Adelaide, wearing loose pajamas, sneakily pushed open the door to the Ravenclaw Common Room, tiptoeing like a cat in the night as she quietly slipped toward the corner of the corridor.
Right there, Amandine, who had been waiting for a long time, stood leaning against the wall with a serious expression, her brow furrowed so deeply it looked like it could crush a fly.
"You are far too lax!"
Hearing Amandine's sudden accusation, Adelaide couldn't help but freeze. She blinked her large, confused eyes and asked with a face full of bewilderment, "What do you mean?"
Looking at her dazed little master, Amandine sighed helplessly, her originally exquisite face now clouded with worry.
She lowered her voice and said, "I mean, you just ran out like this without any precautions? Have you never considered the potential dangers?"
Adelaide was full of questions and asked in return, "Didn't you tell me to come out? Without precautions—was I supposed to be fully armed? Or is it that these pajamas are so sloppy that you think I'm being indecorous?"
Amandine explained with a grim face, "Of course not for those reasons. What I mean is, how can you be so careless! What if the person who called you out wasn't me, but someone with ill intentions wanting to harm you? What would you do then?"
After a moment of silence, Adelaide spoke slowly, "The handwriting on the note was clearly yours. I believe you would never harm me."
Amandine lowered her head and tucked a stray hair behind her ear. By the moonlight from the window, Adelaide noticed that the tips of her ears and her neck had turned red—though Amandine herself would never admit it.
She gave a dry cough and reminded her solemnly, "My little master, you must know that for a Dark Wizard, forging handwriting is as simple as drinking water. A skilled Dark Wizard can not only mimic someone's handwriting but also easily alter their appearance, physique, and even memories. So, please, do not let your guard down at any time!"
"But we are in Hogwarts now, which is the safest place in the world besides Gringotts—"
Adelaide's words came to an abrupt halt. Thinking carefully, the Basilisk in the underground Chamber of Secrets, Sirius and Peter who turned into animals, Crouch Jr. who took Polyjuice Potion—this seemingly impregnable Hogwarts actually had so many security loopholes. She really wondered how it had been rated as the safest place in the world... Did the Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers, who changed every year, have no complaints and never step forward to object?
Oh, right, those who have already passed away naturally cannot voice their protests. This situation was as eerie as a merchant selling low-quality parachutes online who never receives a negative review.
At this thought, Adelaide couldn't help but shake her head vigorously, trying to force these chaotic thoughts away and quickly pull the straying topic back on track:
"So you called me out of my warm bed in the middle of the night just to tell me these things about strengthening safety education? If there's nothing else important, I need to go back and catch up on my sleep."
Facing Adelaide's words, Amandine did not answer directly but instead asked with interest, "My little master, aren't you even a little surprised by my appearance at Hogwarts?"
"I am surprised—but wait, from today on, you are forbidden from calling me 'little master'! You are a Professor and I am a student. It's embarrassing if others hear you call me that. Just call me Adelaide."
"Alright, my dear Adelaide, let's set the jokes aside for now."
Amandine's expression instantly became serious, and the previously relaxed atmosphere vanished without a trace.
She frowned slightly, a hint of worry and tension showing in her eyes, and said slowly, "Just three months ago, we received word from the British branch of the Wizengamot that they discovered remnants of the Death Eaters had held a secret meeting near the village of Little Hangleton."
"After receiving this intelligence, we acted quickly, sending people to follow the clues. We successfully captured a Death Eater who knew the inside story."
At this point, Adelaide's heart couldn't help but tighten, an ominous premonition welling up in her mind.
Amandine continued to recount the development of events: "We used some special methods to interrogate the captured Death Eater and finally pried a piece of important information out of him—Lord Voldemort had issued an order to the Death Eaters, demanding they find any way possible to capture you as soon as possible!"
Adelaide's mind suddenly went blank, and she froze.
She really couldn't understand why she would become Lord Voldemort's primary target. After all, she had no conflict of interest with this Dark Lord—he didn't go after The Savior Harry Potter or the top White Wizard of the Wizarding World, Albus Dumbledore, but instead pointed his spear at an obscure little person like her. Even if he were picking on the weak, he shouldn't have picked her, right?
And it's been three months, yet Gellert and Dumbledore haven't breathed a word of this to her!
Amandine paused for a moment, took a deep breath, and continued, "At first, we suspected that the mole lurking inside Hogwarts was Jack MacFusty, but Dumbledore and Snape took the opportunity to join forces and feed him some Veritaserum—he is not a Death Eater, nor did he apply for a position at Hogwarts to target you."
"Now, any student at Hogwarts could be a mole who has taken Polyjuice Potion. I came to Hogwarts this time to ensure your personal safety. From now on, you must be doubly cautious in all your actions and never let yourself be alone; if you encounter any trouble or sense anything amiss, you must immediately seek help from me or Dumbledore!"
Amandine worriedly repeated her instructions and warnings to Adelaide for a long time, until Adelaide couldn't help but yawn repeatedly. Only then did she stop her lecturing and accompany her to the entrance of the Ravenclaw Common Room.
The exterior of the Ravenclaw Common Room was very simple, with only an eagle door knocker made of bronze.
Adelaide raised her hand and knocked on the bronze knocker. The eagle, which had its mouth tightly shut, opened its sharp beak, and then a soft, melodious voice, like heavenly music, came from within:
"Please tell me your name?"
Adelaide, who was preparing to answer a difficult riddle, was slightly stunned and blurted out instinctively, "Adelaide Grindelwald."
As soon as she finished speaking, she heard the mysterious voice say, "Very well answered."
Immediately, the wooden door in front of her slowly began to rotate, finally opening before the two of them.
Not only was Adelaide stunned into silence, but even Amandine beside her was left agape. The two of them looked at each other, their faces filled with disbelief—the bronze knocker had actually only asked for Adelaide's name before letting her through?!
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