Murphy had already taken almost all the precautions he could.
However, merely being cautious couldn't solve the problem, so Murphy decided to seek out Lucius for some intelligence.
He was highly suspicious that this wave of werewolf attacks had something to do with Lucius's "friends."
But upon arriving at Malfoy Manor, to his surprise, he found that the entire Lucius family had fled, leaving only a house-elf named Dobby behind, who said they had gone to Rome for a vacation and might not return for half a year.
"Ha!"
Murphy couldn't help but laugh in frustration. True to Lucius's form, trying to play both sides, huh? Fine, let him run; we'll see if I don't break his legs when he gets back.
Lucius was unreliable, so Murphy thought of the werewolves that had been captured.
He went to the Metamorphosis Research Group.
The three werewolves captured were brought here, and while the scientists didn't slice them up immediately, to prevent them from hurting anyone, they were mostly shackled by their hands and feet and locked in cages for the majority of the time.
Andrew and the others occasionally drew some of their blood for research.
Murphy wasted no time and used a Legilimency spell on the werewolves.
But these werewolves were just underlings and didn't know any insider information. They had bitten Murphy's store clerk simply because they were driven by Greyback, but who was directing Greyback, they had no idea.
However, they weren't completely clueless. From the last captured werewolf's mind, Murphy learned of a message.
Greyback was furious about the recent attacks not achieving much and was planning something big.
From these werewolves' minds, Murphy learned there were about thirty or so of them, and the number seemed to be increasing.
If so many werewolves attacked certain squads simultaneously, the watchers might indeed be caught off guard and injured.
Once they succeeded, the sense of security that had been hard-won through the watchers' victories would be shattered, and likely no one would go to work at his potion shop anymore.
Is this their plan?
To destroy his business? It was somewhat effective, he had to admit.
A significant part of his cash flow relied on Beautification Potions and Love Potions. If the supply of these potions faced issues, he would quickly encounter financial difficulties.
He needed to find a way to reduce the watchers' pressure.
Murphy then thought of the Aurors.
Had enough of watching from the sidelines?
It was time for them to lend a hand.
But how to mobilize the Aurors was another question.
Rita Skeeter's daily mocking in The Daily Prophet and Barty Crouch's indifference to it showed his remarkable patience; he seemed capable enough to be a ninja god in uniting the five great nations.
Without some significant provocation, he feared Crouch would never deploy the Aurors.
What could provoke him?
Barty Crouch Jr.?
That was Crouch's Achilles' heel, certainly provoking.
But the impact of such provocation might be too great, and Crouch might end up fighting him to the death.
Perhaps…
Sirius Black?
After pondering for a while, a plan gradually formed in Murphy's mind.
He went to find the fairy, Locke.
"Locke, that house on Weasel Mountain you mentioned before, take me to see it."
Locke's home was near Weasel Mountain, and Murphy, finding the scenery nice, casually mentioned that Locke should buy a house there. About half a year ago, Locke had done just that, but Murphy hadn't had the time to visit.
Devon, Ottery St. Catchpole.
Murphy and Locke Apparated near Locke's home, then Apparated again to a hillside.
It was a spacious courtyard, adhering to the quirky aesthetics of wizards, with extremely random architecture.
The house was built of stones and wood, divided into three parts. It seemed the designer initially wanted to build a castle, starting with a meaningless tower, then changed their mind to make half of it look like a mill, but both parts seemed eventually abandoned. Only the side with a tall chimney and a crooked house looked inhabited.
The courtyard was clearly well-tended and arranged, with numerous flowerpots on the walls and in the yard. A house-elf stood in the center, respectfully waiting for them.
"This is the house-elf Tatta; he has been taking care of the house for you."
Tatta looked like any other house-elf, though he seemed to be missing a piece of his right ear. "Hello, Tatta."
"Master, new master, it's my honor to see you," Tatta said with tears in his eyes, as if feeling a great honor, standing up straight.
Murphy, having seen this emotional richness in house-elves before, wasn't surprised. He had Tatta show him around, instructed him to renovate the mill and the tower, and then returned to the yard.
From this spot, the view was vast, with wide fields and forests stretching to the horizon.
After looking for a while, he picked a few flowers from a pot and said to Locke, "I'll visit the neighbors; you don't need to follow me."
With that, he Apparated to the front of a crooked wooden house.
On the front lawn, Fred and George were teasing their younger brother, "You're going to school next year, Ron, and you can't do without knowing some spells. Right, George?"
"Exactly, Fred. On the Hogwarts Express, everyone talks about the magic they can do, and Ron won't be able to say a word..."
"How embarrassing."
"How pitiful."
"We can't let our little brother be ashamed."
"So we decided to teach you a couple."
"Look, we happen to know a few spells that a young wizard your age could manage."
"How about a Transfiguration spell, Fred?"
"Brilliant, George, Transfiguration spells are powerful and will surely impress others. For example, we could teach you to change Scabbers' color..."
"What's the spell then?"
"Let me think, oh, daisies, sweet cream, and sunlight..."
"To turn this silly fat rat yellow?"
"That's brilliant, Fred!"
"And you too, George!"
"Come on, Ron, say the spell..."
"Daisies, sweet cream, and sunlight, turn this silly fat rat yellow!"
"Not bad, try again!"
"Daisies, sweet cream, and sunlight, turn this silly fat rat yellow!"
"Very good, Ron, you've got the spell down! Ha, cough..."
"Can I try it with your wand?"
"That won't do, Ron, you need to use your own wand, remember?"
"Bill's already working, maybe he can buy you one."
"Charlie's graduating next year, maybe you could use his wand..."
"Just remember the spell for now, little brother. Once you get your wand, you'll be able to show your friends your magic!"
"Ron Weasley, the Transfiguration master! Fantastic! Pfft...cough cough..."
Ron was quite pleased with his brothers' encouragement when he suddenly saw a young wizard appearing in their yard.
That face looked somewhat familiar.
"Hello." Murphy saw the three kids, then his gaze landed on the gray rat in Ron's arms.
Hello, Peter.
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