[Note: Read up to Chapter - 124 on P patron at: p-atreon.com/Knockturn_Alley]
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"Intruders in the Forbidden Forest?"
Professor McGonagall's expression stiffened. She remembered Hagrid mentioning this before—but Dumbledore hadn't seemed all that concerned at the time.
Now, with Hagrid bringing it up again, and with evidence piling up, it was clear the situation had grown more serious.
"Are you suggesting the intruder brought the troll into the castle?"
"Hold on—let's clarify something first…" Snape cut in suddenly. "Hagrid, this intruder you're on about—are we talking about a person, or something else entirely?"
From the way Hagrid had described it, Snape had a hunch it wasn't human.
"Definitely not human," Hagrid replied after a pause. "Can't say exactly what it was—but I'm sure of that much."
"Well then," Snape huffed, clearly losing patience. "What does that have to do with the castle? What—you think some random magical creature guided a troll in?"
At this point, he looked downright irritated—as if he was ready to throw in the towel and walk out. In his mind, this was going nowhere.
"This is a waste of time…"
"Don't be hasty, Severus," Dumbledore said gently, stepping forward and placing a calm hand on Snape's shoulder.
He turned away and began pacing slowly, clearly deep in thought.
"Let's refocus—back to the troll."
"Based on everything we know so far, if we rule out the idea of an outside intruder… and assuming none of the professors were involved—except, of course, for one who wasn't in the Great Hall at the time…"
"Professor Quirrell," Dumbledore finished, glancing toward Snape.
Snape nodded. "That's correct."
"And whoever did defeat the troll in the corridor… their magical ability was formidable—at least on par with a fully trained adult wizard," Dumbledore continued thoughtfully. "That would likely rule out all of our students…"
"Even the sixth- and seventh-years would struggle to produce that kind of power."
"Could there be a master hidden within Hogwarts that we're unaware of?" Dumbledore asked quietly, turning to face the others.
"What do you make of that?"
McGonagall and the others exchanged glances, but in the end, they all shook their heads.
"So, no other clues at the moment?"
"None that I can see," McGonagall replied, shaking her head again.
"In that case..." Dumbledore suddenly turned, striding over to Snape.
"I'll leave the investigation of Professor Quirrell to you, Severus."
Snape gave a short nod. "Consider it done."
"As for this mysterious figure…" Dumbledore said thoughtfully, "I'll do what I can to find them."
He looked around at the group. "Right. If there's nothing else, you're all dismissed. I need a bit of time alone to think."
He waved them off gently. Then turned to Hagrid with a small smile.
"Oh—and I'll find time to visit the Forbidden Forest myself. No need to fret, Hagrid."
"Thank you, Professor," Hagrid said, giving a grateful nod. He rubbed his nose awkwardly and shuffled out.
One by one, the rest of the professors departed, leaving Dumbledore alone in the office.
He walked slowly to the tall window, hands folded behind his back, and gazed quietly into the distance.
A soft breeze stirred his long silver hair and beard, giving him the air of a man burdened by years of knowledge—and unanswered questions.
"A mysterious wizard wielding unknown magic… and a spell the wizarding world has never documented…"
He spoke to no one in particular—just his thoughts aloud.
"A power like that… it feels almost elemental."
His brow furrowed.
"How could someone in this school be using magic I myself do not understand?"
He fell silent for a long moment. Then, a flicker of a thought—an image—flashed through his mind.
A small, quiet figure.
"…No," he said aloud. "No, that's impossible."
His instincts told him the boy hadn't reached that level—couldn't have.
And yet...
"There are still far too many things in this castle I don't understand," he murmured, eyes distant.
Just as Dumbledore drifted deeper into thought—
Suddenly, the figure of Fawkes the phoenix appeared outside the window.
With a melodic cry, the majestic bird soared into the headmaster's office, landing gracefully on a nearby shelf.
The phoenix's call startled Dumbledore from his thoughts. He looked up, then asked softly—as though speaking to himself—
"How did it go, Fawkes? Any news?"
Fawkes shook himself lightly, gave another haunting cry, and then bowed his head low.
"I see…" Dumbledore murmured, frowning deeply.
"So that place couldn't hold you after all…"
His expression darkened. Hands folding in front of him, he began rubbing them slowly, thoughtfully.
"Gellert… what are you planning?"
In that moment, a wave of magic erupted from Dumbledore. It wasn't loud or flashy—but potent. The air in the office grew heavy, and the surrounding objects trembled ever so slightly.
And that was with Dumbledore actively suppressing the force.
Had he let it go unchecked, the entire office might have been torn apart.
If anyone had been present just then, they would have been stunned by what he said next.
