However, this story itself is not a dry research report, but a real event with a breath of death lingering right beside them, still threatening everyone's safety even now.
The tree was silent for a few seconds, and the air seemed to solidify.
Hermione unconsciously crumpled the book in her hand, her knuckles slightly white; Michael sat up from the ground, feeling a tingling sensation on his scalp; Theo quietly swallowed, his movements particularly audible in the silence.
"It's terrifying... If the murderer is really disguised as someone, then who can we trust in the school now?"
Hermione couldn't help but rub her arms and looked reproachfully at Vid: "You shouldn't have told us, Vid... If there's anyone here... this could be dangerous for you!"
Vid said flatly, "Transfiguration Technique can disguise appearance and personality, but can it really disguise all the details of interactions with friends? Naturally, I confirmed that you were all still yourselves before telling you."
His gaze swept over the tops of everyone's heads and then shifted away.
In fact, when you get used to it, Vid's ability to "see other people's names" is like an unnecessary ornament.
Who would stare at the top of people's heads all day long?
And unlike in games, where game characters are very small and the names are very obvious; modeled characters don't look very different, and their clothes are often the same, with only unique names for distinction.
But in real life, the name on top is just a string of not-very-noticeable text, the color almost like hair color, and it can't be seen clearly from a distance. Comparatively, looking directly at faces and body shapes is a simpler approach.
Over time, sometimes Vid even forgot he had such a useless ability, only using it intentionally when encountering strangers or when he had doubts about someone's identity.
And from yesterday to today, he had been "looking". Yet, aside from making his eyes sore and dry, he hadn't found any names on heads that didn't match faces.
—There are only so many people in the school, and after spending years together day and night, even if Vid isn't familiar with some students from other grades, he at least has some impression of their names.
Maybe this could be considered good news because it proved most of the people were still safe, and perhaps the murderer wasn't even at Hogwarts.
"Why do you think the murderer hid the body under the bushes?" Theo lightly rubbed the leaves in his hand and said, "If they threw it into the Black Lake, wouldn't it be unrecoverable?"
"That's where you're wrong, Theo, the murderer definitely wouldn't do that."
Michael shook his head and said, "Didn't you notice during the second task? When the task ended, the merpeople surfaced from the Black Lake and talked with Dumbledore for a long time. If the body were thrown into the Black Lake, do you think they would tell Dumbledore?"
"So the bones weren't thrown into the Forbidden Forest either, because... it's said that the headmaster is very familiar with the Centaur Tribe in the Forbidden Forest, and Hagrid often patrols..."
Leian pondered, "But why not just destroy it? Is it because they can't... or is there another reason?"
Hermione guessed, "Like some kind of ritual?"
"Maybe they just didn't think of it." Harry muttered, "Who would think out of nowhere that a few students would dig up a bush?"
The crowd was silent for a while.
Of course... this is also... very possible...
How to perfectly hide a corpse is really beyond the scope of discussion for students still in school; and what the manner of hiding the bones signifies, they couldn't conclude for a while.
The only thing clear perhaps is—starting from now, pay attention to those around who behave unusually.
Hermione irritably scratched her head: "I should go check in the library... I remember several Dark Magic spells involving bones..."
Harry reminded, "But Hermione, no professor will sign a book check-out slip for you!"
Hermione abruptly turned her head, staring sharply at Harry, who asked helplessly, "What... what's wrong... am I wrong?"
Hermione asked, "Do you still have your Invisibility Cloak?"
"I do... are you planning to..." Harry realized.
"We act tonight!" Hermione decided emphatically and decisively.
Harry was slightly taken aback, then nodded, saying, "Alright... then we'll act at midnight? The others should be deeply asleep by then..."
"Hermione."
Michael suddenly called Hermione's name, and when the girl turned around, he raised his chin, gesturing slightly.
—Not far away, Krum was striding over. This Durmstrang Champion had his brows furrowed, his goal clear.
Since the Christmas Ball, Krum often sought opportunities to chat with Hermione. Although most of the girl's mind was still on her studies, Krum's intentions were clear—he acted like an awkward shoebill bird trying to court.
As Krum approached, he indeed greeted Hermione first but then turned to Vid.
"Vid Gray, can I have a word with you?"
His face was somber, his expression very serious and tense, with deep black eyes that made the others instinctively avoid speaking voluntarily.
"Okay."
Vid signaled to his friends, stood up, patted off the grass leaves from his robe, and they both walked to a secluded open space.
Krum stopped, looked at Vid, and said in a low voice, "Headmaster Karkaroff is missing."
Vid: "...Huh?"
His mind was still lingering on Krum pursuing Hermione, thinking this talented Seeker came to inquire about their relationship with Hermione among the boys.
"We're just friends" was already on the tip of his tongue but he swallowed it back. His pupils shrank slightly, and his expression turned serious too.
"How do you confirm he has really 'disappeared'?"
Vid pondered his words, asking slowly, "Maybe he just left temporarily? Like going to Hogsmeade for a couple of days, have a cup of Butter Beer; or returning to Durmstrang to handle some urgent matters?"
Krum shook his head: "If he returned to school, he would have told us. Besides..."
He paused, somewhat embarrassedly saying, "He took all his valuables with him—including several Magic Items belonging to Durmstrang, and even two bottles of fine wine he couldn't bear to drink."
Ah, this...
Vid was speechless for a moment, and after the initial shock, he found it to be almost expected.
A person like Karkaroff, who is adept at shifting allegiances and bullying the weak and fearing the strong, plus the strange changes in the Dark Mark... him sneaking away seems quite standard.
If later the murderer is caught and Voldemort retreats again, perhaps Karkaroff would come back with some excuse like "pursuing suspicious personnel", brazenly returning.
Vid was silent for a moment and said, "We found a skeleton near the Maze."
Krum's eyes widened sharply, like black beetles, his thick black eyebrows raised, bluntly asking, "Who died?"
"—That's the problem, the body was reduced to just bones, and no one can identify its identity. Perhaps that's why Headmaster Karkaroff ran away."
Vid paused, saying, "If you want to know more detailed information, you can ask Professor Dumbledore."
Krum's shoulders were slightly tense, the blue veins on his temple throbbing, and after a while, he said, "I will."
Vid looked at him and asked, "Without a headmaster, what will you do about the upcoming competition? Will Durmstrang send another professor over?"
Krum shook his head and said, "The competition will go on as usual, we don't need a nanny. Even when Karkaroff was around, he always stayed in the cabin... he's different from your headmaster."
The morning light fell on his high cheekbones, outlining a resolute outline.
Vid nodded, saying, "I see. Him leaving might actually be a good thing for you."
Otherwise, on the way back to Durmstrang, if Voldemort found him, it wouldn't be a pleasant experience.
Krum's expression turned more gloomy and stiff.
Though they all disliked Karkaroff, hearing students from other schools say this—especially when the person across is their competitor, he actually felt a bit unhappy.
But he could hear the sincerity in Vid's tone, and coupled with the vague suspicion in his heart, Krum ultimately said nothing.