The Halloween feast could only be described as 'extravagant,' its opulence not at all inferior to the grand banquet held at the start of the school year.
The long dining tables were laden with all sorts of mouth-watering delicacies: roast chicken, Yorkshire pudding, and mincemeat pies wafted enticing aromas; colorful fruit platters looked like exquisite works of art, making one unable to resist taking a bite; and then there were the mountains of candy and chocolate, resembling sweet little hills.
Adelaide sat at the dining table, her eyes fixed intently on the food before her, her mouth chewing incessantly.
She held a small lamb chop in her left hand, while her right was busy stuffing several medium-rare steaks into a sealed bag she carried with her—Cho Chang's grandfather had sent her some hotpot base a couple of days ago, and they wanted to try using a cauldron to cook hotpot for a midnight snack tonight. Adelaide wanted to scavenge more side dishes (meat) from the feast.
Once the students had eaten and drunk their fill, Dumbledore waved his wand to move the long tables aside, and the Skeleton Dance Troupe made their appearance.
They were dressed in black robes with purple butterfly masks on their faces, all 206 of their bones exposed—Adelaide heard The Grey Lady murmuring words like 'indecent' and'shameless' as she passed by. It seemed this dance troupe didn't have a very good reputation in the circle of the deceased.
The skeletons danced gracefully to the rhythm of the music, their movements flexible yet eerie. They spun and leaped, then bent and stretched into bold poses that living people could never achieve, drawing bursts of cheers and applause from the audience below.
The entire Great Hall was immersed in a joyful atmosphere. Students and Professors alike swayed their bodies to the music, fully releasing their passion.
Just then, the Weasley Twins quietly took out fireworks they had prepared beforehand and aimed them at the bats in the sky.
With several loud 'Bang! Bang! Bang!' sounds, brilliant and colorful fireworks bloomed in the air like flowers in full bloom. The startled bats flew around in a panic, and some of them charged straight toward the skeletons performing on stage.
Several skeletons screamed at the sudden arrival of the bats, scrambling to get the bats trapped in their ribcages out. However, these over-frightened bats gripped the skeletons' ribs tightly with their claws, hanging upside down and refusing to let go.
No matter how hard the skeletons pulled, the bats wouldn't budge. The scene became quite chaotic, and the originally wonderful dance performance was forced to a halt. The audience roared with laughter, and the atmosphere in the Great Hall was pushed to another climax.
Adelaide had intended to turn around and help Senior Natasha, who was doubled over with laughter and practically collapsed on the floor. But in that inadvertent moment, her gaze suddenly swept toward the Slytherin side—she saw Alice MacFusty standing amidst the joyful crowd, her face as pale as paper, her body trembling slightly, without a single trace of a smile on her face, looking completely out of place in the festive atmosphere.
Without alerting the crowd, she moved backward, shrinking her entire body into an extremely inconspicuous corner, then stumbled along the wall of the Great Hall, slowly moving outside.
Adelaide instantly recalled some things Natasha had mentioned to her about Alice MacFusty before—this was a perfect opportunity!
She turned and stuffed the bag containing the steaks into the hands of Cho Chang beside her, acting coquettishly toward her.
Cho Chang stood there quietly, her gaze fixed on this mischievous and adorable friend who was a bit of a headache. In her beautiful eyes, there was now a complex expression of both helplessness and slight anger.
Lately, because their extracurricular plans had very little overlap, they hadn't been able to gather quietly and happily to chat about their thoughts and recent lives as they used to.
Only yesterday, Adelaide had vowed to spend the whole night partying with her on Halloween. Yet when the time came, she suddenly changed her mind, saying she wanted to slip out of the Great Hall to play a game of tracking.
Faced with this situation, Cho Chang couldn't help but feel a sense of disappointment, but even more so, she felt annoyed by her friend's failure to keep her promise.
But even so, the kind-hearted and gentle Cho Chang ultimately couldn't bring herself to refuse her friend's request.
After some internal struggle, she finally chose to compromise, agreeing to help cover for her so that she could slip out of the Great Hall smoothly without being noticed.
When Adelaide stepped out of the Great Hall doors, she was startled to realize that the weather outside had turned so foul at some point.
Heavy snow was falling from the sky, and a cold wind howled past, making one shiver all over.
However, such weather was an unexpectedly favorable condition for Adelaide at this moment.
The dancing snowflakes formed a thick white mist, which not only made the already dim environment even more blurred but also well concealed the slight sound of Adelaide's footsteps as she tracked her target.
In this manner, she carefully followed the trail left by Alice MacFusty, following her all the way into the Forbidden Forest.
This was Adelaide's first time entering the Forbidden Forest; before this, she had only heard various rumors about it from the Weasley Twins.
She had always wanted to explore this place, but because she couldn't be sure if Dumbledore had planted undercover agents with Disillusionment Charms around her, she hadn't dared to act rashly.
However, just last week, Adelaide had successfully deduced, with the help of information from the Human Observation Group, that there were no members of the Order of the Phoenix or the Wizengamot protecting her in secret. She had been outwitting thin air all along.
Perhaps due to the special rules of Hogwarts, Dumbledore had only arranged for Charlie Weasley and Cho Chang to act as undercover agents to protect her safety among the students.
That's right, Cho Chang was a secret informant Dumbledore had placed by her side.
According to Adelaide's speculation, the time Cho Chang became an informant likely began shortly after they met. During that period, Dumbledore had secretly summoned Cho Chang to the Headmaster's Office for private talks twice.
But given Dumbledore's caution, Adelaide felt he probably hadn't revealed too many details to Cho Chang. He likely only asked Cho Chang, in the capacity of a guardian, to keep a close eye on Adelaide's movements to prevent her from doing anything reckless or stupid.
Adelaide's test just now also proved this point. Cho Chang didn't insist on stopping her from slipping out of the Great Hall to track Alice MacFusty—if Dumbledore had told Cho Chang about the Death Eaters, she certainly wouldn't have allowed Adelaide to leave.
Adelaide couldn't help but breathe a secret sigh of relief, because the current progress of things was moving in the direction she had planned in her mind, and this situation was undoubtedly the most ideal choice among all possibilities.
She knew well that this action was full of uncertainty and potential danger. If she unfortunately encountered an accident during the mission, then Cho Chang, who knew of her actions and would discover she hadn't returned to the dormitory for a long time, would definitely seek help from Dumbledore—this could be considered an extra layer of insurance she had given herself.
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