Chapter 660
Skeletons Under the Moon
Chapter 660 Skeletons Under the Moon
The skeleton gleamed a cold, hard bluish-white in the moonlight, and at first glance, it looked like a meticulously crafted work of art, each bone eerily smooth.
Luna's breath hitched slightly. She subconsciously took a half step back, her fingers unconsciously tightening their grip on her scarf. Her slightly bulging eyes showed even greater surprise.
“Oh…” the girl said softly, “This is really unusual… I mean, I never thought I would see this at school…”
Rolf's face turned deathly pale, his Adam's apple bobbed, and he managed to speak:
"Do you think... this is... part of the maze decorations?"
Wade didn't answer, and Luna gave him a strange look: "The decorations of the maze?"
“I’ve heard that… some Muggle schools have these human skeleton specimens, so I thought…” Rolf stammered, offering an excuse he himself didn’t believe.
"It should be hanging in some hidden corner of the maze, ready to jump out and startle someone at any time, instead of being buried under the bushes outside."
"I've seen far worse," Vader said calmly, waving his wand.
Rolf saw a silvery-white object emerge from the tip of Vader's wand and disappear in a flash.
"Guardian Deity..."
He murmured enviously, finally managing to calm himself down.
"But...isn't this bone strange?"
Rolf said, "There were no clothes, no flesh and blood, not even a trace of blood... It had been buried for a long time, and the bones were... very clean and intact."
Although it was his first time seeing a corpse, it wasn't his first time seeing animal bones. In Rolf's grandfather's mystical space, there were always some mischievous magical creatures that would bury bones in the ground to hide them, intending to eat them later.
When bones are dug out again, they will have cracks or holes, look very dirty, and sometimes even change color.
The skeleton in front of them, however, was so smooth and clean that it looked like a work of art.
"It doesn't look like it was eaten clean by something."
As he spoke, Wade removed the soil around the skeleton, suspending it in the air.
There were no tiny teeth marks left on the bone from animals or insects gnawing on it.
"And the arrangement is neat, so at least when he was buried, the body should still be intact. And it couldn't have been long... maybe even just a day or two."
Wade placed the remains back into the pit, pondered for a moment, then turned to the two men and said, "You two, go back to the castle."
Luna bit her lip and shook her head: "No, we found this together... If anyone asks, it'll be easier to explain if we share the burden."
“That’s right.” Rolf nodded vigorously. “I… the three of us will vouch for each other… if there’s any danger afterward, I won’t let you face it alone.”
Seeing their stubborn expressions, Wade thought for a moment and didn't insist on driving them away, simply saying, "It's not that dangerous..."
His gaze fell on the pale skeleton, and he said, "Whoever did this, I think he must have had a more important purpose and wouldn't waste his energy on a few students who found the remains."
"I don't know who he is?" Luna lowered her gaze, looking at Bones with pity, and said, "This person... could he be a student at the school?"
“I don’t think so,” Wade said. “I just took a look, and his molars are quite worn, and there are signs of bone spurs in his knees and lumbar spine. He must be an elderly man.”
“I didn’t know you had such a unique and profound understanding of skeletons, Wade Gray.”
A sarcastic voice came from not far away: "I have no idea which class at Hogwarts taught this kind of knowledge. Perhaps Mr. Grey would be so kind as to enlighten me?"
Everyone turned around and saw Snape, his black robes billowing, striding over. His thin lips curled into a low, mocking voice as he spoke:
"Or... were you spying on the scene when someone buried the remains?"
Luna stared wide-eyed at Professor Snape, as if utterly shocked that a professor would make such an irresponsible guess.
Rolf also instantly showed an expression of anger and disbelief, shouting, "How could that be? Wade would never do such a thing!"
Wade glanced back and saw that Professor Snape was simply walking exceptionally fast, and besides Dumbledore, there were several other figures behind him—
Professor Moody, Professor McGonagall, Karkaroff, and Adso, the principal of Vargadu.
Professor McGonagall, with her keen eyes, immediately focused her attention on the skeleton; Professor Moody, disregarding his wooden prosthetic leg, knelt down beside the remains to examine them.
