MCU: Druid's Adventures (MCUDA)(⭐COMPLETE⭐) - Total Chapter 460
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