A streak of light invisible to the naked eye crossed the night sky.
Originally, this streak of light would have fallen randomly somewhere in the world, allowing the soul wrapped within it to begin a brand-new life. But not long after leaving the train, it was affected by a faint pull from somewhere beyond perception, causing its direction to change.
Whoosh.
A meteor streaked across the night sky over the Scottish Highlands.
Standing at the top of the Astronomy Tower, Dumbledore raised his head. The meteor was reflected in his lake-blue eyes, but it could not dispel the concerns in his heart.
It was already the second day after the end of the second stage of the Global Youth Wizarding Tournament.
A piece of bad news had pulled him out of his joy over Hogwarts taking a commanding lead in the tournament and dragged him back to reality.
Rhys Lint of Slytherin House had disappeared.
And on the Astronomy Tower, charred remains suspected to be human had been discovered.
Dumbledore could remain calm when he heard the first piece of news.
The second, however, was far more alarming.
The moment he learned of it, Dumbledore hurried to the scene.
Before long, he confirmed that the charred mass was indeed the remains of a human body.
Combined with Rhys Lint's disappearance, the identity of the remains was almost obvious.
And that was exactly what confused Dumbledore.
He knew very well that this student was far from ordinary.
So this could not be treated as a simple disappearance.
Whatever lay behind it was extremely complicated and had to be handled carefully.
"Aurora, does anyone else know about this?" Dumbledore asked in a low voice.
Professor Aurora Sinistra immediately replied, "No, Professor Dumbledore. There haven't been any Astronomy classes these past two days. I reported it to you immediately after discovering the body and didn't alert any of the other professors."
"Good." Dumbledore nodded. "Don't mention this to anyone else."
"Of course."
Professor Sinistra's expression also became more serious.
She had sensed the severity of the situation as well.
This did not seem like something that could be treated as an ordinary murder case.
"Let's go. We'll head downstairs first."
Dumbledore carefully collected the charred remains and gestured for Professor Sinistra to return to the Headmaster's office with him.
The moment Professor Sinistra turned around, Dumbledore drew his wand.
"Obliviate!"
Professor Sinistra's expression immediately became blank.
Dumbledore sighed inwardly.
Aurora, I'm sorry.
Then he quickly walked to her side and said with a smile, "The sky really was excellent just now. Arrange for the students to have an Astronomy lesson on the tower as soon as possible."
The confusion in Professor Sinistra's eyes gradually faded.
Then she remembered why she had invited Headmaster Dumbledore up here that evening.
The conditions were excellent for stargazing, so she had requested permission to add an extra Astronomy lesson.
"...Oh, of course! I'll go inform the children right away!"
Professor Sinistra hurried away.
Dumbledore watched her disappear around the bend of the spiral staircase and sighed.
This matter was simply too serious.
He had to do this.
Keeping the information contained was necessary.
After thinking for a moment, Dumbledore returned to his office.
As expected, two people were already waiting for him.
"Professor White, Professor Aires. Good evening."
Dumbledore greeted them first, then sat down in the armchair opposite them.
"Professor Sinistra just informed me that she discovered what appeared to be human remains on the Astronomy Tower."
As he spoke, he took out the remains he had collected and placed them on the table.
"After examining them, I can confirm that this is indeed a human corpse."
Professor White and Professor Aires both remained silent.
Dumbledore could only continue.
"I also received word that Rhys Lint of Slytherin House has disappeared. No one has seen him since the contestants returned from the competition venue yesterday."
This time, the two finally spoke.
Rowena asked Dumbledore whether anyone else knew that a body had been found on the Astronomy Tower.
"No. I also altered Professor Sinistra's memory," Dumbledore replied.
"Good."
Rowena nodded in satisfaction.
The fewer people who knew about this, the better.
If too many people became aware of it, Salazar's current identity would be ruined.
"Rhys Lint is temporarily taking a leave of absence because he suffered a... curse during the competition," Helga said after thinking for two seconds, giving Salazar a reason to stop appearing for the time being.
"Nothing happened on the Astronomy Tower," Rowena added.
She lightly waved her wand and put away the charred corpse on the table.
Dumbledore froze for a moment.
Then he realised that, just as he had suspected, this matter really did conceal an extraordinary secret.
"May I know what happened?"
Helga and Rowena exchanged a glance.
As the current Headmaster, Dumbledore did seem to have some right to know.
"He'll naturally return after some time," Helga said with absolute confidence, though she could not help thinking of the Prophet's prophecy.
That prophecy had sounded rather ominous.
But considering Salazar had said there was more to it, and that it had only been cut short because the Prophet lacked the strength to continue, perhaps it was not entirely a bad omen.
"He was injured while helping me deal with a private matter. That was why someone hiding inside the school managed to ambush him. But it's nothing serious. Everything was within our expectations."
"Hm?"
Dumbledore raised his head sharply.
He had just heard something extremely important.
"This person..."
A fierce desire for knowledge burned in Dumbledore's eyes.
"It's exactly the person you're thinking of."
Dumbledore's eyes widened.
They had hinted to him before that the person claiming to be Gryffindor could not be trusted.
Had they finally obtained definitive proof?
But why would the two of them stand by and allow that person to commit such a crime?
What deeper purpose did they have?
"The matter behind this is quite complicated, and it would be difficult to explain everything in a short time. But we have our reasons for acting this way. Professor Dumbledore, rest assured, the situation has not exceeded our control."
Hearing Professor Arius say this, Dumbledore's anxiety immediately eased.
He did not even feel much desire to continue investigating.
Why worry about it?
There was no need.
"Is there anything you need me to do?"
"No."
Rowena shook her head again.
She did not think Dumbledore getting involved would be of any use.
Even in a fight, he would not provide much combat power because his fire domain was completely countered.
She and Helga could handle the matter themselves.
Besides, Salazar's plan was hardly something that could be brought into the light.
It would be better not to let this White Wizard know about it.
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12 Chaps ahead at Patreon.com/HornyFBI