Parasitic Maw

England, London.

Inside a famous private hospital, a man with a slightly pale face was sitting on a chair in the corridor.

He looked to be about thirty-six or thirty-seven years old, with fairly handsome features, but his slightly overweight body and thinning hair marred his good looks.

"Mr. Barnes?" A nurse approached from the front desk, bent down, and looked at the man in the chair with concern. "Are you still feeling unwell?"

Bertrand Barnes glanced up slightly, one hand on his stomach, and forced a smile, "Madam, I just want to know how long until my film is ready?"

"Please be patient, the radiology department is handling it."

Barnes nodded somewhat irritably, and finally declined the guard's offer to take him to the Common Room.

A week ago, he noticed some minor health issues, such as a sudden loss of appetite and occasional acid reflux and nausea. Barnes didn't pay much attention to it at the time, after all, he was almost forty years old, and it was perfectly normal to experience occasional discomfort.

He adjusted his work and rest schedule, thinking his body would recover in a day or two, but the situation gradually worsened.

First, there's his appetite. Barnes wakes up every day feeling extremely hungry, as if he hasn't eaten for days. This hunger is only partially relieved by a large breakfast, so he has to keep eating throughout the morning.

Strangely, the feeling of hunger would disappear around four o'clock in the evening, but at that time Barnes would start to feel extremely tired, even though he hadn't been working for long.

After the hunger disappeared, he lost his appetite immediately. In its place, a great sense of exhaustion made him drowsy, but the faint pain in his abdomen tormented him like a needle. He often fell asleep after being completely exhausted.

In addition, Barnes felt his skin was becoming increasingly pale, and he looked as if he had aged suddenly.

Knowing he might have some strange illness, Barnes went to the hospital. After a brief consultation, the doctor asked him to get an X-ray to check the situation, and the specific condition could only be determined after the X-ray results came out.

Barnes irritably loosened his collar. This private hospital had a good reputation, and the doctors and nurses were friendly, but the fees were, as always, "good"...

"One for the hospital, one for the doctor, one for the support team... a bloodsucking private hospital!" Barnes muttered, unaware that after his collar was pulled open, a bluish-purple line of blood was slowly spreading up his chest.

He just hopes his condition will improve quickly so that his commercial medical insurance can cover more of the costs.

A middle-aged man walking by, surrounded by several people, noticed Barnes's unusual behavior and immediately approached him.

"Sir, are you alright?"

"This isn't good... Who are you?"

"Allen Wallerup, the... well, the administrator of this hospital, what happened to your chest?"

"Chest?" Barnes looked down in confusion, then saw the spreading bluish-purple lines of blood in horror. "Damn it! What... what is this?!"

Before he could finish speaking, Barnes felt a tremendous pain and dizziness. His body twitched slightly, his eyes rolled back, and he slid off the chair.

"Sir? Hey, nurse, come quick!"

A commotion erupted in the hospital.

Inside the room, several doctors held up an X-ray film, deep in thought. On the image before them, there was a huge shadow on the man's abdomen, which almost occupied a large part of the man's stomach.

Allen Wallerup, standing nearby, paid no attention to the X-ray. With his hands behind his back, he said, "Gentlemen, this symptom may indicate a new disease. I hope he receives good treatment..."

That way his hospital would make the newspapers, something Allen didn't say aloud.

Beside him stood a sharp-eyed man in a suit, who had witnessed everything.

Thirty minutes later, two men wearing leather jackets arrived at the hospital.

"Sir, how can I help you?" the nurse at the service desk asked.

"Excuse me, where is Bertrand Barnes? I'm his colleague. I heard he hasn't been feeling well lately and has taken sick leave from work..." The man in the lead wore round-framed glasses and had smooth hair, but the ends of his hair stubbornly stuck up.

"Oh, I'm sorry, we can't disclose the patient's privacy..." The nurse's eyes flickered slightly. "Oh, you're a member of Mr. Barnes ' family? He's currently in room 404 in section B."

