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A faint breeze was blowing. The air in Knockturn Alley was unusually foul, filled with a mix of all kinds of strange smells. This was a heaven for lawbreakers, so naturally, many shady workshops operated here day and night.
“Love potions, perpetual delight potions… as expected, anything related to primal urges is always a bestseller.” Ian squatted down and drew more blood from the Stupefied werewolf using another syringe.
He had already extracted about 2,000 milliliters of fresh werewolf blood. The werewolf’s skin had turned noticeably pale. Honestly, Ian was also quite surprised by the things going on in the werewolf’s mind.
But his reaction was nowhere near as exaggerated as Lupin’s.
“No!”
The information received from the mind of the Stupefied werewolf stirred a storm of emotions in Lupin’s heart that refused to calm down. His expression shifted repeatedly before he finally opened his mouth in a hoarse voice.
“That must be a false memory!”
The words he spoke reflected his refusal to accept reality.
“That person couldn’t possibly be alive this long!”
Whether Lupin was trying to convince Ian or simply seeking their agreement to convince himself, Ian could completely understand his reaction on a personal level.
It was like physicists discovering that Einstein was still alive somewhere, working on tractor repairs; most physicists wouldn’t be able to mentally handle it.
“Take it easy, my senior. It’s just a name. Someone impersonating him isn’t out of the question,” Ian tried to soothe Lupin’s emotions in the direction he clearly preferred.
However—
“But… to effortlessly defeat a group of werewolves without a scratch, and with such remarkable swordsmanship, throughout history, wizards matching such a profile can be counted on one hand…” Lupin, who had just been denying the possibility, suddenly contradicted himself again, questioning Ian’s attempt to comfort him.
“?????”
Ian began to suspect that Lupin might genuinely have some kind of mental condition.
“So what, the one who sold the potion to the werewolves was Godric Gryffindor, satisfied now?” Ian rolled his eyes. Yes, the name they had heard in the werewolf’s memory was none other than the founder of House Gryffindor.
Godric Gryffindor.
In the Stupefied werewolf’s memory, not long ago, a young man with golden blond hair had entered Knockturn Alley and pitched a potion called Lucid Awakening Potion to the werewolves living there.
According to this young man, the Lucid Awakening Potion far surpassed the Wolfsbane Potion. Not only did it help werewolves maintain their rationality during full moons, but after taking it, they would be able to transform at will while remaining clear-minded for life. The only flaw was that it couldn’t remove the infectious nature of the werewolf curse.
Such an obviously overpowered potion naturally wasn’t trusted by the werewolves. Instead, they thought the young man was a scammer and attacked him in a rage.
As for the outcome of the battle—
Just as in the werewolf memory that Lupin didn’t want to believe, the mysterious blond youth had easily and completely crushed all the werewolves in Knockturn Alley, nearly one versus a hundred, and walked away unscathed.
That might’ve been what was unsettling Lupin the most.
That person was just too powerful.
So powerful, he seemed like the founder of Gryffindor that Lupin had dreamed about as a child.
Even some werewolves who had already transformed into their beast forms couldn’t last a single round under that man’s swordsmanship. That level of combat ability was simply terrifying, something ordinary wizards could never possess.
“You’re no nameless nobody!”
A defeated and wounded werewolf had roared in fear, and that roar was overheard by the very Stupefied werewolf Ian had now captured. That’s how the Stupefied werewolf had heard the mysterious figure’s reply:
“Perhaps… you can call me Godric Gryffindor. That was the name given to me at birth,” said the blond youth, before taking all the werewolves’ gold Galleons.
No, perhaps “taking” isn’t the right word. It was more like, after leaving behind the so-called Lucid Awakening Potion, he had strong-armed the werewolves into giving up their life savings in a blatant forced sale.
He didn’t leave them a single Knut… which was exactly why some werewolves had risked drinking the Lucid Awakening Potion. Even continuing to do dirty work for dark wizards wouldn’t earn them enough in time to afford Wolfsbane anymore. Their only option was to gamble on this so-called potion left behind by “Godric Gryffindor.”
In fact—
Compared to Lupin’s reaction…
Most werewolves didn’t believe the mysterious blond-haired young man’s words. Most of them were educated, and even those who weren’t had at least heard of who Godric Gryffindor was.
Even ignoring the fact that someone from a thousand years ago couldn’t possibly still be alive, who would believe that a legendary figure would stoop so low as to become a shady street vendor in Knockturn Alley?
The werewolves didn’t believe it.
Only Lupin seemed mentally shaken by the encounter.
Sure enough…
Ian tried to humor him again, but Lupin immediately showed his “rebellious” streak.
“Godric Gryffindor would never do such a thing! And! He lived more than ten centuries ago! Are you seriously suggesting that Godric Gryffindor chose to sneak through life, too cowardly to face death?” Lupin snapped again at Ian, his behavior so erratic that Ian was rolling his eyes.
“I never said that. Besides, immortality doesn’t mean cowardice. Just say it, what exactly do you want me to say?” Ian sighed deeply, exasperated.
