The Silent Witch of Hogwarts

Chapter 36: The Fluffy Secret

Seeing this, Loila quickly raised her wand and flicked it.

The trail has been revealed!

Golden mist emanated from the tip of the staff, circling Lupin's room and gradually revealing a pair of golden footprints.

However, these footprints were not human at all... they were a pair of footprints that looked like some kind of wild animal.

What kind of animal kidnapped Mr. Lupin? Loila didn't know much about magical creatures, only their general role in magic arrays.

Loila pursed her lips and picked up a black hair that had fallen to the ground.

What is this...? Is it the fur of that beast?

If Miss Lovegood were here, she would recognize what this is.

But Loila didn't have time to think too much right now; she raised her wand and aimed it at the wolf hair.

Tracing the source!

With a tap of the white wand, the black hair slowly floated up and then flew out through the shattered glass.

This is the second floor... Loila, who is afraid of heights, pursed her lips, took a deep breath, and silently chanted "shock reduction and speed stop" while closing her eyes and flipping over.

As soon as her feet touched the ground, Loila hurriedly opened her eyes.

The wild beast's hair had already flown far away.

She had to quicken her pace to keep up.

At this moment, Diagon Alley was completely devoid of its daytime bustle; it was eerily quiet in the dead of night, and the sound of Loila's bare feet stepping on the bluestone bricks carried far along the alley.

She was in such a hurry that she didn't even have time to put on her shoes.

Thanks to the moonlight, which was exceptionally bright tonight, Loila was able to see the hair that was slightly reflecting light in the moonlight.

"It must be that beast that kidnapped Mr. Lupin..." Loila thought, gripping her wand tightly as she followed the hair, turning left and right in Diagon Alley.

Soon, she reached the edge of Diagon Alley. As the bluestone bricks gradually disappeared, green meadows and a vast forest came into view.

"..."

Loila pursed her lips and flicked her wand. Only when a faint light appeared did she dare to step into this place that normal wizards would never come to.

There were many stones or other things on the ground, and Loila could feel that she was stepping on many strange things... but she didn't have time to think about it. She was eager to find Mr. Lupin.

If it was because she was late that the beast hurt Mr. Lupin... Loila would never forgive herself.

Soon, as Loila ventured deeper, there was no longer any sign of wizarding civilization in the surrounding area, and it was hard to imagine that there was such a large forest around Diagon Alley.

The forest seemed unusually quiet in the dead of night; Loila could only faintly hear the howls of animals and the sound of the wind.

Fortunately, the moonlight was still so bright that Loila could barely keep up with the hair.

Soon, the black beast's fur began to move slower and slower, which meant that... Loila was getting closer and closer to the beast.

She pursed her lips, looking ahead with a slightly flustered and nervous expression, her wand trembling slightly.

She's fought many people... but not beasts...

Loila wasn't sure if she could save Mr. Lupin, but thinking too much would inevitably lead to a big mistake, and Loila had already made that mistake before... She didn't want to do that again.

As Loila pushed aside the bushes, a small lake came into view.

Then what came into view... was a wild beast standing in the moonlight.

It was a werewolf… Even a wizard who didn’t recognize any magical creatures could tell it was a werewolf. It had black fur and menacing fangs, and its blood-red eyes were fixed on the moon in the sky. At the same time, it raised its head slightly and let out a wolf howl that made Loila’s heart tremble.

The werewolves kidnapped Mr. Lupin!

Loila thought that was the first thing that came to mind, but the next second, she saw the tattered clothes lying around the werewolf... without any bloodstains on them.

But it was indeed Mr. Lupin's clothes.

Loila was stunned for a moment. Her brain was working at lightning speed, and even the part of her brain that she usually used for magic arrays started to work.

In just a few seconds, she learned an astonishing fact.

Mr. Lupin is a werewolf.

Although it's a bit unbelievable, it's the only possibility Loila can think of... It also seems to explain why there's only one pair of footprints in Mr. Lupin's room.

This also explains why Mr. Lupin always looks tired... and why Mr. Lupin always disappears for a few days every month...

