Chapter 781: Chapter 166: Wolves, Toads, and Ghosts

Although it was Rosa leading the way, Maurice still insisted on following Vid, and then Lucas also strapped on his bow and arrow, inserting a dagger into the thigh strap.

"I’ll go with you." He said seriously, "The dangers in the Forbidden Forest are beyond what you kids can imagine."

"Why?" Maurice protested, "We used to play everywhere! The swamp isn’t far."

"That was then, this is now."

Lucas made the decision without any room for argument and bid farewell to the white wolf that stood up.

Vid saw the man and the wolf affectionately nuzzle noses, then Lucas patted the heads of the remaining children and instructed, "Watch the house while I’m gone, don’t wander off."

"Got it, Father."

The young ones lowered their heads and obediently replied.

"Let’s go."

Lucas walked to Vid’s side, looked back once—the white wolf had its front paws on the tree trunk, seeing them off, with the children circling at her feet, already lying down and starting to play.

He couldn’t help but smile, waved his hand, and then turned to leave.

The werewolf naturally wasn’t just there to lead the way. After walking some distance, he pushed aside the blocking vines, whispering:

"Why are you looking for a toad? What’s special about it?"

"I’m not sure yet."

Vid followed behind Lucas, tilting his head to avoid the branches hanging from the trees before saying, "But I suspect...he’s a wizard I know transformed."

"A wizard?" Lucas frowned slightly, "An illegal Animagus?"

The real "illegal Animagus" Vid Gray shook his head: "Not quite... should have been tricked by someone else."

In any case, Vid couldn’t imagine Lucius Malfoy willingly turning into a toad. To that proud peacock, it might be worse than death.

"Then his opponent must be quite formidable. Be careful."

Lucas paused, then asked, "Do you think...that dangerous wizard is still active in the Forbidden Forest?"

"The one who turns people into toads?" Vid shook his head, "If I’m not wrong, that guy turned the person into a toad more than half a year ago, which is why he disappeared for so long... Well, it’s been over seven months."

"That’s good..." Lucas sighed in relief, "I thought..."

"Thought what?" Vid probed, "You seem very cautious now? Is there something more dangerous in the Forbidden Forest?"

In the students’ eyes at Hogwarts, this part of the Forbidden Forest had always been a very dangerous place, as if all the dark creatures in the world lived there.

But in reality, to the Forbidden Forest creatures, perhaps that castle is the most frightening place in the world.

Therefore, close to the school, the ecology has always been stable. Except for the Acromantulas Hagrid introduced, most are magical creatures relatively friendly to wizards.

Upon hearing Vid’s question, Lucas pondered for a while before shaking his head.

"I can’t say for sure, it’s just a feeling..."

The werewolf frowned, struggling to describe his inner feelings, and after two or three minutes, he said:

"It’s like someone snuck into your home without you knowing... even if everything seems unchanged, you can just feel something’s different... the air has a strange scent..."

"You haven’t noticed anything unusual?" Vid asked.

"No... which makes me feel it’s more dangerous."

Lucas said, pausing.

The light rain that had been falling had stopped, the damp air flowing past the werewolf’s low growl, and he hoarsely said, "This is the swamp."

Rosa took a few steps forward, swaying her head left and right to search, then threaded through the mud and stagnant water puddles, standing on a fallen, decaying tree trunk.

"It’s here!" she confidently said, "This is where I saw that toad!"

Looking closely, there was a muddy hole nearby with some remnants of crawling traces on the edge, and a pool of murky water had gathered in the mudhole.

The toad hadn’t left long ago, and with few people or animals passing by, the scent was preserved for a longer time.

Vid held his Magic Wand, lightly waving it in a circle:

"Reveal traces!"

Golden light like fine sand sprayed from the Magic Wand’s tip, turning into a thin layer of pale golden mist spreading outward.

Lucas quickly took his children a few steps back, but Maurice struggled to lean forward: "Let me see! I want to see!"

The mist quickly dissipated, leaving a small series of footprints on the ground—the marks left by the toad’s four-legged crawl.

Vid smiled and said, "Thank you for your help, Lucas, Rosa, and Maurice. I’ll find that guy myself next."

"Alright." Lucas grabbed Maurice by the back of the neck—this kid wanted to pounce on Vid—and nodded, saying, "Be careful."

"Mm."

Vid watched them leave, and just as the werewolf’s figure was about to be completely obscured by the trees, he suddenly called out: "Lucas!"

The werewolf turned, eyes inquiringly looking at him.

In the shadows covered by leaves, the one large and two small wolves, six eyes seemed to glow green, quite eerie.

But Vid knew their nature of peace and simplicity, waved with a smile, and loudly reminded:

"Don’t underestimate your intuition, Lucas!"

"If this place feels dangerous, then take your family and leave as soon as possible, find a safer place to live."