Ah! Toby... Where is Toby? Oh... Master Wade!"
The house-elf, who had been pulled into the dream for the first time, seemed a little lost.
"Relax, Toby, and try to calm your mind. Don't let your thoughts wander."
"Okay… Okay!"
Seeing that Toby had settled down, Robert cast the nightmare magic.
Immediately, the scene in the secret room, which Toby had just memorized, was recreated! The environment around Robert and Toby shifted rapidly, transforming into an extremely dark secret chamber.
Toby used the elf's lighting magic to brighten the area, revealing its details.
"Okay... Toby, is this what you saw just now?"
"Yes!"
Robert surveyed the secret room again. It was in ruins, evidence of a violent battle.
As he stepped through the debris, he discovered a metal sphere, only half of it intact.
This was the same fairy metal container the Guardians had used to seal the "remnants" Morgana had collected. But now, the container was broken, and the "residues" inside had long since disappeared.
Robert's eyes gleamed. There was so much fairy metal!
"Toby, can you bring out these goblin metals?"
"If it's just objects, Toby can do it!"
"That's great!"
Robert took out a blueprint and laid it before Toby.
"Before you collect the goblin metal, I need you to install these devices in these locations..."
…
After waking up from the dream, Toby promptly placed the sensor traps as instructed. Installation was simple—he only needed to attach the devices to corners and other strategic spots.
Once the traps were set, Toby collected the scattered fairy metals from the ground.
Robert stored them all in a suitcase previously used for traps and instructed Toby to take it back to the wizard tower.
Afterward, Robert quietly exited the secret passage, blending in with the crowd heading to the auditorium for dinner.
Once he had eaten, he found a quiet place to nap, then relayed his progress to his senior in his dream.
"Okay, take your cat with you when we go to catch the goblin tonight," the senior instructed.
"Bring a cat? Why?" Robert was puzzled.
"Don't ask questions. Just do it."
Before Robert could ask anything more, he was kicked out of the dream.
Since taking over the research tasks, the senior had become much busier than before.
Although Robert didn't understand why she wanted the cat, he followed orders. That night, he picked up his cat and left the dormitory, not returning.
His dormmates were accustomed to his late-night outings. Even Tom didn't comment.
Holding his cat, Robert waited in the secret passage until nine in the evening.
"It's time to go..." Robert murmured, then picked up his cat-kneazle and slipped out of Hogwarts Castle through the secret passage, heading for the Forbidden Forest.
Inside the forest, he sat under a large tree, waiting.
He was supposed to catch a goblin craftsman that night, but his senior had yet to provide an exact location.
"Should I take a nap and ask her in the dream?" Robert muttered.
"No need. Just follow me," the senior's voice suddenly echoed in his mind.
"Huh?" Robert looked around in surprise. "You can talk directly into my mind now?"
Previously, the senior could only communicate minimally due to being disconnected from her real body.
Now, she could form full sentences!
"You want me to follow you? Where are you? How do I find you?"
"Just let me go."
Robert looked down at the Tom cat in his arms, startled.
Tom's green eyes no longer held their usual lazy look.
Recognizing the familiar gaze, Robert exclaimed, "You… You possessed Tom?"
"Yes. Now, I don't have to rely on dreams to communicate with you. As long as this cat is nearby, I can use its magic to speak with you. If you need me, you can summon me to the cat… Don't worry, it's just asleep while I possess it."
"This… is amazing." Robert held the cat up in awe.
"Put me down..." the senior said, her voice laced with embarrassment.
Now that she was connected to the cat's body, she could feel everything it felt—including Robert holding her.
"Oh, oh…"
Robert quickly set the cat down.
"Follow me," the senior instructed, walking deeper into the forest.
Robert scratched his head and followed.
"This time, I really do have a Senior Cat..." he muttered.
…
Cats were swift.
Even though she deliberately slowed down, Robert struggled to keep up.
"You should buy a broom. Flying above the treetops is better than stumbling around on foot," the senior remarked.
"Um... okay," Robert agreed.
Casting a Disillusionment Spell and flying silently was indeed stealthier than walking. Few people expected threats from above.
"Senior, can you teach me how to attach my consciousness to animals?" Robert asked.
It was a useful skill!
"If you can fully separate your consciousness from your body, then you'll be ready," the senior replied.
"Um... okay..." Robert was slightly disappointed.
Full separation of consciousness? That seemed far off.
After traveling for a long time, the senior finally stopped and crouched outside a camp.
Robert peered over.
It was five or six times larger than the previous goblin camps.
Besides heavily armed goblins, there were numerous witches in the camp.
"This defense is too tight!" Robert frowned.
Even for him, sneaking in unnoticed seemed impossible.
"Senior, what do we do? Did they increase security tonight?"
"No. When I found them, their defenses were already like this."
"Ah? Then… what do we do?"
Robert had assumed the senior had a plan.
Now it seemed like she didn't expect such heavy defenses either.
"Maybe… I can use nightmare magic to make them sleepy, then use my sleeping potions and dung bombs to incapacitate them one by one," Robert suggested.
"Good idea, but unnecessary with me here."
As soon as she said that, mist thickened around them.
Then…
Plop! Plop!
One by one, the witches and goblins collapsed, snoring loudly.
Robert sucked in a breath.
His senior's nightmare magic was terrifying!
"Thankfully, Grindelwald didn't come himself. My real body is too far away, and my magic is weakened. Hurry, Robert, my spell won't last long..."
Robert immediately sprang into action.
The senior, still in Tom's body, led the way.
She had already located the goblin craftsman—in the main tent.
Inside, an old goblin lay snoring beside a workbench.
"It's him. Take him back to your lab. Leave the rest to me," the senior ordered.
Robert nodded, grabbing the goblin's arm and the senior in his other hand.
Before Apparating away, he also snatched a blueprint and a ring-shaped object from the table.
As soon as he vanished, white mist surged, erasing any traces of his magical presence.
A few minutes later, panicked shouts erupted in the camp.
"The goblin is missing!"
"What happened?"
"Why did I fall asleep?!"
The camp was soon ablaze with frantic activity.
…
Inside the wizard tower, Robert set the goblin craftsman down.
"Senior, what now?" he asked.
"Put him on a bed. I'll handle the rest. He has already fallen into my dream. His knowledge will soon be mine..."
Her voice carried excitement.
If Robert's theory was right, she might escape sooner than expected, saving Robert from further risks.
As he settled the goblin, the senior, still in the cat's body, pawed at the blueprint and ring.
"Huh? It's this thing!" she exclaimed.
"What is it?" Robert asked.
"The Fairy Ring—an improved version! It controls magical creatures. They used one on a fire dragon that chased me!"
Robert recalled the monster that attacked him—it also had a ring on its neck.
"This is valuable..." Robert mused.
"Yes. These goblins enslaved creatures with this. Now it's ours. Let's turn the tables!"
Robert smirked. "Give them a taste of their own medicine?"
The senior's cat eyes gleamed.
"Exactly. Let's do it!"
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