"Thank you." Something was tucked back into the man's sleeve.

The two walked towards Area B, one after the other.

"Hey, James, isn't it against the rules to use Confundus Charm on Muggle?" the man behind him whispered.

"In times of emergency, one must act expediently... Jones, according to the information, it might be a Parasitic Maw. Otherwise, why do you think the Auror Office would ask me to cooperate with you?"

"The Parasitic Maw, originally from France, likes to parasitize the stomachs of large creatures, causing the Parasite's health to deteriorate, and it has a strong ability to reproduce and spread..." Jones muttered, "The Entry Management Department should be very strict about this thing, how did it end up parasitizing a Muggle?"

James shrugged. "Your department's been getting a lot of work lately, haven't you?"

"Yes, there are many more than before. The people at the Memory Charm Headquarters are extremely busy."

"Kingsley thinks there might be some problems lately, so he sent me to work with you... over here," James glanced at the instructions above his head and turned a corner, "The Parasitic Maw's parasitic method is very covert, but its only useful part, its gastric juice, is not a prohibited trade item... so I have to find out whether this thing came to London by accident or was deliberately brought here."

"That serious?" Jones frowned. He hadn't expected Muggle accident to have so many consequences.

"Who knows, it depends on luck... I saw him." James stopped in his tracks.

In ward 404, Barnes, who had fallen into a coma, had been placed on a bed, and several doctors were checking on his condition by the bedside.

"I'm sorry, gentlemen," he said, pushing open the door and entering, "This man's situation is beyond your ability to resolve. I will take him to St. Mungo's ..."

"Who are you? This is a ward. Who let you in?" said the doctor in the white coat.

"Jones, the memory erasure is yours. I'm taking this poor guy to St. Mungo's's. The healers there will remove the Parasitic Maw. I need to be careful that this guy doesn't secretly parasitize others."

"Okay, no problem."

Hearing the two men talking strangely, the doctor angrily shook his notebook. "What is St. Mungo's's?! Security, where are the security guards?!"

Then they saw the man behind them take out a small wooden stick, and a gentle white light enveloped them.

In St. Mungo's's, a healer emerged carrying a fleshy, monstrous mass that writhed and had a large mouth in the center that opened and closed unconsciously.

"Mr. Potter from the Auror Office?" she looked at the man opposite her.

"Hello, ma'am."

"I have good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?"

"Good news, I don't really like bad news."

The healer pointed to the lump of flesh on the ground. "The Parasitic Maw has been safely removed. That Muggle only needs a few days of rest to recover."

"Oh, that's great. Did you cast Stasis Charm?"

"I've done it. You can take it with you later. But before that, I have to tell you the bad news—that Muggle had two parasites inside him, but obviously, I only found one..."

James opened his mouth slightly, then slapped his forehead in frustration. "This is troublesome..."

"One is missing?" In the Auror Office, a tall, dark-skinned, bald wizard looked at James Potter, who had returned to report, his slow, deep voice tinged with a hint of annoyance.

James nodded. "I always cast Detection Magic when I'm on missions, and the Muggle was well protected when we went to St. Mungo's's, which means that the other one had already parasitized someone else before."

"This is troublesome... James, take some men to that Muggle's house immediately and check on his family. Oh, and we need to go to his company too. Longbottom, take more men to the hospital... By the way, James, what's the size of that hospital?"

James sighed helplessly, "That's why it's so troublesome... Kingsley, that's the largest private hospital in London..."

"Merlin's beard... I'll go to the Department for Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures and ask them to send someone to help as well... Longbottom, you go to the hospital director first. Muggle hospitals also need to register admissions, and we should focus on the ward that the Muggle went to."

Everyone immediately sprang into action. The Parasitic Maw was a strictly controlled Magical Creatures. This creature had an astonishing reproductive capacity and its parasitic method was well-hidden. If it were to spread throughout the Muggle world, the Ministry of Magic wouldn't be able to stop for a whole year.

