Chapter 659
The Tree Protector
Chapter 659 The Tree Protector
Tonight, Luna wore a pair of earrings made of kaempferia flowers, with pale yellow petals that curled slightly and clustered below her earlobes.
The fragrance attracted a glowing firefly, which quietly landed on the petals, its tail emitting a soft and warm light, like a small lantern.
In the dim light, the girl's profile appeared delicate and soft, like an elf who had stepped out of a fairy tale.
Rolf's gaze was drawn to the view, and he said, somewhat dazed, "Yes...you're definitely right."
Rolf then realized that Luna wasn't talking to him.
He was a beat slow to react and turned his gaze, only to see Vader emerge from behind the haystack, having broken free of the illusion curse.
"What are you two doing here so late?" Wade asked preemptively.
“We’re here to find the tszts beetle,” Luna said cheerfully.
She showed the glass bottle in her hand, inside which was a thin twig, with several golden beetles perched motionless on it.
"A cissus beetle?"
This was the first time Wade had ever seen such tiny insects. What surprised him even more was that these little creatures also seemed to possess a faint magical aura, albeit a weaker one than the Flobber caterpillar.
It's roughly equivalent to one Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Bean.
“The ziz beetle is usually found near the habitat of the divine horse, and sometimes it can also be found in ancient cemeteries or abandoned castles.”
When his field of expertise was mentioned, Rolf immediately became animated.
He spoke eloquently, saying, "They feed on the oil and impurities secreted by the divine horse, and also prey on some very small insects. In addition, the cricket beetle is one of the tree-protecting bower's favorite snacks."
Wade understood: "You're helping the Bowtruckle find food?"
“Yes,” Luna said worriedly, “My friend Airo hasn’t been feeling well lately, and I think he might need a change in his diet to cheer him up.”
“Then I said we could come together tonight,” Rolf added, “because Ajer hasn’t been very active lately.”
“The Divine Horse has a bad temper, and if you two are discovered by Beauxbatons, you might be in trouble.”
Vader drew his wand and said, "I'll help too. Once you've got enough beetles, you should head back to the castle."
Rolf nodded, pulled Luna to Wade's side, and looked at the young wizard expectantly with his amber eyes.
Vader simply waved his wand lightly:
"A ciss beetle is flying in!"
—Although the Summoning Charm can generally only be used on inanimate objects, magical creatures such as beetles, frogs, and Nifflers are usually unable to resist being summoned.
As soon as he finished speaking, dozens of golden beetles flew from every corner of the stable and from the divine horse, landing with a pattering sound on the ground in front of Vader, as if a beetle rain had fallen.
"That's enough, that's enough," Luna quickly said. "We don't need that many."
She and Rolf crouched down and each picked up a few beetles, stuffing them into a glass jar. The remaining scorpion beetles, after a moment of bewilderment, quickly crawled towards the stable, following the scent.
“Let’s go,” Luna said, looking at Rolf with a smile. “Feed the beetles to Airo, and then we’ll go back to the castle.”
“Great!” Rolf couldn’t help but laugh. “I guarantee it will be full of energy right after it finishes eating.”
……
Bowtruckles live on the shrub walls of the maze and are companions that students must bring along when participating in maze games.
In theory, the Bowtruckle that a student is paired with is random. But this creature, though small in size, has a terrible temper and a very distinct personality.
When they encounter a student they like, they want to cling to them all day long; but when they encounter someone they don't like, the Bowtruckles ignore them.
Airo and Ager were the Bowtruckles in the maze. As soon as they reached the bush wall, a small Bowtruckle, as if it had been waiting there, eagerly stretched out its slender fingers, hooked Rolf's scarf, and hung it on him.
“Ajer!” Rolf said happily, “Guess what I brought you?”
He took out a glass bottle, and the green Bowtruckle immediately jumped over, used all its strength to pull off the stopper and casually tossed it in. Its entire branch-like arm reached inside, grabbed a beetle, took it out, and then sucked the juice from it.
