Dumbledore answered his second question first:
“Long before I came here, a well-informed ‘friend’ of mine had already told me about the situation here.”
“So I brought a relic of Merlin with me in advance, which can protect me from the erosion of ‘Chaos’ and ‘War’.”
“As for other discoveries in the ruins…”
“I found that the origin of my Merlin relic seems a bit complicated. This is also why I want you to help me study it.”
“What?”
Weilan’s mind spun for a few moments before he realized—the coin Dumbledore wanted him to “punish” him by studying was precisely the Merlin relic he had brought into the ruins.
“So, where exactly is this ‘complication’ you mentioned?”
Dumbledore closed his eyes and shook his head, saying nothing.
They returned to the foot of the mountain.
Because it was adjacent to Lake Marenweim, the grass at the foot of the mountain was damp. They stepped on the misty grass and walked towards the nearest village in Fetterot.
“In any case.”
Dumbledore spoke again:
“Tonight, I will ask Professor McGonagall to help me transfer Merlin’s coin to you. I hope you will take this matter seriously.”
“Besides this, I also found a Veela hair in the cave.”
Weilan jumped from the grass onto the dry dirt path, his pupils slightly constricted:
“A Veela?”
He thought of the Veela who had kidnapped him after the Quidditch match.
“I also encountered the sealed Goblin King. He tried to stir up the anger and fighting spirit in my heart, but under the protection of the Merlin relic, he failed.”
“At the same time, I managed to extract some information from him.”
Dumbledore’s steps, which were leading the way, suddenly became heavy and slow.
“He said—a Veela had once approached him, hoping he could spread devil’s powder among the crowd nearby, to make more people contract this thing.”
“Gannag said that Veela was very special; like Gannag, she carried the power of ancient ‘authority’. It was this ancient power that fostered Gannag’s respect and trust in her.”
“Although I didn’t get the specific details, it’s certain that Gannag and that Veela reached some kind of agreement.”
“This is also why Gannag sought out that group of Squibs.”
“By spreading devil’s powder among the Squibs, Gannag fulfilled what he promised the Veela.”
Weilan’s nails dug deep into his palms.
Although he had long known that someone was behind the spread of devil’s powder, he never expected it could be connected to a Veela.
“That night, that Veela said she carried the ‘Goddess’s’ blessing.”
“So, that Veela who carries ‘authority’ is very likely…”
Weilan felt a chill down his spine.
“Then, regarding Harry’s healing method—” Weilan had only asked half the question when he received the answer from Dumbledore’s slight shake of the head.
There was no way to heal Harry in that Goblin ruin.
They stopped talking and soon entered the village.
Although Dumbledore could have left directly using Apparition, he still accompanied Weilan and Hermione, using Floo powder, to return to Pippin's Potions in Hogsmeade.
In Hogsmeade, after finding someone to treat Hermione’s injuries, Weilan found Ron in Hogsmeade’s central square.
Ron’s leg and body injuries were well bandaged and treated.
However, he now stood awkwardly, wrapped in bandages, like an exhibit in a display case, in Hogsmeade’s central square, being gawked at by all the villagers of Hogsmeade.
McCarthy and Mr. Gobert stood on either side of Ron, applauding.
The smiles on their faces gave Weilan a false impression, as if in the next second they would pull out a red-and-yellow banner with the words “Brave and Resourceful Good Student” and solemnly present it to Ron.
Just as Weilan hunched down, deciding to slip away immediately, Ron reached out to him:
“Hey, Mr. McCarthy, Mr. Gobert, my two friends have arrived too, they’re right there!”
“Wow—”
Amidst a chorus of exclamations, the crowd automatically parted to create a path.
Dumbledore stood behind him, smiling and encouraging Weilan.
Weilan had wanted to avoid this awkward commendation scene, but seeing this, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and, hand in hand with Hermione, walk to Ron’s side and stand with him.
Mr. Gobert cleared his throat and announced in a booming voice to all the villagers:
“Here, we, the Magical Enforcement Team, would like to especially thank these three students for their help.”
“Mr. McCarthy has just explained the ins and outs of the robbery to everyone.”
“Without their assistance, we might never have known about those Squibs who were deluded and poisoned by Gannag.”
“Without them, these Squibs would continue to represent Gannag, deceiving more Squibs and dragging them into an abyss of no return.”
“Whether Squibs, Wizards, or Muggles, we are all equal, and all have the right to live freely…”
Mr. Gobert then spoke a lot more, including stopping discrimination, the dangers of devil’s powder, staying away from that Goblin ruin, and the centralized treatment process for Squib villagers, and so on.
His speech was magically not boring, but instead kept the villagers below listening with great interest.
“Finally, to express our sincere gratitude, here is a 10 Galleon bonus; please be sure to accept it.”
Holding 10 heavy Galleons, Weilan gained more than just the joy of earning money; he finally understood why Mr. Gobert could make everyone who spent time with him feel happy.
“Furthermore, Mr. Pippin, you once promised that if these three children could find the robbers, you would give them a 100 Galleon reward… I believe you are a trustworthy businessman, aren’t you?”
Under the burning gaze of everyone, Mr. Pippin, propped up by his wife, managed to utter the scorching words:
“Yes, sir, their reward will be delivered immediately.”
Weilan lowered his head and thought of all the sad things from his two lives, barely managing to suppress his laughter.
After the commendation ended, the crowd dispersed, but now, no matter where Weilan walked in Hogsmeade, there were always subtle glances falling upon him.
Mr. Pippin’s sack containing the 90 Galleon balance was soon delivered.
Weilan and Ron painstakingly counted it 3 times and “thoughtfully and tactfully” reminded Mr. Pippin that his sack contained only 88 Galleons.
Amidst Mr. Pippin’s grumbling departure, Weilan, carrying the sack, set off on the road back to Hogwarts.
Hermione, as usual, refused the Galleons Weilan offered her. She repeatedly claimed her parents had given her enough pocket money.
“No, Hermione, you must take it this time. I hope you can help us purchase some Potions.”
“We are restricted from using magic outside of school. If we have Potions, they can be of great use at necessary moments.”
Hermione accepted Weilan’s explanation and took the sack of 90 Galleons.
Weilan didn’t tell Hermione how much the Potions would cost. He implicitly assumed that any remaining Galleons after purchasing the Potions would belong to Hermione.
The remaining 20 Galleons were split between Weilan and Ron.
They walked through the dazzling array of shops in Hogsmeade. Ron, with his newly acquired reward, bought a large pile of sweets at Honeydukes.
After coming out, Hermione pulled them again towards a Witch’s stall selling lucky star bottles.
Today was a cloudless, sunny day. The Witch was pushing a cart full of star-shaped bottles, standing in the yellowish-green grass.
According to the Witch’s introduction:
As long as one wrote their name on parchment in front of her, then placed it in a star bottle, and the Witch cast a good luck magic on it.
Then it could bring good luck to the owner of the name.
Hermione couldn’t wait to buy one.
But Weilan could tell at a glance that it was a scam.
magic that controls good luck is not that easy to obtain.
If it were, then the good luck Potion, Felix Felicis, would not be more valuable than gold.
Hermione pouted and left in disappointment. Before leaving, she was still muttering something.
It sounded like—“So unromantic!”
Soon after they returned to Hogwarts, Professor McGonagall found Weilan and handed him a silver coin.
That evening, the three of them gathered in the Gryffindor common room.
Hermione brought all sorts of books, and Ron, following Hermione’s instructions, searched through the indexes of these thick tomes.
Weilan, meanwhile, examined the silver coin Dumbledore had sent him in his palm.