However, that wasn't Kingsley's biggest concern. As the head of the Auror Office, he instinctively sensed something was amiss.

Parasitic Maw are also strictly controlled in France. The gastric juice of this creature is a raw material for a certain kind of Potions. Therefore, in addition to the strictly guarded breeding grounds, the habitat of the Parasitic Maw is also surrounded by magic. After all, no country can get away with it after it runs rampant.

"Hopefully only one escaped..." Kingsley shook his head.

That night, at the Wallop family's villa.

The Mr. and Mrs. Wallop and their youngest daughter are having dinner.

Bella swung her short legs in her seat, vigorously cutting a piece of steak. "Heave-ho, heave-ho... Mommy, today's steak is delicious, Sean will definitely like it, let's make it again when he comes back?"

"Of course, darling." Mrs. Wallop affectionately wiped the sauce from her daughter's mouth.

Allen, seated at the head of the table, watched this scene with a smile. He barely touched the steak in front of him, only drinking a little red wine.

"Honey, is dinner not to your liking tonight?" his wife asked.

"Oh, I don't have much of an appetite today."

"Should I have the kitchen make you something else? Like your favorite lamb chops?"

"No need, honey. I'm probably just a little tired from making my rounds at the hospital today."

The family was talking when the doorbell suddenly rang.

The maid went to open the door and then returned to report, "Two gentlemen wish to see you."

"What do you want from me?"

"It was said to be for the patient with blood lines on his chest who was in the hospital today."

"Hmm?" Allen frowned. He wasn't a doctor, just a businessman. Why was this person approaching him? Were other hospitals trying to steal his patients?

However, before he could make a decision, a loud explosion suddenly came from outside.

Allen's eyes widened. He had a deep impression of that voice. When those two School of Magic came to his house to recruit students, one of the boys disappeared on the spot after hearing that voice.

A wizard?!

Allen quickly got up, told the maid to go back to her room, and then went out.

As soon as he arrived in the yard, he saw three men standing outside the large iron gate of his villa, one of whom was his bodyguard, Geller Jennings.

The three men were talking, and the other two seemed to be explaining.

"... I'm not here to erase Mr. Wallop's memories, Dumbledore told me that..."

"Prove your identity, sir."

"James Potter, I am Auror from the Ministry of Magic, and this is my colleague, Frank Longbottom."

"Talking doesn't prove anything."

"Good heavens, why didn't Dumbledore tell me that the person he sent to protect the Wallerup family was such a greenhorn... and you're not England, are you?"

James shook his head helplessly, just in time to see Allen coming out. His eyes lit up and he waved enthusiastically.

"Hey, Mr. Wallop?"

Allen approached slowly, somewhat suspiciously. "You know me?"

"James Potter, my son Harry and Sean are good friends. He even came to my house for his birthday party last summer. The sassy guy who picked up Sean is my buddy and Harry's godfather. His Sirius. You've probably met him before, right?"

Allen took a closer look and realized that the man named James Potter looked a lot like the boy named Harry who had picked up Sean last summer. He also remembered Sirius, but the other boy wasn't arrogant at all...

Furthermore, why was his bodyguard able to converse with the other party like that? Was he also a wizard?!

Allen suddenly felt like it was all magical.

Geller Jennings glanced back and said in a deep voice, "Mr. Wallop, I apologize for concealing my identity all this time, but I was simply fulfilling my duties as a bodyguard..."

He pulled out a wooden stick, which Allen knew was a magic wand, and inside the other man's suit was a bulging gun holster.

Geller Jennings nodded at him. "Protecting you with a wand and protecting you with a gun are not mutually exclusive—both are quite effective."

Allen: "..."

Allen: "... Huh?"

Suddenly, Frank Longbottom, the round-faced man who had been silent all along, frowned.

"James, I've found a second one..."

Sorry I'm a little late today.