"Can you two make sense of any of this?"
Adam frowned, holding up the last page of the small notebook for the other three to see.
"It feels like the student who wrote this was just scribbling, and there's something wrong here," Cedric said, pointing at the time stamp on the notebook.
"This happened in 1979, but Regulus had already…"
He looked up at Adam, coughed twice, and continued, "Regulus had already joined the Death Eaters two years earlier. There's no way he could have been at Hogwarts, especially with someone else."
"And there's another odd thing," Fred said, pointing to a wine stain on the edge of the notebook. "Are you sure this student was even sober at the time?"
Adam was silent, rubbing his forehead.
Logic told him the boys were right, but a gut feeling urged him to trust those few lines, even if the situation itself seemed absurd.
"But there is another possibility…" Cedric said, pointing to the scribbled word `supper`. "If they had help from a House-elf, then it would be perfectly normal for them to use the passages near the kitchens. The castle's protective enchantments are only set up for wizards."
Adam's head snapped up, startling Cedric with the intensity of his stare. "…I think that's the only way, otherwise there's no other explanation," Cedric said, sounding unsure.
George shrugged, "Who cares? It's just a Death Eater. There are plenty of them in Azkaban."
"We should think about what we're doing for Christmas break instead. By the way, Adam, we never got a chance to ask you." George changed the subject, looking at Adam curiously.
Adam handed the notebook back to Cedric, a serious expression on his face.
"I'm going to look for any traces this person left behind. I have a feeling that if I can find a single thing they left, everything that's happened recently will make sense."
George and Fred exchanged a look, then turned to Cedric. The three of them nodded in unison, then without another word, they hoisted Adam up and started running towards the Hospital Wing.
---
### The Clue in the Portrait
On the eighth floor of the castle, a small, fluffy head peeked into the Headmaster's office, looked left and right, and called out loudly.
"Professor Dumbledore, are you free?"
Fawkes, resting on his golden perch, opened his eyes. He eyed the student who had burst in, gracefully flapped his wings, and gave a soft trill in greeting.
"Hah… It's that rude boy again." A voice came from one of the portraits.
"That's enough, Phineas. You're always so sarcastic with this boy. No wonder they say you were the most unpopular Headmaster in history."
Even Euphrasia, the kindest-tempered portrait, who had witnessed this scene countless times, finally couldn't help but argue back.
"I said it before, you chose the wrong person. That fool never deserved to be Headmaster. Hogwarts started going downhill in his time."
A bearded wizard laughed and said to her. The other portraits chimed in in agreement.
Phineas turned red with fury, his veins throbbing on his forehead. He started yelling incomprehensible things about "Dark wizards," "Goblin rebellions," and "school finances," which only made everyone laugh. The portraits were filled with a joyous atmosphere.
"Alright, enough fuss. The boy is still here. Your name is Adam, right? Albus went out this afternoon. Do you need to see him for something urgent?"
When a bespectacled witch in a white gown spoke, the other portraits immediately fell silent, clearly showing their respect for her.
Adam replied politely, "Hello, Madam Dilys Derwent. I wanted to talk to Professor Dumbledore about a few school matters."
"You actually recognize me?" Dilys was clearly surprised. "It's been over two hundred years since my time."
"Of course, I do. You were a Healer at St Mungo's Hospital, and after you retired, you only accepted the position of Headmistress after repeated invitations from the Hogwarts staff and students," Adam said earnestly, recounting her life story. "Your potions saved the lives of many students, and everyone called you one of the most popular Headmasters ever."
Adam continued to list the life stories of the other Headmasters one by one, causing them to beam with delight.
Only the ostracized portrait shouted in anger, "This boy is just trying to…"
Dilys didn't even look at him. She subtly gave a look to the other portraits.
The portraits, understanding the hint, instantly turned on Phineas, waving their fists at him and dragging him roughly into a corner of his frame.
Piercing wails echoed from the portrait.
"Such a polite young wizard. To think someone would remember all our names," Dilys said with a gentle smile, her eyes full of admiration.
Adam instinctively raised a hand to his cheek, a polite but embarrassed smile on his face.
After a similar incident, he had run to the library that very night and memorized the names of all the famous wizards who had attended Hogwarts.
"Oh, right, I almost forgot why you're here. If you need Albus, I can have another portrait deliver a message for you…" Dilys suddenly remembered, apologizing.
Adam quickly waved his hand to decline.
"That won't be necessary, Professor Dilys. I'm guessing Professor Dumbledore has gone to Nurmengard. He probably doesn't want to be disturbed right now. I'll just write him a note here."
"You knew about that? It seems Albus really trusts you. Are you sure it's not very important? I can tell you're a sensible boy." Dilys's eyes were filled with concern and doubt.
"It's fine. I'll just leave a note for Professor Dumbledore."
Adam said, pulling a blank piece of parchment from the desk. He wrote down his conjectures.
As for Dilys's question, Adam wasn't lying. It was just a suspected invasion of Hogwarts by Death Eaters and saints working together.
It didn't seem like a world-shattering event, considering that next year, a Dark Lord would be coming, and the year after that, a basilisk, a veritable killing machine, would be let loose…
These were all small things, anyway. The portraits would get used to them eventually.
Just as Adam put down his quill, Dilys asked him another question.
"Little Adam, could you show us the fluorescent paint you used at the entrance last time?"
"Of course."
Although Adam was puzzled, he dug the bottle of paint out of his small pouch and showed it to the portrait.
The portraits, who had been "beating up" Phineas, instantly stopped and flocked to the paint, their faces pressed against the frame as they chattered excitedly.
"That paint doesn't look like it's for repairing portraits. It wouldn't leave a mark on a magical painting."
"Maybe that stone beast just got scared."
They sighed in disappointment.
"No, even though it's ordinary paint…"
Dilys looked up in surprise, studying Adam carefully, her voice trembling slightly.
"Little Adam, could you try drawing something here with a brush?"
Seeing Adam's bewildered look, she lowered her voice, her eyes sparkling with excitement and expectation. "Use that magic inscribed in your soul."
Adam pulled a stool over and carefully stood in front of the portrait.
After a moment's hesitation, he lifted a paintbrush and outlined the shape of a long sword in the air.
In a flash, a gleaming long sword clanged into the portrait.
The portrait immediately erupted in chaos. The wizards looked at each other, then scrambled for the sword like hungry wolves.
The bearded wizard, quick-witted, was the first to grab it. He brandished the weapon, then turned to Phineas, who was cowering in the corner, with a menacing grin.
"Die, you filthy fool!"
Amid the commotion, Dilys seemed not to notice.
She stared intently at Adam, her fingers unconsciously rubbing the Ravenclaw crest on her robe. Her eyes were filled with shock and dawning realization.
After a long time, she finally came back to herself and said softly, "Don't worry. I will keep this a secret until you are ready to tell me."
"It's alright, Professor Dilys. It's not like I've ever denied it," Adam said with a smile, giving his blue and white scarf a flick. He then asked curiously, "I wanted to ask you something. Do you know what kind of herbs a phoenix likes to eat?"
Fawkes, who had been dozing on his perch, suddenly shuddered. He looked around the office with suspicion.
There was no one else there except for the student with the innocent smile, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was about to happen.
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