HPDBC Chapter 264, Section 263: Still reeling from the shock, another unexpected turn of events occurs.
Chapter 264, Section 263: Still reeling from the shock, another unexpected turn of events occurs.
Chapter 264, Section 263: Still reeling from the shock, another unexpected turn of events occurs.
Deep in the forbidden forest.
The darkness, like thick ink, swallowed all light.
Ian, transformed into a white mist, weaved through the forest, rustling the branches wherever he went and startling a group of sleeping tree-guarding bowers along the way, who squeaked in protest.
They were all clinging tightly to the branches they were perched on.
He looked extremely nervous.
Startled, a flock of owls took flight from the branches, their flapping wings echoing loudly in the silent forest. On the ground, several porcupines, their bodies covered in sharp quills, grunted angrily, raising their quills and watching warily in the direction of the white mist. Ian, however, paid no heed to these disturbed creatures.
He was only focused on finding those three mischievous students.
"Where is it?"
With his legendary eyesight, Ian could see everything around him clearly even at night, so he didn't have to worry about missing any corners along the way.
It's not just about being able to see clearly.
It also has a broad perspective.
Anyway, anyone who reaches that level will naturally understand. That kind of eye is not just the feeling of an eye; it has a spiritual power that accompanies the vision, sweeping across every area along the way.
"Whoosh whoosh~"
Ian's flight startled many sleeping creatures. A unicorn drinking water looked up alertly, its silvery mane shimmering like ripples in the moonlight. Seeing Ian's white mist pass by, it quickly and gracefully retreated into the bushes, its hooves treading across the stream without splashing a drop of water.
"It should be around here."
Ian also followed the direction of the secret passage shown on the Marauder's Map, but the map could only reveal a general outline, and who knows where the three people went after they came out of the secret passage.
This is a carpet search.
Ian frantically searched the exit of the secret passage in a radial pattern—his skill with this magic was also increasing, and he was now faster than most flying brooms.
Well, how should I put it?
Flying brooms are not actually a necessity for many powerful wizards; even someone as powerful as Voldemort doesn't rely on them much.
"Can anything with two legs compare to my ability to fly?"
Ian raised an eyebrow in the white mist.
He moved quickly through the woods.
And you know what? Some things just don't stand up to being talked about. Just then, Ian finished complaining about the three people's whereabouts when suddenly, a sharp scream shattered the silence of the Forbidden Forest.
"Damn it, what is this?!"
It was Ron's voice, with its heavy nasal tone.
It was filled with fear and panic.
His heart-wrenching screams pierced the night sky—as expected, Ron, lacking the aura of a savior, couldn't thrive in the Forbidden Forest as he did with a savior by his side.
"Did they really encounter danger?"
Ian raised an eyebrow slightly.
The white mist he transformed into instantly accelerated, flashing through layers of tree shadows like lightning, hurtling towards the direction from which the sound came. When Ian arrived, the scene before him made him slightly taken aback.
original.
Despite Ron's heart-wrenching screams, as if he were about to be eaten by a monster and die at any moment, the new trio wasn't actually in any particular danger.
All I saw was...
The trio was trapped in a strange thicket of purple mushrooms. The mushrooms were nearly half a person tall, their caps covered in fluorescent veins that swayed slowly as they moved.
As for the reason Ron screamed.
Hermione's wand tip glowed faintly, illuminating Ron's pale face—his left foot was entangled in a clump of sticky fungus that was spreading upwards at a visible speed.
He's just an eleven-year-old boy.
I used to be well protected by my family.
Ron had never encountered such a dangerous and terrifying situation before.
He was almost scared to death.
He was the most panicked of the new-era trio. As a wizard, he didn't even reach for his wand, instead attempting to fight the magical plants with his own flesh and blood.
Ok.
That does indeed reflect the brash behavior typical of Gryffindor students—if we ignore Ron's contradictory behavior of crying and fighting with the plants at the same time.
"Let me think, let me think... what should we do now?" Hermione, though pale and trapped, was still trying to think of a solution.
of course.
Since it was the first time she had encountered such a danger, the girl, who had previously been the apple of the eye of a Muggle family, was slightly affected by the danger.
Difficult to think about.
Hermione could only force herself to calm down.
And at this time.