Karkaroff and Adso merely glanced at the bones in the pit, their expressions thoughtful, before looking with interest at the three underage wizards, their gazes fixed on Vader.
“I’ve only read a few books on anatomy and have some basic common sense,” Wade said calmly, then gave a slight bow. “Good evening, professors.”
Dumbledore nodded, his long, silvery-white beard gleaming in the moonlight, and the other professors nodded in response gently.
Snape scoffed, "Dumbledore, it seems the Hogwarts library can no longer satisfy the students' thirst for knowledge; they're even seeking Muggle knowledge!"
Dumbledore said gently, “Severus, I believe that curiosity is the most precious spark of wisdom, don’t you agree?”
He looked at Wade, his face showing approval, and smiled:
"Moreover, while Muggles' knowledge may lack the sophistication of magic, their understanding of the world is equally astonishing."
Karkarov clicked his tongue softly, a hint of disdain on his face, but said nothing.
"That's right. But knowledge is like Felix Felicis; in moderation it can bring good fortune, but in excess it can bring disaster."
Adso added, "Curiosity is the same... An excessive thirst for knowledge is a vice, just like Grindelwald's in the past."
If that person hadn't had such a strong "desire to learn" about black magic, he wouldn't have been expelled from his school at such a young age.
Dumbledore agreed, saying, "So there's a Muggle saying—curiosity killed the cat. But I think children can understand what moderate exploration is."
He patted Wade on the shoulder, strode over, crouched down, and with a soft glow emanating from the tip of his wand, carefully examined the skeleton.
Moody, who had already undergone the examination, turned his head, his demonic eyes darting wildly in their sockets, while his normal eyes stared sharply at the three of them.
"Tell me... how did you find this skeleton? Did you touch anything here?"
"Is such that……"
Rolf glanced at Luna and took the blame for her wandering around all night: "Because one of our hunchbacked tree-guarding friends hasn't been feeling well lately, so I was thinking of finding it some treats..."
Having done this, there was no point in hiding the fact that they had once "coveted" the little beetle parasitizing the Divine Horse. Rolf had learned from his grandfather since childhood that the truth was a more powerful weapon than lies.
However, sometimes he also knows to only tell part of the truth.
Rolf recounted their activities that evening in detail, omitting the part about Mrs. Maxime and Hagrid's argument, pretending they went to the stables afterward, and emphasizing that they "saw Professor Hagrid leave." As Dumbledore and his group left the castle, they were spotted by several students still awake in their carriage. They ran to report to Mrs. Maxime, who then donned her cloak and hurried over.
With the third match just around the corner, even though Clementine's chances of winning weren't very high, Mrs. Maxime didn't give up, and she wouldn't allow herself to be excluded by the other judges.
As she approached, she heard Rolf mention "Divine Horse," and she paused, looking somewhat uneasy.
Later, upon learning that the others hadn't witnessed their argument, her stiff expression relaxed slightly. She quickened her pace, approached the pit, examined the remains in the pit, and then looked at the expressions of the others before standing aside and listening quietly.
Skipping over the small talk, the actions of Wade and his companions were not complicated, and Rolf finished explaining them in just a few minutes.
The Bowtruckle, which hadn't fully recovered, was still lying in Luna's palm, indirectly acting as a "witness."
After the lecture, the professors did not raise any questions.
Dumbledore straightened up and said gravely, “Someone used extremely evil dark magic on this corpse, dissolving his flesh and clothing. This kind of magic is very ancient and rare; I haven’t seen it for many years.”
"Regarding... the identity of this skeleton..." Mrs. Maxim asked cautiously, "Do you have any thoughts?"
Dumbledore lowered his eyes, paused for a moment, and then said, "Unfortunately, magic has destroyed too many traces. All I can say is... he was a male wizard, at least over 60 years old."
"Could they be some missing elderly wizards?" Karkaroff said in a slick tone. "We all know that some old guys live in seclusion, and no one cares if they lose contact with someone."
Moody scoffed and said gruffly, "Did a troll kick your head? If it's some old guy who no one cares about after he's dead, why treat his remains like this? And hide them in Hogwarts? Do you have a hobby of carrying corpses and hiding them in other people's yards?"
