Seeing that Ciri had subdued the smuggler, Lewis took out a rope and cast an animation spell on it. The rope immediately came alive like a snake, slithering over and tightly binding the man.
"What should we do with him now?" Ciri asked.
"Report him to the Aurors," Lewis replied. He didn't have a better solution.
He pulled out a stack of parchment, tore off a sheet, wrote a short message, and burned it. This was a method Tonks had given him for emergency contact. Once she received it, she would come. Capturing a smuggler—especially one transporting a Chimera—was a significant achievement, and naturally, it was best handed over to their own side.
Just then, a pink bird flew down from the sky, flapping anxiously.
Lewis couldn't help but smile. He could tell the little creature had something to say, so he immediately connected to its mind.
From it, he learned that after he left, several strange people had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
"Out of nowhere? Apparition?"
"Are they the smuggler's accomplices… or Aurors?"
After hearing this, Lewis told Ciri to stay behind and guard the smuggler and the Chimera's corpse while he hurried back toward the area covered by the Hypnotic Pattern.
The Fwooper casually landed on his shoulder and hitched a ride.
When Lewis arrived, he didn't see anyone new at first.
Then he noticed something.
Inside the pattern… there were three more people lying on the ground, fast asleep.
Recognizing their attire, Lewis blinked.
"Aurors?"
He felt both surprised and amused.
"They came before I even notified Tonks… who called them here?"
Before he could think further, seven more Aurors Apparated into the area.
They immediately spotted their unconscious colleagues—and Lewis standing nearby.
But they didn't treat him as a suspect. With his scarf lowered, he looked like nothing more than an underage wizard.
"Kid, don't stay there! Come here!" one Auror shouted. "Get behind us—I think there might be a dark wi—Zzz…"
Before he could finish, the entire group collapsed, one after another, falling into deep sleep.
That made it worse.
Another seven down.
Seven more kills.
At that moment, Lewis heard someone calling out to him from afar.
Following the voice, he found a middle-aged wizard standing beneath the cliff, waving energetically. Beside him stood a young girl.
The man looked rather eccentric—slightly cross-eyed, with fluffy white hair like cotton candy hanging to his shoulders. His hat's tassel drooped in front of his nose, and he wore a bright yellow robe that was almost blinding. Around his neck hung a golden chain with a strange symbol—a triangle enclosing a circle and a line.
The Deathly Hallows symbol.
The girl beside him, presumably his daughter, had messy pale blonde hair, wore radish-shaped earrings, and a necklace made of butterbeer corks. She was actually quite cute, though her father's odd aura overshadowed it.
"Hey, kid! You saw the Agubashigit just now, didn't you?" the man grabbed Lewis and asked excitedly.
Lewis frowned. "What's an Agubashigit?"
"It's a terrifying creature that devours souls," the girl explained in a dreamy voice. "Father thinks Cornelius Fudge keeps one to eliminate his enemies."
"The one on the beach must be wild!" the man added enthusiastically. "Far more terrifying than I imagined—it devoured an entire Auror squad's souls! Did you see what it looked like?"
"…I didn't see anything," Lewis replied, rubbing his temples. "And those Aurors aren't dead."
But that only made the man more excited.
"Exactly! It only eats souls—the bodies remain! Don't worry, I've already reported this to the Ministry. Ten Aurors have fallen! Reinforcements are on the way!"
"…You've got to be kidding."
Lewis didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Should he admire how powerful his Hypnotic Pattern was? It had taken down an entire Auror squad.
But the priority now was to stop this from escalating further.
As he hurriedly dispelled the spell, space around him distorted again.
Dozens of Aurors—at least thirty or forty—Apparated into the area, all in uniform.
Nearly half the Auror Office had arrived.
No wonder. Ten Aurors had "fallen."
In a wizarding population of only tens of thousands, losing a tenth of the Auror force was no small matter.
At the front stood a stern, square-faced man. He immediately approached the eccentric wizard.
"Time is critical, Xenophilius. Where are the fallen?"
Xenophilius Lovegood, completely unfazed, launched into his Agubashigit theory again.
Meanwhile, Lewis spotted Tonks among the Aurors.
"Sister Tonks!"
He rushed over and quickly explained everything before things got even more out of hand.
"I knew it was you, Lewis," Tonks said with a laugh, clapping his shoulder. "When I saw your location matched the Aurors' dispatch point, I figured it out. Who else could cause something like this?"
She quickly reported the situation to her superior.
Soon, the unconscious Aurors were revived. The smuggler was taken into custody and transported to the Ministry.
But because so many Aurors had been dispatched, many of them had nothing to do now. With a "since we're already here" mindset, they gathered around the Chimera's corpse, examining it curiously.
"So this is a real Chimera… first time I've seen one."
"Look at its head—it's exactly like a lion's!"
"And that body… a goat? That's bizarre."
"Why does it have so many wounds? Whoever killed it was brutal."
"No, that's the correct method. Chimeras regenerate quickly—you have to overwhelm them."
"I heard there's only one recorded kill in history. Does that mean this is a new record?"
The Aurors buzzed with excitement, openly expressing their astonishment.
At that moment, Tonks proudly pushed Lewis forward.
"That's right! My little brother, Lewis Green, is the second wizard in history to kill a Chimera—and the first to do so without a scratch!"
"And his classmate, Cirilla Reanlun, fought alongside him. Together, they killed the Chimera and captured the smuggler, preventing a major disaster!"
She introduced Lewis to everyone she knew, clearly brimming with pride.
Lewis greeted each Auror politely, adding, "It's all thanks to Sister Tonks' guidance."
Mutual flattery was easy enough.
With Tonks' endorsement and such an overwhelming achievement, Lewis was instantly treated as one of their own. Many Aurors even invited him to join their ranks after graduation, believing he was perfectly suited for the job.
As for the incident of an entire Auror squad mysteriously falling asleep on the beach…
It was quietly ignored.
Too embarrassing to mention.
Afterward, Lewis met the two who had reported the incident.
The eccentric wizard was Xenophilius Lovegood, editor of The Quibbler. The girl beside him was his daughter, Luna Lovegood—soon to be Lewis's junior.
When they learned Lewis also lived in Ottery St. Catchpole, they warmly invited him to visit.
Before leaving, Tonks found Lewis again.
"Don't worry, Lewis. Your contribution won't be overlooked."
Her voice was full of excitement.
"This is huge—you killed a Chimera! That's far more significant than catching a smuggler. Just wait, you'll be in the Daily Prophet soon. I'll recommend you for the Order of Merlin."
"Thank you, Sister Tonks. I'll leave it to you."
Lewis was genuinely pleased.
Hunting a Chimera alone made the trip worthwhile. If he could also earn an Order of Merlin, that was pure profit.
At his current rate of growth, building a floating city didn't seem so far off anymore.
And perhaps…
It was time to start making a name for himself.
If he truly received the Order of Merlin, he would likely have to visit the Ministry.
Maybe then…
He could finally meet Lady Jaina.
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