Rolf simply crossed his arms to support the glass bottle and the bower, making it easier for his friend to eat.
But when they found Luna's little friend "Airo," it didn't cheer up as hoped. The little bowelisthos was curled up on a withered yellow branch, its green bark turned gray and dry, as if the bark had lost its moisture. Only the occasional twitch of its little paws proved that it was still alive.
The golden beetle was placed beside him, but it showed no signs of vitality. It merely shifted its body slightly, as if letting out a long, listless sigh.
"Its condition is worse than when I last saw it."
Luna and Wade exchanged a few words, then Luna carefully picked up the Bowtruckle and whispered thoughtfully:
"Oh, my dear, did you eat something you shouldn't have? Did the Curved-Horned Snoring Beast drain your life force? Or are you sick? Rolf... can Lady Pomfrey cure Elo?"
"I'm afraid not."
Rolf leaned over to take a look, picked up one of Airo's paws and then put it down; the paw landed softly in Luna's palm.
“This condition is very rare; I’ve never seen anything like it before… I can only send it to my grandfather; perhaps he knows how to treat it.”
“Wait…” Wade said, “Let me see it.”
Luna carefully placed the Bowtruckle in Vader's palm. He stared at it for a while, muttering obscure incantations under his breath.
Rolf looked at Wade—his gaze now was almost identical to the one Wade had once given when he watched Dumbledore cast a spell.
After a moment, Wade raised his eyes and said with certainty, "It must have been affected by some kind of dark magic."
"Dark magic?" Luna and Rolf said in unison.
Vader did not explain the basis of his judgment, but simply pointed his wand at the Bowtruckle in his palm and whispered the universal antidote.
This little guy wasn't really cursed; he was just tainted by some bad energy and was an unfortunate innocent bystander caught in the crossfire.
A few minutes later, it perked up a little, managed to prop itself up, the leaves above its head swayed a couple of times, and it made a chirping sound.
Luna leaned closer and asked earnestly, "Is there something you want to tell us?"
Airo: "Chirp...coo...chirp chirp chirp..."
Luna stared at it, her eyes unblinking, seemingly unsure if she understood. But looking at her expressionless face, Wade had a nagging feeling that something was amiss.
Fortunately, there is another creature here that can communicate smoothly with Airo.
Ajer was crunching away at the beetle's dry wings like it was eating potato chips. Suddenly, it raised its head, listening intently, its body completely still except for the leaves above its head swaying slightly.
A moment later, Ajer suddenly became excited, his slender claws gripping Rolf's collar tightly, his small eyes wide open, and he kept making rapid "clucking" sounds, as if he was eager to express something.
"Wait, wait, don't rush," Rolf said quickly. "I'm not my grandfather, I can't understand what you mean right away..."
The Bowtruckle released Rolf's collar, leaped onto the nearby bush wall, and then turned to wave to the group.
The meaning couldn't be clearer, and the group followed. After walking along the outer wall of the maze for more than ten minutes, the Bowtruckle pointed to a clump of dense bushes not far away and made a sharp hissing sound.
"What's there?" Luna asked curiously as she walked in that direction.
"Wait," Wade stopped her. "Don't go any closer. You don't know what's there."
“Be careful.” Rolf struggled to decipher Ajer’s agitated words, saying haltingly, “It said—danger…smelly…dirty things…”
As he spoke, Vader waved his wand and whispered, "Apparition."
The entire shrub swayed, its roots loosened, and were slowly parted by an invisible force.
Wade found it much easier than he had expected—as if the shrub had been moved not long ago and its roots hadn’t had time to penetrate the soil.
Then, all those superfluous thoughts disappeared from his mind, leaving only a chill rising from the depths of his heart.
The stench of decay instantly wafted out of the pit, making people instinctively cover their noses. Rolf's Bowtruckle immediately ran away into the distance.
The dark clouds slowly moved away, and moonlight fell from the night sky, illuminating the stark white skeleton in the pit.
(End of this chapter)