Ever since rescuing that Hag's ghost, Severus and Lupin had begun studying the silver whistle obtained from the underground chamber together.
The object looked like a whistle, but blowing into it produced no sound at all. The whistle itself likely required a specific spell to activate and unleash its effect.
Without the supervision of Severus and Lupin, Harry's days in the forest were still quite fulfilling.
He would wake up early and follow the schedule Severus had previously given him: reading plus spell practice.
By now, he had mastered the three most basic spells, the Levitation Charm, the Full Body-Bind Curse, and the Wand-Lighting Charm, and could use them normally.
After finishing his morning practice and having breakfast, he would go with Draco to help Andrews clean the large fingernails of some trolls.
This task was not easy. Draco often grew bored after a short while and would sneak off with Andrews' fishing rod to fish by the river.
After lunch, he would take a stroll around the Yellow-horned Goats, observing the sheep grazing.
In the afternoon, he sometimes encountered wizards coming to the forest in search of the Fountain of Fair Fortune.
These people had become increasingly numerous in the forest lately, with a few encountered every day.
Whenever they saw Harry, they would ask if he had seen the Golden Unicorn. Harry could only tirelessly reply that he didn't know and also had to constantly explain to these people why so many trolls were living in wooden houses here.
By evening, Harry would take his pet Puffskein around the river area to find some mushrooms for it to eat roasted before dinner.
The Puffskein wasn't picky… it would eat anything. But recently, for some reason, Harry could clearly feel that the Puffskein he had picked up had lost its appetite. It seemed not to like leftover food much.
So, in his free time, Harry would find some mushrooms in the woods for it and hand them to Lupin before he prepared dinner, asking him to make a special portion of food for the Puffskein.
Just tonight, as Harry returned from gathering a few mushrooms outside the troll village, Draco mysteriously sought him out.
"Do you want to know what Severus and Lupin are researching?"
Harry curled his lip.
"I'm not blind, and the Professor didn't deliberately try to hide it from us. Aren't they just studying that whistle?"
"But do you know what that whistle actually does?" Draco said with a smug look.
Seeing his expression, Harry looked at him suspiciously.
"You didn't sneak over to the Professor's place and eavesdrop, did you?"
"What do you mean, eavesdrop!" Draco snorted coldly, "I was going to the tent to get some snacks, and their door wasn't closed, so I accidentally overheard!"
"So that's eavesdropping," Harry said helplessly, spreading his hands.
"It was an accident!" Draco glared at him, "If you're not interested in this, then forget it! It's not like I have to share anything with you!"
Seeing Draco about to turn and leave, Harry quickly reached out and pulled him back.
"My mistake, Young Master Malfoy. It was indeed an accident, an unintentional act!"
He skillfully began placating Draco's temper. Of course, he was also extremely curious about the results of Severus and Lupin's research.
And now, without having to do anything wrong or eavesdrop himself, just by saying a few nice words, Draco would spill everything he knew like pouring out potatoes.
Hearing Harry's appeasing words, Draco's face immediately broke into an unstoppable smile, though his words still sounded tough.
"Since you're begging me like this, I'll tell you."
He leaned close to Harry's ear, sneakily glancing around, and after ensuring no one else was there, whispered:
"I heard what Lupin and Severus said. They were talking about how the whistle can't be blown to make a sound, it needs to be activated with specific magic. If they can decipher the magic on the whistle, they might ultimately be able to use it to summon the Golden Unicorn everyone in the forest is looking for!"
Harry's eyes widened instantly.
Over the past couple of days, he had encountered many adventurers in the forest searching for the Golden Unicorn. According to them, if you could find that unicorn and follow it, you would eventually find the legendary Fountain of Fair Fortune!
Harry had always thought that Severus's ultimate goal in bringing them to this forest was also this.
"You heard it with your own ears?" Harry also whispered.
Draco looked very displeased at such doubt.
"Do you think I'm a boring liar? They're still talking about it now. If you don't believe me, we can go to the tent right away, pretend to be tidying our rooms, and eavesdrop on what they're saying."
Harry hesitated. Hearing it from Draco and actually going to eavesdrop were definitely not the same thing.
But he was genuinely curious about what Lupin and Severus were discussing. If he didn't hear the details clearly, it felt like an ant was crawling in his heart, unbearably itchy.
After hesitating for a moment, he finally made up his mind.
"We're not eavesdropping! We're just going back to the tent to tidy up and accidentally overheard."
At this, Draco also showed a smile.
"Right, of course, we're not eavesdropping!"
After spending so many days together, Harry had figured out his temper, and Draco couldn't possibly not have some understanding of Harry either.
He had accurately guessed that Harry wouldn't be able to resist and would be induced to join him in making a mistake.
Now, Draco's goal had clearly been achieved.
The two of them sneakily put down the mushrooms and then walked into the tent. As if to bolster their courage, they both puffed out their chests and held their heads high after passing through the entrance hall.
But Severus and Lupin's research office was at the very end of the corridor. If they were just going back to their own rooms to tidy up, they wouldn't pass by there at all.
However, now that they were inside, and could even faintly hear voices coming from deep within the corridor, of course, they couldn't stop here.
The two exchanged a glance, both seeing the intention to continue forward in each other's eyes.
Then, they began to crouch down again, tiptoeing. Harry deliberately pressed down on the Puffskein on his head to prevent it from making any noise.
"... The Invigoration Draught doesn't work. This whistle has complex alchemical inscriptions. They look even older than Ancient Runes, some kind of cuneiform script."
"Could it possibly be something passed down from Egypt? When I was wandering, I had an exchange with an Egyptian wizard. He taught me some ancient Egyptian activation spells for exploration. Should I give it a try?"
