章節 176: 0175 Cat & Dog
On the road of magic for more than ten years, Bryan had never encountered such a difficult obstacle. The research that had made no progress for more than a month even made him doubt his own magical talent!
He looked again at the stack of manuscripts that he had already memorized, and sighed deeply, with a hint of helplessness in his sigh. The yellowed papers were covered with ancient runes and symbols, some of which were faded or torn. They were the only clues he had to decipher the mysterious curse that had fascinated him for so long.
If it was just an ordinary spell or curse, and there had been no breakthrough after researching it to this point, he might have given up by now, but this curse was different. Ever since he figured out the content recorded on the manuscript, and learned that it could magically and irresistibly stuff the cursed soul into another person's soul, Bryan knew that he had to master this magic.
The hunger and protest of his stomach told Bryan that he urgently needed to eat and rest. He stood silently in the kitchen for a while, dispelling the sense of decadence in his heart, and then began to deal with the slime and blood stains on the stone platform. He had experimented with various animals, trying to transfer their souls to each other, but none of them had succeeded. The only result was a pile of corpses and a horrible smell. He had to dispose of them quickly, or he would attract unwanted attention.
The trembling tip of his wand emitted a dazzling galaxy, and Bryan once again used the illusion magic to restore the house to its original appearance when no one was there.
He scratched his itchy scalp, which was covered with greasy and tangled hair, and looked around the house. He made sure that he had not left any traces of his presence, and then he headed for the door. He was planning to go back to the village, and to buy some food and supplies. But as soon as he opened the door, he heard a rustle and a squeak from outside. He narrowed his eyes and shouted, "Come out!"
After a shout, Bryan quickly extended his right hand towards the source of the noise, and a small creature flew out of the bushes and landed in his hand.
The Shrieking Shack was located on the hillside of the northeast of the high slope, where the ground lost the protection of vegetation, and large and small, oddly shaped stones were scattered on both sides of a winding and steep path. This path extended from the main road of Hogsmeade village, crossing several large fields of vegetable gardens and a few wooden houses in the wilderness. The end of the path was a strange and rugged stone mountain. The Shrieking Shack was the only building on the mountain, and it looked like it was about to collapse at any time.
Under a rock wall that faced away from the moonlight, a ginger-colored cat peeked out from behind a stone. It looked around cautiously, and after confirming that there was no sign of life, it jumped agilely on the stone, and disappeared into the dark shadow. It was carrying something in its mouth, and it made a soft meowing sound.
Meow! The cool and dry cave was almost completely bathed in the deep darkness. Crookshanks looked around, meowed a few times, and then dropped something from his mouth. The piece of cheese rolled to the ground softly and stopped near a pile of bones. It was a yellowish-white color, with some holes and mold on it. It smelled sour and pungent, but it was better than nothing. It was stolen from the Hogwarts kitchen by Crookshanks, who had sneaked in there.
Whoosh– A gust of wind appeared out of thin air, and a huge figure suddenly pounced on a stone platform protruding from the rock wall above. It easily picked up the cheese with its teeth, and without any hesitation, it swallowed it whole.
Gulp, gulp, gulp– The sound of a hungry stomach digesting food was very clear in this silent cave. Crookshanks crawled on the ground, squinting his eyes and looking at the beast that was eating gratefully with his weird pansy face, and licked his cat paw contentedly with his tongue.
That was a skinny dog that could clearly see how many ribs it had. It was about the same size as a young black bear. Its black fur was covered with stains that were hard to clean. When it licked the cheese crumbs on the ground, its gray eyes flickered with not only desire, but also a human-like madness!
Woo woo– The big dog spit out its tongue, unable to find any more food from the ground, and whimpered at Crookshanks a few times, expressing gratitude. Crookshanks rubbed his head against the dog's leg, and purred softly.
The night was deep, and the moon with a missing corner climbed to the zenith of the sky like a giant millstone. Its pale light cast a faint shadow on the barren and rocky landscape below. The mountain wind that had grown colder with the passing of time made the black dog squatting on the large stone curl up its body, trying to preserve some warmth. The sad whimper that escaped from its throat revealed its loneliness and longing.
From a distance, the Shrieking Shack on another peak looked as dark and eerie as usual, but the black dog knew that the house was not empty. There was a madman who was obsessed with magic research occupying the house day and night, cutting off his safest and most reliable path back to Hogwarts. The black dog had been waiting for a chance to sneak into the school, where he hoped to find his old friend and expose the traitor who had ruined his life.
