Chapter 782: Chapter 166: Wolf, Toad, Ghost (Part 2)

"Don’t wait until danger really strikes, it’ll be too late to regret then!"

Lucas was a bit surprised, then he nodded forcefully and quickly left with his two children.

Vid’s smile faded, his gaze carrying a hint of heaviness.

Over millions of years of evolution, creatures have already established a very subtle survival warning system within their bodies. Before reason notices, some people’s brains and sensory organs can detect faint threat signals.

All wizards know that when intuition alerts you, it’s better to believe it exists than to dismiss it as false. Even if there’s an overreaction, it’s better than being a lamb slaughtered due to dullness.

Werewolves also have magic power within them. Even though he can’t predict or prophesy like Vid, magic power gives him heightened sensitivity to anomalous signals.

But... what makes him feel the danger?

Will this crisis affect Hogwarts?

Vid looked at the desolate scene of the swamp, pondered for a moment, and finally followed the traces before the golden footprints on the ground disappeared.

The Forbidden Forest is always dark, even in broad daylight, the light can hardly be called bright.

Vid flicked his magic wand, and a slowly-emerging glowing orb drifted outwards, lighting up the tangled roots beneath his feet.

He followed the footprints for an uncertain amount of time, when a sudden cry came from ahead:

"Coo-coo-coo-coo—coo-coo-coo-coo—"

Immediately followed by a piercing, screeching laughter echoing through the forest—

"Croak-croak, croak-croak! Hahaha... so much fun..."

Vid quickened his pace ahead and saw a gray-brown toad caught in Peeves’ hand, its chubby belly facing the sky and crying out in panic.

Peeves had joy flashing in his eyes, poking the toad’s belly with a stick while laughing heartily.

Vid frowned and said, "Peeves, can you let it go?"

Peeves turned his head and grinned, "Why? Want to play with this ugly thing too? I was just about to pop its belly open — don’t you think its belly looks like a balloon?"

"Playing with life isn’t a good habit, Peeves," Vid advised.

Peeves gave him a sidelong glance and sneered, "You sound just like Dumbledore. Alas, alas... you’re becoming boring too."

Seeing this troublemaker refuse to stop, and pushing harder, Vid raised his magic wand:

"Want to test my magic, Peeves?"

Peeves’ expression changed, he tilted his head at Vid, then suddenly grinned and said, "You know, Dumbledore can sneak into the Forbidden Forest, but you can’t!"

He suddenly tossed the toad towards Vid, turned away, shouted while flying, "Student sneaking into the Forbidden Forest! Student sneaking into the Forbidden Forest!"

Vid didn’t pay him any mind, nor did he catch the toad. Instead, he waved his magic wand, letting the ugly, chubby thing hover, scrutinizing it with furrowed brow.

The toad’s pair of eyes were indeed gray, which seemed rare in its species.

On top of its head, there was a small series of letters that, from a distance, resembled a dark spot.

Now upon closer inspection, Vid discerned the letters to be [Lucius Malfoy].

— His intuition was indeed correct!

Vid himself was quite surprised, the feeling of mingled chance and fate interwoven in his heart, leaving him momentarily conflicted.

Under the chilly yet seemingly insightful gaze of the young man, the plump toad helplessly looked up at the sky, its front paws like human hands spread open, trembling along with its body.

It made every effort to look like an innocent and helpless small animal, its belly trembling, constantly making cries.

Vid flicked his wrist, the magic wand drew an arc in the air, and light from its tip struck the dried branch at his feet.

The gray branch immediately twisted, split, extended, and intertwined, weaving itself into a small bird cage and wrapping the toad inside.

Then, near the handle several tender green leaves grew, popping up with two fern-like decorations, instantly making the cage delicate.

Nearby, the woods suddenly calmed down — Peeves screeched and his singing disappeared.

Seconds later, a pallid-faced ghost covered in silver traces floated through the oak tree and drifted straight towards Vid.

Vid instinctively stepped back, "Bloody Baron?"

The ghost lowered his gaze at him, showed no intention of speaking, and expressionlessly floated past on the path Vid stepped aside for.

Vid: "..."

Suddenly felt a chill on his side, he turned his head to find that just after Bloody Baron’s departure, Ravenclaw’s ghost — Ms. Grey — emerged.

— Is there a ghost party tonight?

Ms. Grey was beautiful, with long hair flowing to her waist, and even with a face utterly devoid of color, her beauty remained untarnished.

At the same time, she was a very arrogant ghost, often oblivious to others and rarely willing to engage with them. However, perhaps due to a shared surname, she occasionally spoke a few words to Vid.

Now, the ghost halted, shifted her gaze towards Vid... and the bird cage in his hand.

"You’ve caught that toad, Vid Gray."

Ms. Grey said with a drifting voice.

"Yes."

Vid raised the bird cage, showing the toad inside, probing, "Does this fellow have anything special? You seem to care a lot."

— Can ghosts recognize humans within animal bodies?

Ms. Grey turned her gaze, looked between the trees, and coldly said, "He’s an uninvited guest."

"Guest?" Vid repeated.

Ms. Grey floated towards the deep of the forest, leaving a sentence behind: "Return to the school, hand him to Dumbledore, and don’t wander around."

Vid followed quickly, curious, "Why have you all come to the Forbidden Forest tonight? Is there something here?"

Ms. Grey: "It’s not tonight."

Vid didn’t respond immediately, "Pardon?"

The ghost, as if fog, passed through the bushes, softly said: "Not tonight... We’ve been patrolling the Forbidden Forest every day recently, for a very long time."

Vid frowned slightly, with a tone slightly heavy, asked: "The Forbidden Forest really has something dangerous? Does Dumbledore know?"

"Dumbledore?" Ms. Grey snorted: "Who cares whether he knows? We’re not patrolling because of the Headmaster’s orders!"

After a brief pause, she continued: "Also, not ’has come.’"

Vid: "What?"

As soon as he spoke, Vid suddenly realized that he seemed to have turned into a dim-witted parrot, quickly supplemented his question: "You mean...?"

Ms. Grey glanced at the toad and said: "Besides this fellow, there’s no other invader in the Forbidden Forest."

"Then..."

"Follow me."

Ms. Grey led Vid, advancing into the depths of the woods.

As a ghost, she could pass through any obstacle, Vid continuously waved his wand, making the vines, branches, and bushes move aside to clear a path.

Every time he had to stop to cast spells or detour, Ms. Grey waited patiently beside him.

By the third stop, Vid noticed Bloody Baron seemed to be wandering nearby, but every time Ms. Grey glanced over, that coldly detached ghost hurriedly avoided her gaze.

Vid: "..."

After a while, the soil underfoot gradually became soft and damp, the air filled with a rotten scent.

Ms. Grey halted, fingering towards the tree roots ahead, where several translucent lilies-of-the-valley grew.

"See those lilies?"

Ms. Grey spoke with a light voice: "I haven’t seen these for hundreds of years, a wizard studying herbs listed thousands of extinct species, and these lilies were among them."

"But now, they’ve reappeared in this place."

She looked at Vid with deep meaning, hesitated momentarily before slowly saying: "You know, some ancient things, like these lilies, are gradually awakening."