Hogwarts: Don't call me Wandmaker

Chapter 119 Cerberus's Culinary Seasoning

Deep in the forbidden forest, in a depression.

Hagrid stood sternly in front of Luwei, warning it not to frighten Celen.

"You almost killed Siron in the castle last time, that was wrong." Hagrid's tone was stern, and he didn't care whether Fulvi could understand him or not, he just stood there and shouted:

“If it were a Slytherin student, they would definitely tell the Ministry of Magic, and you would be killed. Even Headmaster Dumbledore couldn’t protect you.”

"It was because Xilun didn't pursue the matter and even lured you out of the castle that he saved your life!"

The three-headed dog emitted a nasal sound that was difficult to understand, and its three heads looked in three different directions, but it never looked at Siron.

He seemed to be dissatisfied.

“Alright, Hagrid, let me talk to it.” Xiren stepped forward with courage.

Louie let out a low growl, but remembering Hagrid was there, it suppressed the sound.

Once they got closer, Xiren realized that Lou Williams had indeed grown considerably larger than before; he was actually shorter than a head when he stood there.

"Can it understand me?" Siren asked.

“A little bit,” Hagrid said. “Lewd is a very smart kid. As long as it’s not too complicated, it can understand some everyday things.”

"You two can chat. I'll go tidy up Louie's bed. He always makes a mess of his living space."

The bed Hagrid was talking about was actually a bunch of bushes that had been trimmed into a large doghouse, shaped exactly like Tooth's.

As Hagrid got busy, Celen looked up at Lou Williams again.

It can only understand simple words, which means it's a bit less intelligent than Tom... maybe even less intelligent than a swallowtail dog. At least a swallowtail dog can understand most wizard commands and is one of the most popular family pets. Its only drawback is that it's too expensive.

They have them in the pet store in Diagon Alley; the price is enough to buy ten owls.

Xilun curled its lip. With such low intelligence, it's a wonder it has three heads.

Seemingly sensing something, Lu Wei suddenly looked at Xilun, and began to bare his teeth again.

Xilun inhaled and turned around...

"Hagrid!"

The moment it opened its mouth, the three-headed dog immediately put on a fawning smile, its expression changing faster than a dog's.

"What happened!" Hagrid rushed over and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Siron and Cerberus were both safe and sound.

“It’s nothing,” Xiren said. “I just wanted to ask if you needed any help.”

“No need, I can manage on my own,” Hagrid said. “You can feed it some moose meat, it’s in that bucket.”

“No problem.” Xilun nodded.

When Xilun looked at Luwei again this time, it finally stopped baring its teeth.

“That’s right. Even though you’re a dog, you still have to be reasonable.” Xilun picked up a piece of meat and put it into the mouth of the middle three-headed dog.

"I blew you up once, but you chased me for half a castle afterward, so we're even, right?"

Two other heads peered over, craning their necks to look into the bucket.

Xilun also gave each of them a piece of meat.

"Let's call it even, okay?" he asked again.

Siren thought that Cerberus could understand what he meant, after all, this guy could read people's expressions, and his IQ should be a bit higher than he thought, about half the level of Tom.

The three-headed dog ignored Sheron and just kept looking into the bucket. It seemed to really like it, with drool dripping all over the ground.

Only after Siren had fed the entire bucket of meat did the three-headed dog reluctantly let out a whimper, its face once again displaying that indifferent expression.

"That's enough for you." Xiren smirked. "The time I blew your mouth open, I even prepared a gift for you. Wasn't that troll delicious?"

Luwei didn't understand at first, but after Xilun gestured, it remembered the delicious meat roll that had broken in after Xilun.

Lou Williams smacked his lips, seemingly savoring something.

It was in so much pain, and the giant suddenly barged in with hostility, so it tore the other to pieces in a fit of rage.

Later, after it regained its senses, it realized that it seemed to have missed a delicious meal. The lingering taste in its mouth was so fragrant, even more so than the meat Hagrid had brought it.

But after searching for a long time, it still couldn't find a similar taste.

Seeing the change in Lou Williams's eyes, Xilun probably guessed what it was thinking.

Cerberus really does like trolls... probably because of their unique smell.

I don’t know if it’s a racial trait, but trolls smell terrible. It’s a combination of rotting flesh and swamp, mixed with moldy cheese, that’s extremely pungent and nauseating.

This smell is their second weapon; if a wizard with weak willpower were to vomit it out the moment the giant gets close.

But if it's a three-headed dog, that stench might become its own condiment.

You could tell from Lou Williams' eyes that he was truly missing it...

“That was a gift from me.” Celen patted the three-headed dog’s mouth. “Remember? I was the one who opened the door.”

As he spoke, Celen casually plucked a thick, wire-like whisker from his beard. However, the three-headed dog seemed oblivious, continuing to stare intently at Celen.

"Yes, it's me!"

Xilun made a door-opening motion, then imitated the troll's clumsy movements, pretending to fall, and then flipped forward.