On the contrary, Neville, who had previously been rather timid and hesitant, performed better. Of course, he was also panicked and afraid, but his mind did not stop working.
"Don't move!" Neville suddenly shouted, his voice trembling with fear. "These plants are similar to the Devil's Web! The more you struggle, the tighter they'll wrap around you!"
indeed.
Neville, trembling all over, didn't struggle instinctively like the other two. He overcame his physical instincts to keep his body still. Although this didn't free him, he was the slowest to be bound by the plants; the sticky mycelium had only crawled up to his groin.
Neville trembled even more violently.
Hermione, on the other hand, was already wrapped up to her waist by sticky mycelium.
Ron was the one who resisted the most fiercely, and also the one who suffered the most. He was about to be completely enveloped by the sticky mycelium and become an entity to be digested.
The sticky mycelium had even sealed his mouth shut.
This made the world much quieter.
"It's similar to a devil's web... I... I remember the book said it needs sunlight. Devil's webs are extremely sensitive to sunlight and heat, but it's nighttime now..."
"And this isn't the Devil's Web." Hermione's hands trembled so much she could barely hold her wand. Experiencing something like this for the first time, she was far less confident and composed than she would be in the future.
"Then use fire! Most plants are afraid of fire!"
Neville's voice was tinged with tears. He had no doubt about his own knowledge, but the increasingly sticky mycelium binding him terrified him.
"Hurry! It's almost up to my waist!"
Neville screamed wildly.
"Waaaaah~"
Ron could only make sounds that were not meaningful.
really.
It's the same old formula, the same old routine. Even though the trio isn't the same trio Ian knew, the one who solves the problem is still Hermione—this could be seen as Hermione's story with her two useless men turning into Hermione's story with her two more useless men.
"..."
Ian watched from mid-air, utterly speechless. Since it would take these plants at least a day to digest one person, he wasn't in a hurry to immediately rescue the three.
Ultimately, we need to teach those reckless guys a lesson.
If not.
Who knows what other fantastical adventures these three will have in the future? Of course, if we follow the original timeline, perhaps even the biggest lesson won't stop the Gryffindor students from their adventurous spirit.
"Flames...flames raging!"
at this time.
Hermione began to cast her spell.
She is usually extremely skilled at using this magic, if not masterful; however, due to excessive nervousness, she is now performing somewhat poorly.
Hermione's wand tip sparked a few flecks, but she couldn't quite muster a flame. Neville frantically rummaged through his pockets, spilling a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans all over the floor.
"Merlin's beard!"
Neville's voice had distorted; he watched helplessly as the glowing mycelium wriggled like living things. "It...it's climbing up! I'm going to be eaten!"
"Help me! Hermione!"
He cried out for help. Fine beads of sweat appeared on Hermione's forehead, and another faint spark shot from the tip of her staff, but it still couldn't coalesce into a flame.
"I can't do it."
The girl's voice was choked with sobs.
next moment.
Her hands were also entangled, and her wand fell to the ground.
Upon seeing this.
"Hermione can't stand up straight either."
Ian, who appeared as a white mist in the night, sighed. He materialized among the branches of the tallest oak tree, gradually taking on a human form, and pulled out his wand.
Moonlight streamed through Ian's robes, and a faint blue glow emanated from the tip of his wand. To avoid startling anyone, Ian thoughtfully offered a heads-up.
"Close your eyes."
All three of them heard a familiar voice coming from the top of the tree.
No one realized what was happening.
Blue flames cascaded down like a waterfall, instantly covering the entire mushroom patch. Ron let out a scream that sounded inhuman, his legs buckling and he nearly fainted.
"Firefire! It's Firefire!" Neville's voice trembled uncontrollably. His toad, Rafer, had already fainted in his pocket, and the fat boy who was his master was rolling his eyes.
"What is Fiery Blaze?"
Hermione's face was paler than the moonlight. Ignorance is bliss, but although she didn't know the name of the spell, she instinctively sensed the destructive power contained in the blue flames.
"One of the most, most terrifying black magics ever seen..." Neville's teeth chattered, and he didn't finish his sentence before the blue flames swept over.
The three young wizards all felt their own insignificance.
Utter despair.
however.
When they closed their eyes, the expected excruciating pain did not come. Instead, all three of them felt a lightness in their bodies and then fell to the ground.
