Chapter 663
Records and Discussions
Chapter 663 Records and Discussions
Before setting up the stands themselves, the students always thought it would be an easy task, because in the previous two games, the Ministry of Magic had the stands ready overnight.
When it came to actually getting started, they realized that it wasn't as easy as they had imagined. Even though they were modifying the Quidditch arena, there were so many minor details that it made them wonder if all the Ministers of Magic from around the world would be coming to watch the game.
Michael even seriously suggested to Wade, "Why don't you get a special match suit made? Dumbledore will definitely approve your leave, and he might even personally take you guys to see Mrs. Morse."
Wade: "...The high-backed chair you just conjured up has an extra leg."
The afterglow of the setting sun gilded the busy scene, and although most people were exhausted and about to collapse, it did not affect their enthusiasm for chatting and laughing.
However, beneath this jubilant facade, none of the students noticed that pairs of large, round eyes were watching everything from hidden corners, and the school's professors, besides setting up the venue, also devoted most of their energy to observing the students.
Zoe sat in the cramped space below the stands, her slender fingers moving rapidly, and a line of text quickly appeared on the parchment in front of her—
"Miss Brown of Gryffindor arrived at the arena at 3:20 p.m.... left the arena fifteen minutes later... and returned with pumpkin juice stains on her lips..."
Habby hung on the oak tree, his small body almost completely hidden by the leaves, muttering to himself as he wrote:
"McMillan of Ravenclaw arrived at 3:31... took something that looked like candy from his left pocket and put it in his mouth..."
McKee lurked in the shadows of the pillar, his eyes scanning the crowd through the wooden fence.
“Millison Bosde of Slytherin… complained about doing servant work… behaving as usual, nothing unusual…”
"Theodore Nott...frequently touched his cuffs...one hour and thirty-five minutes, drank a bottle of carrot juice...questionable..."
The other house-elves also recorded the students' performance:
“Wade Gray…has not eaten or drunk for three hours, and no abnormalities have been found…”
"Harry Potter...no abnormalities..."
"Hermione Granger...did not eat or drink, and read twenty pages of a book in her spare time...no other unusual behavior was found..."
“Ryan Caro…returned to the castle at one hour and fifty-seven minutes, paused for three minutes in the washroom…this is currently uncertain…”
"Daphne Greengrass...arguing with her sister...behaving strangely, questionable at this time..."
The laughter continued on the field. Several younger students, having pulled the ribbons askew, ran back from their seats to fix them, pushing and shoving each other as they went, almost pushing a little boy off the steps.
Wade reached out and helped the brown-haired boy up. As the boy thanked him, Wade felt as if something had blinded him.
Wade turned his head as if sensing something and saw a pair of tennis ball-sized eyes wink at him in the shadows before quickly disappearing.
A thought struck him, and looking at his surroundings, he suddenly understood something.
Indeed... the compound decoction only lasts for one hour each time it is taken. Gathering all the students at the Quidditch pitch is a good way to verify this, and it does not need to cause widespread panic.
It remains to be seen whether the "hunt" organized by the school will actually catch the expected prey.
Wade shielded his eyes from the slightly glaring sunset, stood on high ground, looking down at the bustling stadium, and had a vague premonition in his heart—
Such a meticulous and thorough investigation will likely end in vain.
...Inside the headmaster's office, the same brilliant orange-red light shone through the high window, illuminating the spinning silverware. Dumbledore sat in an armchair beside the phoenix perch, his gaze calm.
Several more Aurors had joined the room; they were all elites from the Ministry of Magic.
A murder has occurred within Hogwarts Castle, which is certainly not a trivial matter that can be easily covered up. Fudge strongly asserts that, in order to avoid causing panic, the discovery of the remains should be kept secret until the murderer is caught.
This approach would also help in finding the murderer, so Dumbledore and Scrimgeour, the Auror's chief of staff, both acquiesced.
Beside Dumbledore, the elderly house-elf was sorting through all the information and checking it one by one.
A piece of parchment, several times larger than a regular blackboard, is unfolded and hung on the wall, with tiny names marked on it, and the names even move slightly.
Suspicious objects were marked one by one, and then crossed out as new evidence was discovered.
Scrimgeour stood beside him, leaning on his hand. He didn't trust the house-elf's judgment and kept staring intently, his brows furrowed deeply, making his whole face look exceptionally gloomy.
“Dumbledore,” Moody said in a low voice, “I found no suspicious individuals in the castle. I’ve searched the secret chambers, the cellars… including the dungeons that have been sealed for decades.”
“I also found no trace of brewing or using Polyjuice Potion,” Snape said. “There are no missing potions or essential ingredients in the stockroom or my personal stash.”
"What if... the murderer used a Transfiguration spell?"
Professor McGonagall, upon returning to the castle, glanced at the headmaster and whispered, "Like Grindelwald back then, to maintain another form for a long time... Although this requires extremely high skill in transformation, it is not necessarily impossible."
Dumbledore rubbed his fingers together, smiled upon hearing this, and said, "If that's the case, we should be glad—to maintain a shapeshifting form for a long time requires extremely high levels of magic, but even I need to stop and catch my breath occasionally."
"So if that person actually does that, they'll be exposed very quickly?" Kingsley, who was listening in, said knowingly, then added, "But if it's someone like my man Tonks, a disguised Magus..."
“This kind of person isn’t like a vixen, who’s born everywhere! In all my years, I’ve only ever seen one natural-born disguise Magus.”
Moody tapped the ground with his cane and said gruffly, "But you're right, we have to consider every possibility! Even the people next to us aren't necessarily trustworthy!"
He glanced at Snape with a fierce and suspicious look, and as the Potions Professor's face darkened, Moody's gaze swept evenly over everyone in the room, including Dumbledore.
Snape sneered, "Truly admirable professionalism, Mad-Eye."
Moody gave him a critical and skeptical look, almost as if to say, "You're the one I doubt the most."
Phoenix Fawkes suddenly let out a cry and landed on Dumbledore's shoulder.
Dumbledore reached out and patted Fawkes on the head, saying, "Our adversaries are indeed more cunning and dangerous than we think, but we don't need to be on edge all the time."
He stood up, his long, silvery-white hair gleaming in the sunset, and his tone was very gentle.
"After today, continue with classes and daily life as usual, remain vigilant, but do not make any rash moves that could alert the enemy."
He looked at everyone present and said in a deep voice, "The third game will be the best bait and the perfect trap. The murderer is hiding in the school, he must be planning to do something on that day."
(End of this chapter)