After guessing the identity and purpose of the lurking individual, Luke, Gandalf, and Galadriel all intensified their monitoring of the school.
The other Professors at the school also learned that an enemy had infiltrated the school and were all on high alert.
The deans of the four Houses were responsible for the students in their respective Houses and prohibited students from acting alone. Other Professors also constantly patrolled the castle.
Portraits were hung in every corner, serving as human monitors to ensure there were no blind spots left in the castle.
The atmosphere at the school suddenly became tense.
The students looked bewildered, not knowing what had happened. They only knew that ever since the last Quidditch match where brooms disintegrated, the Professors had all become very serious.
But no matter how confused or curious they were, they obediently listened. Aside from class time, they spent their free time in their respective dormitories and common rooms, and even if they went out, they did so in groups of two or three.
Even the mischievous Peeves felt the tense atmosphere and became much quieter.
Furthermore, as the spirit of the castle, many things within the castle could not be hidden from him.
So, knowing that the hidden individual was responsible for all of this, he became very angry, feeling that the hidden individual had ruined his opportunities for mischief.
Therefore, he angrily swore to catch that hidden rat and teach him a good lesson.
So he often moved through the castle walls, specifically to catch those sneaky students, and even secretly hid in areas like toilets where portrait surveillance couldn't reach.
Seeing a sneaking student, he would suddenly burst out from a wall or toilet, harshly pinch the student's nose, and loudly shout: "Gotcha! Little rat, you can't escape Peeves' eyes!"
Although these students caught by Peeves were eventually proven to be just students trying to sneak food or play, and not the suspect.
Peeves' actions, however, successfully made those naughty students settle down, and even forced the hidden individual to temporarily lie low.
The only thing the Professors couldn't understand was: what kind of brain circuit did some students have to eat in the toilet?
Even Luke felt speechless after hearing about it.
As for Angmar, the first-year student who was suspected of being influenced by a ring of power, Luke ultimately only deducted 50 House points as punishment for carelessly picking up the ring, and then sent him back to his House.
Moreover, he did not announce that the Phoenix House broom disintegration was Angmar's doing, only deducting points on the grounds that Angmar violated school rules.
After all, even though Angmar was influenced by the ring, he did commit the act, almost causing the death of Phoenix House students. If this matter were to be made public, it would likely not only make Angmar a target of public criticism but also spark conflict between the two Houses.
Afterward, Luke also investigated Angmar's roommates and classmates to see if Saruman could possibly be lurking among them.
After all, that ring was clearly intentionally given to Angmar by Saruman, and it was very likely done by someone familiar.
But in the end, there was still no result. Angmar's roommates and classmates showed no trace of dark aura and had no signs of being possessed or having touched a ring of power.
Luke was not disappointed at not finding any trace of the enemy.
After strengthening the school's surveillance and entrusting Gandalf and Galadriel with its leadership, Luke, on his own, accelerated the progress of creating the Marauder's Map.
With the boost from the Vitality Potion and the crown of wisdom, Luke worked tirelessly day and night, making rapid progress.
And Saruman, in the shadows, seemed to sense that something was amiss.
Just as Luke was about to complete the Marauder's Map, another incident occurred.
When Edward urgently knocked on the headmaster's office door, Luke had a bad feeling: "Something happened?"
Edward nodded, panting: "It's three students from Dragon House. Professor Gandalf and Lady Galadriel have already arrived and would like you to come as soon as possible!"
Hearing Edward's urgent tone, Luke didn't bother to ask for details and quickly left his office to go to the scene of the incident.
The incident occurred in the kitchen. When Luke arrived, he saw three second-year students lying on the ground, with Gandalf, Galadriel, and Margales, the dean of Dragon House, beside them.
In mid-air, Peeves was cheerfully tap-dancing, waving a Quidditch bat in his hand, mumbling and cheering, "Peeves caught the culprit!"
Seeing the three students lying on the ground, Luke's pupils constricted. He ignored greeting the others and quickly ran forward to squat down and examine them.
When he found that all three still had breath, Luke finally let out a deep sigh of relief.
Then he discovered that among the three students, two had been hit by a Stupefy.
The remaining one had a clear large bump on the back of his head, as if someone had hit him with a club from behind.
"What exactly happened? Gandalf, Lady Galadriel?" Luke looked up and asked.
Gandalf shook his head, "We only arrived a step before you. When we got here, the scene was as it is now; all three students were already lying here. However, you can ask Peeves about this, as he was the first to discover it here and immediately had the portraits notify us."
Luke looked surprised at this and looked up at Peeves, asking: "Peeves, what exactly happened? Can you tell me?"
