Leonard's hands paused as he tended to Claudia's wound.
Bloodline wizard?
The man had said it quietly, but Leonard's fully strengthened body included sharper hearing. He caught every word easily.
Originally, Leonard hadn't planned to engage with this man at all. He didn't know what the man wanted, but a wizard would naturally be far more reckless than a Muggle. Who knew what kind of outrageous stunt he might pull?
Leonard's plan had been simple: finish treating Claudia's injury, then leave with her.
But now, Leonard suddenly didn't want to go.
He wanted to know what this "bloodline wizard" was supposed to be.
Leonard had no idea what a bloodline wizard meant, but judging from the man's change in attitude, he hadn't noticed anything until Claudia got hurt, and only after that raven drew his attention. So in the man's eyes, Claudia was the so-called bloodline wizard?
But Claudia wasn't a wizard. Claudia was a Unicorn.
More importantly, the man only reacted after the raven appeared and started cawing. That raven was suspicious in its own right.
And the key point was… a raven again.
Before the holiday, Leonard had been having a meal with other Hufflepuff students by the Black Lake, and he'd noticed a strange raven there, one that didn't seem affected by Leonard's talent.
But that raven hadn't seemed physical. After the giant squid slapped it, even the feathers had dissolved into nothing.
Now there was another raven, and it was just as suspicious.
These sudden, frequent appearances of unnaturally suspicious ravens put Leonard on edge.
"Hey, brat. I'm talking to you." The man strode closer, pulling his hand from inside his robe. In it was a pitch-black wand.
Leonard snapped around. Black-red flames burst to life in his right hand, surging through the air and forming a fire serpent that wrapped the man tight.
The scorching Fiendfyre burned straight through flesh in an instant. Before the man could even let out a scream, the fire serpent clamped down on his throat. Lethal flame poured into his body, incinerating him from the inside out.
The raven shrieked in fright and tried to take off, but the Fiendfyre abruptly sprouted a second head, bit down on the raven, and swallowed it.
Leonard froze for a split second when the Fiendfyre struck. The feedback he received told him the raven was a real, physical creature.
That was different from the raven by the Black Lake.
But whether it was physical or not, in front of Fiendfyre it was nothing.
The flames faded. The man and the raven were gone from the world completely.
Leonard flicked his wrist, and the Fiendfyre recoiled, winding back around the Ancient Sprout.
"Leonard?" Claudia looked at him in fear.
She stared blankly at the terrifying man turning to ash, the sudden horror of it hitting her all at once. Her face drained of color, and she looked ready to crumble.
"Don't be afraid." Leonard turned and pulled her into his arms. "It's fine. I'm here. No one can hurt you."
Feeling Leonard's warmth, Claudia slowly calmed down. She hugged him back and whispered, "Leonard… let's go home. I'm scared."
"You go first," Leonard said softly. "Go back and tell Londo I'll come home for dinner a bit later."
By the stream, an invisible wind seemed to sweep through. Grass and plants bent to one side.
A green light flared in Leonard's eyes, staining his gray irises a vivid green.
Claudia looked up at him, hesitated, then asked, "That scary man… was he here to take me?"
"Don't overthink it." As Leonard spoke, he tossed several Chomping Cabbage seeds onto the ground. They took root the moment they landed, sprouted, grew, and in the blink of an eye became several Chomping Cabbages.
"They'll escort you home." Leonard patted Claudia's head, then turned and headed into the wilderness.
Not far ahead was a forest. The shared vision from Forest's Eye told him there were more of those unusual ravens in there, and people dressed the same way as the man who'd just been burned to ash.
It looked like an organization.
Leonard watched Claudia walk toward Londo's farm, guided by the bouncing Chomping Cabbages. Then he turned back, a cold smile spreading across his face.
That much was clear: they weren't here for Claudia. The man's discovery had been an accident.
But what happened to the rest of them next wouldn't be an accident at all.
Leonard was curious. What exactly was a bloodline wizard? Who were these people? And what were they doing here?
...
Leonard crossed the stream and plunged into the forest.
Out here, the quiet, beautiful wilderness was all Leonard's eyes and ears.
The grass crushed underfoot, the tall trees that cast shade, the twisting vines, even the moss clinging to stones—everything was part of his vision.
No one could hide in the forest from Leonard. The moment they stepped inside, they were already his prey.
Only it didn't take long for Leonard to realize his "prey" were acting more like hunters.
They seemed to be tracking something.
"Three people…" Leonard widened the range of Forest's Eye, stretching his awareness over the entire forest. "What are they trying to do?"
And then he spotted a few familiar faces that weren't quite familiar.
"Isn't that the ridiculously good-looking family?" Leonard muttered, his tone strange. "Except for the dad."
If it weren't for the term "bloodline wizard," Leonard would've assumed those three were going after the mother and her two daughters.
As for whatever "doing it in front of the husband" nonsense… Leonard didn't understand that at all.
He watched coldly as the three black-robed figures closed in on the family, making no move to intervene.
He didn't know that family. Better to wait until the ambush had happened and the attackers let their guard down, then strike.
The three ahead tailed the family closely, and Leonard followed behind, waiting for his moment, perfectly embodying the mantis stalking the cicada while the oriole waited behind.
But Leonard didn't fixate blindly on the people in front. He'd seen how the black-robed man and the raven had interacted earlier, so he suspected these three might have the same kind of special raven with them.
So as he moved, he also kept a lock on the ravens in the forest.
Ravens weren't common near Hogwarts, because the Forbidden Forest there was full of dangerous Magical Creatures and predators. But here, there were plenty of them. In this forest especially, ravens seemed to be everywhere.
Ravens were flock animals. If one raven deliberately guided the way, it could easily draw in a whole group.
To be safe, Leonard cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself. Without a wand, he couldn't manage a stronger version, but an ordinary Disillusionment Charm should still be enough to fool a raven's eyes.
...
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