Mysterious Journey
Chapter 1093 Too Impulsive
Aghashiyan paused and took a large gulp of tea.
"What happened next? What happened after that?" Arhipovna asked anxiously.
"I was stunned by your husband, dear lady." Aghashiyan spread his hands, saying helplessly, "Lockhart chanted the Obliviate spell, but actually, he cast a Stunner from his wand... When I woke up again, I saw you."
"Where might they be now? Do you have any clues?"
"Probably in the forest," Aghashiyan sighed helplessly, "From the woodlands outside the town, all the way to Azerbaijan, their hideout could be anywhere in that mountain forest, if that counts as a clue—"
"How long have they been gone?" Elena asked.
"I think..." The old wizard glanced at the grandfather clock in the stairwell, "At most three hours."
"Are you sure they definitely went into the forest?" Arhipovna asked.
"Yes," Old Hashi nodded firmly, "They have no other choice. Werewolves used to hide in towns and transform, some locking themselves in rooms waiting for the full moon to pass, but that's impossible now. The Ministry of Magic in various countries has started hunting werewolves. If they're caught transforming in a confined space by Aurors, they have almost no chance of escape. Besides, there are too many of them; they must return to the forest before the moon rises."
"Then," Elena said, "If we want to find the werewolves' hideout in the forest, do you have any suggestions?"
"I suggest you wait until morning. For safety, it's best to leave it to the experts from the Ministry of Magic."
Aghashiyan said, turning to look at the quiet, dark streets outside the window, his tone serious.
"In a few tens of minutes at most, when the moon rises to its highest point, that forest outside will become the most dangerous place in all of Europe."
"Even if they possess logic and reason in human form, when werewolves are in wolf form, they completely lose human judgment of right and wrong."
"Obviously, those guys can't have enough Wolfsbane Potion. And without treatment, the transformation process is very painful for werewolves every month, and they remain pale and weak for several days afterward—you understand what I mean, right? I understand how you feel now, but rushing into the dense forest, which is swarming with werewolves, on the night of the full moon is no different from suicide."
The magic resistance, physical resistance, and movement speed of werewolves in wolf form are significantly enhanced.
According to the famous Magizoologist Newt Scamander, werewolves in wolf form are in the same highly dangerous category as Acromantulas, dragons, and Cerberuses. Unlike other magical creatures, transformed werewolves actively seek out and attack any humans in their vicinity.
Most victims die from severe injuries during werewolf attacks, while a very small number of survivors become werewolves themselves.
Aghashiyan knew very well that if Lockhart hadn't deliberately led those werewolves away, when the moon rose to its highest point, those idiots who sought hope in novels would transform into bloodthirsty beasts, and Tsaverdzo would turn into a werewolf town overnight.
Of course, it was more likely to become a living hell.
Under the attack of dozens of crazed werewolves, there would be few survivors in the town.
Aghashiyan looked away, staring at the flames in the fireplace, deliberately avoiding looking at the women who had broken into his house.
The old man once thought there was nothing more agonizing than waking up and finding himself alone in the room, but he was obviously wrong.
Gilderoy Lockhart, that damn bastard, never said he was married with children!
Rather than answering the two women who were about to, or already had, lost their husband and father, Aghashiyan would rather the werewolves rush back into the room; at least he could pick up his wand and prove himself, instead of sitting by the fireplace, helplessly waiting for tragedy to happen.
The old wizard sighed deeply, waving his hand wearily.
"Don't worry, I'll set off tomorrow at dawn and do my best to help you find that brat—"
"But you still haven't told us how to find werewolves in the forest."
Before Aghashiyan could finish speaking, Elena raised her head, stubbornly repeating her original question.
The girl's starry, lake-blue eyes twinkled with a bright light, which reminded Aghashiyan of the clear, stubborn, and naive gazes of the young wizards in the school when old Ivanovich was still the headmaster of the magic school, and he went to visit his old friend at the school.
"Don't go looking for them," Old Hashi said, "When the moon is fully risen, they will come looking for you."
"What about before that?" Elena asked.
"Well, if it's a large werewolf pack, they might hide in caves or cabins in the woods."
Aghashiyan shrugged. "After all, apart from the night of the full moon, they are no different from ordinary people most of the time, even weaker. They have to find a place to shelter from the wind and rain, but that has to wait until dawn..."
"Do werewolves remember what happened during the transformation after they return to human form?" Elena continued to ask.
"I think so. That's why the number of werewolves is extremely small—"
Aghashiyan said heavily, "Werewolves cannot choose whether to transform, and they forget their identity after transforming, and even seize the opportunity to kill their closest relatives. Nevertheless, they can still recall everything they experienced during the transformation after returning to human form. But if Lockhart is lucky enough, he is still very likely to come back alive. Wizards can mostly save themselves, provided he wants to live..."
Most wizards bitten by werewolves would rather die than become werewolves. Aghashiyan had witnessed such tragic stories firsthand.
