Silence filled the dormitory at this moment.
Lee Jordan had already realized that the situation was not good; Fred and George Weasley were very likely missing, otherwise they wouldn't fail to return to the dormitory by nightfall.
"I'll go to the common room and ask if anyone has seen them," he immediately said, putting it into action.
Albert looked around the dormitory, suppressing the sleepiness between his brows, shoved a large piece of chocolate into his mouth, then went to the washroom to splash water on his face, patting his cheeks in the mirror to fully wake himself up.
Lee Jordan had already returned, his face not looking good, clearly indicating nothing positive. When he saw Albert return, he immediately went up to him, "They're not in the common room."
"They couldn't have gone into the Forbidden Forest to look for some secret treasure, could they?" Albert asked after washing his face and regaining clarity, "Did you guys find any new secrets on the treasure map?"
"This..." Lee Jordan hesitated.
"If Fred and George Weasley went into the Forest, the situation is a bit grim." Albert's expression stiffened; he noticed new activity on his task panel.
Mysterious Disappearance.
Two of your friends have not returned to the dormitory before curfew and are suspected to be missing. As their roommate and friend, you should try to find them.
Reward: 1000 experience.
"Follow me. We can talk about this on the way." Albertgrabbed the Wizard hat George had used and strode towards the common room.
"You mean they went into the Forest?" Lee Jordan also realized the situation was not good. If Fred and George Weasley entered the Forest and hadn't returned yet, the situation was dire. The Forbidden Forest at night is very dangerous.
Few students remained in the common room; a couple was whispering secrets, completely oblivious to their surroundings, and students doing holiday homework were entirely focused on their parchment, not noticing Albert and Lee Jordan leaving the common room.
"I'm not entirely sure if they went into the Forest." Albert looked at Lee Jordan and pressed, "Tell me, did you guys find anything on that treasure map?"
"Yes, they found some changes on the treasure map." Lee Jordan hesitated for a moment, then continued, "They noticed you seemed unaware, so they told me to keep it a secret and not tell you for now."
"Continue," Albert said.
"Fred and George Weasley believe the map should be real. You know, they've been into the Forest before." Lee Jordan followed behind Albert, recounting what he knew.
"I really didn't know. By the way, they didn't tell me?" Albert stopped, looking at Lee Jordan irritably.
"Fred said if you knew, you'd definitely stop them from risking going into the Forest," Lee Jordan explained with a sigh.
"That's for sure. The outer reaches of the Forest aren't dangerous, but that doesn't mean going deep into the Forest isn't dangerous." Albert raised his wand and cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself and Lee Jordan.
"Are we going into the Forest?" Lee Jordan seemed to guess Albert's thoughts, shocked by Albert's boldness, and hesitantly suggested, "I think we should go find Professor McGonagall."
"No, we're going to find Hagrid. We need Hagrid's help." Albert rejected Lee Jordan's suggestion without hesitation.
"But we can't get out. The Castle gates are closed. We can't open them," Lee Jordan reminded him.
"I know a secret passage out of the Castle," Albertadded, "Fred told me about it last time we were out at night."
"But... why aren't we going to Professor McGonagall?" Lee Jordan still didn't understand. In his opinion, they should go to Professor McGonagall right now.
"Hagrid knows the Forbidden Forest better than anyone. With his help, we can safely enter and exit the Forbidden Forest." Albert led Lee Jordan through a shortcut. "Don't make a big deal out of this, or Fred and George Weasley will be in big trouble. Besides, we still can't be sure if they went into the Forest."
"We certainly can't be sure of that," Lee Jordanmumbled, "Maybe they're still in the school."
"It's easy to confirm that. Shh." Albert made a shushing gesture. Footsteps were approaching from nearby. He immediately extinguished the light on his wand and pulled Lee Jordan to hide.
"Strange, I distinctly heard someone talking." Filchwalked over, holding an oil lamp and peering into the deep Hallway. Finding no one, he turned and walked away.
Hearing the footsteps fade, Albert and Lee Jordanemerged from around the corner and came to a vase on the Third Floor landing.
"The secret passage leading out of the Castle is here?"
"Left turn, right turn."
Albert stepped forward and tapped the vase twice with his wand.
The vase began to emit a slight rubbing sound.
Lee Jordan was astonished to see a black dot appear in a landscape painting hanging on the nearby wall. The black dot gradually enlarged, and soon a door became visible.
"Let's go."
Albert stepped forward, grabbed the doorknob, and gently pushed. The original picture frame opened, revealing the entrance hidden behind it.
"So secretive," Lee Jordan mumbled.
"Don't tell anyone else."
"I know."
