Chapter 31: Leonard’s Progress

The Wolfsbane Potion isn't a powerful healing draught. Its only purpose is to let werewolves retain their human reason during transformation—nothing more.

But drinking it leaves the werewolf wizard in a weakened state for several days. For those living alone, this is practically fatal, stripping them of any real ability to defend themselves.

Worse still, one potion only covers a single transformation. In other words, every werewolf must drink one Wolfsbane Potion each month if they want to remain sane.

A monthly cost of dozens of Galleons is astronomical for werewolf wizards who can't find work. Without Wolfsbane, they lose control on the full moon. With no one willing to hire them, they stay jobless. Whatever meager earnings they scrape together barely keep them alive, leaving many trapped in a vicious cycle.

The status of werewolf wizards has never improved—and one Wolfsbane Potion isn't enough to change that.

It's easy to see why Fenrir turned to Voldemort: he likely hoped serving the Dark Lord would grant him some status.

Unfortunately, against the protagonist's halo, even powerful villains amount to nothing. Voldemort's downfall nearly dragged the entire werewolf community into the abyss.

But that's a matter for later.

"Either way, keep an ear out for me," Leonard said. "If you can, try to put me in touch with Mr. Belby."

Sure, he could send a letter through an owl now that he had the name, but Leonard—an unknown, underage wizard—had no standing that would make anyone reply. His letter would probably be tossed straight into the fireplace unopened.

And that was only natural. If a stranger sent Leonard a letter, he'd wonder if it carried a curse meant to harm him—and the fireplace would be its rightful place.

So, if he wanted to reach Belby, he'd have to rely on Jigger.

"No problem." Jigger didn't refuse something so small. "Just don't forget my Essence of Dittany."

"Don't worry, I won't." Leonard waved and left Jigger's apothecary.

...

In the days that followed, Leonard spent his mornings at Ollivander's Wand Shop learning spells, and each time he brought along the Essence of Dittany he'd brewed the night before for Jigger. Afternoons were for reading and brewing—his days were full and steady.

Soon, August arrived. By then Leonard had sold a total of twenty vials of Essence of Dittany, earning forty Galleons. Combined with the money he'd gotten from Midgard and Londo, his savings had climbed past four hundred.

Carrying that much gold was becoming a problem. A heavy bag of coins clinked noisily with every step, awkward and far too noticeable.

It was enough to justify opening a vault at Gringotts.

But Leonard had no intention of doing that. By now, Voldemort was likely in Diagon Alley with Quirrell. A child opening a vault would draw too much attention, and the last thing Leonard wanted was to catch the Dark Lord's eye.

More than his savings, though, his magical skills had advanced rapidly.

With Ollivander's guidance, Leonard had already mastered the Disarming Charm, the Mending Charm, the Disillusionment Charm, and the Shield Charm.

These four spells represented offense, utility, support, and defense.

And with his imitation Elder Wand, each of them produced extraordinary results.

The Disarming Charm had turned into a powerful jinx. With enough practice, Leonard could even control the flying wand it disarmed, making it land exactly where he wanted.

That wand—Leonard had experienced its power up close. Even walls reinforced with magic couldn't withstand a wand blasted away by the enhanced Disarming Charm. If it struck a person, it would punch straight through them.

That meant he could actually kill with a Disarming Charm.

The Mending Charm was no less astonishing. It could repair magical items, like wands, that ordinary Mending Charms couldn't fix. Ollivander even brought out scrapped alchemical instruments—normally, such rare tools could only be restored by their original makers. Yet under the enhanced Mending Charm, they came back to life and worked again.

The Disillusionment Charm's improvements were subtler, but clear during testing. With the enhancement, it was as though air resistance didn't exist; even when he ran, he made no sound. The only drawback was that it still had a physical body, so walking through walls was impossible.

The Shield Charm, however, showed the most dramatic leap. Its defensive strength increased enormously, and it even gained a reflective effect. Ollivander estimated that this version could bounce back weaker Unforgivable Curses, returning them straight to the caster.

In just a month, Leonard had gone from a novice to a wizard of real ability. Ordinary adult wizards were no longer his match, and even some dark wizards would fall short against him.

Considering how many Ministry of Magic staff couldn't even cast a Shield Charm, Leonard had already surpassed at least thirty percent of Hogwarts graduates.

And beyond spellwork, he had his own specialty: cultivating magical plants.

The weather was fine that morning. Last night's storm had left the air crisp and clean. Leonard whistled as he watered the dittany and the Chomping Cabbage in his pots.

The dittany was the same plant he had enhanced once before, still growing steadily. The Chomping Cabbage, though, was something he planned to cultivate long-term.

After a month of thought, Leonard had realized the true potential of the [Devour] enhancement—feeding magical creature materials to a parent plant so its seeds inherited the strengthened traits. This method could drastically reduce the consumption of rare ingredients and lower costs.

Of course, the effects might weaken in the process, or produce mixed results, but it was still a promising path.

Leonard was still running tests, hoping for something surprising. For this, he had spent his very last enhancement point to unlock a growth-type ability: [Root Growth].

"But why hasn't the System reacted lately? Did the Beginner's Guide Quest already end?" Leonard set down his watering can and sighed.

The Beginner's Guide had been the easiest way to gain enhancement points. Without it, he would have to keep collecting new plants, strengthen them through optimized growth, and grind out experience points little by little.

For example, the Chomping Cabbage he cultivated with optimized growth had earned him 30 experience points. But that still left him far from leveling up.