Ron turned, and what caught his eye was Char's cold, knife-like gaze. The moment their eyes met, Ron suddenly felt as if his heart was being squeezed in a vise. All the confidence he had built up before vanished in an instant, leaving only instinctive, primal fear.
After all, he had only gained some magical attainments from the strange temple in his dreams. The most brutal actual combat he had ever experienced was likely the petty sparring with the resentful Slytherins. A little scratch and some bleeding was the worst of it. The trials he had been through paled in comparison to Char's. Especially when compared to the two life-and-death battles he had just experienced in the hallucination, it was a completely different world. Even though Char hadn't done it on purpose, the raw, murderous intent in his eyes still made Ron feel as if he would be killed in the next second.
Involuntarily, Ron stared and took two stumbling steps back, instinctively moving away from Char, almost falling to the ground in his haste. When he finally caught his balance, his expression instantly became as muddled and colorful as an overturned jar of sauce.
"You!" Ron tightened his grip on his wand, the pent-up anger towards Char in his heart beginning to boil over. The tip of his wand slowly rose as magic power began to flow into it. His lips moved, and he was just about to chant the spell he had learned from the temple, the one he was sure could knock Char to the ground.
Char narrowed his eyes. Ron's small movements, which he thought were so covert, certainly couldn't escape his heightened perception. A cold light flashed across his eyes. Although Dumbledore had made a deal with him before, hoping he would protect Harry and his two companions in the Forbidden Forest, the main person who needed protection was Harry, the Savior. Ron was just incidental. Besides, the request was just to keep him alive. If there was an accident, such as a few broken bones, it could be considered a valuable lesson learned.
Just as the atmosphere became dangerously stagnant, a figure hurriedly walked out of the Forbidden Forest, breaking the tension. It was Dumbledore. Seeing the Headmaster, Ron quietly put down his half-raised wand. He looked at Char and snorted inwardly. Lucky this time. Otherwise, I would have definitely knocked you to the ground. But once they entered the Forbidden Forest, Char wouldn't be so lucky. If you dare to look at me like that again... Ron's heart was filled with an uncontrollable violence and resentment. But when Dumbledore's piercing blue eyes swept over him, Ron's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly lowered his head obediently.
Dumbledore didn't have time to decipher the thoughts of these young wizards. His own mind was filled with confusion and puzzlement. What kind of practical test was Quirrell planning to conduct in this outer area of the Forbidden Forest? He had used the previous momentum to obtain the consent of all parties, and even the students' parents had agreed to this test method. Even as the headmaster, Dumbledore couldn't interfere with the content of the Defense Against the Dark Arts exam. But for safety's sake, it was only natural to take the other heads of house to check the routes each house would enter.
But in their inspection just now, he hadn't found any danger. The route that Char, Harry, and the others would take was different from that of the other four houses, but the content was basically the same. The arrangements for the journey were just some minor troubles learned about in class, which a first-year wizard could handle easily after calming down and recalling their lessons. They were to collect some low-level materials along the way that could help fight against dark magic, and finally, reach the finish line and touch a marker to complete the assessment. All of it seemed to be a carefully designed, practical test. If he didn't know that there was something deeply wrong with Quirrell, Dumbledore would have even wanted to praise the unique content of this final exam.
But now, where exactly was the problem? What exactly had Quirrell arranged? There was no clue. Dumbledore's mood sank a little. The unknown was the most annoying thing. His eyes fell on Char. Perhaps, now he could only hope that this outstanding boy could lend a hand in the Forbidden Forest and protect Harry. He hoped there wouldn't be any major trouble.
Feeling Dumbledore's gaze on him, Char's mood remained calm. Dumbledore's Patronus Charm had indeed raised the reward level of his guardian tree significantly. If it was convenient, he wouldn't mind helping protect Harry and the other two. But he wasn't going there to be a nanny. It was even more impossible for him to try something unhelpful, or even put himself in danger. If he could protect them, he would do so. If he couldn't, it was none of his business. Dozens of guardian trees were not enough to make him risk his life.
