Deep in the Forbidden Forest.
The darkness was as thick as ink, swallowing all the light.
Ian transformed into a white mist that darted between the trees, the branches rustling in its wake, startling a group of sleeping Tree-Protecting Leprechauns who responded with squeaking protests.
They all clung tightly to their perches.
Looking incredibly tense.
A flock of owls was disturbed, fluttering noisily from the branches, their wings beating loudly in the silent forest; on the ground, a few porcupines covered in spines grunted angrily, raising their quills and watching the direction of the white mist warily. However, Ian had no time to care about these startled creatures.
He was solely focused on finding those three mischievous students.
"Where could they be?"
With his legendary level of eyesight, Ian could see everything around him clearly even at night, so he wasn't worried about missing any corners along the way.
He wasn't just seeing clearly.
His field of vision was also vast.
Anyway, anyone who reached this level would naturally understand. That feeling of eyes being more than just eyes, with the power of the mind sweeping over every area along the way.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~"
The movement of Ian's flight also startled many sleeping creatures. A unicorn drinking water raised its head alertly, its silver-white mane rippling like light waves in the moonlight. As Ian's white mist passed by, it quickly retreated gracefully into the trees, stepping over the stream without causing a splash.
"They should be around here somewhere."
Ian was searching along the direction indicated by the Living Map, but the map could only show a general location, who knows where those three went after they climbed out of the secret passage.
This was a carpet search.
Ian radiated outwards from the exit of the secret passage in a frenzied search—his magic skill level had become increasingly advanced, now even faster than most flying brooms.
What can be said.
For many powerful wizards, a flying broom wasn't exactly a necessity, even someone with the power of Voldemort didn't rely much on a flying broom.
"Do people with two legs think they can outrun my flight?"
Ian's little face raised an eyebrow in the mist.
He moved quickly between the trees.
And indeed, sometimes something happens just because it is mentioned. Just as Ian complained about the trio's whereabouts, suddenly, a sharp scream pierced the silence of the Forbidden Forest.
"Damn it, what is this!"
It was Ron's heavily nasally voice.
Filled with fear and panic.
His heart-wrenching scream was enough to pierce the night sky—unsurprisingly, without the Savior's aura, Ron didn't have the same ease in the Forbidden Forest as if he were with the Savior.
"Did they really encounter danger?"
Ian raised an eyebrow slightly.
The white mist he formed accelerated instantly, flashing like lightning through layers of tree shadows, rushing toward the direction of the sound. When Ian arrived, the sight before him made him pause slightly.
As it turned out.
Even though Ron was screaming his heart out, as if he might be swallowed by a monster at any moment, the new generation trio wasn't actually in particular danger at the moment.
Only.
The trio was trapped in a bizarre cluster of purple mushrooms. These mushrooms were half as tall as a person, their caps covered in bioluminescent veins, slowly swaying with their movements.
As for why Ron was screaming.
The tip of Hermione's magic wand glowed faintly, illuminating Ron's pale face—his left foot was entangled by a mass of adhesive mycelium, which was rapidly extending upward.
He's just an eleven-year-old boy.
Previously well-protected by his family.
Ron had never encountered such dangerous and terrifying situations before.
He was on the verge of wetting himself in fear.
He was the most panicked among the new generation trio. As a wizard, he didn't even reach for his magic wand, instead attempting to fight off the strange plant with his bare hands and flesh.
Well.
This indeed showed a bit of the rashness a Gryffindor student should have—if you ignore Ron's contradictory behavior of crying while struggling with the plant.
"Let me think, let me think... what should we do now?" Even though Hermione's face was also pale and she was trapped, she was still trying to focus her intelligence and think of a solution.
Of course.
It was her first time encountering a similar danger, and as a precious girl from a Muggle family, her smart little mind was a bit affected at the moment.
Thinking was difficult.
Hermione could only force herself to stay calm.
And at this moment.
Neville, who used to be timid and hesitant, was performing better. Of course, he was still scared, but his brain wasn't stalled by it.
"Everyone, don't move!" Neville suddenly shouted, his voice changing due to fear, "These plants are similar to Devil's Nets! The more you struggle, the tighter they'll get!"
Indeed.
Trembling all over, Neville wasn't instinctively struggling like the other two. He was fighting his body's natural instincts to keep himself still. Although it didn't free him, the progress of the plants binding him was the slowest, with the sticky mycelium only reaching his thigh.
Neville shook even more violently.
Hermione, meanwhile, was already wrapped up to her waist by the sticky mycelium.
Ron, being the one who resisted most fiercely, suffered the most, almost completely enveloped by the sticky mycelium, becoming a digesting entity.