"hiss!"
Hermione gasped as she opened her eyes.
Ron and Neville weren't much better off. When they opened their eyes, trembling, they found the grass within three feet of them intact, while the area beyond was scorched earth.
Even the soil seemed to have turned to ash.
"That's Fiendfire! See? Nothing can survive its passage!" Neville's voice was as soft as a whisper, and he still seemed shaken.
"That's terrifying, this kind of magic."
Hermione was also amazed. Because it had only been a short time since the start of the school year, her understanding of the wizarding world was still limited, so for now she could only act as a know-it-all within the scope of normal knowledge.
Forbidden magic like the Fiendish Flame Spell.
It's estimated that only a young wizard from a family like Neville's could recognize him—Ron could too, otherwise his pants wouldn't be soaking wet right now.
May Merlin bless you.
Ron collapsed to the ground, panting heavily, savoring the joy of surviving a close call. Of course, there was also a considerable amount of lingering fear churning within him.
"Who saved us?"
Hermione looked around.
however.
Neville's face turned even paler.
"I think it might not be about saving us, but about giving us hope and then erasing that hope." He's certainly overthinking things, but there's some truth to it.
"It's extremely profound and terrifying dark magic, only the most skilled wizards can learn it. I believe... there must be an extremely powerful dark wizard nearby!"
His voice, far from being filled with fear, betrayed a deep-seated dread of the dark wizard.
Ron and Hermione were both shocked to hear this.
"A dark wizard!?"
"Are they Death Eaters?"
"Oh my god! I knew it! I knew it!"
Ron has become the King of Knowledge again.
And at that very moment.
"How much do I look like a dark wizard to you?" Ian's voice rang out again as he emerged from the jungle, his wizard robes fluttering in the breeze.
Even though the surroundings were a mess and the three young wizards were in a sorry state, Ian was spotless. The contrast was truly striking.
"Ian!"
Hermione exclaimed in delight, then realized something and her expression turned strange. If she remembered correctly, Neville had just said that only extremely powerful dark wizards could cast Fiendfyre.
Judging from the current situation...
The one who released the Fiendfire curse should be Ian.
and so.
Is Ian a powerful dark wizard?
Hermione found the thought terrifying and didn't want to think about it any further, nor did she dare to. Ron wasn't alone in this; he was also aware of the issue and greatly alarmed.
"Was it... was it you who set the Fiery Blaze?"
Ron's expression was one of surprise and uncertainty.
His inquiry went unanswered.
"You three juniors are really a handful," Ian said, shaking his head helplessly at the disheveled appearance of the trio. He felt that these three should have learned their lesson.
"Uh..." Neville snapped out of his daze, slapping his forehead with a look of sudden realization: "Oh! Right! I heard from the older students that Mr. Prince also knows Fiendfyre!"
"It's the kind of thing the headmaster allows, so he's definitely not a dark wizard." Neville's tone was firm, showing not only trust but also a hint of high emotional intelligence.
Ian chuckled, his wand twirling gracefully between his fingers: "Why are you three Gryffindor students in the Forbidden Forest in the dead of night?"
He was asking a question he already knew the answer to.
"Professor McGonagall has emphasized the dangers here at least ten times." She even adopted a serious expression, as if she were about to report him at any moment.
"Gurgle~"
Ron panicked immediately.
Hermione's fingers twisted the hem of her robe, and she stammered, unable to speak. Neville lowered his head in shame, staring at the tips of his shoes. All three of them seemed to be terrified by Ian.
Ron's Adam's apple bobbed a few times, then he suddenly stiffened his neck and said, "We...we have a reason we had to come! Please, don't tell Professor McGonagall, okay?"
He was asking for a favor.
however.
It seems she still doesn't have the intention to confess to Ian.
As expected.
The idea of learning from one's mistakes is unlikely to apply to Ron. Hermione, on the other hand, struggled for a long time before finally deciding to confess to Ian.
"actually……"
Just as Hermione seemed about to say something, an unusual commotion suddenly arose from the distant woods. The crisp sound of branches snapping broke incessantly, interspersed with the heavy breathing of some creature.
Immediately afterwards, a deafening roar tore through the night sky, startling countless flocks of birds into flight.
(End of this chapter)