Meow– Crookshanks, the ginger-colored cat who was sitting next to the black dog, lazily called out twice, giving his suggestion. He pointed his nose towards the Forbidden Forest, which was a dense and dark area full of magical creatures. He thought that they could go around from there, and enter the school from the other side.
Hesitating for a moment, the black dog shook his head and rejected the suggestion. It was too risky to go through the Forbidden Forest. There were many intelligent and dangerous creatures living there, and they were all loyal to Hagrid, the gamekeeper of Hogwarts. If they saw him, they would surely report him to the headmaster or the Ministry of Magic. In addition to this method, the black dog also knew some secret passages that could lead him into the school, but the entrances of those passages were mostly in the Hogsmeade village. Now the village was full of patrolling Aurors, the elite wizards who worked for the Ministry of Magic, and the Dementors, the soul-sucking creatures who guarded the prison of Azkaban. Unless he had no choice, he didn't want to take this risk either.
The Black dog thought when that madman returns home to rest, he will sneak in.
Crookshanks looked at the Shrieking Shack with a thoughtful expression, and after a while, he gave another suggestion. He thought that they could wait for the wizard in the house to leave, and then use the secret passage that connected the house to the school. The passage was hidden under a loose floorboard in one of the rooms, and it led to the Whomping Willow, a violent and sentient tree that guarded the entrance.
The man in the shack was Harry and his friend's teacher, a very powerful wizard. Because he had no way to communicate without barriers, the black dog could only get this information from Crookshanks, who had seen him before.
Woo– After a long silence, the black dog once again rejected Crookshanks's proposal. A powerful wizard, conducting secret magic experiments in a hidden place, could only mean that there were many taboo and dangerous things involved in his research, and this also meant that the Shrieking Shack was likely to be set up with some wards or warning spells. The black dog didn't have a wand in his hand now, and he couldn't guarantee that he wouldn't trigger these spells. He didn't want to alert the wizard or the Ministry of Magic, and he didn't want to endanger Crookshanks either.
The black dog kept whimpering, and tried hard to express his thoughts to Crookshanks.
Steal the fake rat from the school– This was Crookshanks's third suggestion.
This method was somewhat feasible, but the black dog didn't have much hope. He knew that the fake rat was cunning and cowardly, and that he had some tricks up his sleeve. Crookshanks was very smart, but he was unlikely to deal with him alone, especially since the fake rat was protected by his owner and his friends.
But this was the least likely to expose and worth trying plan at the moment. Crookshanks, who received approval, stood up, and his face that looked like it had been run over by a wheel also didn't look so gloomy. He faced the direction of the Shrieking Shack and called out softly.
By the way, want to see what the wizard in the house is doing, and, test if there are any traps? Crookshanks added another suggestion, which was more of a curiosity than a necessity. He wanted to know what the wizard was doing in the house, and if he could find a way to avoid or disable the possible traps. He thought that it would be useful for their future plan, and also fun to explore.
The black dog fell into hesitation again. He was not particularly curious about what the wizard was doing in the house, but if Crookshanks could help confirm whether there were any traps in the Shrieking Shack, it would be helpful. That wizard was the teacher of Harry, and he had seen Crookshanks before, so if he really found Crookshanks, he shouldn't be in much danger. He might even be friendly to him, since he was Harry's friend's pet.
Meow– Before the black dog could figure out whether this matter was worth taking a risk, Crookshanks, who couldn't wait, stood up and ran towards the green hill. He was agile and swift, and he soon disappeared from the black dog's sight. The black dog squatted on the stone and watched Crookshanks go away quickly, and his gray eyes showed intense worry.
This very smart big ginger cat had given him a lot of help during this time, and he was already his friend. In this moment when everything was against him, if he lost Crookshanks's help, revenge would probably become more difficult.
After hesitating for a while, the black dog made up his mind and howled, bathed in the bright moonlight, and ran towards the Shrieking Shack as well!
"You are-"
In the hall of the Shrieking Shack, Bryan squinted his eyes and looked at the ginger-colored big cat that was struggling fiercely in his hand, and his face looked a bit strange, "If I remember correctly, you are Hermione's pet cat Crookshanks. By the way, what are you doing here?"
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