[Chapter Size: 1800 Words.]
Third Person POV
Hogwarts.
...
...
The Forbidden Forest was beginning to fill with Aurors, centaurs, and even professors from the school, all trying to find the source of the events amidst the chaos while also attempting to control the fire. Some of them managed to catch glimpses of shadows, but there wasn't much they could do beyond reporting it. No one could say exactly what was going on.
Madam Rosmerta was calmly cleaning a glass after witnessing all the commotion in the forest. She had already opened her shop, despite having no customers, as people were still out watching the burning spots in the distance during the early hours of the morning while the sun was about to rise.
Her gaze lifted from the glass when she saw someone entering her tavern at that very moment, making her raise an eyebrow.
"A student?" she said immediately, almost accusatorily, upon seeing the Slytherin student stopping at her counter with the utmost nonchalance. She remembered seeing him there only once before, last year at the beginning of the term.
"You shouldn't be here. Did you sneak out of school?" she asked, eyeing him with some suspicion.
"I came to check out the commotion in the forest and figured I'd have a Butterbeer while I'm at it. After all, it's been a long time since I last had one," Snape said.
"This could get you into trouble," she remarked.
"Just like many other students who sneak out of school, isn't that right?" he raised an eyebrow, knowing full well that there were always a few students who managed to slip out unnoticed throughout the year, outside of the scheduled Hogsmeade visits.
"Whatever, that's your problem. You want a Butterbeer, right?" she said as she began preparing the drink.
Within two minutes, she was placing the tankard on the counter in front of Snape.
He took a sip.
"I'm surprised you're opening the bar while the entire town is watching the forest. Some are even helping with the search," Snape commented, taking another sip. He had only tasted this drink once before.
"Yes, everything was quiet until I started hearing explosions. Flames started rising in various parts of the Dark Forest. They say it started in the acromantula nests," she replied before continuing.
"It seems no one knows for sure, but honestly, I don't feel the least bit sorry for them after what they did. They killed a student yesterday," Snape said.
"So, that means someone went after them… Not just them, but all their nests?" she asked.
Snape listened and simply shrugged, offering no response.
He finished his Butterbeer and decided to leave.
Upon returning to the school, he walked through the corridors. He noticed many people pointing at the windows, watching the smoke on the horizon. Several areas of the Forbidden Forest had burned.
He made his way to the Great Hall. It was still earlier than he usually arrived, but he sat at the Slytherin table, satisfied after all his nighttime activities.
Only Professor Flitwick was at the staff table, while all the other professors were probably in the Forbidden Forest, assisting the Ministry of Magic officials.
"You're already here?"
It was at that moment that Clarisse approached and sat beside him, surprised to see Snape there so early.
"Yes…" Snape said simply.
"Then I bet it's because of what happened in the Forbidden Forest… They're saying all the acromantulas were exterminated. Can you believe that?" she said.
"Really?" he replied in a monotone voice.
Clarisse didn't respond. She noticed something, leaned slightly closer to him, and frowned.
"You smell like Butterbeer," she muttered, looking at him suspiciously.
Snape was about to reply when he noticed someone approaching him. It was Professor Rosaria.
Many students in the hall watched her as she walked from the doors to the staff table, especially the men. Unsurprisingly, she was an extraordinarily beautiful woman—perhaps even surpassing a Veela at the peak of its beauty.
Snape's gaze immediately shifted to Rosaria, who was standing right beside him, looking at him.
"I hope you had a peaceful sleep last night, Snape. After all, I heard about some shadows moving around..." she said, though the last part was only spoken through lip reading.
All the students nearby who heard the first part gaped, shocked. A professor was asking Snape how he had slept? What kind of conversation was that?
This would only fuel the strange rumors about the two of them even more.
"Forget it." Snape said, ignoring both the stunned gazes and Clarisse's furious expression.
Meanwhile, in the Forbidden Forest...
The Minister of Magic had to come personally to assess the situation after some professors left the castle to investigate the events. Among those who had been there initially was Rosaria herself, who had heard reports about a shadowy creature exterminating the acromantulas and had returned to the school a few minutes earlier.
No one knew for sure what it was, but some eyewitnesses, including two Aurors and four centaurs, claimed to have seen these creatures in various parts of the forest—shadows in strange shapes, unlike anything they had ever seen before. They saw soldiers and even bizarre creatures. The mystery deepened even further with rumors about the possible awakening of Juggernaut, something even more terrifying.
"You're saying you saw these creatures? It can't be Juggernaut." the Minister asked, incredulously.
"Impossible. If it were Juggernaut, we'd all be dead." a centaur responded firmly.
"Then what is it? How did these things appear here and wipe out all the acromantulas?" the Minister asked, trying to connect the events.