"Well, so... um, I roughly understand. So the situation is still quite clear, right—"
Elena twirled her hair thoughtfully, saying softly.
"Now we have two options: either find the cabins or caves hidden in the forest before the werewolves transform and try to rescue that reckless idiot in advance. If we don't find them before the moon rises to its highest point, when the werewolves start transforming, we can also directly pinpoint their location by following the werewolves' howls—and after giving them a good beating, they will remember the lesson when they return to human form."
Aghashiyan chuckled.
He should have known that children of this age often become polarized.
They are either easily frightened by the monsters in the stories, or they possess unparalleled courage due to ignorance. Considering that this little witch can go with her mother to a strange town to find her father, this little one named "Elena" clearly belongs to the latter.
However, when the mature woman not far away also stood up and re-equipped that huge firearm, Aghashiyan's smile disappeared.
"This... uh, Mrs. Lockhart, where are you planning to go?!"
The old wizard deftly flicked his wand, and the door clicked shut.
"I'm very sorry, tonight, neither you nor your daughter can go anywhere—I'll help you tidy up a room upstairs later, and you can rest here with me for one night. I'll accompany you to find Gilderoy Lockhart tomorrow morning. It's very dangerous outside."
If nothing unexpected happened, Lockhart was probably doomed.
Even if he could temporarily stall with his silver tongue, as the moon gradually rose to its highest point, those werewolves who had turned into beasts would never let go of their prey so close at hand. When the sun rose again tomorrow, Gilderoy Lockhart's best outcome would be to become another werewolf.
In this situation, the only thing Aghashiyan could do for Lockhart was to take care of his wife and daughter.
At least not let these two women, whose heads were clouded by emotions, rush rashly into the werewolf forest in the night.
"This door can't stop us. Please unlock the spell, you don't want your door to be smashed, do you?"
"Of course, but I don't want to see a second victim tonight even more."
Aghashiyan nodded, casually flicking his wand.
Without any incantation, a dazzling red light flashed, and Arhipovna staggered suddenly.
The Remington m870 in Arhipovna's hand flew high, over the living room sofa, and landed next to the cabinet full of clutter.
"You are not alone now! Mrs. Lockhart. Think of your daughter..."
The old man was a little angry, his expression began to become serious, and he said sternly.
"Muggle firearms may have a little power, but they are not enough to fight against dozens of werewolves in the forest—in front of a wizard, a Muggle holding a firearm is no different from a soldier holding a crossbow. And a wizard cannot break through the blockade of dozens of werewolves and rescue people from under their noses! If you still can't calm down, I may have to force you to rest."
The Armenian old wizard raised his wand high, looking at Arhipovna, who was barely standing, with a serious expression.
Perhaps he could not compete with dozens of fully armed, young and strong werewolf lads.
But if the opponent was replaced by an ordinary woman holding a firearm, and an eleven or twelve-year-old little witch...
In this situation, if he still couldn't control them in the house and keep them safely until the sun rose the next day, then he might as well have lived his whole life in vain...
Click.
Before Aghashiyan's thoughts were finished, a crisp sound came from the direction of the door.
The little witch had already walked to the door pulling a suitcase, and in her hand, the recently repaired doorknob was pulled off again. Without the door lock, the door opened with a gentle push, and a cool night breeze quickly poured into the house.
"The situation is almost understood. Let's split up according to the original plan—"
Elena glanced at Arhipovna, saying calmly.
"You go back to the hotel to provide support, and explain the situation. As for Lockhart, I'll take care of it..."
"Stop!"
Aghashiyan shouted anxiously, pointing his wand at the little one who seemed to completely ignore him.
"Don't force me to cast a spell on you—if you take another step forward... Damn it..."
Are the Lockharts' brains all made of stone?!
The old wizard cursed inwardly, without the slightest hesitation, another dazzling red light flashed.
Boom!
Just as the spell was about to hit Elena, a translucent magical barrier suddenly appeared automatically.
The menacing spell paused in mid-air for a moment, and then bounced back along its original path at a faster speed—after several months of improvements, the "Deathly Hallows Amulet" that Grindelwald gave to Elena had been updated a full dozen versions.
"Alas, these old people are really too impulsive—"
Elena looked helplessly at the old wizard who had fallen unconscious again.
"Ms. Arhipovna, after thinking about it, for safety reasons—after I leave, you wake him up directly, and then accompany you to the hotel to find the reserve food, and then come back to this place. I allow you to reveal content below C-level to him."
"Correspondingly, the teleportation location of the Hyperion will also be changed to this fireplace accordingly."
"At least with this old man here, I think your safety should be guaranteed."
"What about you?" Arhipovna frowned.
"Me? Of course, I'm going to bring Lockhart back, what else can I do?"
Elena shrugged, gently placing her wand on the box at hand, and said softly.
"valkyrjaoperational"
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Yay!