Hagrid's words exploded through the Great Hall like a drop of water splashing into a pot of boiling oil, sudden, violent, and with dangerous consequences.
Fear spread swiftly throughout the hall, until Dumbledore rose to his feet.
His voice cut through Allen's thoughts and snapped the young witches and wizards out of their panicked discussions.
His stern gaze swept across the hall, not with harshness, but with a reassuring authority that seemed to lift the fog of fear hanging over them.
"There's no need to worry. The school will handle everything," Dumbledore announced. "Your only responsibility is to ensure your own safety. All students must follow the instructions of their heads of house. A team will be dispatched to apprehend the culprit.
Until then, all students must return to their house common rooms before 6 p.m. No one is permitted to leave their dormitory buildings after this time. Every class will be escorted by a professor. No student is allowed to use the lavatories without teacher supervision. All Quidditch practices and matches are postponed. There will be no evening activities of any kind.
I cannot promise how long this will last, but I can promise you this: if there is another victim, it will not be one of you."
He paused before giving his final instructions.
"Now, students, return to your common rooms under the guidance of your prefects. Professors, please follow me to my office."
Dumbledore's orders were carried out swiftly. Before long, Allen and his classmates were back in the Gryffindor common room.
••┈┈┈┈┈༓┈┈┈┈┈•••
The once lively common room was now quiet and subdued. A few students tried to start conversations, but each attempt quickly fell into awkward silence.
One by one, students began retiring to their dorms, following the lead of a quiet Hufflepuff who quietly excused herself.
Allen retreated to his bed and drew the bed curtains around him. From beneath his pillow, he pulled out an old piece of worn parchment, the Marauder's Map.
Because of his age, he wasn't allowed to join the official search parties. But that didn't mean he was helpless.
In fact, the map was even more useful now that the school was mostly cleared of students. The usual chaos of dozens of moving names was gone, making it much easier to spot anything unusual.
Allen stared intently at the map, scanning for anyone who didn't belong to the patrol teams.
Unfortunately, by the end of the third day, the search had come up completely empty.
Then, on the fourth evening, just as Allen was studying heroic powers out of habit, he glanced at the map and froze.
A name he never expected to see appeared on the parchment.
Allen jumped from his bed, ready to act.
But it was too late, it was already dusk, and he was stopped the moment he reached the common room door.
His excuse about needing to go to the kitchens was politely, but firmly denied, they had already prepared a full meal for him and kindly reminded him it was too dangerous outside.
For a brief moment, Allen even considered knocking them out and making a break for it, but there were far too many older students posted in the common room, specifically to keep anyone from sneaking out.
Frustrated, Allen returned to his bed, knowing he couldn't persuade so many people, even if it meant revealing the Marauder's Map.
By the time he'd spotted the name, it had already reached the edge of the Forbidden Forest, and the map didn't show anything inside.
Without concrete evidence, the most he could do was report it to Dumbledore. But that delay could be costly, plenty of time for something to happen. And even if the professors believed him, they would never let him go into the forest.
Lying back down, Allen stared at the ceiling, then quietly pointed his wand toward Marshall's bed.
Sorry about this, he thought silently.
Then, in barely a whisper, he spoke a spell.
A moment later, Marshall, who had been lying in bed reading, sat up and quickly made his way to the door.
Behind him, Allen cast a series of Stupefy spells, knocking out the other roommates.
The plan was simple: Allen would slip out while pretending to accompany Marshall and a few older students who were "escorting him to the loo."
Everything went smoothly.
Allen moved as fast as he could through the castle, but it wasn't easy. Professors, prefects, and even ghosts were patrolling the hallways in pairs, keeping a close watch for anything suspicious.
Once the coast was clear, Allen pushed open the castle's heavy wooden door and sprinted toward the Forbidden Forest.
He had lost precious time, but he still hoped he wasn't too late.
He couldn't tell anyone just how dangerous the thing they were chasing was, not even fully recovered, that fragment of a soul was terrifying.
Holding a green lantern, Allen ran quickly along the rugged forest path. Jella's power let him sense and avoid the Deadly Spines underfoot, which saved him precious time.
High above, Walo soared through the sky, Allen followed closely, not bothering to hide himself anymore. He knew who he was dealing with.
Never in his life did he think he'd be facing this man, the one whose name was taboo, so soon.
Suddenly, a loud explosion in the distance snapped him out of his sprint.
The scent of blood filled the air, sharp, pungent, unmistakable.
It was time to play his trump card.
Warwick, the Ragebeast of Zaun, Blood Hunt.
As the bloody scent flooded his senses, Allen felt something awaken deep within him, something that made his whole body surge with power and energy.
He raced toward the explosion, far faster than before.
But someone was even faster.
Before Allen had made it halfway, a second explosion lit up the forest. A massive plume of dust rose into the sky, followed by the trembling of the earth itself.
There was only one person who could arrive that fast, and could apparate inside Hogwarts.
The most famous white wizard since Merlin, Albus Dumbledore.
Allen immediately cloaked himself again, if Dumbledore resolved everything, he couldn't afford to explain why he was here.
As the sound of magical battle rang through the trees, Allen quickly moved in toward the center of the battlefield.
What he found made him freeze.
Lying before him was the body of a Slytherin student.
Still and silent, like he was only asleep.
But he would never wake again.
==========
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