Ominis explained softly, "Annie and I are good friends. When we went mushroom picking together in the mountains before, she happened to see a beautiful magical creature."
"The magical creature let out a long, drawn-out cry as it slowly shed its horn. Then, discovering our tracks, it swiftly fled into the depths of the jungle, leaving this behind..."
It was a long horn shaped like a rhinoceros horn, with a ruby-like texture, looking like a naturally formed work of art.
Xenophilius examined it with great seriousness, gently stroking the grooves of the horn with his hand, and even casting a Lumos on the horn as if checking its translucency.
Vizette searched the books in his mind, but could not find a corresponding long horn.
In fact, when he was in the Hogwarts Library, he did not find any record of the Crumple-Horned Snorkack in the relevant books.
The Crumple-Horned Snorkack must have been extremely mysterious, no wonder Luna was so obsessed with it.
If the long horns in front of them truly belonged to the Crumple-Horned Snorkack, one could only imagine how beautiful they must have been.
Xenophilius shared the same thought, his gaze softening considerably as he looked at the horned creature, as if it were a precious jewel.
"It might really be left behind by the Crumple-Horned Snorkack! They are so mysterious and timid, and they make a long, snoring sound—it's definitely a Crumple-Horned Snorkack! Can you take us there to see it?"
"Of course, no problem. Shall we set off now?" Ominis smiled slightly and took the first step.
...
The four quickly left the village. Ominis stretched out his wand and waved it back and forth, his steps unhurried.
Despite his unhurried pace, Vizette and the others were still very nervous, the three of them forming a triangle to protect him.
Ominis noticed this and smiled slightly, saying, "Please rest assured, my three kind companions, I have been living like this for countless years, and nothing will happen to me."
"My wand is my eye. It helps me see the path ahead, prevents me from being misled, and keeps me on the right track."
"That's really remarkable. Are you permanent residents here?" Xenophilius asked. "I heard from the guide that this is the first time he's seen you."
"I came here to reminisce about the past," Ominis said reminiscently. "But I'm quite familiar with the legends of this island. Shall I tell you about them?"
Seeing the light in Luna and Vizette's eyes, Xenophilius nodded and said, "Of course, we love hearing that."
Ominis chuckled and said, "In the distant past, there once existed a powerful wizard whose talent was unparalleled. He could even command lightning and the ocean with ease..."
"He was also a pioneer. In order to better and more widely pass on magic and allow wizards to give full play to their talents, he rode a bright red horse to this island..."
"There was already a towering tree on this island, and with his arrival, it seems that the tree, stimulated by him, has grown even taller..."
"The wizard's own magical power grew stronger and stronger, even affecting the surrounding area, unleashing terrifying lightning and towering waves, preventing curious wizards from getting close..."
"Until one day, the lightning and the waves disappeared together, and even the towering tree vanished, finally allowing the wizards from the surrounding area to set foot on the island..."
"They came to the wizard's resting place, but could not find the wizard anywhere. They only found the magical artifacts that had been left behind, and a scroll of parchment covered with bright red writing."
"The wizards stayed on this island, developing more magic and spells by studying magical artifacts and parchment. Do you know what the writing on that parchment is?"
Vizette instinctively replied, "Could it be runes? The History of Magic mentions that the earliest runes appeared in Northern Europe and then spread throughout the world."
"That's right, it's runes." Ominis nodded.
"Mr. Ominis, may I ask the name of that wizard pioneer? Was it... Odin?"
The towering trees, the wizards who wield lightning, and the fact that the island is named "Midgard" made it hard for him not to associate them with these things.
"Some kind of connection between Muggles and wizards, right?" Ominis laughed. "Back then, the relationship between Muggles and wizards wasn't bad."
"It should even be called frequent communication; Muggles weave their own myths based on the legends told by wizards."
He suddenly stopped and pointed to the bushes not far away.
"Time flies, doesn't it? It was under that tree that Annie and I found the Crumple-Horned Snorkack that was shedding its horns."
Xenophilius parted the bushes and saw a series of faintly glowing footprints on the ground, shaped like rounded triangles.
He led the way, while Vizette held his wand in his hand, having already cast the Guardian Meditation Technique, cautiously alert to his surroundings.
The jungle was more peaceful than Vizette had imagined; he only encountered a few common small animals along the way.
The magical creatures that occasionally appeared were never higher than XXXX.
Following the footprints, they arrived at a shallow pond.
"Is there someone there?" Vizette asked in a low voice.
He saw a figure crouching on the shore on the other side of the lake.
The figure's body heaved violently, as if coughing incessantly, a sound that was extremely painful, and occasionally a few mouthfuls of blood would be spat out.
The figure opposite was shrouded in a black robe, but Vizette could sense that the figure was counting people.
Vizette narrowed his eyes slightly, a spell flashing through his mind: the Levicorpus!
He remembered Snape's warning; in the world outside of Hogwarts, he would first consider the worst-case scenario.
Especially with Luna by his side, he could not afford to be careless and risk harming his family.
Since this figure was shrouded in darkness, it must have been up to no good. The headcount was probably a way of assessing the situation and deciding whether there was an opportunity to strike.
Perhaps due to the large number of people, the figure coughed as he retreated, eventually disappearing into the jungle.
"Everything you see with your eyes may not be real." Ominis murmured, looking in the direction where the figure disappeared, and gently shook his head.
After a brief interlude, Ominis took the lead, guiding everyone along the pond.
"The tracks of the Crumple-Horned Snorkack disappeared here, and we never encountered it again."
Xenophilius asked tentatively, "Could it be in the pond?"
"That's a good idea. Actually, we checked and didn't find any traces of magic."
Ominis gently waved his wand, and the pond suddenly rippled, rising slowly into the air like a giant bubble.
Just as he said, apart from silt, a few fish and frog skeletons, and aquatic plants, there was nothing different at the bottom of the pond...
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