285 Stone, secret room, coin, trust, concealment (5k words)

285 Stone, secret room, coin, trust, concealment (5k words)

"Professor, where are you going?"

"Forbidden Forest."

"Then who are these three students?"

"They just want to say goodbye to the animals in the woods before the holiday. Well, Hagrid, don't waste any more time and go to the dinner party. We'll be there in a moment."

"Oh, okay, professor, but remember to be careful, you are still on probation..."

"Understood, let's go."

After Professor Kettleburn waved impatiently, Hagrid finally left reluctantly.

There were only four people left near the cabin.

Professor Kettleburn glanced coldly towards the courtyard.

"Go and kill all the roosters."

Callan, Lily, and Snape immediately walked towards the yard. They expressionlessly grabbed one rooster after another and broke their necks.

"Go on."

Professor Kettleburn said, and the three controlled students followed him, walking in the direction of the Forbidden Forest.

The sound of their footsteps echoed in the dark forest. After leaving the safe path, Professor Kettleburn asked coldly: "At the end of last semester, it was the three of you who disrupted Lucius. plan?"

Lily and Snape nodded.

Karan whispered, "Yes, sir."

Professor Kettleburn looked back at Callan.

"I've been paying attention to you for a long time, ever since I first met you in Knockturn Alley," he said.

"Being able to cast the Iron Armor Curse at such a young age is truly a superb magical talent. And your unexpected calmness. Even when you are face to face with me under the invisibility cloak in the depression, you are able to do it without making any sound. A hint of sound.”

It is obvious that Professor Kettleburn also has the ability to see through the invisibility cloak. During the experience of searching for Kiki, Karan failed to hide completely.

And this was just because the stone at that time was not really high and could not completely cover him.

"This is exactly the same as when you faced those werewolves in Knockturn Alley, with a maturity beyond your years."

"Just like when I was at Hogwarts."

"Excellent, but knows how to hide."

"It's a really smart decision to keep yourself safe from other people's surveillance."

"Did someone teach you this?" Professor Kettleburn asked.

He obviously regarded Karan as the backbone of the three, and most of his attention was focused on Karan.

"There is indeed such a man. His name is Anthony, sir."

Karan continued to answer softly: "He taught me how to behave more normally."

"Make yourself ... safer in the eyes of others."

"Anthony..." Professor Kettleburn said the name repeatedly, and he suddenly let out an intrusive sneer.

"Muggles who overestimate their capabilities, stupid and weak guys, they are the ones who should really be hidden."

"But it does make you safer."

"Perhaps I should have met such a person when I was a child. This would at least allow me to spare his life."

Professor Kettleburn's voice was cruel and cold.

At the same time, half of his wooden prosthetic leg suddenly fell off, and a thin leg grew out.

"When I was at Hogwarts, I had to be careful with a lot of things, and a lot of people."

His voice sounded like he was remembering something.

"The prize display room is one of the few places where my name is completely recorded. It is on the list of past student union presidents."

"That stupid silly cat just happened to appear at the door, but why should I let it go? Maybe I should leave something more, like a perfect gift that contains deep fear and profound meaning. The black magic is so easy for me."

"I should have done this in fifth year, but Dumbledore, Dumbledore..."

His voice was suddenly full of anger.

"The great Dumbledore," he said sarcastically, "never relaxes his suspicion of me, which forces me to temporarily abandon all plans and hide everything."

"But this doesn't need to be hidden for too long. During the following holidays, I got my wish and stayed at Hogwarts. This gave me enough time to complete more plans."

His other wooden prosthetic leg also fell off, and then the intact long leg grew out.

"Stupid Hagrid always thinks he can prevent me from discovering his little secrets, but he doesn't even know what I did in the Forbidden Forest."

"And Aragog - his equally stupid pet, can't even solve the doubts that happened in front of him."

"Secret room, secret room..."

He recited it twice and then said: "The secret room hidden under the castle does not necessarily have to be entered from the castle. It is the same in the Forbidden Forest."

"I completely hid the entrance to the castle and penetrated another secret passage leading to the secret room, which is in the Forbidden Forest, right under the noses of those beasts."

"Who would have thought that the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets would be placed here?"

"And it also makes me safer."

Professor Kettleburn's last wooden arm fell off and became a slender arm.

He put his arm on Karan's head, as if he was going to crush him.

"Tell me, Sangster."

"Did that little guy from the Black family come to visit you specifically?"

Karan nodded and whispered again: "Yes, sir."

"traitor!"

Professor Kettleburn's voice was high and sharp: "Pure-blooded scum, shameless guy!"

After a brief silence, he narrowed his eyes slightly.

"But I always have to give them a chance, don't I?"

"The blood of a pureblood cannot be wasted in vain, so I just gave him a small lesson to give him a chance to redeem himself, and to deepen the fear and warning of others."

"A warning to pureblood traitors."

He slowly retracted his palm and continued walking deeper into the Forbidden Forest.