The next moment, a series of incantations, completely unrelated to English, sounded from the room.
Then a blinding flash of light flickered inside, followed by a series of sounds like explosions occurring!
"Oh! Merlin! Stop!"
"Finite Incantatem!"
After the sound of a general counter-charm, the chaotic noises finally ceased.
Draco lowered his voice.
"They don't seem to be making smooth progress."
"If the Fountain of Fair Fortune were that easy to find, it wouldn't have waited for so many wizards to come here!" Harry also whispered.
Sounds of tidying up came from the research room. Soon, Severus's voice sounded again.
"It seems this whistle has nothing to do with Egypt. It should be a special alchemical item. Potions and spells have no effect on it."
"Then what should we do next?"
"Didn't we just meet a great alchemist in France? Let's write a letter to Nicolas Flamel. He'll certainly be willing to help us."
"Ah! Right! I forgot we have outside help! But should we tell him that this whistle might be related to the Fountain of Fair Fortune?"
"There's no need to hide that from him. If Nicolas Flamel is also interested in this legend and makes a special trip here, that would be even better!"
Just as Harry and Draco, completely absorbed in their eavesdropping, reached this point, Harry suddenly felt that the two hands holding the Puffskein on his head were empty at some point.
His face turned panicked, and he began looking everywhere for the Puffskein, but couldn't see where it had gone in the corridor.
Draco also realized what Harry had lost, and his face became tense too.
"It didn't run in there, did it?"
"I don't know!" Harry was taking off his jacket, thinking the Puffskein might have hidden in his clothes.
"You should have kept a good hold on it from the start!"
"I was holding it all the time! Who knew how it got away!"
"Hurry up, have you found it yet?"
"I'm looking!"
Just then, a voice suddenly sounded beside them.
"Are you looking for this?"
Harry and Draco's bodies stiffened instantly.
They saw Lupin walking out of the research room, holding Harry's lost Puffskein in his hand. His calm yet slightly teasing gaze fell upon the two troublemakers.
Draco didn't hesitate, immediately selling Harry out.
"It was all Dudley! He insisted on coming to eavesdrop on what you were talking about! I tried to stop him!"
Harry's face flushed red. He wasn't about to cover for Draco either.
"Draco was the one who eavesdropped first! He told me you'd discovered that the whistle might be related to the Golden Unicorn in the forest, so he called me over to eavesdrop!"
As they argued, they started looking like they were about to come to blows, forcing Lupin to separate them with a headache.
"Alright, alright! Hearing this isn't that big of a deal, but remember to keep everything you heard to yourselves. Absolutely must not say it out loud, especially to those wizards adventuring in the forest looking for the Fountain of Fair Fortune, understand?"
This time, both Harry and Draco were very obedient, nodding repeatedly to show they would definitely remember Lupin's words.
Seeing this, Lupin didn't say much more. He just placed the mischievous Puffskein back on Harry's shoulder and waved his hand at them.
"Now that you know, go out and play!"
With these words, Harry and the others felt as if a great burden had been lifted, and they scurried out of the tent in a flash.
After watching them leave, Lupin returned to the research room, this time closing the door firmly behind him.
Severus was writing a letter to Nicolas Flamel at the desk. Hearing the door close behind him, he didn't turn around but asked,
"Was that Harry and Draco?"
"Yes, they overheard our speculation that the whistle is related to the Fountain of Fair Fortune. I warned them not to spread that information."
As Lupin finished speaking, Severus also wrote the last letter on the parchment.
He put away his quill, rolled up the parchment, and looked towards a cabinet by the door.
"Did that Puffskein run over there?"
Lupin shrugged.
"There were some biscuit crumbs on it. I caught it eating them. It probably just ran in by accident."
After they chatted for a few moments, Severus stood up from his chair with the letter.
To ask Nicolas Flamel for help and send this letter out, they would definitely need to leave the forest to find an owl.
Of course, since it was already quite late, renting an owl could wait until after dinner.
At the same time, Harry and Draco, who had just run out of the tent, were breathing heavily.
Their faces still held traces of nervousness, excitement, and thrill… the kind of mood one has after successfully pulling off a mischief together. Once outside, the tension that had been between them in the tent completely vanished.
"You need to keep a better eye on your stupid pet next time."
"It wasn't on purpose."
"Luckily I was clever and found a way to divert Lupin's attention, or we would definitely have been scolded!"
"So you were diverting attention, not just throwing blame at me?" Harry said, pursing his lips and spreading his hands.
"Think whatever you want!" Draco held his head high, "Anyway, you heard it. That whistle really is related to the Golden Unicorn, which means we are the ones most likely to find the Fountain of Fair Fortune in this forest!"
His tone was clearly excited.
Even adult wizards couldn't resist the allure of such a legend, let alone two children.
Even Harry couldn't help but fantasize about what it would be like when they truly found the Fountain of Fair Fortune.
"I wonder what kind of luck you get after bathing in that spring? Will we win the jackpot?"
Speaking of this, Draco became especially excited.
"We'll be so lucky we'll find Galleons on the road! The moment we enter a broomstick shop, we'll be told they're having a 50th-anniversary celebration and give us the latest Nimbus brooms for free! Mom and Dad will praise me endlessly every day, calling me the pride of the Malfoys! The Ministry of Magic will treat us as honored guests, letting us direct the Aurors on how to work!"
"Yes! Exactly!"
Draco said everything Harry had thought of and more, making him laugh out loud!
Even the Puffskein on Harry's head seemed infected by the mood and began hopping up and down continuously.