At this time, Dumbledore slowly spoke, telling them the content of the final exam. When they heard that they had to go through the Forbidden Forest, collecting materials and dealing with dangers in the darkness, Harry and Hermione were both a little nervous. Ron, however, was eager to try, unable to wait to prove his ability. But then, Dumbledore paused. The top three students in this assessment would receive an extra 50 points for their house. This immediately made the eyes of Harry and his group light up. They had been living a rather miserable life after each being deducted 50 points from Gryffindor. If they could get into the top three in this assessment, all the points that had been deducted would be made up. Even if they couldn't surpass the other houses and get first place, at least they could still maintain second. This was a great temptation for them. For a moment, even Hermione's nervousness was alleviated a little.
Dumbledore sighed inwardly. But at this point, there was no way to cancel the assessment. The Ministry of Magic, the Daily Prophet, and the students' parents were all paying attention to the test results. So a moment later, when a bell echoed outside the Forbidden Forest, Dumbledore looked at Char, Harry, and the others. He announced dully, "The assessment has begun. Children, be careful."
Ron nodded perfunctorily, a look of desire in his eyes. He took the lead and walked in front. Harry and Hermione looked at each other, and without thinking too much, they hurried to catch up. Char walked in slowly under Dumbledore's gaze.
After all four of them had entered the Forbidden Forest, Dumbledore's eyes were filled with worry. A moment later, several more figures came rushing over from other places. It was none other than the four heads of house. Dumbledore's eyes fell on them, asking if they had found anything. The four of them had equally heavy expressions and shook their heads one after another. For a while, they were all feeling depressed. This feeling of having to jump into a trap was truly maddening. They even began to understand how Quirrell must have felt when he had previously tried to break through the Philosopher's Stone's protections.
As if on cue, at that very moment, a figure that made their faces even gloomier appeared before them. Quirrell had a false smile on his face, no longer even pretending to stutter. He smiled with an eerie emotion. "I think," he said, his voice smooth and confident, "this will definitely be a final exam I'll never forget. What do you think?"
Including Dumbledore, the professors all looked extremely unhappy. Quirrell didn't care at all. The smile on his face became brighter, and the look he gave the Forbidden Forest was full of anticipation, as if he was waiting for a good show to happen.
At the same time, in the Forbidden Forest, Ron led Harry and Hermione quickly through the trees. Hermione turned around and found that Char was almost out of sight. She couldn't help but say, "Ron, slow down. It seems Char hasn't caught up yet. Let's wait for him. It's too dangerous to be alone in the Forbidden Forest."
Ron scoffed at this. "Wait for him? He's the one who's so slow and dragging his feet. Why should we waste time waiting for him? Hermione, you haven't forgotten. Headmaster Dumbledore said that the top three students in this test will each receive an extra 50 points!" He said through gritted teeth, "Have you forgotten who caused us to be deducted so many points? If it weren't for that evil guy Char, how could we have been living like this lately? Now, he's obviously dragging his feet and is going to drag us down. Should we still wait for him? Why don't we just give the chance to score points to other houses and let Gryffindor continue to be at the bottom? Then I bet we'll be very popular next semester!"
Hearing this, Hermione lowered her head, with nothing to say. She also didn't want Gryffindor to be at the bottom of the class because of her own fault. For her, that result was simply unacceptable.
Ron snorted coldly. "We have to go faster. We have to get ahead of everyone else!" Finished, he didn't even turn his head, continuing to speed up and move forward.
Harry hesitated for a moment and then spoke soothingly to Hermione. "Don't worry, Hermione. We are walking in front. Even if there is danger, we should encounter it first. It might be safer for Char to stay back alone. Let's go, we can't miss this opportunity."
Hearing this, Hermione also nodded. After taking a deep breath, she and Harry quickened their pace and caught up with Ron.
At this time, Char looked at the three figures that had disappeared in front of him, his expression showing no fluctuation. He didn't care at all. As he had thought before, protecting them was just a matter of convenience. If the person didn't need it, he wouldn't force it. What's more, this place was very close to the exit of the Forbidden Forest. If there was any movement, Dumbledore and the other professors would come quickly. Even if Two-Face had some arrangements, it wasn't necessary to start here. Therefore, his movements were quite leisurely, as if he were on a picnic, slowly walking through the Forbidden Forest.