A few minutes later, the two finally exited the secret passage. Lee Jordan was surprised to find himself on the mountain path leading to the boathouse.
"Tap this protruding stone three times," Albert said, pointing to the protruding stone. "The password to open the entrance is: Alohomora."
"Damn it, do those two guys know a lot more secret passages and just not tell me?" Lee Jordan complained in a low voice.
"Keep up." Albert walked towards Hagrid's hut.
"How do you plan to confirm if Fred and George Weasley are in the Forbidden Forest?" Lee Jordancouldn't help but ask.
This was very important; he didn't want to rashly enter the Forbidden Forest.
"Use an owl. Owls have tracking abilities. We can use an owl to determine if Fred and George Weasley are in the Forbidden Forest," Albert explained.
Albert indeed didn't know tracking magic, but owls had this ability. As long as he used an owl, Albert could confirm if those two guys were in the Forest.
"It can even be done this way." Lee Jordan was shocked by Albert's ingenious idea, but it seemed like a good one. He quickly quickened his pace to follow behind Albert.
The two finally arrived at Hagrid's hut. There were no lights inside; perhaps Hagrid was already asleep, but their approach immediately alerted the hound Fang.
"Hagrid, Hagrid, we need your help." Albert raised his fist and pounded hard on Hagrid's wooden door.
A series of thumps echoed in the night. Only dog barking was heard from Hagrid's hut, but Hagrid didn't get up to open the door.
Something was off.
"Could he be..." Lee Jordan originally wanted to say if Hagrid was asleep, but then thought it didn't quite fit. If Hagrid were truly asleep, Albert making such a big commotion wouldn't elicit no response.
Albert pointed his wand at the door lock and mumbled, "Alohomora."
The lock clicked open. Albert pushed the door open and entered the house. The light from his wand tip swept through Hagrid's hut. It was indeed empty inside; he might have gone out for something.
"Is it not good for us to break in?" Lee Jordan followed Albert into the house, feeling a bit uneasy.
Fang couldn't see them and was circling around the two, sniffing the air.
"Of course not good." Albert dispelled the Disillusionment Charm on himself and knelt to comfort Fang, lest it get too agitated.
"Then you still..." Lee Jordan hadn't finished speaking when he heard the flapping of wings outside. He quickly turned his head towards the sound and saw Shera fly into the house, landing on the wooden table.
Albert's owl always appeared when its owner needed to send a letter.
"Give this to George." Albert put down Hagrid's quill, handed his handkerchief to the owl, and instructed, "Remember to deliver it directly to George."
Shera grabbed the handkerchief and spread her wings, flying out towards the Forbidden Forest.
Seeing the direction the owl flew, the expressions of both instantly darkened. If Fred and George Weasleywere in the Castle, the owl would fly towards the Castle, but now flying towards the Forest meant they had truly entered the Forest.
"What do we do now? Go back and find Professor McGonagall?" Lee Jordan took a deep breath and asked.
"Yes, go back and find Professor McGonagall." Albertnodded.
Lee Jordan breathed a sigh of relief. He had truly feared Albert would say they should enter the Forest to find them. To be honest, he didn't have the courage to enter the Forest at this hour; the forest at night looked truly eerie and terrifying.
"Where did they enter the Forest from earlier?" Albertasked.
"You're not going to..." Lee Jordan suddenly had a bad premonition.
"I'll go into the Forest; you go back and find Professor McGonagall. Don't worry, I can guarantee my own safety, and you need to go back because someone must let Professor McGonagall know about this." Albertlooked at Lee Jordan and explained, "This matter is also very important."
"But!"
"If I can't find them within two hours, I'll come back myself after two hours. Don't worry, I have a way to ensure my own safety. You know, I never do anything without confidence." Albert raised his hand and patted Lee Jordan's shoulder, "Besides, do you think I'd joke with my own life?"
"But how do you plan to find them?" Lee Jordan asked, puzzled.
"By Fang, of course."
Lee Jordan looked at the hound, then at the Wizard hat Albert had just been holding, and then he suddenly realized. He had been wondering what Albert was doing with a Wizard hat; it was for this!
"Follow me."
Lee Jordan led Albert to the entrance where Fred and George Weasley had secretly entered the Forbidden Forest, unbeknownst to Hagrid.
Albert handed Fred's hat to Fang and said softly, "Fang, help me find Fred. I'll buy you treats another day."
Fang sniffed left and right, then followed the winding path towards the Forbidden Forest.
"Remember, go find Professor McGonagall first. If possible, it's best to bring Hagrid along as well," Albertreminded him again.
"Actually, you really don't need to take such a risk," Lee Jordan hesitated for a moment, but still said, "It's too dangerous to go in at this time."
