The Mystery of Professor Baker

Chapter 22 The Mystery of Professor Baker

"What?!"

Avada dashed inside, and after skirting around several piles of debris, he saw Baron anxiously crouching in front of a man dressed in a black wizard's robe, lying unconscious on the ground—it was Professor Baker. Beside him lay a fist-sized black crystal ball, quietly rolling away.

"Something's wrong! Baron, come back quickly!"

The instant Avada scanned Professor Baker and the black crystal ball with his magical senses, his hair stood on end, and he cried out to Baron, his face turning pale.

Baron was startled by his shout and jumped back a few steps, quickly drawing his wand from his waist.

"What's wrong?"

He lowered his voice and asked cautiously. In his mind, Professor Baker was undoubtedly a competent and kind teacher; his title as a member of the Defense Against the Dark Arts Board of Trustees, Dumbledore's trust, and the sensational duel shown at the beginning of the semester all proved that the professor was safe and reliable.

Although the reason he is now lying in the Room of Requirement is still unclear, no matter how you look at it, he should be helped rather than warned.

Avada didn't answer immediately. Instead, she drew her wand, her expression extremely serious, and slowly and silently approached Professor Baker. She said to Baron in a grave tone, "Do you see that black crystal ball next to Professor Baker? I suspect it's a dark magic artifact!"

"And I assure you, this crystal ball has never appeared in the Room of Requirement before, so it could only have been brought by Professor Baker, or made by him!"

Are you sure?!

Baron's pupils suddenly contracted, his expression one of surprise and uncertainty. The fact that a council member of the Defense Against the Dark Arts possessed a dark magic item was sure to be big news if word got out.

Avada gave a wry smile after hearing Baron's question. He was afraid of scaring Baron, so he had already downplayed the matter; that thing was far more than just a dark magic artifact...

Looking at the enormous magical void inside the crystal ball, the swirling golden spiritual energy, and the incredibly complex yet familiar magical structure around it, Avada sighed.

That's a Horcrux.

A Horcrux belonging to Professor Baker.

Without a doubt, this Horcrux is irrefutable evidence that the professor, trusted by his students, committed murder and had painstakingly studied dark magic for many years. During his semester of exploration, Avada had gained a certain understanding of dark magic. Combined with the content of the original work in his memory and his own research on human mental power, he naturally did not think that a Horcrux would be something childish and could be made casually.

In his understanding, only the most evil dark wizards, whose knowledge of dark magic has reached its peak and whose souls have been completely corrupted by it, are qualified to split their souls through killing and then create their own Horcruxes.

Otherwise, if souls could be so easily split apart through killing, wouldn't the souls of Aurors, members of the Order of the Phoenix, and other fighters who fight for justice also be riddled with holes and shattered?

He finally understood why Professor Baker's mental power had given him such a strong sense of unease. His soul had probably already split at that time, but he had simply concealed his abnormality through some means.

"Are you sure this is a dark magic item? How did you figure it out?"

While pondering, Baron had been observing the crystal ball for a while but hadn't found any signs of dark magic. He then turned to Avada and asked doubtfully, "Are you sure you're not mistaken?"

"Return immediately, Baron."

Avada said with utmost seriousness, "Leave the Room of Requirement first, then find the nearest professor! I remember Professor Flitwick's office is on the eighth floor, right? Come with me to find him before Professor Baker wakes up!"

"Even if you don't trust me, shouldn't you at least trust Professor Flitwick?"

Hearing Avada's extremely serious voice, Baron gradually understood the gravity of the situation—although he still didn't know how Avada had confirmed that the crystal ball was a dark magic item, he believed that Avada wouldn't make baseless accusations.

"Okay, let's go together..."

"Well……"

Before Baron could finish speaking, Avada heard a soft groan. Professor Baker, who had been lying unconscious on the ground, had opened his eyes and slowly sat up, supporting himself with his hands.

"Run!!"

Upon seeing this, the two were terrified and immediately turned around and ran desperately toward the door of the House of Requirement!

However, a terrifying thing happened: the two soon discovered that no matter how hard they ran, the distance to the door of the House of Requirement did not shorten at all, and was even getting farther away! In Avada's perception, the magical structure symbolizing "space" had somehow been twisted into a jumbled mess, like a huge, invisible maze!

"It's over..."

Avada stopped in despair, drew her wand in preparation for a desperate fight, and saw Baron beside her making the same move with a pale face. She couldn't help but smile bitterly, wishing she could beat herself to death at the tea party a few months ago.

At the time, he was thinking, "I can't possibly not even make it through the first semester, can I?"

I told you not to plant the flag! I told you not to plant the flag!

"what?"

Professor Baker finally stood up, looking around with somewhat dazed eyes. He quickly noticed Avada and Baron, who seemed to be on high alert, and a look of confusion crossed his face.

"You...are...how...did you get here?"

His voice was slow and hoarse, as if he hadn't spoken for years.

Avada and Baron exchanged a glance and suddenly realized that they might still have a chance to live.

"cough."

Baron stepped forward first, his expression instantly vanishing, replaced by genuine concern: "Professor Baker, are you alright? We just came into this room and found you collapsed here!"

"By Merlin, you're finally awake! We were just hesitating about whether to ask other professors for help, but we didn't want to expose this room like this... It's so good that you woke up on your own!"

Avada's face twitched as he listened, and goosebumps rose all over his body: This kid truly deserves to be able to enter Slytherin in an instant!

"I...am awake?"

Professor Baker stared blankly at his hands, and after a long while, he slowly replied, "Um...yes, I'm awake. You are...."

He looked up and stared at Avada and Baron for a long time, his expression gradually shifting from recollection to realization.

"By the way, you are Avada Kendavia and Baron Shafik, my students... I am Benjamin Baker, the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts, an adventurer, and a... board member of the Defense Against the Dark Arts League?"

He covered his head, swayed as he stood up, making Avada and Baron's hearts tighten again.

"The way I talk to students...that's right..."

He looked at the two of them, a somewhat stiff smile on his face: "Thank you for your concern, I'm fine, it's just... well, I had a little accident, don't worry..."

"You guys keep playing, I'm leaving now. The professor still has a lot of work to do..."

As the words fell, the distorted space silently returned to normal. Professor Baker took a step, his steps unsteady, and swayed out the door under the tense gazes of Avada and Baron. He didn't forget to close the door behind him, leaving the two of them looking at each other in bewilderment.

"What... what's going on?"

Baron finally dropped his pretense, let out a long sigh of relief, and then slumped to the ground. After a long while, he recalled Professor Baker's unusual behavior and asked Avada a question in confusion.

Avada remained silent, but he knew in his heart that this was probably a side effect of the complete splitting of his soul. In his perception, Professor Beck's mental power had indeed weakened considerably, and the magical void essential for intelligent life had shrunk significantly.

"Oh, right."

Baron suddenly looked at Avada curiously: "Did Professor Baker just say your real name? Your name is Avada...?"

"Don't read it out loud."

Avada shuddered again. "I'll explain later. Let's leave here first. You go find Professor Flitwick, and I'll go to the Headmaster's office to find Dumbledore. Professor Baker's condition is too strange; it might be beyond a professor's ability to handle!"

"Um."

Baron understood the importance and urgency of the matter, and didn't dwell on Avada's name. So he got up and followed Avada out the door.

Suddenly, a familiar, urgent voice interrupted their steps.

"Mr. Ken, Mr. Shafik, please wait a moment!"

(End of this chapter)