As Alex tinued expl the area he unnatural gap, he noticed something partially hiddeh a bush nearby. Moving closer, he directed one of his ravens to fly down and iigate. “Is that… a house-elf?” Alex muttered in surprise as the shared vision of the raven revealed the tiny figure beh the foliage.

  The house-elf y motionless, covered in dirt and scratches. Its tattered rags were stained with blood and grime, but it seemed to be unscious rather than dead. Realizing this might be his best ce to get answers, Alex hurried over to help. He carefully turhe elf over, cheg fns of life. Pg two fingers us nose, he felt faint but steady breaths. The creature’s small body was covered in bruises, and while the blood loss wasn’t severe by human standards, it was enough to endahe elf’s life.

  Alex quickly pulled a nourishing potion from his bag aly poured a few drops into the elf’s mouth. At the same time, he cast a basic healing charm to close the worst of the wounds. It wasn’t perfect, but it would stabilize the creature for now. Mier, the elf’s breathing grew steadier, and its eyes fluttered beh its eyelids—a sign it was starting to wake. “Wake up, little one. you hear me?” Alex asked softly, p a small amount of water onto the elf’s parched lips.

  The elf stirred, mumbling weakly. “Master… no… don’t… help…” Its voice was barely audible at first, but as it gained sciousness, its expression shifted from fusion to sheer terror. Suddenly, the elf’s eyes snapped open, and it screamed, “Help! Master, Wimzy is scared! Don’t kill me! Don’t hurt Master! Help!”

  The house-elf’s panily grew as it realized Alex was a stranger. It thrashed in fright, tears streaming down its face. “Hey, calm down!” Alex said firmly, trying to soothe it, but his gentle words had no effect. The elf kept wailing, its voice rising in pitch.

  Finally losing patience, Alex shouted, “Quiet!” At the same time, he unsciously released a wave of fear magic—a spell he rarely used oient beings. The effect was immediate.

  The elf froze mid-sob, its wide eyes log onto Alex. Even its tears seemed to pause as the overwhelming aura of fear left it momentarily stunned. “Now,” Alex said, his tone sharp but trolled, “you’ll answer my questions. Uand?”

  “S-s-sir, yes, sir!” the elf stammered, its small hands trembling as it csped them together. “Please don’t hurt me!”

  “What’s your name?” Alex asked, his voice softer this time.

  “Wimzy, sir! My name is Wimzy!” the elf replied, nodding quickly.

  “Alright, Wimzy. Why are you here? What happened?” Alex leaned forward, trying to keep his tone calm to avoid sg the creature further.

  “Wimzy came here with Master… to do business,” the elf stammered. “We walked through the forest for a day and a night… and then… and then…”

  As Wimzy spoke, its voice grew shaky again, and its eyes filled with fear. “Take a deep breath,” Alex said, pulling out a calming draught. He uncorked the vial and ha to the elf. “Drink this—it’ll help.”

  Wimzy hesitated but obeyed, sipping the potion. A moment ter, its breathing steadied, and its trembling eased. “Good. Now, tell me slowly—what happened when you got here?” Alex enced.

  Wimzy nodded nervously. “We reached the meeting pce… but then scary monsters came. They attacked Master! Master told Wimzy to run, so Wimzy ran… but then something hit Wimzy, and everything hurt… and then Wimzy doesn’t remember. Where’s Master? Is Master okay?”

  The elf’s voice cracked with worry, and Alex could tell it was struggling to keep its posure. He gently pced a hand on its shoulder. “We’ll figure it out. But first, I need you to focus. These ‘monsters’—were they werewolves?”

  “Yes! Werewolves!” Wimzy nodded frantically. “But Wimzy saw a wizard first. He was talking to Master… the angry… so angry. He shouted like a wolf, and then the monsters came.”

  “A wizard?” Alex’s eyes narrowed. “He was with the werewolves?”

  Wimzy hesitated, then nodded. “Yes, sir! He was human at first, but after yelling, the werewolves appeared. They surrounded us. He… he took Master’s box. Wimzy sorted the cargo, but the wizard got mad. He yelled again, and Master told Wimzy to run.”

  “What was in the box?” Alex pressed.

  “Wimzy doesn’t know! Master didn’t tell Wimzy—just said it was for trade,” the elf replied, its voice wavering.

  “And how many werewolves were there? Did you see anyone else?”

  Wimzy began ting on its fingers. “Owo, three… six! Six werewolves, sir! But only one wizard.”

  ‘Six?’ Alex frowned. He’d only seen five sets of werewolf tracks earlier. ‘Where was the sixth one? And why would a wizard be w with them?’ “Do you remember what the wizard said to your master?” Alex asked.

  As Wimzy tinued her story, her voice trembled with emotion. “The wizard… he was so angry. He yelled at the master, saying there was nht of Livih, only a Sleeping Draught. And he pihat the Erumpent Potion wasn’t enough t down a uni. He didn’t know that Master had already tried so hard! The herbs needed for those potions aren’t easy to find!”

  “Unis?” Alex interrupted, his tone sharp. “Are you saying they were targeting unis?”

  Wimzy nodded hesitantly. “Wimzy doesn’t know why, but the wizard kept shouting about it. Thearted drawing his wand. Master told Wimzy to run after that.”

  Alex pieced the story together in his mind. Wimzy’s master was likely a bck-market dealer, meeting the werewolf wizard to trade illicit potions. The deal must have gone south when the goods failed to meet the wizard’s expectations. Perhaps the wizard heard the howling signal from the lone werewolf nearby—this location wasn’t far from the meeting point.

  The werewolf wizard, realizing the trade wouldn’t go as pnned, had likely decided to elimihe mert altogether. A Thunderbolt Charm seemed to be the cause of Wimzy’s injuries and the mert’s demise. The werewolves had left Wimzy for dead, possibly due to time straints or simply dismissing the house-elf as unimportant. Still, something didn’t sit right with Alex. Why would a bck-market dealer tell his house-elf to run first? He g Wimzy, curious. “Was your master… kind to you?”

  Wimzy’s wide eyes brightened, and she nodded eagerly. “Oh, yes! Master was very kind to Wimzy! He only beat Wimzy once every five days and gave Wimzy one whole meal every day!”

  Alex blinked, momentarily speechless. ‘That’s your definition of kindness?’ Shaking his head, he pressed on. “Why didn’t you Apparate when your master told you to run? House-elves are naturally skilled at magic, even without wands.”

  Wimzy tilted her head, her rge eyes blinking ily. “Wimzy Apparate! Wimzy uses it all the time to travel with Master. But Master told Wimzy to run, so Wimzy ran!”

  Uanding dawned ohough he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of pity. The mert likely wanted Wimzy to Apparate them both to safety, but the elf took the instru literally. Worse, the mert had likely tried to reach Wimzy during the attack, only to be struck down in the process. Wimzy’s voice broke through his thoughts. “Sir… do you know where Master is? Wimzy misses Master…”