Sylas's strength was far beyond what it had been decades ago.With a flash, his spell struck Old Willow, the ancient tree froze mid-movement, branches suspended in the air as though time itself had stopped.
Freed from the hypnotic hum, Frodo snapped back to awareness.Seeing the massive, malicious willow towering above him, its trunk split open like a gaping mouth large enough to swallow him whole, cold fear swept over him. He stumbled backward, breathing hard.
Then he spotted Sylas and Gandalf.
Relief washed over him like sunlight. He ran toward them, shaking and panting.
"Thank goodness you came! I don't know what happened. I suddenly appeared in this forest, and the trees went mad! If not for the brooch you gave me, I'd be dead!"
"Sorry," Sylas said gently, resting a hand on Frodo's shoulder."We didn't expect the situation to turn like this. The Ring acted up. It wanted to separate you from us, to control you more easily."
Gandalf nodded grimly.
"And this attack from the forest also comes from the Ring's influence. Frodo, you must be prepared, the One Ring not only tempts you, it draws the attention of dark forces. What happened today may happen again, perhaps even worse."
Frodo felt the weight of the Ring in his pocket grow heavier, and fear tightened in his chest. He finally understood just how dangerous it truly was.
To comfort him, Sylas turned his gaze toward Old Willow tree still frozen beside the river.
A faint amusement flickered in Sylas's eyes as he approached the immobilized tree. He placed a hand on the bark and greeted it like an old acquaintance.
"Well now… good to see you again. You've recovered better than I expected after all these decades."
Old Willow tree couldn't move, but emotions simmered within its trunk, fear and bitterness. It remembered Sylas clearly.
Many years ago, Sylas had nearly destroyed it, leaving only half its body alive. It had taken decades to recover.
It despised Sylas… but it also feared him.
Sylas didn't need Legilimency to sense its emotions. Even so, he had no intention of harming it now. This tree no longer posed a threat. And out of respect for Tom Bombadil and the other tree-spirits of the Old Forest, he wouldn't destroy it.
He simply snapped off a few willow branches, intended for Ollivander, who could craft them into excellent wand-cores.
After tucking away the branches, Sylas released the spell restraining the tree.
Old Willow immediately regained control of its limbs, but it did not dare strike him. It could feel the power radiating from Sylas. One wrong move, and it would be reduced to ashes.
Fearing for its life, the tree remained utterly still.
Sylas didn't even glance back. A faint smile tugged at his lips.
"Ignore it," Sylas said, returning to Gandalf and Frodo. "Let's head back to Hogwarts."
"How will we return?" Gandalf asked. "Apparition?"
Frodo looked up anxiously, waiting for the answer.
Sylas shook his head.
"No. Carrying Frodo through Apparition is too dangerous. The Ring disrupted the Floo Network, its magical interference could also destabilize Apparition. If it affects my concentration mid-jump, the consequences could be catastrophic."
Apparition required absolute focus, one moment of distraction could split bodies apart. The One Ring excelled at mental attacks.
Sylas could protect himself, but not guarantee Frodo's safety.
"So Apparition is out," he said. "And I won't risk a Portkey either."
But that didn't mean Sylas was out of options.
He still had his personal space bag, his flying broom, and most importantly, his Phoenix Animagus form.
So, right in front of Frodo's wide, trembling eyes, Sylas's body blazed with golden-red fire as he transformed into a magnificent phoenix, radiant with holy warmth. It circled once overhead, wings trailing sparks, then dove downward, its talons gently seizing Frodo and Gandalf.
A burst of dazzling flame engulfed them, and in the blink of an eye, they vanished.
The very next second, a column of fire erupted inside the headmaster's office at Hogwarts.
The phoenix emerged from the blaze carrying Frodo and Gandalf, then released them, glided to the floor, and reshaped itself into Sylas once more.
Gandalf glanced around, astonished.
"Remarkable!" he said. "This phoenix-flight teleportation… it rivals the Floo Network, Apparition, and even Portkeys in its elegance."
Frodo nodded vigorously.
He had never tried Apparition or Portkeys, but he knew all too well the dizzying, stomach-twisting chaos of the Floo Network. The spinning, the nausea, it was unforgettable.
But Sylas's phoenix-flash?
Aside from the momentary shock of being surrounded by flames, it was utterly painless.
No spinning. No dizziness. Just light, heat, and then arrival.
It was vastly better than the Floo Network.
"Alright," Sylas said, expression tightening as he looked out the window at students laughing on the grounds. "Before we go to the Council, we must deal with the Ring. Immediately."
The One Ring was a disaster waiting to happen.
Over seven hundred students and teachers lived in the castle.None possessed a hobbit's natural resistance to corruption, nor the mental fortitude of Gandalf or Sylas. Even sealed within Tom's silver box and the dragonhide pouch, the Ring's influence could seep outward.
The One Ring wasn't like ordinary magic.
It contained a vast portion of Sauron's own soul and power, a will that sought to corrupt anything near it.
Even without direct contact, prolonged exposure could charm or weaken any mind.
Sylas would not take that risk.
"We must move the Ring away from the castle," he said, "and find a way to suppress its influence as much as possible."
"What do you intend to do?" Gandalf asked. He knew Sylas well, he would never speak without a plan.
Sylas didn't answer immediately. Instead, he simply said:
"Follow me."
He strode out of the office. Gandalf and Frodo hurried after him.
They stopped before an ordinary stretch of smooth stone wall.Sylas raised his wand and tapped lightly.
To Frodo's and Gandalf's astonishment, silver lines rippled across the wall, forming the outline of a hidden doorway. The wall shimmered, and a secret silver-inlaid door appeared.
Sylas opened it and motioned them inside.
Frodo and Gandalf stepped through the threshold, and froze.
Beyond the door lay a brilliant, white-lit chamber. Walls, ceiling, and floor all dissolved into soft, endless radiance. There was no visible boundary, no dust, no shadows, no sound. Time itself seemed to hold still in this place.
It was a room of pure stillness.
A room outside the world.