At the same time, seeing the bat in Peeves' hand and recalling the student knocked unconscious on the ground, he had some suspicions.
Hearing Luke's question, Peeves immediately puffed out his chest and said with an exaggerated expression:
"Oh dear, that was truly terrifying just now! Those three boys from Dragon House came sneaking into the kitchen, and I quietly followed them. I didn't expect to see such a terrifying scene!"
He pointed to the student with the large bump on the back of his head, "headmaster, let me tell you, this boy is the bad guy! He brought those two boys secretly into the kitchen, and then directly used a spell to ambush his classmates from behind, knocking the other two to the ground!
His eyes were extremely scary, so much so that I hid in the wall, only daring to peek out with my eyes! And that bad boy secretly took out a black potion bottle, preparing to pour it into the dinner food and drinks, but I knocked him out with a club!"
"Hehe, headmaster, Peeves did a good job, didn't he? I caught the bad guy for you!" Peeves proudly sought praise.
Black potion bottle? Luke's expression hardened, "Where is the potion bottle?"
"Ta-da! headmaster, look!" Peeves bounced around and pulled out a small black bottle, "Peeves knew at a glance that this thing was no good, so he immediately snatched it from the bad boy's hand!"
Just as Luke was about to reach for it, Gandalf and Galadriel's expressions changed, and they both simultaneously and cautiously spoke to stop him: "Luke, don't touch it with your hand!"
Hearing this, Luke immediately became alert and used a Levitation Charm to take hold of the black potion bottle.
He looked at the black liquid in the bottle, then turned to ask the two: "Gandalf, Lady Galadriel, do you know what's in this bottle?"
Galadriel stepped forward, her deep eyes gazing into the bottle. After carefully sensing its contents, her voice was very solemn.
"This bottle contains the Black Death Plague! A very evil virus!"
Hearing it was a plague virus, Luke nearly dropped the black Potion bottle with a trembling hand, even instinctively wanting to retreat.
After all, this was a plague virus!
He quickly cast several spells to isolate the black Potion bottle, and even threw a few cleansing spells towards Peeves and the fainted students.
After all, they had all touched the Potion bottle, even if it was just the bottle itself, but it was better to be safe than sorry.
Gandalf also looked at the black Potion bottle with trepidation, sighing deeply:
"I remember this plague. It arrived from the East with a black wind, and the terrifying Black Death Plague swept across the entire Middle-earth, killing all infected and drastically reducing the population!
King Telennar of Gondor and all his children died of the disease, the White Tree of Gondor also withered and died, and the royal city of Osgiliath became a ghost town. Over half the population and livestock of the Kingdom of Rhovanion died, leading to a decline in its power. Most residents of the Kingdom of Cardolan died from the disease, and the kingdom ceased to exist!"
"I thought this Black Death Plague had long disappeared, but I didn't expect it to still exist after a thousand years, and to have been brought to Hogwarts," Gandalf said, full of disgust and anger.
He said to Luke: "This is clearly a conspiracy by Sauron and Saruman! They are trying to spread the Black Death Plague throughout Hogwarts, infecting everyone in the castle!
This Black Death Plague is full of curses; once the virus is touched, it will spread continuously. Even if you and I are infected, even if we don't die, we will become very weak!"
Luke also felt a lingering fear upon hearing this, followed by an endless surge of anger.
Saruman and Sauron were truly unscrupulous, resorting to such malicious methods.
If they had succeeded in putting it in the food and drinks in the kitchen, then from Luke, Gandalf, and other Professors down to the students, everyone would likely fall victim.
Even if they were Wizards and had the help of Potions and other means, they might not die, but the castle would likely descend into panic and chaos.
At that time, Saruman, hidden in the shadows, could take advantage of the chaos to act.
What was worse, once the Black Death Plague spread out from the castle, not only would the people of Amon Sul, Bree, and Isengard under Luke's command suffer.
It was even possible that, through students from all over Middle-earth, the Black Death Plague could spread to various regions and races.
At that time, it would be another terrifying great plague reappearing!
Facing such a dangerous "biological weapon," Luke dared not be careless. After casting multiple spells to isolate and protect the black Potion bottle, he then placed it in a completely sealed Mithril box, and then added several more layers of boxes outside, ensuring that there could be absolutely no possibility of leakage.
This thing was difficult to deal with, so Luke could only seal and protect it for now.
Only then did Luke finally breathe a sigh of relief, and then refocused his attention on the matter at hand.
Luke looked at Peeves, who was bouncing around in mid-air, and for the first time, found him so agreeable.