For him, the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest were just like his own back garden. He had been here countless times. The darkness that could scare ordinary young wizards was as bright as day in his eyes, with every detail clearly visible. He carefully observed the situation, his brows furrowed slightly. He indeed did not sense any danger, but his enhanced sixth sense kept reminding him that something was wrong. But this was exactly what made him confused. Dumbledore had just checked the route, and the rest of the routes must have also been checked by the heads of the various houses. Two-Face was a very skilled and secret magician. It was impossible that there wouldn't be any traces left under the inspection of these top wizards, right? As for replacing the layout of the trial route after the inspection... there was not enough time, and Dumbledore and the others would definitely notice something unusual. He was completely baffled. What arrangements had Quirrell made?
He shook his head slightly, breathing a sigh of relief. "Never mind. If I can't figure it out, then forget it. I'll be vigilant and take things one step at a time."
Then, he withdrew his gaze from his surroundings, preparing to speed up and catch up with Harry and his group. But just after he had walked a short distance, a strange feeling emerged from his sixth sense, as if he had missed something. He frowned and walked back to where he had just been, looking carefully at the surrounding environment, not even sparing the numerous branches of trees and the shrubs and grass growing on the ground.
The next moment, a small, strange plant suddenly caught his eye. When he saw it, a look of deep surprise immediately appeared in his eyes. "This is... sage?"
The information about sage emerged in his mind. This was an amazing herb that was hard to find. It was shaped a bit like foxtail grass, but more like a mouse tail, and it lay on the ground rather than standing upright. This herb had the effect of reducing one's presence and concealing one's aura, and it could be used to configure invisibility potions. Even when making invisibility cloaks, adding sage fibers could make the cloak more effective.
At this moment, he was looking at the clump of sage, especially the grass seeds at its tip. A system prompt appeared before him.
[You discovered sage.]
[Cultivate it to maturity and get rewards.]
[Magic Shroud (Bronze)]
Magic shielding was indeed a very practical ability for him. After all, he could no longer borrow Harry's invisibility cloak. He squatted down and carefully collected the clump of sage. But his attention was mostly focused on the increasingly strong feeling of disharmony that came from his mind. "This feeling..."
Following the guidance of his sixth sense, his gaze finally fell on the soil in front of him. He gently picked it up and rubbed it slightly. A moist feeling came from his fingertips. Perhaps other young wizards were not too sensitive to soil moisture, but Char had been farming for years. The importance of soil moisture to farming was self-evident, and his control over it had long reached a level that was almost instinctive. With a gentle rub, his face darkened. The humidity was wrong. It hadn't rained around Hogwarts recently. The climate was getting warmer, and sometimes the scorching sun could even make people feel unbearably hot. Even though there were trees in the Forbidden Forest to provide shade, the water in the soil would evaporate more slowly. The topsoil must have dried out. Only the deep soil could store water and maintain this humidity.
At the same time, he looked at the sage again. The reason this plant was rare was that it had the same habit of hiding as mice, commonly found in dark places deep in the soil. It rarely appeared on the surface.
One inconsistency after another emerged in his mind. At last, a flash of lightning connected these ideas. A horrifying guess emerged. He stared at the ground beneath his feet. Dumbledore hadn't noticed anything wrong, and neither had the four heads of house. Now, he understood the reason. The problem wasn't that there was some evil magic attached to this area. The problem was the soil layer itself. Specifically, the soil layer in the entire area might have been hollowed out and then filled back up. Because of this, the deep, moist soil was now on the surface, and a plant that shouldn't have been there, sage, had appeared. But because these anomalies were not manifested in a magical way, the top wizards, who subconsciously used their magical methods of detection, had not noticed them in the dim environment of the Forbidden Forest.