Truth be told, Ian didn’t believe that the man selling potions to the werewolves was actually Godric Gryffindor. He was just shocked at the overwhelming strength shown by the figure in the Stupefied werewolf’s memories, and that strength made him want to report the matter to Albus Dumbledore.
Most people probably didn’t know much about the four Founders, but Ian was different. He had heard from more than one source that Godric Gryffindor had already passed through the Twilight Zone.
Whether it was Pandero, Morgan, or Lady Ravenclaw, they had all confirmed this: Godric Gryffindor had ventured beyond even the Twilight Zone.
It’s not like he reincarnated with memories of his past life, right?
“I don’t know either…” Lupin’s eyes were distant, his expression more and more complicated. Deep down, he too leaned toward the theory that someone was impersonating the thousand-year-old Founder.
However—
Aside from Grindelwald, Lupin couldn’t imagine another dark wizard in this century with that level of power. What was he supposed to do? Suspect Albus Dumbledore?
Even if that swordsmanship did look a little suspicious… no, no, he mustn’t think like that. Thinking that way would be disloyal to Albus Dumbledore! The great Dumbledore would never do something only dark wizards would do! And even if, if Dumbledore ever chose to do something shady, he’d have no reason to stain Godric Gryffindor’s name!
“There’s no point in us sitting here speculating. Let’s report this to Headmaster Dumbledore. The old man will investigate. You should believe that our headmaster can get to the truth.”
Ian didn’t want to dwell too long on this topic either. After all, the mysterious blond guy hadn’t done anything to him. So what if he turned out to be Merlin?
The world is full of geniuses.
There are always some who manage to delay or escape death. Even if that blond man was just some hyper-talented, overconfident youngster with a flair for the dramatic, it wouldn’t be that hard to accept.
Worst-case scenario…
If he really was Godric Gryffindor, maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing.
“I just hope I can analyze the formula of this so-called Lucid Awakening Potion from the werewolf’s blood.” Ian weighed the blood he had collected.
He had already felt like the amount he had wasn’t enough for proper research. Now, having to extract potion components from the sample meant he’d need even more werewolf blood. Even draining this Stupefied werewolf completely might not be enough. That’s also why Ian hadn’t continued drawing blood, he understood the concept of sustainability even in his last life.
“I want to look around and ask some other werewolves for information,” Lupin muttered, eyes drifting toward a certain direction. Perhaps even he wasn’t aware that this was exactly what Ian had been about to suggest.
Of course—
Though he thought this way, Ian didn’t let it show.
Though he thought this way, Ian didn’t let it show.
“This is deep water, Lupin. I don’t think you can handle it… But since we’ve known each other a few days now, I’m willing to dive in with you, even if there’s danger.”
Ian revealed his ability to lie without missing a beat.
A rare moment where he didn’t tell the truth.
But Lupin wasn’t having it.
“You’re right. No matter who that person is, their power is undeniable. There’s no need for you to risk yourself just to satisfy my curiosity. Besides, you’re not a werewolf like me.”
“I can take you back first, then go look into things myself…” Lupin wasn’t just curious about the identity of the impersonator; he was also quite interested in the effects of the so-called Lucid Awakening Potion.
“…”
Ian hadn’t expected Lupin to be so earnest. For a moment, he didn’t know how to respond. So instead, he pretended not to hear and began dragging the Stupefied werewolf back under the rubble.
“You owe me one,” Ian stated bluntly to Lupin before stepping ahead toward the fork in the road. As soon as Ian began to move, Lupin stood stunned for a moment, then hurried to catch up.
“How do you know it’s this way?” Lupin suspected Ian had used Legilimency on him.
“It was in the werewolf’s memory,” Ian replied without a flicker of guilt or hesitation.
“Was it?” Lupin frowned doubtfully. He hadn’t finished reading through the Stupefied werewolf’s memories, so he had no way of proving whether Ian was lying or not.
“You’re so suspicious, have you ever considered becoming a spy?” Ian rolled his eyes again. Honestly, he wasn’t the type who liked using Legilimency on others casually; it was boring reading other people’s memories, and a total waste of time. Nowhere near as convenient as the Veritaserum he “borrowed” from Aurora.
If that werewolf hadn’t been so difficult to communicate with earlier, Ian wouldn’t have needed to knock him out in the first place.
“Do werewolves gather here to… compete over whose life is worse?” Ian stopped in a block that appeared in the Stupefied werewolf’s memory. Compared to the previously desolate area, this one wasn’t much better.
Run-down, abandoned buildings stood everywhere, their exteriors so crumbling they looked ready to collapse at any moment. Wild grass grew rampant. The fact that magic hadn’t been used to repair the place likely had to do with residency rights.
Most werewolves were essentially “undocumented” residents, even here in Knockturn Alley. If they made their homes too comfortable, some lowlife wizard would report them and have them thrown out.
“They’re just trying to find warmth in numbers. The werewolves you see living like this, most of them still have some conscience left, even if it’s just a sliver.”
Lupin offered a quiet defense for the werewolves.
