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A faint breeze was blowing. The air in Knockturn Alley was unusually foul, filled with a mix of all kinds of strange smells. This was a heaven for lawbreakers, so naturally, many shady workshops operated here day and night.
"Love potions, perpetual delight potions... as expected, anything related to primal urges is always a bestseller." Ian squatted down and drew more blood from the Stupefied werewolf using another syringe.
He had already extracted about 2,000 milliliters of fresh werewolf blood. The werewolf's skin had turned noticeably pale. Honestly, Ian was also quite surprised by the things going on in the werewolf's mind.
But his reaction was nowhere near as exaggerated as Lupin's.
"No!"
The information received from the mind of the Stupefied werewolf stirred a storm of emotions in Lupin's heart that refused to calm down. His expression shifted repeatedly before he finally opened his mouth in a hoarse voice.
"That must be a false memory!"
The words he spoke reflected his refusal to accept reality.
"That person couldn't possibly be alive this long!"
Whether Lupin was trying to convince Ian or simply seeking their agreement to convince himself, Ian could completely understand his reaction on a personal level.
It was like physicists discovering that Einstein was still alive somewhere, working on tractor repairs; most physicists wouldn't be able to mentally handle it.
"Take it easy, my senior. It's just a name. Someone impersonating him isn't out of the question," Ian tried to soothe Lupin's emotions in the direction he clearly preferred.
However—
"But… to effortlessly defeat a group of werewolves without a scratch, and with such remarkable swordsmanship, throughout history, wizards matching such a profile can be counted on one hand..." Lupin, who had just been denying the possibility, suddenly contradicted himself again, questioning Ian's attempt to comfort him.
"?????"
Ian began to suspect that Lupin might genuinely have some kind of mental condition.
"So what, the one who sold the potion to the werewolves was Godric Gryffindor, satisfied now?" Ian rolled his eyes. Yes, the name they had heard in the werewolf's memory was none other than the founder of House Gryffindor.
Godric Gryffindor.
In the Stupefied werewolf's memory, not long ago, a young man with golden blond hair had entered Knockturn Alley and pitched a potion called Lucid Awakening Potion to the werewolves living there.
According to this young man, the Lucid Awakening Potion far surpassed the Wolfsbane Potion. Not only did it help werewolves maintain their rationality during full moons, but after taking it, they would be able to transform at will while remaining clear-minded for life. The only flaw was that it couldn't remove the infectious nature of the werewolf curse.
Such an obviously overpowered potion naturally wasn't trusted by the werewolves. Instead, they thought the young man was a scammer and attacked him in a rage.
As for the outcome of the battle—
Just as in the werewolf memory that Lupin didn't want to believe, the mysterious blond youth had easily and completely crushed all the werewolves in Knockturn Alley, nearly one versus a hundred, and walked away unscathed.
That might've been what was unsettling Lupin the most.
That person was just too powerful.
So powerful, he seemed like the founder of Gryffindor that Lupin had dreamed about as a child.
Even some werewolves who had already transformed into their beast forms couldn't last a single round under that man's swordsmanship. That level of combat ability was simply terrifying, something ordinary wizards could never possess.
"You're no nameless nobody!"
A defeated and wounded werewolf had roared in fear, and that roar was overheard by the very Stupefied werewolf Ian had now captured. That's how the Stupefied werewolf had heard the mysterious figure's reply:
"Perhaps… you can call me Godric Gryffindor. That was the name given to me at birth," said the blond youth, before taking all the werewolves' gold Galleons.
No, perhaps "taking" isn't the right word. It was more like, after leaving behind the so-called Lucid Awakening Potion, he had strong-armed the werewolves into giving up their life savings in a blatant forced sale.
He didn't leave them a single Knut… which was exactly why some werewolves had risked drinking the Lucid Awakening Potion. Even continuing to do dirty work for dark wizards wouldn't earn them enough in time to afford Wolfsbane anymore. Their only option was to gamble on this so-called potion left behind by "Godric Gryffindor."
In fact—
Compared to Lupin's reaction...
Most werewolves didn't believe the mysterious blond-haired young man's words. Most of them were educated, and even those who weren't had at least heard of who Godric Gryffindor was.
Even ignoring the fact that someone from a thousand years ago couldn't possibly still be alive, who would believe that a legendary figure would stoop so low as to become a shady street vendor in Knockturn Alley?
The werewolves didn't believe it.
Only Lupin seemed mentally shaken by the encounter.
Sure enough...
Ian tried to humor him again, but Lupin immediately showed his "rebellious" streak.
"Godric Gryffindor would never do such a thing! And! He lived more than ten centuries ago! Are you seriously suggesting that Godric Gryffindor chose to sneak through life, too cowardly to face death?" Lupin snapped again at Ian, his behavior so erratic that Ian was rolling his eyes.
"I never said that. Besides, immortality doesn't mean cowardice. Just say it, what exactly do you want me to say?" Ian sighed deeply, exasperated.
Truth be told, Ian didn't believe that the man selling potions to the werewolves was actually Godric Gryffindor. He was just shocked at the overwhelming strength shown by the figure in the Stupefied werewolf's memories, and that strength made him want to report the matter to Albus Dumbledore.
Most people probably didn't know much about the four Founders, but Ian was different. He had heard from more than one source that Godric Gryffindor had already passed through the Twilight Zone.
Whether it was Pandero, Morgan, or Lady Ravenclaw, they had all confirmed this: Godric Gryffindor had ventured beyond even the Twilight Zone.
It's not like he reincarnated with memories of his past life, right?
"I don't know either..." Lupin's eyes were distant, his expression more and more complicated. Deep down, he too leaned toward the theory that someone was impersonating the thousand-year-old Founder.
However—
Aside from Grindelwald, Lupin couldn't imagine another dark wizard in this century with that level of power. What was he supposed to do? Suspect Albus Dumbledore?
Even if that swordsmanship did look a little suspicious… no, no, he mustn't think like that. Thinking that way would be disloyal to Albus Dumbledore! The great Dumbledore would never do something only dark wizards would do! And even if, if Dumbledore ever chose to do something shady, he'd have no reason to stain Godric Gryffindor's name!
"There's no point in us sitting here speculating. Let's report this to Headmaster Dumbledore. The old man will investigate. You should believe that our headmaster can get to the truth."
Ian didn't want to dwell too long on this topic either. After all, the mysterious blond guy hadn't done anything to him. So what if he turned out to be Merlin?
The world is full of geniuses.
There are always some who manage to delay or escape death. Even if that blond man was just some hyper-talented, overconfident youngster with a flair for the dramatic, it wouldn't be that hard to accept.
Worst-case scenario...
If he really was Godric Gryffindor, maybe it wasn't such a bad thing.
"I just hope I can analyze the formula of this so-called Lucid Awakening Potion from the werewolf's blood." Ian weighed the blood he had collected.
He had already felt like the amount he had wasn't enough for proper research. Now, having to extract potion components from the sample meant he'd need even more werewolf blood. Even draining this Stupefied werewolf completely might not be enough. That's also why Ian hadn't continued drawing blood, he understood the concept of sustainability even in his last life.
"I want to look around and ask some other werewolves for information," Lupin muttered, eyes drifting toward a certain direction. Perhaps even he wasn't aware that this was exactly what Ian had been about to suggest.
Of course—
Though he thought this way, Ian didn't let it show.
(To Be Continued…)