Antoine and Drayne were both exceptional wizards, their magical abilities surpassing most Aurors. Yet, when their detection spells landed on the trees, they failed to uncover any magical traces.
Wade knew why—every time they cast a detection spell, a ring of Magic Marks would light up about a person's height from the tree roots. The spells were drawn to these marks like moths to a flame, then dissipated.
This was a scene only Wade could perceive; to Drayne and Antoine, "everything appeared normal."
Wade was just considering how to convince them when he heard Antoine say again, "Let's go. This forest truly hasn't seen any magic; it's just an ordinary forest."
No sooner had he spoken than Wade's eyes lit up, while Drayne's brow furrowed.
"Hasn't seen any magic? How is that possible!"
Drayne said gravely, "How many Muggle-Repelling Charms has the Ministry of Magic cast around here in the past year? How many people have Apparated in this forest these past few days?"
Antoine suddenly understood. "...You're right!"
Wade touched the spot on the fir tree where the Magic Marks were drawn, his fingertips brushing against the rough bark.
He said, "Perhaps the caster originally only intended to hide the abnormalities of these trees, but the massive number of identical spells layered throughout the entire forest created a peculiar field, completely obscuring even the magical traces that should have been present."
"So," Antoine chuckled, "the preparations that guy made to ensure success actually gave him away?"
"You can't say his preparations were a mistake, because if it weren't for Wade's dream, no one would have checked a place like this," Drayne said. "Let's check again."
The three of them split up to investigate, maintaining a distance of a few meters from each other. To avoid being ambushed by the Dark Wizard who cursed the forest, Wade walked in the middle.
Flashes of light from detection spells occasionally lit up on either side, but Wade cast far fewer spells himself.
After all, he only needed to look to know which trees had been cursed.
Suddenly, Wade stopped dead, looking at a very thick oak tree ahead.
Oak trees are among the largest and longest-lived tree species in the world. There are some oak trees in Hogwarts' Forbidden Forest that are over a thousand years old, with massive canopies like plazas and trunks over a dozen meters in circumference.
When Wade transformed into a Peregrine Falcon, he had more than once marveled at such magnificent canopies from above.
Though the oak tree before him wasn't as massive, it was still visually striking, its trunk requiring at least three or four people to embrace.
The key was that the Magic Marks around it showed a discontinuity, as if they hadn't been drawn properly in one go, yet hadn't been redrawn, but rather poorly patched up.
Wade's eyebrow twitched, not with joy, but rather a hint of displeasure.
The Dark Wizard had been well-prepared, meticulously planned, cautious, and his level of derangement made Wade hallucinate the Gotham Joker.
But then, such a mistake suddenly appeared, like a blob of sauce dropped on a perfect work of art, or a magnificent silk fabric stepped on by dirty feet.
The illusion of the Gotham Joker shattered instantly, replaced by a miserable middle schooler forced to do homework by his parents, who, despite knowing he'd made a mistake, pretended not to notice.
Regardless, an enemy's mistake was good news for their side.
Wade cast a detection spell at this oak tree. The spell's light was still drawn to the ring of Magic Marks, and moments later, a faint silver glow emanated from the discontinuity.
Like a bursting dam, the silver light extended up and down the trunk, causing the entire tree to brighten.
Seconds later, the silver light grew darker and darker, like expanding clouds of black smoke, accompanied by faint crackling sounds, like chewing.
Two more seconds passed, and the detection spell failed, all anomalies disappearing.
Antoine and Drayne had already been drawn to the scene, looking up at the series of changes.
There was still no moonlight tonight, and to avoid attracting attention, only Antoine's Wand emitted a dim light, casting shifting shadows on their faces.
"It is indeed extremely evil and powerful Dark Magic," Drayne concluded after a moment.
"No kidding, we can all see that," Antoine rolled his eyes and said, "The point is... is this really the curse that can magically transform trees?"
"How would I know? I haven't seen that spell any more than you have," Drayne said. "I need to contact Mr. Grindelwald."
Wade said, "Then I'll contact Dumbledore too..."
"No need, we can handle it," Drayne interrupted him, then paused before adding, "Didn't you say Dumbledore and his Order of the Phoenix still have to deal with another group of Death Eaters? If they pull people over here, it might allow some to slip through the net over there."
"But, if there are many cursed trees..." Wade was a bit uneasy.
"That's Grindelwald," Drayne said calmly.
This statement was strangely convincing.
To deal with trees, even magically cursed ones, the strongest spell is still the Fire Charm—who could doubt Grindelwald's ability to set fires?
"And what if Dumbledore and Mr. Grindelwald meet and start fighting each other first?"
Antoine said with lingering fear, "It wasn't easy for us to survive the last battle."
Wade heard this and couldn't help but laugh.
Drayne went to contact Grindelwald, while Wade looked at the oak tree before him, easily ten stories tall, and his heart sank slightly.
Such a massive, towering living thing, even if it was an immobile tree, wouldn't be easy to completely destroy. Even using Fiendfyre, it would take a considerable amount of time to burn it all down.
During that time, if this tree were to be awakened, it could completely withstand the burning Fiendfyre and charge into the stadium, spreading the flames everywhere within sight, causing heavy casualties.
Moreover, there weren't just one or two of these trees, but they were scattered throughout the entire forest.
They didn't have much time to act. All hundred thousand spectators were already seated in the stadium. If that Dark Wizard wanted to achieve maximum destructive effect, he could awaken this forest at any moment.
The Dark Wizard must be nearby, waiting for the optimal moment to strike.
So, if they started cutting down and destroying trees without being fully prepared, the opponent might immediately notice, then awaken the forest prematurely, rush into the stadium, and begin a slaughter.
At that point, their choice wouldn't be how to prevent the tragedy, but how to survive.
—Should they really entrust everyone's lives to Grindelwald?
Wade felt that couldn't be the case.
A faint silver glow appeared at the tip of his Wand, then vanished.
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