While he and Ian were whispering outside the street—
“Remus Lupin. You brought a normal person here, worse, a child. That’s not a wise decision.” An elderly man in tattered wizard’s robes, trying his best to appear dignified, stepped out from one of the buildings. Behind him followed several younger wizards with wary, guarded eyes.
“You’d best leave with the kid before someone among us loses control.” The elder’s robes were faded white from too much washing, and his low voice carried a tone that was somewhere between a warning and a plea.
“I just want to ask you a few questions.” Lupin quickly explained, clearly a little tense, nobody understood the mental instability of werewolves better than he did. It was entirely possible for a werewolf to seem fine one moment and suddenly snap the next. These were people who had already lost everything, who knew when one might lose hope and lash out?
“What kind of questions?” The elder frowned slightly.
He clearly held the “alpha” position. The other werewolves simply stood beside him without speaking to Lupin, maybe Lupin didn’t have the best reputation among their kind.
“The Lucid Awakening Potion,” Lupin stated his purpose simply and clearly.
“We agreed not to speak of that to anyone. Where did you hear about it?” The elder looked confused, brows furrowed, staring at Lupin with suspicion.
“I have my sources,” Lupin replied vaguely. He was well aware of how unreasonable werewolves could be, and there was no way he’d admit that he and Ian had knocked out one of their own who had tried to ambush them.
“Here. You’re qualified to have it.” The elder didn’t press further. Instead, he pulled out a bottle of potion and tossed it to Lupin; perhaps they had a decent stockpile of it on hand.
“Keep it secret.” After Lupin caught the potion, the elder reminded him solemnly. Who knew what those werewolves were planning behind the scenes?
As for that—
Lupin didn’t plan to dig too deep either.
He stared fixedly at the elder standing a short distance away.
“The person who gave you that potion, I want to know more about him. Do you think he could be Godric Gryffindor himself?”
Clearly—
Compared to whatever the werewolves might be plotting, Lupin was far more concerned about the identity of his House’s Founder.
“I can’t give you any real information. We’re just as skeptical as you are. But if you ask me, whether he’s that legendary figure from a thousand years ago or not, has nothing to do with us.” The elder shook his head and spoke in a low voice. Most of the werewolves standing beside him nodded in agreement.
“The potion is useful to us. That’s the most important part… Whether or not that man is your Founder, the person who invented this potion is certainly not a qualified businessman.”
The elder’s words made Ian nod in agreement as well.
And indeed—
A true businessman would never create a permanent Wolfsbane Potion.
“Aren’t you afraid of the price you might have to pay? And I’m not just talking about the gold Galleons that were taken from you.” Lupin held the potion in his hand. Its deep crimson hue looked disturbingly like blood.
He didn’t intend to drink it right away. Instead, he handed the potion over to Ian beside him, when it came to potions, trusting someone from the House of Prince was never wrong.
Even one-fifth Prince was still a Prince.
Ian took the potion and immediately unscrewed the cap to sniff it. His expression changed slightly; he was clearly surprised, and he couldn’t detect even the faintest trace of potion ingredients.
“There’s some kind of masking agent mixed in, maybe an anti-theft measure?”
Ian guessed as he tried again to sniff it deeply, but still came up empty.
And just as Ian was analyzing the Lucid Awakening Potion—
“You mean to say there might be a hidden, heavier price in this potion?” The elder suddenly let out a dry laugh, his gaze toward Lupin filled with a complicated emotion that was hard to describe.
“Remus Lupin… Maybe you think you’ve had it rough. But there are many among us who’ve suffered far worse than you. At least you have never experienced the kind of agony that tears your soul apart.”
“Look at my brethren here, how many of them have killed their own children? Their wives? Their parents? That kind of despair is something you will never understand.”
“We who have already fallen to the bottom… what price is there left that we would be afraid to pay?” The old man’s voice was steeped in tragedy, and for a moment, Lupin was left speechless.
Around them, the other werewolves wore expressions of sorrow, some grief-stricken, others hiding their faces. The air was thick with pain, and Ian, with his gift of mind perception, could clearly sense every ounce of it.
“Take your potion and leave!” A werewolf, triggered by the painful memories, finally shouted at Lupin in a harsh tone. The others agreed with him, it was clear that many were not too fond of Lupin to begin with.
Maybe because Lupin simply hadn’t suffered enough?
“Of course! I truly appreciate your help!” Sensing the rising tension in the air, Lupin quickly tried to grab Ian and leave.
However—
“Wait.”
The elder suddenly called out and stopped Lupin in his tracks.
“Is something wrong? Oh, right! I forgot to pay you.” Lupin turned back, as if only just realizing it, and reached into his robes.
One second.
Five seconds.
Ten seconds.
He rummaged through his robes for quite a while before finally pulling out just a handful of copper Knuts. The down-and-out werewolf looked visibly embarrassed, his face turning red as he opened his palm.
“I’ll gather enough money to pay you back.” He was clearly trying to buy on credit.
However—
The elder didn’t even glance at the coins in his hand.
“I said the matter of the potion… must remain a secret.”
He. And all the werewolves beside him.
At that moment, all of their eyes turned toward Ian.
(End of Chapter)
You can read ahead up to 110 chapters on my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/darkshadow6395