Gellert Grindelwald.
He had escaped Nurmengard.
Where was he now?
If that news ever reached the wider world, it would send shockwaves through the wizarding community.
Dumbledore wasn't just concerned—he was furious.
And his anger had reached the edge of being uncontainable.
…
That evening – Great Hall
Aris, after a full day locked away in his lab, was now seated at the long Ravenclaw table, tucking into his dinner like a starving man.
Thankfully, he hadn't missed the meal this time.
Unfortunately, he'd barely managed a few bites when someone interrupted his rare moment of peace.
"Aris… did you do this?"
Professor Flitwick had appeared beside him out of nowhere, his tone unusually hushed and curious. Without waiting for a response, he sat down beside the boy at the table.
Aris stiffened.
"…What?" he said, a little too quickly.
His heart skipped a beat.
Surely the troll business hasn't been found out already…?
No. That's not possible…
Wasn't the blame already pinned on Professor Dumbledore this morning?
Based on all the dinner table chatter, Harry and Ron had done a brilliant job spreading the story.
Everything should've been airtight.
So why—why—was Professor Flitwick suddenly confronting him?
And it wasn't even phrased as a question. It was accusatory.
Looking at the strange, knowing smile on Flitwick's face, Aris couldn't help but think of that Japanese comic character—the one who looked like a child but was actually a grown man solving murders left and right.
That smug, detective look. Eyes narrowed. Chin tilted slightly. The kind of expression that screamed, "I already know everything."
Flitwick had that exact same look.
"Professor Flitwick," Aris said coolly, "I'm afraid I don't quite follow."
He was confident. He hadn't been exposed.
So he met the professor's gaze calmly, waiting to see what he'd say next.
"Oh, come off it, Aris," Flitwick said with a sly grin. "You and Miss Granger seem quite close, don't you?"
"I'd say we get along," Aris nodded cautiously.
Flitwick leaned in, lowering his voice slightly. "So tell me—any chance you were the one who saved Miss Granger in the girls' loo last night? Perhaps took out that troll while you were at it?"
"Not a chance," Aris replied without hesitation.
"Hmm," Flitwick frowned. "That's strange…"
"Potter and Weasley said they went to look for her," he continued. "And she said she was with you last night… isn't that right?"
"I told them the troll showed up after Hermione had already left the bathroom," Aris said smoothly. "So I'm not sure how that adds up to me being the one who fought it."
Flitwick stared at him for a moment, then chuckled.
"I just figured—if you had done it, I wouldn't be surprised," he said with a shrug. "Now, if you told me Weasley did it…"
He raised an eyebrow, smiling wryly. "Well—he still can't cast Wingardium Leviosa properly."
"It's not very nice to say that about your own students, Professor," Aris said with a faint smile.
Even if he agreed, he still felt the need to offer a gentle reminder.
"Oh, did I say that aloud?" Flitwick blinked, feigning surprise.
Then, as if suddenly remembering something urgent, he gave a half-hearted excuse, muttered something under his breath, and hurried off in a flurry of robes.
Aris shook his head, amused. The whole exchange felt oddly surreal.
Out of all the professors and students in the entire school, Professor Flitwick had been the first to come anywhere near guessing the truth.
It was still just a hunch on his part—nothing concrete—but even so, it gave Aris a strange feeling. Slightly impressed. Slightly uneasy.
…
"Right, that's enough!"
Hermione burst onto the scene, clearly fuming, and dropped into the seat next to him.
"What's got you in a twist now?" Aris asked, raising an eyebrow at the little witch's dramatic entrance.
"Oh, don't get me started," she huffed. "Harry and Ron have come up with this ridiculous idea that the troll was sent in by Professor Snape—so he could sneak into the corridor on the fourth floor and steal whatever's hidden there. It's absurd!"
Aris let out a low whistle. "Sounds like they've got more energy than sense."
"But seriously," he added, "why are they so hung up on Snape?"
He paused to think for a moment. "If Snape really wanted to get into that corridor, he wouldn't need to go through the trouble of luring a troll into the castle. He's got Dumbledore's trust, doesn't he?"
"Wait—does he?" Hermione blinked, clearly caught off guard.
"You mean… Dumbledore actually trusts Professor Snape?"
Aris chuckled softly. "Of course he does. If he didn't, why would he keep him around? There's no shortage of talented potion masters out there."
He leaned forward slightly. "If you have to suspect someone… why not Professor Quirrell? He's the new one, after all. If anything's gone funny this year, he's the common denominator."
Hermione went quiet, her brow furrowing.
"…That does make a bit of sense," she admitted, chewing her lip thoughtfully.