Karkaroff turned pale from the rebuke, his goatee trembling slightly, but as soon as his eyes met Moody's magic eyes, his eyes blinked rapidly and his gaze shifted, before he forcibly suppressed his anger.
"So the key is..."
Moody's gaze shifted to the skeleton, and he slowly said, "Why is it here? Why was the body disposed of this way?"
“What are you implying, Moody?” Snape asked coldly.
Moody's eyes were fixed on Snape, his rough voice laced with sarcasm:
"I'm just stating a possibility... The murderer might be trying to cover something up... Perhaps with the help of someone, he infiltrated the school by using the identity of a pitiful person."
Professor McGonagall gasped. "You mean... the murderer might be hiding in the castle right now, disguised as someone else?"
Moody nodded, his eyes fixed on Snape, making no attempt to hide his suspicions about who the target of his suspicions was.
A dangerous glint flashed in Snape's eyes: "If you're alluding to—"
"Alright, gentlemen."
Dumbledore interrupted them gently but firmly, stepping forward to form a soft barrier between them.
“Now is not the time to be suspicious of each other. Alastor, I believe Severus is not someone you need to doubt... Severus, I think you understand that we need to be extra cautious right now.”
A tense atmosphere hung in the air. Luna gently stroked the restless Airo, while Rolf watched the professors nervously, feeling like he was suffocating.
Moody looked away. "There aren't many male wizards over 60 in the school. Dumbledore, I suggest an immediate, thorough search of the castle, including its perimeter... Kid, what's up?"
His magical eyes darted around and stared intently at Wade, who had raised his arm.
Everyone looked over.
"I'm just curious."
Vader said calmly, "I don't know much about the effects of some magic. I'd like to know... what if the deceased's appearance was altered by a Transfiguration Charm, or they ingested a lot of aging potions, or Polyjuice Potion, etc..."
The air seemed to freeze, with only Wade's voice still ringing out:
"So what will the skeleton look like after death? Will it be the original state it was in when it was alive, or the deformed skeleton of an elderly person?"
A night breeze blew by, and several people present shivered.
They all knew, of course, that death could not directly eliminate the effects of deformation.
The murderer can even kill a person and then use a transformation spell on the corpse.
"Merlin..."
Mrs. Maxim suddenly gripped her wrist; Karkaroff's thin fingers nervously rubbed his cufflinks, his eyes darting around; Professor McGonagall's face was paler and more angular than usual, his lips pressed into a tight line.
Only Dumbledore's expression remained unchanged, perhaps appearing much more solemn than usual. However, Wade couldn't tell whether he hadn't considered this possibility or had known it all along but hadn't said it.
Although Moody and Snape had been discussing the possibility that the killer was hiding in the castle, everyone present understood—
As professors at Hogwarts, they simply couldn't say it directly: all the members of the magic school who remained at Hogwarts could potentially become the targets of the murderer's disguise.
However, setting the age limit to 60 makes it much less likely for other magic schools to accept students. This is because they bring very few adults; basically, only the headmasters of each school are over that age.
If a principal can be easily replaced, then he would not have become a principal in the first place.
However, if the age range is broadened at this point... then students from every school will become suspects.
Adso strode to the edge of the pit, and in a deep voice recited an ancient Vagado spell, the tip of his wand emitting a bright yellow light.
The beam of light spread out, enveloping the entire skeleton, and slowly dissipated after several minutes.
Adso's face was grim. He turned to look at everyone and said slowly, "I can't tell if his age has been faked... everything has been ruined."
"In other words... the murderer could also be disguised as a student..."
Professor McGonagall's voice trembled unusually, and Wade thought that even when Voldemort was rampaging, her expression wouldn't have been this bad.
It was as if a cold wind had silently swept by, and a chill crept up their backs. For a moment, no one spoke, and they even held their breath unconsciously.
The castle lights remained warm and bright, and several school vehicles, such as carriages and ships, were quietly parked by the lake, their lights reflecting in the water, creating a dazzling effect.
But at this moment, this scene cannot bring peace and a sense of security, because everyone realizes that behind those lit windows, there may be a pair of malicious eyes.
(End of this chapter)