He was a werewolf… Despite her shock, Loila felt nothing else, unlike other wizards who felt disgust or fear.

On the contrary, Loila actually sensed a bit of... coincidence.

Is Mr. Lupin a freak like himself?

As Loila was thinking this, her foot stepped on a sharp stone, followed by a sharp pain.

She was bleeding... Realizing this, Loila didn't have time to think. She quickly gripped her wand and looked at Mr. Lupin, who had transformed into a werewolf.

"..."

The werewolf's nose twitched, then he turned slightly to look in Loila's direction.

It smelled blood...

Loila raised her wand to cast a spell, but the thought of facing Mr. Lupin, her friend, made her hesitate.

Should I use the Killing Curse? Or should I use another spell...? What if I hurt Mr. Lupin?

Loila held her wand for a long time without waving it, but the werewolf didn't think that much about it.

"Awoo!"

With a sharp howl, the werewolf pounced on Loila at lightning speed. The two were only a dozen meters apart, which was just a moment for the werewolf.

Seeing that gaping, blood-red maw, Loila didn't have time to think; her body instinctively and reflexively swung her wand.

Apparition!

Her body vanished from the spot in an instant and then reappeared by the lake.

"Mr. Lupin!" she called out loudly, pursing her lips. "I am Loila... Loila Hamilton!"

"We are friends..."

Before he could finish speaking, the werewolf pounced again. It was as if talking to Mr. Lupin, who had already turned into a wild beast, was like playing music to a wolf!

Loila flicked her wand again, and her figure vanished from the spot once more.

No... I can't keep hiding like this... Even Loila, who is proficient in spells, can't apparite multiple times in a short period of time.

This puts a considerable strain on the body.

I had to control myself... Before I could think any further, the werewolf pounced on me again.

Loila quickly raised her wand and flicked it, sending a silver beam flying straight towards the werewolf's gaping maw.

It freezes everyone in place.

The werewolf that was hit froze in mid-air, but its body continued to move toward Loila due to inertia.

"Yugadimur Levio..." Before Loila could cast the Levitation Spell, the werewolf had already charged at her.

She instinctively leaned back, and then slipped and fell onto the grass.

The werewolf pounced on her, scaring Loila so much that she screamed and closed her eyes.

"Huh?" After a few seconds, Loila, who did not feel any pressure, carefully opened her eyes. What she saw in her blue eyes was a gaping, bloody maw!

It was only centimeters away from her nose! Startled, she quickly turned her head to the side, which allowed her to see exactly why she hadn't been pinned down by the werewolf.

The werewolf's two stiff arms supported Loila on either side, creating a small space beneath it that perfectly accommodated the petite Loila.

Fortunately, she was lucky... Although Loila was completely surrounded by werewolves, she was fortunate enough not to be injured at all. The only wound was from stepping on a stone just now.

That should... solve the problem, right?

As she gradually felt safer and her adrenaline slowly subsided, Loila felt a little short of breath.

"Huff...huff..." Loila took a few deep breaths, a few beads of sweat dripping from her pale face due to the strenuous exercise, and her pointed ears trembled slightly.

Fortunately... although it was somewhat indecent, I managed to control Mr. Lupin...

Even though he looks like a werewolf now... and has a mouthful of sharp teeth.

Loila tilted her head slightly, then pushed off with her legs and slipped out of the werewolf's arms.

So... what should we do next?

Loila, sitting on the ground, looked at the werewolf lying on the lakeside with a headache... She certainly couldn't just leave Mr. Lupin here, could she?

But wouldn't it be awkward if Mr. Lupin turned back into a werewolf...? Just like Royla didn't want others to know her true identity, she felt that Mr. Lupin probably didn't want others to know that he was actually a werewolf...

And... if Mr. Lupin were to return to being a human, would he not wear clothes?

Loila felt her thoughts were jumping around a bit... but upon closer inspection, it really was a problem... should she use her wand to make Mr. Lupin a suit?

Wait a minute...don't werewolves usually not wear clothes?

Loila subconsciously glanced down...

"Ugh!" She blushed and turned her head away, quickly beginning to recite the knowledge of magic arrays.