The investigation at the scene turned up little of substance.
The clearing was a mess—where once there might have been low shrubs and tangled undergrowth, now only broken branches and scattered leaves remained. Deep gouges raked across the earth, as if some wild beast had torn through in a frenzy.
There were a few scraps that looked like fragments of clothing, hinting that someone had indeed been present. But the fabric had all but burned to ash, impossible to identify.
Dumbledore tried several times to cast restoration and tracing spells, but each attempt came up empty. Clearly, someone had already laid down magical interference to cover their tracks.
"Hagrid, do you think this was the work of some magical creature?" Dumbledore asked first, turning to the Forbidden Forest's keeper and resident magical creature "expert."
The half-giant, who'd been rubbing a handful of soil between his massive fingers and sniffing it thoughtfully, looked up. His expression went blank for a moment before he cleared his throat and replied, rather nervously, "I reckon… I think… this probably wasn't any common magical creature…"
"Wh-why not?" stammered Professor Quirrell, his face deathly pale and breath coming in short, ragged gasps—he'd clearly rushed to the scene.
According to Quirrell, he'd been in his office, deep in research on ancient magical texts, with powerful wards blocking out all distractions. He'd only noticed the chaos after leaving his office, and it was only when he ran into a panicked Professor Trelawney that he learned what had happened. He'd hurried here as fast as he could—his duty as Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, after all.
Though his answer had been interrupted, Hagrid didn't seem too bothered. It gave him a moment to gather his thoughts.
"…Judging by the marks here, it looks like something fierce did this. But there's hardly any physical evidence—no hair, no droppings, not even a whiff of scent. If it was a magical creature, it wouldn't have left things so… tidy."
Hagrid offered his conclusion.
"Oh, I-I see, th-that makes sense…" Quirrell nodded, swallowing hard.
"Indeed," Professor McGonagall agreed. "If a magical creature had been this active, there'd be traces. It seems something else may be at work here."
Snape gave a slight nod, but had nothing further to add.
Dumbledore surveyed the chaotic scene once more, then declared, "For now, we'll classify this as 'abnormal activity by an unknown magical entity.' Fortunately, it appears that no harm has come to any of our staff or students."
What would come of further investigation was anyone's guess.
After all, the wizarding world was full of mysteries that defied explanation. The Forbidden Forest and the Black Lake alone held more secrets than anyone could count, and even last year's Halloween troll attack had never been fully solved.
So, sometimes, no answers was the answer.
That was the impression Qin Yu got as he listened to the professors discuss.
Since no one had been hurt—no students found unconscious at the scene—the incident wasn't considered especially dangerous.
"Hagrid, keep an extra close watch on the Forest for the next while," Dumbledore instructed. "And see if your friends in there—like that Acromantula—might have any information."
"Right, Professor Dumbledore," Hagrid rumbled.
"Well then, everyone, back to your Houses. Comfort your students, and remind them once again to stay away from the Forbidden Forest," Dumbledore said to the Heads of House.
The teachers answered in unison and followed the Headmaster away.
Professor Quirrell lingered, his eyes roving the scene with a furtive intensity. Under Hagrid's puzzled gaze, he managed a twisted, ghastly smile before stumbling back toward the edge of the Forest.
Once all the teachers had gone, Qin Yu finally dropped his Disillusionment.
He raised his wand and whispered Lumos, the tip casting a pale light over the ground as he searched the area.
And sure enough, his extra effort paid off—a shard of glass caught the light, glinting from the undergrowth.
It must have been overlooked by the others, perhaps because it was on the outskirts of the clearing.
Qin Yu used a leaf to pick it up.
By wandlight, he could see the glass was curved, likely from a small vial, and a smear of pale green liquid clung to its surface. After a quick check, he confirmed it was the very same doctored Acromantula venom he'd prepared earlier.
"So, it really was Quirrell here. No idea what exactly happened, but this place looks like someone went through a full-blown magical tribulation…"
He glanced around at the devastation, thinking of Quirrell's earlier state, and muttered to himself.
