Snape, the Sunshine of Hogwarts.

Chapter 174 Traveling with Trolls

Since returning home, the Lemaîtres have had a relatively easy time.

The couple had always remained largely aloof from the affairs of the French magical world, a position they had been given due to the existence of the Philosopher's Stone.

After giving his statement at the Ministry of Magic, Minister Russo visited Nico twice more to sound him out. Once he was sure that Nico had no complaints about him or the current Ministry of Magic because of this incident, he felt relieved and didn't bother him again.

As for those newspaper reporters who block the door all day long?
Nico has considerable experience dealing with these people.

The main entrance they blocked was just one of the visible exits of Flamel Cottage. As a place that had once served as a safe house for Dumbledore's men, Flamel Cottage certainly had more than one exit.

However, in the two days following his chat with Severus, Nico showed no intention of going out.

He first wrote a letter to Dumbledore to let him know he was safe, and in the letter, he also explained the true situation of the incident.

What happened in France might be believed by those politicians, but it certainly wouldn't escape the notice of Dumbledore, who was far away in England.

Neither Grindelwald nor Nico had expected that this matter could be kept from him, so it did not violate the agreement between Nico and Grindelwald.

Less than half a day later, Dumbledore sent him a reply.

He didn't say much about Nurmengard, but he showed great curiosity about Severus Snape, one of his subordinates.

To Nico's surprise, Dumbledore had no idea where Severus was going or what he was going to do next!
This surprised him greatly.

When Severus visited him with Dumbledore's letter, he assumed that whether it was visiting him now or doing what he was supposed to do later, it was all at Dumbledore's behest.

Now it is known that Dumbledore was unaware of what Severus was about to do.

Nicole weighed the options in her mind and decided not to tell Dumbledore about the conversations she and Severus had had at home.

The reason he didn't say was that Nico wasn't actually very clear about where Severus was going or what he was going to do next.

He could only vaguely guess some of it.

Therefore, since Severus did not reveal his purpose or inform Dumbledore in the first place.

Nico ultimately chose to keep the secret for Severus for the time being.

In his subsequent letter to Dumbledore, he explained his observations and assessment of Severus's magic, and finally handed him the autographed book, asking him to try it out.

As for what happened to Severus after that, he only said that he didn't know.

The day after ending his correspondence with Dumbledore, Nico finally decided he didn't want to stay home any longer.

Besides the magical world, he and his wife also run many charitable projects for Muggles.

During this time, the magical world couldn't get much attention because of those wolf-like reporters, but the Muggles obviously didn't have as many concerns.

So the Lemaîtres disguised themselves and began frequenting welfare hospitals and orphanages in Paris.

That evening, Madame Lemaître went home to rest, while Nicole alone used the Disillusionment Charm on herself to conceal her presence and walk among the Muggles.

He likes to think and observe in this way.

Nico observed the joys and sorrows of those around him at every moment.

Sometimes, he would quietly help job seekers retrieve their lost resumes, bringing them a pleasant surprise amidst their frustration and sadness.

Sometimes, he would punish pickpockets, making them walk into the police station to turn themselves in, carrying their day's loot.

Sometimes, he would quietly trip the robbers, making them fall flat on their faces.

However, in most cases, he actually has no way to change anything more.

Nico understood perfectly well that no matter how long he lived, he couldn't do much more for the world.

Many people say that when a person lives long enough, as an immortal, they should be able to get used to the regrets of this world.

But this approach clearly doesn't work for Nico.

No matter how long the years may pass, he remains the same as he was at the beginning, with a compassionate heart towards everything in this world.

It was precisely because of this that he and Dumbledore became close friends despite their age difference, and that he and his wife always had something to do throughout their long lives.

As night deepened, Nicole found a quiet spot and looked up at the starry sky.

Two hundred years ago, he learned some astrology from a centaur.

Although it's useless in the vast majority of cases, and the talent for divination is generally something one is born with and cannot be forced, in the past two hundred years, he has still managed to make a few successful revelations by sheer luck.

This time, he seemed to see some different star trails in the dark.

Guided by that strange feeling, he began to walk again, eventually arriving at a metro station in Paris named after a famous battle.

Here, Nico discovers a very interesting animal.

It was a large dog with completely black fur.

Nico began observing it from the moment it lay there listlessly.

He could actually see in the eyes of this animal that seemed to have nothing to do with any magical creature the expressions only humans could show.

Worry, anger, confusion, regret.
This surprised Nico. He didn't go anywhere else, but stayed where he was, observing the strange black dog.

Although the black dog didn't seem to care about its surroundings, as if it knew it only deserved to stay in such a garbage dump, its eyes showed only indifference when it saw other stray dogs.

It's like watching a group of unrelated animals.

When homeless people affected it, it showed complete disgust and aversion.

Even though this emotion is negative, it is clearly only expressed when facing one's own kind.

Then, it was the drunkard known as "Old Hunter" who discovered it and began sharing his beer with it.

When the beer was first poured into his mouth, the black dog's eyes clearly showed shock and resistance.

But soon, this resistance vanished from its sight, and it seemed to accept the numbing effect of alcohol with a clear conscience, just like many alcoholics at first. They all need this stuff to help them escape reality.

The black dog also began to indulge itself. It drank heavily with old Hant beside it, and it no longer behaved like an animal at all, but like a real human!
If, at this moment, the person next to it were not an alcoholic but a person of sound mind, they would certainly notice its strangeness.

While it's uncommon for dogs to enjoy alcohol, it's not entirely surprising.

But a large black dog, with one foreleg outstretched, drinking with a drunkard like a human, is more than just strange.

This can be described as bizarre!

Nico, who witnessed this scene, was deep in thought.