"I can protect myself." Albert pulled out his pocket watch, checked the time, and said to Lee Jordan, "It's twelve o'clock now. If I haven't found them, I'll be back within two hours."
"You should know how to get back to the Castle, right? Tap that protruding stone three times, and the password is Alohomora." Albert reminded him again, "If Professor McGonagall asks, just say Fred and George Weasleydidn't return to the dormitory and might have gone into the Forest."
"Got it." Lee Jordan nodded helplessly, indicating he understood. In truth, he couldn't understand why Albertinsisted on going into the Forest.
Albert had a reason for insisting on entering the Forest.
After confirming that Fred and George Weasley were in the Forbidden Forest via his owl, Albert found a new task had appeared on his task panel:
Rescue Operation.
The Weasley Brothers have entered the Forbidden Forest for some reason and have not returned. As a fellow Gryffindor student, roommate, and friend, you cannot abandon them. Enter the Forest, find the Weasley Brothers, and bring them safely out of the Forbidden Forest.
Reward: 2000 experience points, 2 skill points, George Weasley favorability +10, Fred Weasley favorability +10.
This task might mean that finding the Twins wasn't too difficult; the challenge would likely be bringing them out of the Forbidden Forest.
Albert naturally had his own methods. He could Apparate and had enough experience to upgrade his skills. If necessary, he could ensure he could Apparate to the edge of the Forbidden Forest at any time.
Most importantly, he had recently learned "Protego Totalum" from Professor Broad. With this defensive magic, combined with Apparition, he could stand invincible.
However, if possible, Albert did not want to expose his ability to Apparate; that was his last resort. Therefore, he needed someone to come to their rescue. Professor McGonagall, or any other Professor, could serve as the first line of defense.
Just as Albert followed Fang into the dark Forbidden Forest, Lee Jordan had already returned to the Castle at the fastest possible speed.
Meanwhile, Albert's owl, carrying his handkerchief, spread its wings and flew deeper into the Forbidden Forest.
For owls, night was their active time. Hogwarts owls often foraged in the Forbidden Forest.
Albert had instructed Shera to deliver the handkerchief to George. The owl immediately locked onto George's location and found its target with extreme speed.
As Albert expected, Fred and George Weasley's situation was not good; they were surrounded. Surrounding them was a group of Acromantulas.
Shera did not descend; the situation below felt threatening to her. The handkerchief the owl was holding was dropped, landing precisely on George's head.
"What is this?" Fred reached for the handkerchief but missed. George, quick-witted, snatched the handkerchief back.
Words were written on the handkerchief. George read them aloud using the light from his wand: "Shoot red sparks into the sky. If you need help, you can ask the Centaurs. They will help you leave the Forest."
"Albert's owl." George looked up and saw Shera, exclaiming excitedly, "We're saved!"
"Centaurs? Where do we find Centaurs!" Fred looked at the dense Acromantulas below and couldn't help but shiver.
The two of them were truly unlucky. They had followed the treasure map to search for Gryffindor's secret treasure, and the result was predictable: they got lost.
Later, somehow, they encountered an Acromantula and were almost eaten. Luckily, George used an Impediment Jinx in time, and they narrowly escaped.
Somehow, more and more spiders chased them. Fredhappened to remember passing an old guardian tree on their way in.
Thanks to paying attention in class and Albert using the guardian tree to make protective bracelets.
The two ran under the guardian tree, narrowly escaping danger.
However, this was not the end of it.
The number of Acromantulas grew, surrounding the guardian tree. Some Acromantulas even tried to cross the guardian tree to attack them.
The two eventually had to climb the tree, which angered the Bowtruckles living on the guardian tree, leaving them with multiple scratches.
"Quick, more Acromantulas are coming!" Georgeshrieked.
"Obstacles upon obstacles."
Both simultaneously pointed their wands at the Acromantula attempting to approach the guardian tree. Two spells struck it, sending the Acromantula flying away.
"Thanks to learning the Impediment Jinx from Albert," George mumbled.
"Shoot red sparks into the sky." Fred raised his wandand shot red sparks into the sky.
Initially, being surrounded by a group of Acromantulas had almost driven them crazy. The dense spiders were visually impactful, and in their panic, they had forgotten about this.
"Don't do that," George quickly stopped Fred.
"Why?"
"What if Albert comes alone and runs into this group of Acromantulas?" George looked at the spider army below, his face full of worry.
"I think Albert would probably find other Professors for help. Given his personality, it's unlikely he'd venture into the Forbidden Forest alone." Based on Fred's understanding of Albert, the probability of that guy entering the Forbidden Forest alone was really low.