With his suspicions confirmed and nothing more to be gained, Qin Yu turned and sprinted back toward the castle.
Luckily, the professors were still discussing the incident and walking slowly. Taking a shortcut, Qin Yu managed to beat them back to the Gryffindor common room.
…
"Qin, where were you just now? Percy—the Gryffindor prefect—was asking about you. I told him you were with Professor Snape tonight and probably hadn't returned yet… I wanted to go look for you, but Percy posted someone at the portrait hole and wouldn't let us out."
The Gryffindor common room was packed, the air buzzing with chatter like it was Christmas Eve—when danger is far away, young wizards always find a way to celebrate.
The moment she spotted him, Hermione pushed through the crowd, worry written all over her face.
Qin Yu gave the little witch a gentle hug and whispered in her ear, "I just parted ways with Professor Snape. I've been perfectly safe—no need to worry about me."
Every word was true.
Of course, Snape had no idea Qin Yu had been nearby for the rest of the night.
"Good, as long as you're alright…" Hermione nodded, patting his back—whether to comfort him or herself, it was hard to say.
"I don't know what really happened. The noise was terrifying. Everyone's guessing some dreadful monster got out again…" she fretted, relaying all the wild rumors flying around.
After all, the troll attack hadn't been that long ago. Qin Yu mostly listened, keeping his own counsel.
Just then, a voice called out from behind.
"Qin, there you are! I just found Adam and Neville—if you hadn't shown up, you'd have been next on my list."
It was Percy, the third Weasley son and Gryffindor's prefect, just returning from his search. Relief washed over his face when he saw Qin Yu.
Trailing behind him were Neville and Adam, one looking anxious, the other dazed—whatever had kept them out so long, it clearly hadn't been pleasant.
George and Fred had also gone off to help look, since they knew the castle's every nook and cranny better than anyone. With them, Percy had both extra hands and walking maps.
"Tragic, Qin—your importance only ranks third~"
"If I were you, I'd file a complaint with Professor McGonagall about our prefect's clear bias!"
The twins took turns fanning the flames, and the "victim" of their complaint was, naturally, their own brother. Brotherly love, indeed.
Percy was clearly used to their antics. He shot them a glare and snapped, "Go ahead and tell Professor McGonagall. If I've handled anything improperly, I'll take whatever punishment she sees fit."
That dead-serious response was enough to drain the fun right out of the twins. They slunk off, unwilling to tangle with their stuffy third brother.
"And don't go wandering off again!" Percy warned Qin Yu before heading off to restore order in the noisy common room.
"Listen up, everyone! The professors are on the case. It's late—off to your dorms, now!"
As prefect, Percy's word carried weight. The crowd began to thin as the young witches and wizards drifted away toward their beds.
Qin Yu lingered a while, chatting with Hermione—enough to make her both happy and exasperated, cheeks puffed and nose huffing, but the worry was gone from her eyes.
When only a few students remained, Qin Yu ruffled the brown-haired girl's head and grinned, "Off you go. We should support Percy in his work."
"Alright, good night, Qin~" Hermione shrugged, waving.
"Good night, Hermione!" Qin Yu waved back.
George and Fred were the last to leave, grumbling to Percy about missed opportunities for a pajama party or a late-night wizard chess marathon.
Watching the twins' carefree antics, Qin Yu thought, With Quirrell and Voldemort having taken such a hit tonight, they probably won't be paying attention to small fry like us for a while.
He'd done all he could.
Time to stop thinking and get some rest.
He gave both twins a friendly punch on the arm, sending the energetic pair off to bed before they could cause more trouble for Percy.
Soon enough, once Percy himself had retired, the common room fell silent—only the fireplace remained, the last embers flickering in the darkness.
When even those flames faded, and the restless young wizards slipped into dreams, the stormy night finally settled into peace.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
📚 BOOK COMPLETED ON PATREON!📚
This story has reached its conclusion on my Patreon!
🔥 Full story available now
💎 Exclusive bonus content & early access to new books
👉 Join my Patreon community today!
[✨ patreon.com/GoldenLong]
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━