HP: Fairy Tale Wizard - 157

Chapter 158: Drawing Near

After eating truly good things, Sterling found it difficult to swallow the fish and chips Robin had worked hard to bring back.

After eating a few bites out of politeness, Sterling generously announced that the leftovers would be Robin's breakfast the next day, earning a teary-eyed, grateful Robin. Then he discovered Nicolas Flamel had actually installed a water-generation charm on its eyes and even modified the spell so it could produce salt water. This is the meticulous craftsmanship of an old alchemist? Sterling was truly astounded.

"Shouldn't we investigate the scene today, chirp?"

Robin's belly was round and full, leaning softly against the lamp base, as Sterling flipped through notes.

"Let's go tomorrow. I've had an ominous feeling all day since arriving in central London. Actually, it's more like sensing something will happen from the moment I got here."

Sterling flipped past "How to distinguish good dreams from bad ones," reading "Preliminary judgment of dream types through dreamer's appearance."

"Intuition, chirp!"

Robin nodded, then fished a thick handkerchief from Sterling's luggage, flying to a pillow and lying on it, pulling the handkerchief over itself completely.

"Then goodnight, chirp."

"Even after eating, you sleep? Did Mr. Nicolas really create you based on robins?"

Sterling helplessly closed the book, then cast a Levitation Charm to pull the poorly-covered blanket over himself.

Protego Charm. Patronus Charm. No, that probably won't work.

The commonly used defensive spells for outdoor self-protection mostly dispersed beasts. Against humans, their effects were minimal, let alone against wizards. For Sterling, these freshly cast spells could probably just be released and walked through.

The only somewhat useful spell: Muggle-Repelling Charm.

This made muggles "subconsciously" ignore the magic nearby. The Leaky Cauldron on Charing Cross Street used this magic.

With that, at least he was guaranteed not to be disturbed by muggles.

After arranging protective spells, Sterling got into bed, lying beside Robin.

Should I go to Avalon for a look? Sterling asked himself. It had indeed been a long time, but tonight probably wasn't a good opportunity.

That premonition was still pulsing in his heart.

Though he felt no sense of danger, it was better to be cautious, ensuring he could free himself if danger arose.

Tonight, he would just sleep well. Tomorrow, he'd be more spirited in investigating Andrew's matter, or perhaps going to the scene to find clues as Robin suggested.

Sterling slowly drifted to sleep.

And someone was waking.

Opening his eyes, Andrew found the same disheveled floor as before. Scattered manuscripts appeared in every corner. Ink had soaked through the wooden desk legs, staining the bed sheets hanging to the ground black.

Andrew raised his hand. Ink completely stained his entire hand a night-sky black, with crimson scattered within like star points.

"Huff. Lumos."

He raised a thin iron rod with a trembling hand. Bright light flared at the rod's tip, illuminating the dark room.

"How does it feel? Magic's sensation?"

A vividly-colored small serpent emerged from the desk, overlooking Andrew lying on the ground.

It flicked its tongue, leaping from the desktop. Yet in the moment before hitting ground, it drifted up, swimming through the air like water, approaching Andrew's head.

"Turns out, magic isn't so..." He trailed off.

"Noble? Mysterious? No, no, no, dear Andrew, magic is both noble and mysterious. Only because you're my friend, so for you, it's merely within reach."

The serpent coiled its tail around Andrew's neck, hanging its body upside-down from his shoulder.

"Want more magic? You wouldn't be satisfied now, would you?"

Andrew's eyes turned crimson for a moment. He nodded.

"More magic. Stronger spells. Who wouldn't like it?"

"Haha, I knew it."

The serpent laughed until convulsing. After a long while, it slowly coiled atop Andrew's head.

"But I hope to extract magic from Dark wizards. Didn't you say recently that many Dark wizards appeared in London?"

"From any angle, Dark wizards are more suitable as my kindling, right? Their magic is generally stronger than ordinary wizards, and their disappearance won't attract attention."

"Oh, oh, this is a bit difficult, Andrew."

The serpent interrupted, slowly crawling down Andrew's face. Supporting itself, it aligned a pair of crimson eyes directly with Andrew's.

"If you've finally understood this is about profit, then I must say, dear Andrew, your growth far exceeded my expectations. But no, you're deceiving yourself now."

"You're regretting? Last night, when you inserted that clock hand into that witch's heart, why didn't you feel this? When you ecstatically released spells after obtaining her magic, why didn't you feel this?"

"You're regretting now. After claiming all her magic for yourself, you started regretting. Isn't that funny, dear Andrew?"

Andrew watched those increasingly red eyes, feeling his head grow lighter and lighter, as if it were floating up or dispersing into bubbles.

"This isn't right."

"That's right, that's right, this isn't right. We should treat everyone equally, shouldn't we? Whether white wizards or Dark wizards, anyone who can provide you with magic should be yours, our prey."

Looking at Andrew's pupils slowly turning black, the serpent smiled and drifted back to the desk.

"Meryl's Poet Magic is indeed worthwhile. Pity that the kid's moral standards were raised too high by himself. I wonder how he's doing now. I'm actually missing that silly boy who let me trick half his magic out so easily."

The serpent swayed its head, its vertical pupils flickering with alternating nostalgia and mockery.

"Heiropo, where are we going today?"

"Mm, but I only know where innocent, kind white wizards are. Is that okay, dear Andrew?"

"Can't accept it? Then don't extract magic anymore. Just like before, being a ‘Jack the Ripper’, eliminating bad people. Wasn't that pretty good?"

Andrew closed his completely black eyes. The serpent laughed, coiling twice around his neck.

"Ah, what a pity we couldn't trick the Queen's Alchemy Magic. Marionettes created by Poet Magic still aren't clever enough. Forget it, let's go."

"Let's put on tonight's show. Mm, let's first greet our protagonist. Unexpected developments, how about it?"

Eerie hissing echoed through the deep alley. Black liquid dripped from the serpent's fangs, transforming into a clock hand, gripped tightly by Andrew.