Her gaze then turned to McGonagall, who was there representing Hogwarts, with the headmaster still missing.
"We don't know anything, Minister." she replied.
"Why is this happening now? What is going on? Can someone explain it to me?" the Minister questioned, irritated, while the Aurors hesitated to answer her. She continued,
"First, we have the death of a Muggle-born student. Then, someone suddenly decides to wipe out all the giant spiders in the forest. But we don't know who it was. The person came here, did what they did, and vanished without leaving a trace, except for these strange creatures that no one can explain. All that remains are these shadows." she murmured, dissatisfied.
Headmaster Dumbledore was also present, though he seemed more like a symbolic figure to reassure the wizarding world that everything was under control.
"This is such a mess... There's nothing more we can do, fine. Just continue the investigation." the Minister instructed.
"If you find Juggernaut, do not approach. As far as we know, he can't leave that place. But if you sense danger, leave immediately. Understood?"
Everyone nodded, preparing to continue investigating the strange events unfolding.
In the wizarding world...
The newspapers had already begun circulating that morning, and a major scandal was forming around the death of the Hogwarts student. Sensationalized headlines covered the front pages:
"Is Hogwarts still a safe place?"
"Is Dumbledore truly competent?"
"Has the Ministry of Magic lost control?"
"The rise of the Dark Lord?"
Rumors about dark wizards were spreading, with some believing that the spiders had allied themselves with the Dark Lord, and distrust among wizards was growing. Everyone who read the headlines lowered their heads, fearing what might happen next...
However, on the same day, a new wave of newspapers was released in the afternoon with the shocking news of the extermination of the Acromantulas in the Forbidden Forest, leaving everyone even more stunned.
After all, in just one day, an Acromantula kills a student, and the next, there is a total extermination of all of them in the Forbidden Forest—the largest concentration of nests in all of England—amounting to over 12,000 Acromantulas dead.
In a castle deep within a forest, the Dark Lord had to summon all his Death Eaters in search of answers, and they quickly arrived to attend to him.
The Dark Lord looked at his followers around the table with a gaze of disgust—clearly, he did not like what he had just heard.
"No one knows what happened?" he asked, and no one responded.
"Not even you, Abraxas? Have you heard anything from your contacts inside the Ministry?" he directed the question to the Malfoy patriarch.
"No, my Lord... They can't say anything beyond strange dark creatures appearing and killing the spiders..." he answered cautiously.
"Strange creatures... When we had finally secured an alliance with those creatures, someone exterminates them right after they kill a mere Muggle-born student..." he said in a dangerous tone.
England was becoming increasingly strange—an alchemist no one could track, an assassin targeting dark wizards, someone fighting against Dumbledore who was not one of his men, and now a creature made of shadows eliminating other dark creatures... It was, at the very least, bizarre, and Voldemort hated not having control or knowledge of everything.
"I hope your son is being trained better than your investigative skills," Voldemort mocked.
"Of course, my Lord. Lucius will become a powerful Dark Wizard..." Abraxas responded.
"Good, just like all the others," he said, looking around at everyone. After all, it wasn't only the Malfoys who were being trained as future Death Eaters and influential figures—marriages were already being considered to unite families for the cause.
Voldemort continued, "Now we have one less ally. We haven't received any response from the giants, have we?"
"No, my Lord. They still have not accepted your alliance," answered another Death Eater from the Nott family.
"What incompetence!" Voldemort complained, irritated, and shot him a cold look.
"I beg your pardon, my Lord, but soon they will give us an answer!" the man said.
Voldemort merely nodded before turning back to the group.
"I also want you to pressure the vampires and werewolves with my offer. I will leave some of you responsible for that," he instructed.
"Our forces have grown even more. I will be going to Azkaban—I will recruit the Dementors. They are not yet fully converted, but we can use them as well."
Everyone agreed with that.
Voldemort then turned his attention to the door.
"Enter," he ordered.
All the Death Eaters looked toward the entrance as two men stepped into the room.
"These will be your new colleagues. The two brothers from the Prince family, who have finally agreed to join our cause," Voldemort declared, satisfied as he observed the two men.
They were Snape's maternal uncles.
"Now, without exception, I want everyone looking into exactly what happened in that forest. If we have a new enemy, we must gather information about them. If they are useful, we may make them an ally, and I will personally recruit them. If not, I will kill them myself..."
The Dark Lord spoke as they were about to make their next move in the wizarding world.
-------------Nexts Chapters ----------------
Chapter 175 - The Black family's marriage proposal
Chapter 180 - The daggers are ready!
Chapter 190 - The Battle in the Muggle World 03.
Chapter 198 - Exploring the Durmstrang Institute.
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