Karan followed him expressionlessly, as if nothing had happened.

Lily and Snape were also like this.

The four finally stopped at the edge of a clearing.

This is the depression, where the Acromantula once lived.

Now all the Acromantulas have disappeared, leaving only Qiqi alone.

It opened its eyes slightly, and after seeing the figure in front of it clearly, it suddenly stood up and crawled toward the opponent with great effort.

It's just like it was at that party.

No matter what, you must bite the opponent to death.

But the figure just raised the wand in his hand and pointed it at Qiqi.

A cold voice sounded.

"Avada Kedavra!"

A burst of green light flashed, and Qiqi suddenly collapsed to the ground.

No more breathing.

The figure didn't even look at it again and walked straight over.

"Stupid brute."

He said, his body shape gradually began to change, and his clothes turned into a black robe.

"First the Acromantula, and then this Chimera, they are just stupid beasts."

"They have completely completed their mission. The treasures in the Forbidden Forest no longer need to be guarded by anyone. The place will be filled with new monsters. A sumptuous dinner has been prepared in the castle."

Finally, the figure's face began to change.

It was like a face burned by fire, and the blurred features were weirdly twisted like melted wax.

He stopped in front of a stone, his bright red eyes staring at the edges and corners.

This was the stone that failed to completely block Karan's figure.

The figure's mouth opened, and a strange hissing sound came from his mouth.

"Open."

Suddenly, the stone emitted a burst of dazzling white light and began to spin rapidly.Then the ground sank, revealing a bottomless hole.

The figure turned to look at the three students who had been following him. A gold ring appeared on his finger at some point.

On it, there is an intact black gemstone.

"Go down."

Voldemort ordered.

On the other side, the Burrow.

"Dumbledore, what happened?"

While Arthur went to get the floo powder, Molly asked worriedly: "And Gideon, what happened to him?"

"He's been under the Imperius Curse - don't worry, dear, he's out of the influence. He just needs to wait until he wakes up to fully recover."

Dumbledore said: "You can also use the Revival Curse on him in advance - but I don't recommend you do this. The Soul Imperius Curse will affect him for half a semester, and Gideon needs to take a good rest. "

"Then Fabian..." Molly couldn't help but asked worriedly again: "Where is Fabian?"

"If I guess correctly -" Dumbledore turned to look at Moody: "He should be at Silvanus's house now, with Silvanus - this is also the first thing you want to do in a while. Go confirm things. The fireplace in Hogwarts is sealed for precautionary reasons, let’s go back to Hogsmeade first.”

After a pause, Dumbledore added in a low voice: "Maybe the fireplace thing is also included in Voldemort's plan - this can delay our time."

"Sylvanus?" Moody frowned and looked at Dumbledore: "You suspect that there is something wrong with him, but I just met him today, and I remember it was him who reminded you about the Prewett brothers... ....”

His voice gradually became quieter.

"But this is what the mysterious man wants to see." He said thoughtfully: "Put all your attention on the Prewett brothers, and even take the initiative to remind them about it."

"This just shows how smart Voldemort is." Dumbledore said calmly: "He knew that I would never think that he would personally risk himself to enter Hogwarts. The most important point is that Kettlebo Professor En was the one who last saw Fabian today - clearing the snow in the forest, remember? This gave him enough opportunity to put the door key on Fabian."

"As for the time when all this happened - maybe it started before the start of school, when the Prewett brothers visited Professor Kettleburn's house because of the Chimera beast. When they came out again, one of them was cast One was under the Imperius Curse, and the other was impersonated by Dolohov."

"The reason why Qiqi went crazy may also be because of this. She did sense that something was wrong, but we found it too late."

"There is also the Chamber of Secrets." Dumbledore suddenly frowned: "As for advanced black magic, who else has a deeper level of black magic than Voldemort? Then there is no need for any so-called monsters. Voldemort can do it all on his own. Being able to do that.”

"Are you talking about Fu..." Molly finally didn't dare to say the name: "The mysterious man pretended to be Silvanus?!"

Moody nodded heavily.

"Oh my God!" Molly covered her mouth in shock.

"The mysterious man is in Hogwarts?!"

This time, before the two of them could answer, Molly quickly urged: "Arthur! Arthur! Find the Floo powder quickly!"

"Right here! Right in my hand!"

Arthur was holding a flowerpot in his hand. He looked up at the people on the stairs and said, "Fortunately, I bought a lot before get off work yesterday... But where are you going?"

Dumbledore strode over, grabbed a handful of floo powder, and threw it into the fire of the fireplace, where a green flame suddenly rose.

Dumbledore walked straight into the flames.

"Pig's Head Bar!"

As night approaches, there are still many sneaky customers staying in the Pig Head Bar.

Mundungus was leaning on the bar, talking to the absent-minded Aberforth.

"Listen to me, this will definitely make a lot of money, much more than opening a bar or something."

He mentioned a bunch of things like spider eyes and crab claws, but that was all he came up with.