His brain, though somewhat dulled by age, was still quite clear and logical, and he was thinking.

After a long while, he blinked, and then, as if he had thought of something, casually released the illusion spell from his body.

The sudden appearance of an old man went unnoticed in the chaotic subway station at night.

Conic was certain that the black dog had spotted him the moment he appeared.

It had clearly drunk a lot; the beer cans on the ground were piled up like a small mountain. Old Hunter had spent all his money on alcohol. When he still wasn't satisfied, the black dog went to other homeless people to steal more, and even received loud cheers and encouragement from Old Hunter.

However, even so, its seemingly innate vigilance still allowed its intuition to overcome the numbing effect of alcohol and set its sights on Nico!

Nico didn't avoid its subconsciously fierce gaze; instead, he slowly approached the black dog and looked down at it.

The man and the dog stared at each other for a long time, until old Hant, who was standing nearby, could no longer hold on and passed out drunk.

"If you're homeless, why don't you come with me?"

Nico smiled and softly extended an invitation to the black dog.

Whether the black dog could still think rationally was unknown. After hearing Nico's words, its somewhat dazed eyes hesitated for more than ten seconds before it shakily stood up and followed the old man.

The man and his dog slowly left the subway station.

"Hey! Don't pee on the stone path, go under the tree."

From afar, you could hear Nico lecturing his new friend.

"Lulu and I have been traveling together for five years!"

In the forests and valleys of Albania, in the land of giant tribes.

After an afternoon of preparations, Severus and his companions finally enjoyed a big meal that evening.

The giants' celebration was so unique that each of them held a large stick and bounced around the roasted yellow-horned goat, making the once peaceful valley seem like it had been struck by an earthquake, startling countless birds and small animals.

They could eat and sleep. Each troll had a yellow-horned goat. After eating around the campfire, most of the trolls would fall asleep immediately, not caring whether they were in that simple wooden shed or not.

The wizards' dinner started at the same time as the trolls, and as a result, Harry didn't even have time to take a second sip of his juice before the trolls were already done.

However, their end also allowed the wizards to enjoy their dinner more amicably.

They sat down at a wooden table by the lake, which was laden with various foods: fish soup made from the colorful fish that Harry and Draco had caught that afternoon, rabbits and pheasants that Lupin had caught in the woods, and cabbages and turnips that Severus had found nearby.

Andrews is telling them about his travel adventures in Europe.

"I first met Lulu in Norway. At that time, I hadn't actually started focusing on troll research yet. Don't be fooled by how obedient and harmless these big guys seem under Lulu and my control."

"But the fact that tigers are domesticated in the circus can never change the fact that tigers are still wild animals."

"The same is true of trolls. There is very solid reason why they are not recognized as 'human' by wizards. In most cases, they are like wild beasts, without their own thoughts, ideas, or consciousness, and act solely on biological instincts."

"There are very few exceptions, and Lulu is the exception among exceptions."

Andrews looked very excited; he cared a lot about his troll friend.

"Want to know when we first met? I was at a wild lake near Shock, Norway, trying to visit a mermaid tribe that lived there."

"But my information was clearly wrong. There were no mermaids in that lake, but there was a horse-shaped water monster! I was terrified because my wand was left on the shore, and I had no way to deal with it!"

"Just when I thought I was going to die there, Lulu appeared! It was hugging a small fir tree on the shore, barking at me, and hooked my clothes with the branch of that small tree, pulling me from the lake to the shore!"

"My God, you can't possibly understand how shocked I was back then!"

Andrews spoke with great enthusiasm, captivating both Harry and Draco.

"I was saved by a troll! It didn't eat me, but instead used a small tree to rescue me from the threat of a sea monster! The first thing I did after getting ashore was to try to communicate with it in troll language. It was indeed different from all the other trolls. It could understand what I meant, it could think, and it even had a kind heart!"

(Upon hearing this, Severus and his companions involuntarily turned to look at Lulu, who was pulling on her companions' big feet and dragging them into the wooden shed, as if she wanted them to go back inside to sleep.)
"It told me that it had saved many people there, but those wizards still held the wild image of the giant in their hearts, and they turned and ran away after being rescued by it. It felt very lonely. Its own kind could not understand it, and the wizards could not accept it. It had been wandering around Norway, and then it stopped by that lake."

"Because it discovered that many wizards would come here to search for the oldest legendary mermaid tribe based on rumors they had heard, but they all nearly perished in the mouth of the water monster, so it stayed there, waiting to save them."

Severus blinked and spoke.

"Is there something fishy about that lake?"

“That’s right! I sensed from Lulu that this was a trap, so we started our first collaboration there, investigating the rumors about the lake and the mermaids, and eventually found out the real culprit.”

"That was a black wizard who illegally kept a horse-shaped water monster. The news about the mermaid was all false information he spread, hoping that adventurers would keep sending food to his pet!"

"After this matter was investigated, you started traveling together?" This time it was Lupin who asked.

Andrews said with a smile.

“I have no reason not to invite it! It saved me, and we even worked together to help the Norwegian Auror solve a case. It has nowhere to go, so why not continue our partnership?”

"It was from the moment I met Lulu that I officially decided to specialize in the study of trolls. After leaving Norway, we traveled to many countries in Europe together, visited many troll tribes, and observed their lives, habits, and migration activities. We were simply the best partners!"

Looking at his genuine smile, Severus suddenly recalled some books that Lohart had written about the original story.

Many of his books are about adventure, especially adventures with dangerous magical creatures.

Among them are "Breaking Up with the Female Ghost", "Traveling with the Ghoul", and "Vacationing with the She-Devil".
and also
Walking with Trolls!
(End of this chapter)