These past few days, Lewis had been in high spirits, feeling on top of the world.
And coincidentally, he wasn't the only one enjoying a stroke of good fortune.
In the latest Care of Magical Creatures class, he noticed that from the very start of the lesson, Hagrid kept looking at him with an odd expression.
Being stared at with such intense, burning eyes by a half-giant was enough to make even a powerful wizard like Lewis feel a sense of unease.
Fortunately, once the class officially began, the other man was too busy to pay him any attention.
But just as Lewis finished his class task and was soothing a Murtlap, Hagrid came over to him.
Lewis looked up and found Hagrid standing there, his eyes moist and blurry. Hagrid wiped his sweaty face with his tablecloth-sized handkerchief and smiled at him. "Great news, Lewis! Guess what?"
Though Lewis had already guessed the truth the moment he saw Hagrid's expression, he still pretended to be curious. "What happened?"
"Buckbeak's case—we won! He can't live at Hogwarts anymore, but he's free! I celebrated all night!" Hagrid's face was flushed with excitement.
"That's absolutely fantastic!"
Though he had known the outcome all along, Lewis couldn't help but smile for him as well.
"It's all thanks to you, Lewis! That lawyer Miss Giana found for me was incredible. Every time I got stumped and didn't know what to say, she always found a way to bail me out." Hagrid said sincerely, expressing his gratitude to Lewis.
"And of course, Hermione too—you two are both amazing! Not only are you good students, but you're also good friends!" Hagrid looked like he was about to cry again.
"It's nothing. Hermione Granger also deserves credit for this," Lewis demurred.
"But Hagrid, have you found anyone to take him in yet?" Lewis asked casually.
"No, I've asked around, but everyone thinks Buckbeak is too big and too fierce. None of them are willing to take him." Hagrid's smile faded, and he looked a bit worried.
Lewis wasn't sure whether to be happy for Hagrid or not. The half-giant had finally come to a clear realization of how others perceived Buckbeak.
"If you trust me, Hagrid, I'll take good care of him. I have the means to do so. But you'll have to help find him a companion," Lewis said after a moment's thought.
He had been collecting various magical creatures in the woods of his demiplane. But not every magical creature could be bought on the open market. This was a perfect opportunity to expand his hippogriff population while also solving Hagrid's problem—killing two birds with one stone.
Hearing this, Hagrid agreed without hesitation. "That's wonderful, Lewis! You can take Buckbeak's mate along too... oh, I don't know how to thank you!"
He felt that if Lewis could continue to keep Buckbeak, not only would Buckbeak live well, but he might even have a chance to see him again in the future.
Seeing how emotional Hagrid looked, as if he was about to lunge forward and weep on Lewis's shoulder, Lewis quickly made an excuse to go check on Buckbeak and scurried away.
He hadn't drunk any Strength Potion yet, and with his physical build, being forcibly buried under the sobbing weight of such a burly, giant-blooded brute on his shoulder—well, just thinking about it gave him chills.
Lewis found Buckbeak in the pumpkin patch behind Hagrid's hut. The hippogriff seemed to know he had regained his freedom, occasionally flapping his wings and looking quite at ease.
Lewis climbed over the fence and jumped into the pumpkin patch, approaching Buckbeak. He extended his hand toward those fierce, orange-yellow eyes.
Sensing Lewis's presence, Buckbeak bent his scaly front knees, bowed to Lewis, and then stood back up. Lewis stroked his wings and noticed the trust in the creature's eyes.
Lewis gently patted his beak, and Buckbeak bent his knees again and lowered his body. Lewis lightly leaped onto his back, pulled Buckbeak's rope over to the other side of his collar to use as reins, and nudged Buckbeak's belly with his heels.
Buckbeak obeyed keenly and rose straight into the night sky. Lewis clamped his knees against the creature's ribs, feeling the powerful beats of those enormous wings beneath him.
They flew silently toward the upper levels of the castle. Lewis tugged the rope firmly, steering Buckbeak toward the Forbidden Forest, toward his own kind.
There, following Hagrid's instructions, Lewis found Buckbeak's mate. It was a pure white hippogriff. Upon seeing Buckbeak land, it trotted happily out of the herd and pressed its neck affectionately against Buckbeak's, the two of them entwining in a tender reunion.
It seemed they hadn't seen each other for quite some time.
Lewis suddenly felt like a third wheel.
After waiting patiently for them to finish expressing their longing, Lewis patted Buckbeak and then the white hippogriff. "Come on, you two. I'll take you to your new home. You'll love it there."
At Lewis's words, Buckbeak bowed slightly in submission. The white hippogriff tilted its head and looked at Lewis. Though this was their first meeting, Lewis's druidic aura made it feel at ease. Seeing its mate lower its head, it also awkwardly lowered its own.