Aberforth frowned and glanced at Mundungus. His expression was suddenly startled, and then he took out something concealed from his pocket.

But after he put the things back, Aberforth's frown deepened.

At the same time, a flame suddenly rose in the old fireplace, and Dumbledore strode in.

"Hey! Dumbledore!" Mundungus shouted in surprise: "Sneaking out of the office to find a drink? This is not common."

Moody came out immediately and immediately shut up Mundungus, but even though he didn't hear what he said, Moody still walked towards him and grabbed him.

"Follow me!" Moody said without hesitation: "It's a matter of the club, don't pretend to be confused with me here!"

Mundungus immediately stopped struggling and looked at Dumbledore in confusion, but Dumbledore just nodded slightly to Moody.

"I'm going to Hogwarts now." He said, "After successfully finding the person, you will follow me immediately."

The customers in the store had already run away because of the appearance of Moody, the Auror. Dumbledore turned his head and glanced at Aberforth. After nodding insignificantly, he was about to turn around and leave, but instead He was suddenly stopped by the other party.

"What's the matter?" Dumbledore had to stop, and the door was automatically closed tightly.

"Is there something wrong with Ariana again?"

Dumbledore asked this question in a low voice.

"She's fine, she's sleeping upstairs, and she asked me to ask you to come back for Christmas - even though I never wanted to agree."

Aberforth said with a cold face. He was not angry because his business was affected, but casually threw something to Dumbledore.

Dumbledore caught it and looked at it carefully in his hand.

This is a gold galleung.

It was also the magic coin that Kahlan gave to Aberforth.

"It's that boy."

Aberforth said with some confusion: "Not long before you appeared, the coin suddenly became hot. This was a sign of transmitting information."

"Then what?" Dumbledore asked with a frown. This didn't seem like good news. It was most likely that Callan was asking Aberforth for help.

"Then..." Aberforth stared at the coin in Dumbledore's hand: "Then there was nothing."

Dumbledore looked down at the coin in his hand again. There was no change on it, and no message was transmitted.

"What does this mean?" Aberforth asked.

Dumbledore was silent. After a while, he slowly said: "Either he didn't have time to convey all the news."

"Either he took the initiative to terminate the transmission of the message."

"Voluntarily terminated?" Aberforth put the wine glass in his hand on the table, frowned and asked, "Why would he do this?"

Dumbledore was still observing the coin in his hand, as if waiting for some changes to appear on it.

Aberforth stared at his brother, who suddenly laughed sarcastically.

"That kid is scared and he doesn't trust you."

"Learning to keep secrets from sitting on my mother's knee. Secrets and lies, that's how we grow up."

"Now, I'm not the only one who understands this."

Dumbledore didn't object and threw the coin back.

"Tell Ariana I'll get her a Christmas present."

After saying this, the door to the bar opened immediately, and Dumbledore walked out in the direction of Hogwarts without looking back.

On the other side, inside the suitcase in the potion preparation room.

Wolf hid far away, looking at the two figures in the bamboo forest.

Guspard held a small bottle filled with blue powder, and Steve held a bottle of Bluebell Flame.

"let's start."

Gaspard said expressionlessly.

Steve nodded nervously. He placed the bluebell flame on the ground and carefully placed the phoenix chick inside.

After Steve stood far away, Gaspard poured all the powder into the flames.

Suddenly, the bluebell flame suddenly expanded several times, and even the color seemed to begin to change.

Guspard, Steve, and Wolf stood together, watching the scene closely.

"The wind chime powder you made is amazing. It will definitely help you win the gold medal." Steve said in shock.

Gaspard's behavior was completely different from Steve's. He analyzed calmly: "The prerequisite is that Karan tells me where he got the powder, otherwise the rating will be lowered."

"And if you don't understand the source, it's difficult to make money from this thing. It's the kind of thing where you get less as much as you use."

While chatting, the flame gradually shrank a bit, and finally returned to its original appearance.

They leaned in carefully. Steve looked at the burned grass and felt worried, but when he saw what was inside the flames, his expression became more and more uncomfortable.

"Failed again." He held up the phoenix chick and sighed helplessly.

Gaspard nodded expressionlessly.

"It was expected." He commented without caring about Steve's mood at all: "It's just a stronger demonic fire. This will definitely not trouble Dumbledore, and maybe it won't trouble Meadows either."

"It seems that I have no choice but to ask my dad during the holiday." Steve said with a pout, looking a little aggrieved: "The matter of the chick must not be delayed any longer."

Just as he put the chick back on the cushion, he suddenly froze.

Not only him, but also Guspard had the same expression.

The two looked at each other silently, then quickly fumbled in their respective pockets, and then both took out a magic coin.

Under the gaze of the two men, the coin gradually began to change, and lines of text appeared.

"This..." Steve's eyes widened and he was too shocked to speak.

Gaspard's lenses suddenly shone with a strange light.

"I knew it."

He grabbed the unused wind chime powder next to him.

"Karan has been hiding something!"