And if this conjecture was true, that meant one thing. He looked towards the ground, his pupils constricting violently. This whole area was just a cover used by Quirrell to distract attention and hide his real trap. Quirrell didn't care how many times Dumbledore and the professors checked the grounds. He didn't care about collecting materials or getting tokens. All he needed was for all the students to enter the area at the designated time. Because the real trial ground that Quirrell had prepared was buried underground.
When he realized this, Char stood up suddenly, about to leave the Forbidden Forest to expose Quirrell's conspiracy. But at that very moment, his heart suddenly sank. A violent shaking, like an earthquake, accompanied by dust rising into the sky, came from underground. The entire Forbidden Forest was shaking violently. The tall trees were leaning to one side and the other. Then, the entire layer of soil began to collapse and sink at an extremely fast speed.
He took a deep breath. "It's too late."
At this moment, he could easily use the Mage Hand to lift himself up and escape. But his sight seemed to penetrate the Forbidden Forest, seeing the other groups of panicked children. The images of them surrounding and supporting him came to mind. His aunt's face flashed by, then the Hufflepuff lady's Patronus, burning with silver flames. He didn't move. He just drew his wand, his eyes sharp and determined, as he sank into the darkness underground. "I can ignore others, but at least, everyone in our house must leave here safely."
Boom. Boom.
The violent tremors affected the entire Forbidden Forest. Even Hogwarts Castle felt the rumbling of the ground. In the castle corridors, senior students who were also preparing for their final exams came out and looked towards the forest. What came into view was a scene that left their minds blank. That area... was gone. There were no trees or soil left. All that was left was a dark, huge void, like the entrance to the abyss. Even from so far away, one could hear faint, hysterical cries coming from the hollow, along with bursts of bloodthirsty, low roars.
"This is... what?!"
Compared to the students who witnessed this scene, Dumbledore and the four heads of house were already on guard. Although they were also shocked by the drastic changes, their battle-hardened instincts made them draw their wands at the same moment and point them at Quirrell. Dumbledore's face was filled with an unprecedented rage, the murderous intent exuding from the normally gentle wizard without reservation. "Quirinus Quirrell. What did you do?!"
At this time, Quirrell's face turned pale. He felt as if he was facing the majestic ocean, or the sky itself. But he was smiling. Laughing out loud. Laughing so hard that he fell over. Even the black cloak on his body slowly slipped off, revealing the truth hidden beneath. His already large body became inhumanly large as it stretched out. Blood-red hair appeared on every inch of skin. In an instant, he—no, it—became a monster covered with red hair. Even more shocking, ten pale limbs extended and squirmed out from its body. And there was another head, strangely extending from it. When they saw the face on this head, except for Dumbledore, whose pupils only contracted as he stood his ground, everyone else, including Snape, subconsciously took a step back, their eyes filled with deep fear. They were so familiar with this face.
"The Dark Lord—"
"The mysterious man—"
"He's back?!"
Voldemort and Quirrell, once two faces on one body, had now completely changed. It had truly become a monster with two elongated heads and many limbs, similar to a Quintaped, but even weirder and more terrifying.
Looking at the frightened expressions of the crowd, Quirrell laughed wildly. "Finally, no more pretending. I've had enough of this charade. Headmaster Dumbledore, and my dear colleagues. Surprised? Unexpected?!"
On the other head, Voldemort also showed a smug look, his eyes filled with naked mockery. "Old bee. You didn't expect that after eleven years, I would be able to come back and appear before you. I've recovered so much. Doesn't that surprise you?"
Dumbledore's eyes were extremely cold. The Elder Wand slowly rose and pointed at Voldemort. The terrifying power of the wand seemed to be brewing an earth-shaking magic.
Voldemort's laughter filled the air. But then, the limbs extending from his body were each equipped with a magic wand. An unforgivable green light also began to glow. His face was full of malice, confident and fearless. "Old bee, of course, you can start fighting me now. With just you, I'm no match for you right now. Not to mention there are so many heads of house here. I can't possibly win." He played with his words. "Even if you all rush over, how long will it take to finish me off? My current self is indeed ar from its peak. But this body is very resistant to damage. Those students who fell down might not be able to hold on longer than me. Great Headmaster Dumbledore, how many students are you planning to sacrifice in exchange for my silence? Ten? Twenty? Or should we let all the first-year students die? Or another option: clear the way for me. The Philosopher's Stone will belong to me. Before those students are killed, you might be able to rescue some of them, and maybe even find some intact bodies."