Lou Williams' six eyes lit up immediately.

It remembered that this was how the "delicious meat roll" appeared in front of it!

Xiren suddenly felt a gust of wind blow by. When he stood up, he saw that Luwei was wagging its tail wildly at him, making a banging sound against the tree next to it, and leaves and branches fell to the ground.

"Oh, looks like you two get along well." Just then, Hagrid returned. He looked at the empty barrel, then at Luwei, and patted its head with satisfaction.

"That's right, you should befriend Xilun."

He touched something sticky, and upon closer inspection, he realized it was saliva.

Lou Williams raised his head too high on the right, and his saliva landed right on the middle of his head.

"You glutton," Hagrid said with a laugh. "Didn't you just finish a barrel of moose meat? How come you're hungry again... But I don't have any more left."

“I guess it’s not hungry,” Celen said. “It’s probably just craving something sweet.”

What are you craving?

“Trolls,” Siron said. “Are there any in the Forbidden Forest?”

“There should be,” Hagrid thought for a moment and said, “but they should be on the other side of the Forbidden Forest, far from the castle, separated by a large swamp.”

"You absolutely must not try to take them."

Hagrid seemed to realize something, his expression changed, and he quickly reminded him, "Even I rarely go to the other side of the Forbidden Forest. That swamp is too big, and it's full of Grindylows and groundbats. There are also werewolves on the other side. You absolutely must not get close."

“Don’t worry, Hagrid, I definitely won’t,” Celen explained. “It’s Ruwei; he likes the smell of trolls.”

However, this explanation clearly did not convince Hagrid, who simply believed that Siron wanted to get another spine.

But are trolls so easy to deal with?
This thought immediately made Hagrid lose the will to stay any longer, and he quickly left with Siron.

Lou Williams followed behind with his head down, as if he were seeing them off, and the effect was outstanding.

Under the intimidation of the three-headed dog, the creatures in the Forbidden Forest dared not approach, and the two returned to the cabin without any trouble.

Hagrid also drove Louie back into the depths of the Forbidden Forest.

Even though no one was pursuing the matter from last year anymore, Hagrid thought it best to keep Cerberus in the Forbidden Forest as much as possible to be on the safe side.

Back in the cabin, Hagrid poured tea for Siren and then went to get him some rock bread, a staple of Hagrid's hospitality.

Siron was examining his spoils from his trip to the Forbidden Forest.

First, there are ten branches of varying lengths, the longest being thirty inches and the shortest fifteen inches, all of which are long enough to make a wand.

Moreover, the quality is good, especially the oak, which has a smooth surface, intact texture, and no cracks whatsoever.

Besides these, there were also two whiskers from the three-headed dog. Originally, Xilun wanted to pluck one whisker from each head to avoid favoritism, but when it came to the head whose two teeth he had blown out, Xilun inexplicably felt a little reluctant.

Two hairs will do, though. Now that he and Cerberus have made peace, getting some whiskers will be a piece of cake.

If given the chance, and if I can find a suitable gift... a dog tooth isn't out of the question.

Xilun stroked his chin, suddenly remembering the last two properties of the wand, Silvermane.

[Spellbreaker]: Increases attack magic penetration by 20%, with a chance to directly destroy the opponent's defensive magic.

[Tear]: After magic deals damage to the target, the counter-spell effect is reduced by 30%.
When he uses Silvermane now, whether it's targeting Voldemort's soul, calming the effects of the Killing Curse, or removing petrification, it's all related to unicorns.

But these two are clearly from the Cerberus, it's just that Celeste is only in his second year and doesn't need them yet.

Wait... is there a chance to directly destroy the opponent's defensive magic?

Xiren's expression was somewhat strange, and he seemed to doubt whether Cerberus was targeting the giant.

The troll wand can increase defensive magic, and then the three-headed dog brings a [Breakthrough] spell. Is this a relentless pursuit?
"What are you thinking about?" Hagrid placed a plate of rock cakes on the table in front of him.

"It's nothing." Xiren tucked his silver mane away. "I was just thinking, when can we go back to the Forbidden Forest? I've discovered there are really a lot of treasures in there."

“Of course, the Forbidden Forest is Hogwarts’ most precious treasure,” Hagrid blurted out, then added, “But you are a student, and going to the Forbidden Forest without permission is against school rules.”

"Then I'll wait until the school holidays to come, like Christmas, Easter, or the school year holidays. I'll come when Hogwarts is on holiday, so it can't be considered a violation of school rules, right?"

Hagrid was stunned.

The first two are hard to say, but the holiday after the school year ends... that doesn't really seem to be a violation of school rules, if he can get into the school then.

“No, that’s too dangerous.” Hagrid frowned. “You’re still a second-year student.”

“I’ll ask you to come with me then,” Celen said. “We’ll visit Lu Wei together during the holidays.”

“That’s fine.” Hagrid nodded instinctively.

……

(End of this chapter)