Chapter 238. Bart
Adrian Wesson stared at the beech before him, which was quivering with excitement, and didn't know what to say.
He had expected the beech might undergo some changes, but the scene before his eyes still exceeded his imagination.
"Eldra," he said silently in his heart.
At once, the Tree of Wisdom's readout surfaced in his mind:
[Species: Beech]
[Level: 2]
[Trait: Leader]
[Status: Growing (0%)]
Leader?
Adrian frowned slightly. The description of this trait was truly thought-provoking.
When he probed further, the Tree of Wisdom supplied only a vague answer:
[He is the leader among trees.]
Adrian sighed inwardly. It seemed the Tree of Wisdom could offer nothing more.
The only thing clear now was that the beech before him appeared to have gained self-awareness.
"What is this!?"
Hagrid froze for a moment, then grabbed Adrian's arm with a start. "You did this?"
Adrian nodded calmly.
Barring any surprises, this change had indeed arisen from the influence of his magic.
"This is brilliant!"
Like an explorer who'd stumbled on a new continent, Hagrid circled the trunk in excitement.
"I've never seen a tree like this!" He patted the beech's bark and turned to Adrian. "What breed is it?"
"To be honest, I'm not sure," Adrian replied.
Just then, the beech swayed its body and a few leaves fluttered down from above.
"Master!" Its voice was a little urgent. "I need your power."
Adrian smiled faintly with understanding. He knew exactly what the beech needed at this moment.
He stepped forward and pressed his palm to the rough bark.
As his magic flowed out, the beech closed its eyes in serenity, as though in bliss.
Yes—what it craved was Adrian's magic.
After experiencing the nourishment of his magic, it had never forgotten the feeling.
A moment later, Adrian withdrew his hand, and the beech smacked its lips in satisfaction.
[Status: Growing (5%)]
Seeing the beech's status, Adrian couldn't help but feel a twinge of awe.
Worthy of being the "favourite child of the plant world": after merely absorbing a little of his magic and mutagen, its growth progress had risen this much.
"How do you feel?" Adrian asked softly.
A smile of contentment spread across the beech's face. "Wonderful!"
It tried moving its boughs, and several branches actually waved with the agility of arms.
Hagrid watched, dumbfounded.
Even Ronan allowed himself a rare look of surprise.
In fact, he had only sensed something amiss here; he had not come in person before.
Bart's appearance had not been within his expectations.
"Do you have a name?" Ronan stepped forward and asked in the centaurs' characteristic unhurried cadence.
"Name?" The beech wrinkled its bark and then looked to Adrian with expectation.
As its master, Adrian naturally had the duty and the right to name him.
That, however, posed a problem—Adrian was truly not good at naming.
"Then you'll be…"
He lowered his head in thought for a while, then ventured, "Bart?"
"Oh, Bart!" Bart looked overjoyed, his crinkled face bright with excitement.
Seeing this, Adrian couldn't help a sigh of relief. It was good enough that Bart liked the name.
Yet in that instant, he suddenly sensed a strange magic.
Something seemed to have linked him and Bart together.
The sensation was very familiar; he had once shared such a bond with Rai.
It was a contract bound to the name.
From this moment on, Bart officially became one of Adrian's own.
"Come meet your new friend."
Adrian smiled a little, and the Devil's Snare's tendrils slipped out from beneath his robe.
The Devil's Snare circled Bart in delight.
While the Devil's Snare and Bart were getting acquainted, Hagrid moved to Adrian's side and asked in a low voice, "You named 'im 'Bart', right? Does it mean something?"
Adrian shook his head. "No."
Bart had been the name of the dog he'd kept as a child.
As dusk deepened, Ronan returned to the centaur herd, and Adrian and Hagrid set off back toward Hogwarts.
"In the end, we still didn't find Black," Hagrid sighed. "But getting to know Bart makes it no wasted trip."
Adrian nodded in agreement; Hagrid was right.
For him, though, finding Black was secondary—after all, it wasn't anything especially urgent.
Bart's appearance made him feel this excursion to the Forbidden Forest had been exactly the right choice.
It was a pity that, even though Bart had gained self-awareness, he still refused to leave the Forbidden Forest.
In his own words, once he left the Forest, he would get drowsy.
Adrian did not press the matter.
What was troublesome was that, for Bart's continued growth, he would have to come to the Forbidden Forest at regular intervals to feed him some of his magic.
As they spoke, a familiar figure suddenly appeared at the Forest's edge.
Adrian and Hagrid exchanged a glance, then hastened over.
"Professor Dumbledore?" Hagrid waved from a distance. "What are you doing out here?"
Dumbledore's eyes flickered slightly, the tight line of his mouth easing a little when he saw them.
"Ah, Hagrid, Adrian," he said gently, though a bit curtly. "I am waiting for someone."
Just then, Adrian keenly noticed that the old Headmaster's left hand, clasped behind his back, was absently rubbing at the Elder Wand.
Clearly, his mood was not good.
"Anything we can help with?" Hagrid rumbled.
"No," Dumbledore shook his head. "That won't be necessary. And what are you two doing?"
"Checking the Forbidden Forest," Hagrid said briefly. "Yeh know how Black's been sighted in the Forest—Adrian and I were a bit worried, so we came to have a look. Oh, and we had the centaurs' help today."
"I am glad you were able to come out before dark," Dumbledore nodded slightly. "Stand back—they are coming."
"They?" Hagrid was puzzled.
At that moment, Rai cried out overhead.
Adrian tensed at once. As Rai's master, he knew perfectly well—this cry was a warning of imminent danger.
Even as Rai's call echoed among the trees, the moonlight above the Forbidden Forest seemed to dim, as if drawn away.
A piercing chill crept up Adrian's spine.
It wasn't the cool of night, but the approach of something far more frigid.
He knew this feeling all too well.
Dementors.
Adrian looked up; a great dark mass of Dementors was flying swiftly over the Forest.
Hagrid hunched his shoulders when he saw them.
His memories of Azkaban were still vivid. Though he had escaped disaster then thanks to Adrian's amulet, he remained afraid of these creatures.
"They are going to search the Forbidden Forest," Dumbledore said, his voice uncharacteristically cold. "Fortunately, you came out ahead of time."
Hagrid couldn't help feeling secretly relieved.
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