Voldemort slowly played with the wand in his hand, his words like a heavy hammer falling on the hearts of everyone present. Even Dumbledore's voice couldn't help but tremble. "You... did what?!"
Voldemort laughed strangely. "Nothing. Remember the previous disappearance? How many of these five-legged creatures, capable of inventing those things, have I left buried in this pit? Twelve? Thirteen? Or fifteen? I can't remember exactly, but the last time they ate human flesh was yesterday. So many monsters only managed to gnaw on a single thigh. Just imagine how excited they must be to see so many sweet young wizards."
At this moment, Professor Sprout seemed to have had all her kindness drained out of her. Her face was pale. The image of Char with mutilated limbs and covered in blood could not help but appear in her mind. A fear stronger than that of being killed began to spread in her heart. At the moment when she wavered, a dazzling green light roared out. If it weren't for Snape, who was always on guard and quick with his hands, helping her, the killing curse would have fallen on her.
Voldemort snorted, seeming to feel sorry for not achieving anything. But the next second, the two-faced man's huge, deformed body rushed out of the gap in the circle at an extraordinary speed and headed straight for Hogwarts Castle. Just as Dumbledore and the others took slightly longer steps and tried to catch up, the two-faced man's sarcastic laughter rang out. "Old bee, I advise you to hurry up. After all, you like to arrange levels so much, and those disgusting levels of yours delayed me for so long. Such a valuable experience, I must learn from it. You don't think that there will be no obstacles on the way to rescue those students from here, do you? I've arranged a lot of interesting little games for you all. Some need Potions, some need Herbology, and some need Transfiguration. You better improve your clearance speed a bit. If you had cleared all the levels earlier, maybe there wouldn't be any more victims besides that annoying little Hufflepuff named Char Sprout."
Hearing the two-faced man's sarcasm, Professor Sprout almost fainted, her body swaying a few times. A hysterical scream tore from her throat. The next moment, she rushed towards the Forbidden Forest with her wand. No matter what lay ahead, she must rescue Char. Snape also bit his lip hard and followed her. Dumbledore's expression also changed drastically at this moment. He waved his wand fiercely, and raging flames cleared a path forward, drowning the darkness ahead. His figure also disappeared into the flames.
Right now, his heart was filled with guilt and remorse towards Char. If he hadn't known that Quirrell had problems, he would still be so confident in using him to train Harry. All of this would not have happened. Dumbledore now had no hope that Char would survive. His mood was extremely heavy. A first-year wizard facing those bloodthirsty monsters? No matter how special he was, the hope of survival could only be described as slim. Perhaps it would be very difficult to even leave a complete body.
At this time, Char had fallen into the void. He was unaware of the dramatic changes in the outside world. He stared intently at the darkness around him. His platinum-level night vision allowed him to see the surrounding scenery clearly. His heart sank suddenly. This place was like a mirror image of the ground above: an underground Forbidden Forest. He didn't know how much effort Two-Face had put into creating such an underground wonder. The only difference was that here, even the air carried a chilling sense of evil and danger. There were even some terrifying roars echoing in the woods.
Before he could think, it seemed as if he was attracted by the sound of his fall. The trees not far away immediately shook, and a faint sound was heard. Then, something that he didn't expect appeared before his eyes. It was a monster covered with strange red hair, with five human limbs. From under the crimson hair, a long neck extended out, with a head hanging on it. He had seen this thing on the island of Delia.
"A Quintaped?!" But a moment later, he sensed something was wrong. The feeling this thing gave him was different from that of a real Quintaped. It was not as evil and scary, but it did feel similar. Looking at the fragments of wizard robes remaining on this monster, in a flash, he figured it out. "This is the wizard that Two-Face kidnapped earlier. He gave them a Quintaped transformation, turning them into Quintaped-like monsters!"