"All right, don't overthink it—I was just speaking off the cuff," Aris said with a light cough.
"Honestly, there's no real reason to suspect Professor Quirrell. I'm sure Dumbledore has everything under control. There's no need for a bunch of first-years to go worrying about that sort of thing."
"I thought the same," Hermione agreed with a nod.
"But I don't know what's got into those two," she huffed. "They just won't let it go! They're still going on about it—and now they say they're planning to visit Hagrid tomorrow to ask him about it!"
"Oh, and apparently," she added, "the Forbidden Forest isn't exactly peaceful at the moment. So we're better off keeping well away from it."
"That came from Hagrid himself," she finished.
"The Forbidden Forest's not peaceful?" Aris echoed, brow raised.
At the mention of it, his thoughts flicked to a certain small, fire-breathing headache.
Trying to sound casual, he asked, "Any idea why?"
"I heard some terrifying great beast invaded the forest and spooked all the magical creatures," Hermione explained. "The centaurs are furious—they've started hunting it down!"
"Hunted by centaurs?" Aris twitched slightly.
'So that's what Iris has been up to…'
No wonder the little red menace hadn't come back in days. She wasn't hiding—she was just living her best life in the middle of a full-blown drama in the forbidden forest she created herself.
But that sort of chaos couldn't go on. Not now. Things were getting too risky. It was time to rein the creature in.
Without missing a beat, Aris opened a communication link through the system, reaching out to the red dragon directly.
The Forbidden Forest wasn't far from the castle. Within this range, contact was no problem at all.
Still, knowing Iris, there was no telling if the little beast would behave.
"Oi, Master! You callin' me~?"
Sure enough, Iris's overly cheerful, childish voice rang through Aris's mind, as casual as ever.
As the little red dragon continued to grow, she'd developed the ability to communicate with Aris in proper human speech.
It seemed to be some kind of innate magical language—one that directly converted Iris's thoughts into a form humans could understand through mental transmission. Her words simply appeared in his mind as if she were speaking aloud.
Aris had looked into that sort of magic before. It wasn't difficult to understand, but he hadn't found it particularly useful—so he'd eventually stopped bothering.
"Iris, are you still in the Forbidden Forest?" Aris asked sharply.
"Yes, Master!" came the cheerful reply.
"The forest's not safe right now. Come back—immediately," he said, voice firm.
"I'd love to, Master… but there's a bit of a situation."
Aris frowned. "...What kind of situation?"
"I've been caught by a giant spider. It's tied me up."
Aris: "...Excuse me? A what?"
"What kind of spider could tie you up?"
"It was a right sneaky one!" Iris huffed. "Lured me into a cave and wrapped me in webs. You told me not to cause a scene in the forest, so I didn't use my dragon breath…"
Aris groaned. He was not in the mood for this.
"Right. Well, get yourself out of there and come back. Now."
"Master… I can't move," Iris said, sounding pitiful.
"So?"
"...Send help?" she replied weakly.
"You've got magic, haven't you? What happened to that?"
"You told me not to make too much noise…"
"So your grand plan is to just wait there and let the spiders eat you?" Aris exclaimed in disbelief.
"Don't worry, Master. They can't bite me. My dragon scales are too tough!" Iris replied, sounding far too pleased with herself.
At this point, Aris was completely speechless.
He had every reason to suspect that his pet dragon's true calling might be… a professional nuisance.
"Are you really telling me you can't get out?" he asked again, exasperated.
He couldn't just leave the little creature there—no matter how daft she was being.
"Well… I could get out," Iris admitted sheepishly. "If I used a bit of proper magic—something powerful—but it'd cause a lot of noise."
She hesitated, then added cheerfully, "Might blow up the whole spider cave, actually."
"Absolutely not," Aris snapped without hesitation.
If Iris really did blow the place up, the whole of Hogwarts would be on high alert. And if that happened, Dumbledore would be the first to come sniffing around.
And once Dumbledore found Iris... well, the truth wouldn't stay hidden for long.
Aris sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Fine. Just hang tight—I'll come get you."
He never imagined he'd be saying those words to a dragon.
A Dark Red Dragon, no less.
Even as a juvenile, Iris's power was nothing to laugh at. Most fully grown wizards wouldn't stand a chance against her in a proper fight.
If he had to put it in perspective—her overall strength right now… was probably not far off from Dumbledore's.
And yet here she was.
Trapped.
By spiders.
Honestly, if he told anyone about this, they'd never believe him.
It was—heaven help him—unbelievably embarrassing.
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Drop power Powerstonessssssssss!
[Note: Read up to Chapter - 124 on P patron at: p-atreon.com/Knockturn_Alley]