So Lewis grabbed both hippogriffs by their necks and activated [Mansion Spell] to bring them into the demiplane.
As soon as she saw Lewis appear, Larray pounced joyfully and pinned him to the ground.
"Oh, Larray, get up!" The soft, fluffy fur of the unicorn brushed against Lewis's face and neck, tickling him.
Larray obediently stood up and then curiously examined the two hippogriffs.
"Larray, these are the new hippogriffs. You're the host here—make sure to take good care of them."
Larray paced around the hippogriffs, who clacked their hooves nervously and spread their massive wings.
"I understand, boss."
Larray circled to their front and met their cold, fierce eyes at eye level.
Unicorns were creatures highly attuned to natural forces. Having lived for years in Lewis's forest, accompanied by that great oak tree, and steeped in natural energy, Larray had grown far more powerful and spiritually aware than ordinary unicorns. She had even begun to awaken some spell-like abilities.
In the face of such formidable natural power, even the two hippogriffs had to bow their heads and submit.
Lewis folded his arms, smiling as he watched Larray lead the two newcomers deep into the forest.
Meanwhile, in the library, Cho Chang found herself unable to get into a reading state at all.
Even the *Book of Ten Thousand Spells* in her hands seemed to have become dull. The words danced before her eyes, but her thoughts kept drifting back to that scene the other day—that image lingered in her mind, refusing to fade.
She clearly wanted to study the [Engorgement Charm], yet subconsciously she kept wondering: what if she had cast that spell that day?
"Would he like it a little bigger?" Cho unconsciously cupped her chest, then immediately snapped out of it and scolded herself.
"Stop daydreaming!"
She sighed, set down the book, looked up, and piled a stack of heavy tomes around her. These great volumes formed sandbag-like barricades, blocking the view of anyone else.
Then, she pulled out a crumpled little pamphlet from her backpack, studying it while massaging her own legs with her hands.
Her fingers traced lightly across the pages, one motion at a time.
"What are you doing?" A curious voice broke her concentration.
Cho's hand jerked, and the pamphlet fell to the floor. She quickly bent down to pick it up, but someone else was faster.
"Is this... *The General Theory of Modern Zhen Qi Massage*?"
The title was read out in Chinese, which startled Cho immensely.
She looked up—it was Hermione Granger. She never expected that the "know-it-all" Miss Granger, a British girl, could also speak Chinese.
"After meeting Lewis, I started self-studying Chinese," Hermione said flatly, handing the pamphlet back to Cho.
Cho took it with feigned composure and stuffed it into her bag. Meanwhile, her mind—sharpened by intelligence potions—whirred rapidly, and she quickly came up with an excuse.
"You should have noticed that Lewis has been busy writing books lately, completely exhausted every day." Cho lifted her delicate chin, her jawline tracing a beautiful arc. "So I want to learn the massage techniques from this book to help him relieve fatigue effectively and let him get proper rest."
She said these words that she herself didn't quite believe, unaware that what she was actually doing was consuming Lewis's energy instead.
Hermione looked at Cho, her fingers unconsciously fidgeting with the hem of her robe, her feelings complicated.
From Cho's eyes, Hermione could see a deep emotion. Her voice was soft and resolute, tinged with pride: "Lewis really enjoys my massages. I think he needs me every day to help ease his fatigue."
Hermione's heart was stirred by those words, sensing the genuine affection and care in them.
Even though Hermione was also a girl, she had to admit that the other girl's emotions were like a spring breeze brushing over a lake—gentle and delicate, so much so that even she couldn't bring herself to criticize.
Cho said nothing more. She merely gave Hermione a deep look, picked up her bag, and walked gracefully away from her seat, out of the library. Her figure disappeared at the doorway, leaving behind only a faint fragrance and a deep sense of confusion in Hermione's heart.
Hermione sat frozen in her seat, *New Principles of Arithmancy* spread open before her. But her mind was no longer on the book in front of her—it was replaying Cho's words like a looping picture.
Strangely, the numbers and symbols that had once been so clear to her now swirled and turned in her head, eventually transforming into a row of Chinese characters—*The General Theory of Modern Zhen Qi Massage*.
Hermione snapped the book shut, propped her chin on both hands, and wore a dazed expression.
They were both friends of Lewis, yet she couldn't seem to do anything for him.
Help him finish his homework?
He wasn't like Harry and Ron, those two useless blokes—Lewis never seemed to be stumped by assignments and often ended up teaching her instead.
Take care of his daily life?
He was a Ravenclaw, while she sat at the Gryffindor table—there probably wasn't much she could help him with there.
She thought back to the summer after first year, when she had lived with him...
Remembering what Lewis had done to her during that time...
Surely she couldn't turn the tables and brush his teeth and do his oral hygiene for him, could she?
A feeling of anxiety stirred within Hermione.
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