#211 - clue

After crossing the river, I'll do a sweep centered on the crossing point. If I find any clues, I'll continue; if there's nothing, I'll have to return the way I came.” After making his decision, Anduin unhesitatingly used the Levitation Charm to float across the riverbank.

Crossing this river meant he had already ventured deep into the Forbidden Forest. No one could say for sure just how large the Forbidden Forest next to Hogwarts was.

Anduin glanced at the time; it was already approaching evening. Under these circumstances, he could only seize the last remaining time to try and find some more clues.

At the crossing point, Anduin left a Tracking Charm as a marker, using it as a reference point, and then began a carpet search centered on this location.

Initially, Anduin explored downstream, reasoning that if he were the werewolf, he might move downstream after crossing the river.

However, after half an hour of fan-shaped searching, neither the Tracking Spell nor the Echo Charm yielded any results, which couldn't help but discourage him.

But adhering to the principle of seeing things through, he Apparated back to the original location and then began searching upstream.

During the two months since returning to Hogwarts, with Professor Flitwick's assistance, Anduin had finally mastered the Apparition spell. This was also why he dared to explore the Forbidden Forest alone, as it guaranteed that he could quickly escape if he encountered anything he couldn't handle.

“What's this?” Unexpectedly, Anduin had a discovery after searching less than a kilometer in this direction.

He found signs of a struggle in a clearing not far away.

No, perhaps it wasn't so much a struggle as it was a hunt. A deer had been gutted and lay on the ground in a gruesome state, with large claw marks on its neck and torso, which were basically consistent with the werewolf claw marks Anduin had previously discovered.

The deer carcass was roughly ten meters from the river source, and near the river, Anduin once again detected the werewolf's scent signal, although faint, it was still present.

“It seems the target swam upstream for a distance before coming ashore. No wonder there weren't any clues near the crossing point. Judging by the degree of decay of the corpse, it's within a day, but the werewolf attacked the Hippogriff two days ago.”

“So, this werewolf lingered and rested here for a while, then discovered the deer, hunted it for food, and only then continued moving? It seems I'm not far from the target.”

This discovery gave Anduin a great deal of confidence. The information he had gathered along the way showed that this werewolf seemed to have no rationality and its movements were very erratic, often darting left and right.

Therefore, the linear distance between the werewolf and him might not be far. It seemed there was hope to catch it today.

Anduin had been very persistent since discovering that the target was a werewolf, partly to ensure the safety of the outer edge of the Forbidden Forest, as a mindless werewolf left unchecked would pose a great threat.

At the same time, he also hoped to enrich his living specimen collection by capturing a werewolf. He was very curious about this highly contagious creature.

However, after making this new discovery, he didn't rush to chase after it. Instead, he carefully explored the surrounding area, knowing that he had to be extra cautious when dealing with dangerous creatures like werewolves.

And soon, Anduin discovered a point of suspicion.

On the deer carcass, Anduin unexpectedly found a broken arrow. After removing the arrowhead, he could see that it was not a modern bow and arrow design, but rather a very traditional handcrafted piece.

“Could it be that besides the werewolf, there was someone else hunting this deer? This arrowhead is large and bulky, not like the usual size used by humans. Could there be centaurs nearby?”

This discovery put Anduin on high alert. The centaur tribes near Hogwarts were not friendly people. They were very xenophobic, refused human approach, and regarded the entire Forbidden Forest as their territory.

He occasionally heard Hagrid talk about his stories with the centaurs. From his descriptions, most centaurs were very hostile to wizards, and only a few were willing to communicate with humans.

The wizarding world's attitude towards centaurs was also very awkward. On one hand, they classified centaurs as people, but on the other hand, they opened a Centaur Office in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, which was simply a provocation to them.

“Sigh, I'll follow up and see what's going on first. If the werewolf is killed by the centaurs, I'll retreat quickly. It's best not to have a conflict with them, otherwise, I'll be annoyed to death every time I enter the Forbidden Forest in the future.”

He originally thought that the only thing he needed to worry about was the werewolf, but now it seemed there were also centaurs with unclear intentions. He could only take things one step at a time.

Having made up his mind, he continued to search forward following the scent captured by the Tracking Spell. What was different from before was that this time, the werewolf's path had become normal.

Although there were still some twists and turns, it was generally moving in a fixed direction, as if something in that direction was attracting it.

Although Anduin didn't know why the werewolf had suddenly changed its behavior pattern, he could sense a trace of strangeness, and then quickened his pace of tracking.

After another hour of chasing, Anduin could sense that he was getting closer and closer to the target, and he could already clearly see the werewolf's footprints.

Its mode of travel was more like a primitive werewolf form, sometimes walking on two feet and sometimes on four, so it didn't seem to be a lycanthropy infection victim.

But although the distance was getting closer and closer, the sun was gradually setting, and it seemed he wouldn't be able to return before dark.

After thinking about it, Anduin sent a message to Hagrid through the Communication Charm, informing him that he wouldn't be back tonight, and then stepped on the gas again and chased forward.

However, as he got closer and closer, he also gained more unexpected clues. Other footprints appeared not far from the tracking path.

After his identification, he confirmed that they were hoof prints, and not just one. It seemed that centaurs were indeed involved, but to his surprise, the hoof prints were in front, and the werewolf's footprints were approaching the centaurs' footprints.

So, the werewolf was chasing the centaurs in front?

But the centaurs' combat power was not weak, and there was more than one centaur, and weren't centaurs known for being brave and warlike? They wouldn't run away from a werewolf.

Instantly, a reasonable but unreasonable idea arose in Anduin's mind.

Could it be that the werewolf was stalking these centaurs? But that shouldn't be either, who gave it such courage, doesn't it want to live?

With the many doubts in his mind, Anduin quickened his pace again. At this point, he didn't even need to use the Tracking Spell, just run wildly following the footprints.

As he gradually approached, Anduin soon discovered something even more astonishing.