Chapter 52. The Disappearance of Fawkes.
All the young wizards of Hogwarts were housed in the Great Hall.
The attackers chose a very opportune time, all during the period when Professor Dumbledore was away from the castle.
Except for Professor McGonagall, who was in the Great Hall supervising the students, all the other professors were searching throughout the castle for the unknown killer.
Except for Adrian Fawkes, the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.
He seemed to have vanished into thin air; he couldn't be found anywhere.
At a corner of the stairs on the second floor of the castle, Snape encountered Professor Flitwick.
"Any findings, Severus?"
Snape shook his head. "No, I haven't found a single living person."
"And Adrian? Have you found him?"
Snape sneered.
"He's probably already fled to escape punishment,"
Professor Flitwick frowned. "I know you had disagreements back then, but it's best not to jump to conclusions without concrete evidence. You're not one of those immature students."
"Of course I'll make my own judgments. You don't need to teach me, Flitwick."
Leaving aside the professors searching the castle, in the Great Hall, the young wizards were still buzzing with discussion.
Lynn frowned, ignoring the rumors, and stared intently at the mission that the system had just given him.
[Sudden Mission: Rescue Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor Adrian Fawkes!]
[Mission Description: Your most respected professor is currently in danger, but everyone is questioning him. Only you believe in his innocence, and only you can help him!]
[Mission Reward: Randomly select one of Adrian Fawkes' talents.]
"Do me a favor,"
Lynn suddenly said to Cedric and Ian.
"What do you want to do?" Cedric had a sudden bad feeling.
"I need to leave the Great Hall for a while. If anyone notices I'm gone, cover for me. Say I went to the bathroom or something. But if I'm not back in three hours, immediately report my sneaking out to Professor McGonagall."
"What are you going out for? It's so dangerous in the castle! You can't go out now!" Cedric grabbed Lynn's arm nervously.
Lynn looked at him seriously.
"I have a reason to go out. Don't worry, I'm terrified of dying, so trust me, I'll be fine."
Lynn's eyes were resolute, and Ian patted Cedric's shoulder.
"Trust him, let him go."
Cedric didn't insist anymore; he let go of Lynn's arm and gritted his teeth.
"You mustn't be reckless, Lynn."
Lynn smiled at them and promised.
"I won't."
Then he turned and secretly ran out of the Great Hall.
After leaving the hall, he didn't linger in the castle. Following the corridor, Lynn went straight out.
Outside the castle, it was pitch black; dark clouds obscured the starry sky, and a light drizzle fell from the heavens.
"Waterproof and moisture-proof," he muttered, casting a waterproof spell on his robes before resolutely plunging into the night.
Lynn remembered the Marauder's Map the Weasley brothers had shown him that afternoon.
Professor Fawkes's last known location was Hagrid's hut.
Lynn used his wand's Light Charm and jogged along the rugged dirt path to Hagrid's hut.
The door to Hagrid's hut was tightly shut, and it was pitch black inside, clearly empty.
But Hagrid's hound, Fang, remained in the yard, restless and barking furiously towards the Forbidden Forest.
Lynn looked at the trail of large footprints on the path leading to the Forbidden Forest and roughly guessed where Professor Fawkes and Hagrid had gone.
He didn't rush into the Forbidden Forest rashly; that would be tantamount to suicide.
He approached Fang, who was chained to the door and barking incessantly, and said softly,
"I want to go to the Forbidden Forest to find Hagrid and the others. Can you take me there?"
Fang seemed to understand Lynn's meaning, stopping its barking, wagging its tail, and proactively biting its chain, offering it to him.
Lynn unchained Tooth, and it immediately galloped off into the depths of the Forbidden Forest, carrying Lynn along.
A little while later, that afternoon, just as Lynn encountered the Weasley brothers at the castle,
Hagrid kept his promise and prepared to take Professor Fawkes into the Forbidden Forest to find a Red Hat.
"It's a pity Tooth's illness isn't completely cured, otherwise it would be much easier for us with it," Hagrid said regretfully before entering the Forbidden Forest.
Professor Fawkes didn't seem to mind.
"I believe in your abilities, Hagrid. You've been the gamekeeper here for decades. With you here, I think finding anything won't be difficult."
"Haha, don't flatter me like that, Fawkes," Hagrid said, though it was clear he was pleased with Professor Fawkes's compliment.
As they prepared to enter the Forbidden Forest, Hagrid looked at the sky with some concern.
"The weather isn't very pleasant today. I'm worried it might rain later."
"Don't you always carry an umbrella?"
Professor Fawkes smiled and pointed to the small pink umbrella in Hagrid's hand.
"Besides, damp weather is good for us; the Red Hats love going out in this kind of environment."
Hagrid subconsciously hid the small red umbrella in his hand, his eyes slightly unfocused, before changing the subject.
"Well then, let's go."
The two of them walked into the Forbidden Forest together, following the path Hagrid usually took to enter the Forbidden Forest, they gradually ventured deeper from the outer edge.
"We can't just look around randomly, Fawkes.
Do you know the habits of those little creatures? You said they like dampness? Then we can go to the river to check."
Professor Fawkes shook his head, a mysterious smile on his face, and pulled out a worn silver cup from somewhere.
"No need for that. I have a cup that those little creatures used to use. We can use it to find their kind."
As soon as Fawkes finished speaking, he cast a spell on the cup in his hand.
"Appear."
A blue light surged from his wand, circled the silver cup, and then pointed in a certain direction in the Forbidden Forest.
Professor Fawkes's body trembled slightly, and anyone could hear the excitement in his voice.
"Aha! He really was hiding here!"
Hagrid, looking at Professor Fawkes's current state, sensed something was wrong, and a chill ran down his spine.
"You're lagging behind, Hagrid, hurry up and catch up with me," Professor Fawkes said, leading the way.
Hagrid snapped out of his daze, thinking it was just his imagination, and quickened his pace to follow behind him.
Finally, it's time to fill Professor Fawkes's trap! Hoo hoo hoo!
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(End of Chapter)