At this time, the Quintaped-like creature looked at his face and also recognized that this was the student that Two-Face had told them to kill at all costs. Immediately, the head hanging on the long neck let out a strange and excited laugh. "Meat! Fresh meat!"
With no hesitation, the monster, wrapped in a strange and evil aura, rushed towards him. Char looked at the figure that came into view, getting closer and closer, a cold look in his eyes. Last time on the island of Delia, he had felt the aura emitted by an adult Quintaped. That strange and evil feeling had made him feel heavy-hearted, and he hadn't wanted to provoke it at all. Even for a few young Quintapeds, he had had to plan again and again, and he had almost let them escape. But now, a long time had passed since that trip. He was no longer the same person. Facing such a monster again, he no longer felt the strong sense of oppression he had before.
A gleam of light flashed in his eyes. He held his wand, the feeling of his death experiences merging with his body at this moment. His wand waved, and the Mage Hand came into play as if by instinct. The Quintaped that pounced on him was immediately grabbed by a huge, invisible hand, suddenly lost its balance, and was caught in mid-air. Casting a spell without an incantation was completely beyond the monster's expectations. And just as the Mage Hand made its move, Char cast one Sectumsempra spell after another, which kept passing over the monster's neck. A huge wound opened up, and the neck was broken. The strange head flopped to the ground. It seemed as if it was dead, even its eyes closed.
But after a moment of silence, the head on the ground jumped up like a flying head and pounced on him again, a strange laugh echoing. It believed that a first-year wizard certainly couldn't have such defenses. But the next second, the laughter stopped abruptly. Because at the tip of Char's raised wand, a flash of lightning swirled, submerging the flying head.
When the lightning faded, the Quintaped-like monster was completely dead. Char breathed a sigh of relief, a look of satisfaction in his eyes. "Although this modified Quintaped is far inferior to the real adult one on the island of Delia, it can be killed cleanly and efficiently. I have indeed become stronger."
Then, his gaze fell on the monster's broken neck. There, strange blood was still flowing out. At first, he didn't care much. But soon, his expression went from wrong to joyful. This blood gave off exactly the same feeling as the real Quintaped blood he had collected from the island. His eyes suddenly became fiery. "Can this thing, like the real Quintaped's blood, induce mutant human-faced glow-in-the-dark mushrooms?!"
He hadn't forgotten. By using the Protean Charm to annihilate the mutant human-faced glow mushrooms, he could obtain ancient ashes that could accelerate the growth of plants. Unfortunately, the blood he had was exhausted, and it was no longer possible to induce the mushrooms. But the island of Delia was too dangerous, with its mysterious and strange temples, and he had no plans to return anytime soon. He felt that he would not be able to obtain the ancient ashes for a long time. But he didn't expect to encounter such a surprise in the trap set by Two-Face.
Then, an idea suddenly popped up in his mind. If he could catch all the Quintaped-like monsters here, how many mutant mushrooms could he induce, and how much ancient ash could he get? He was afraid that his project of planting ancient plants would continue to make breakthroughs.
Now, his breathing quickened. In his opinion, this underground Forbidden Forest was simply a treasure trove full of treasures. The only drawback was that this place was just too big, and the distribution of the monsters was not concentrated enough. It would probably take a lot of time to find them. Maybe before he could collect enough blood, Dumbledore and the others would rush in to rescue them. Wouldn't that be a huge loss?
Thinking of this, he looked anxious. The next moment, an idea suddenly struck his mind. He waved his wand, and the laser spell came into being. There was a cut on his wrist. The smell of blood, along with its rich, life-filled aroma, quickly spread in the air. At the same time, he raised his wand. The extremely concentrated laser penetrated the layers of leaves in the underground forest and outlined clearly visible words in the "sky." In the darkness, the words condensed by the laser spell were extremely conspicuous.
"I'm Char Sprout. I'm here. Aren't you monsters going to eat me? Come!"
Immediately following, whether it was drawn by the scent of his blood or attracted by the shining words, within the reach of his hearing, the faint sounds suddenly became louder, coming towards him.
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