"Peeves, you did very well this time, successfully preventing a huge crisis for the school. Think about what reward you want, and after this is over, as long as it's not too outrageous, I can agree to it!"
Hearing Luke's words, Peeves' eyes immediately lit up, and his wide mouth split into a smile.
Luke temporarily ignored the overjoyed Peeves. The most important thing was to deal with the three students lying on the ground.
Two of the students had been hit by Stupefy, and the other had been knocked out by Peeves, so Luke cast a healing spell, and the three students gradually regained consciousness.
The two who had been hit by Stupefy were initially a bit bewildered, but quickly remembered what had happened.
They immediately showed expressions of anger and confusion, and their first words were to question: "Emon, why did you attack us—uh... Professor, how did you get here?"
As the two students sat up, they saw the Professors around them, and their expressions immediately turned to surprise.
But at this moment, Luke and the others' gazes were drawn to the second-year Dragon House student named Emon, or rather, to the ring he wore on his hand.
The ring was made of gold, inlaid with a diamond, and looked like an ordinary gold ring.
But Luke, Gandalf, and Galadriel all keenly sensed the evil aura hidden within it.
"Mr. Emon, can you tell us where you got this ring on your hand?" Luke asked the awakened student with a serious expression.
Emon was startled by the question, and he curled up, instinctively trying to hide his hand behind his back.
Luke and the others frowned at this.
Gandalf said to Emon in a gentle tone: "Mr. Emon, this ring is very evil. Prolonged contact will cause you very serious harm. Would you take it off and give it to us to handle?"
But these words made Emon more wary. He clutched his hand tightly, trying to retreat.
Gandalf activated the power of the Ring of Fire, trying to calm Emon and slowly approaching, attempting to persuade him to take off the ring.
Emon bowed his head, curled up, and kept muttering to himself, whispering something.
When Gandalf approached Emon and placed his hand on his shoulder, just as he was about to continue persuading him.
Emon instantly looked up, revealing a ferocious and terrifying expression, his eyes full of madness and possessiveness, and he lunged at Gandalf.
"My precious! This is my precious! No one can take it away!"
Before he could reach Gandalf, Luke, who was nearby, immediately froze him with a Petrificus Totalus.
Then, Luke walked expressionlessly to the petrified Emon, put on dragonhide gloves, and in Emon's terrified and unwilling gaze, removed the ring from his finger.
As soon as the ring was removed, the madness in Emon's eyes gradually faded, and a trace of clarity returned.
Then, he showed expressions of disbelief, regret, and apprehension, and tears continuously flowed.
Luke waved his hand to release Emon from Petrificus Totalus. Now able to move, his eyes still held traces of greed and possessiveness for the ring, but more so, terror and disgust, as if he had seen something horrifying, and he instinctively recoiled.
"W-w-w... headmaster, I didn't mean to, I don't know why I did that. Please, don't expel me!" Emon, remembering what he had done earlier, was filled with despair and unease.
Luke looked at the ring in his hand; even through the dragonhide gloves, he could still feel a powerful temptation, constantly enticing and drawing him to put on the ring.
Luke suppressed the craving in his heart, quickly threw it onto the table, and stepped back a few paces, finally letting out a sigh of relief.
Gandalf and Galadriel both gathered around, looking at the ring before them.
"This is the Ring of Thrór, the last of the seven rings of the dwarves!" Gandalf said in surprise.
The Ring of Thrór was a treasure of the Durin folk, passed down to Thráin II, the father of Thorin Oakenshield.
In the year 2845 of the Third Age, Thráin II was captured by Sauron's minions while on his way to Erebor to investigate Dragon Smaug, and was imprisoned and tortured in Dol Guldur. The Ring of Thrór was also reclaimed by Sauron.
Unexpectedly, this time, Sauron had sent this dwarven ring to Hogwarts.
The seven rings of the dwarves were infused with evil power by Sauron, and were originally intended to make their wearers, like the Nine Rings of Men, eventually become Ringwraiths, controlled by Sauron.
But Sauron did not foresee that dwarves, created from stubborn stone by Aulë, the Smith God, possessed an inherent strong will and resistance, capable of resisting the mental control Sauron exerted through the dwarven ring.
Therefore, when dwarves wore the dwarven ring, it only intensified their inherent greed for wealth, but it did not alter their physical and spiritual essence.
However, the dwarven ring, which had little influence on dwarves, was second only to the one ring in danger when in human hands.
If worn for a long time, one would gradually be corrupted, eventually becoming a Ringwraith, controlled by Sauron.