The sticky mycelium had even sealed his mouth.
This made the world suddenly a lot quieter.
"Is it similar to Devil's Net... I, I remember the book said it needs sunlight... Devil's Net is extremely sensitive to sunlight and heat, but it's nighttime now..."
"And this isn't Devil's Net." Hermione's hands trembled so much that she could barely hold the magic wand. Experiencing such a situation for the first time, she was far less confident and composed than she would be in the future.
"Then use fire! Most plants are afraid of fire!"
Neville's voice carried a hint of crying. He didn't doubt his knowledge, but the increasingly restrictive sticky mycelium was terrifying him immensely.
"Hurry up! It's crawling up to my waist!"
Neville shouted frantically.
"Uh uh uh uh~"
Ron could only make incomprehensible sounds.
Indeed.
The same familiar formula, still the same familiar routine. Even though the trio was no longer the trio Ian was familiar with, the one solving the problem was evidently still Hermione—perhaps this could be seen as a story of Hermione and her two useless men turning into Hermione and her again two useless men.
"..."
Ian was in mid-air watching helplessly. Since these plants would take at least a day to digest a person, he wasn't urgently concerned about saving the three of them immediately.
They ultimately needed to learn some lessons for their reckless behavior.
If not.
Who knows what fanciful adventures these three might embark on in the future—of course, looking at the original timeline, perhaps no lesson would deter the Gryffindor students' adventurous spirit?
"Fire... Incendio!"
At this moment.
Hermione began to cast magic.
Her usual usage of this magic, while not perfect, was extremely proficient, yet now, due to excessive tension, her performance was failing.
Sparks flew from the tip of Hermione's magic wand but refused to ignite into flames. Meanwhile, Neville was in a fluster, rummaging through pockets and scattering a packet of Bibiduo Flavor Beans all over.
"Merlin's beard!"
Neville's voice was distorted as he watched the glowing mycelium squirming like a living creature, "It's, it's climbing up! I'm going to be eaten!"
"Help me! Hermione!"
He cried out for help. Beads of sweat dotted Hermione's forehead as another weak spark shot from her wand tip, yet still failed to ignite into a flame.
"I... I can't do it..."
The girl's voice was tinged with tears.
Next instant.
Her hand was also wrapped, and her wand fell straight down.
Seeing this.
"Hermione is down too."
Ian sighed amid the nightly fog. He concentrated in the highest branches of an oak tree, gradually taking human form, and pulled out his magic wand.
Moonlight glided over Ian's robe, and the tip of his wand glowed with a bit of eerie blue light. Not wanting to scare them, Ian thoughtfully gave a warning.
"Close your eyes."
The three of them heard a familiar voice coming from the treetop.
But none of them reacted in time.
Blue flames poured down like a waterfall, swiftly covering the entire mushroom patch. Ron let out a scream that didn't sound human, his legs went weak, nearly fainting.
"Fiendfyre! It's Fiendfyre!" Neville's voice was trembling beyond recognition. His toad Leif had already fainted in his pocket, and the portly boy started rolling his eyes.
"What is Fiendfyre?"
Hermione's face was paler than the moonlight; she was ignorance without fear, although she didn't know the name of the magic, she instinctively felt the destructive power contained in the blue flames.
"One of the most, most terrifying Dark Arts... everywhere it passes..." Neville's teeth chattered, unable to finish his sentence as the blue flames swept over.
All three young wizards felt their own insignificance.
Utter despair.
And yet.
When they closed their eyes, after a moment, the anticipated pain didn't come, instead, they felt light all over, and then they all fell to the ground.
"Hiss!"
Hermione opened her eyes and couldn't help but draw a breath.
Ron and Neville were in little better shape. As they shakily opened their eyes, they found the grass within three feet around them intact, while the area beyond had turned to scorched earth.
Even the soil seemed to have turned to ashes.
"That's Fiendfyre! See that? Nothing can survive its path!" Neville's voice was as soft as a whisper, and he still looked visibly shaken.
"Such terrifying magic."
Hermione was equally astonished as she was still relatively new to the Wizarding World, having just started school not long ago. She could only act as a Miss Know-it-all within the scope of normal knowledge.
Like the Fiendfyre Spell, such forbidden magic.
It's likely that only little wizards from families like Neville's could recognize it — Ron could too, otherwise, his trousers wouldn't be in such a wet state right now.
"Merlin's beard."
Ron was sprawled on the ground, gasping for air, reveling in the joy of surviving a disaster. Undoubtedly, there was still a considerable amount of lingering fear in his heart.
"Who saved us?"
Hermione looked around.
However.
Neville's face became even paler.
"I think it might not be someone saving us, but rather someone giving us hope only to extinguish it." He was overthinking things, but there was some reason behind it.
"It's an extremely profound and terrifying Dark Art, only a very exceptional wizard could have learned it. I believe... there must be a very powerful Dark Wizard nearby!"
His voice didn't grow with fear, instead, it lessened, reflecting his ingrained fear of the Dark Wizards.
Ron and Hermione were both shocked upon hearing this.
"Dark Wizard!?"
"Is it a Death Eater?"
"Oh my god! I knew it! I knew it!"
Ron put on a know-it-all attitude again.
And at that moment.
"How much do I look like a Dark Wizard to you?" Ian's voice rang out again, as he emerged from the woods, his wizard's robe billowing in the breeze.
Even though the surroundings were already in shambles and the three little wizards were in a mess, Ian appeared spotless. The contrast was indeed strikingly pronounced.
"Ian!"
Hermione exclaimed in delight, then immediately realized something, her expression turning odd. If she remembered correctly, Neville had said that only very powerful Dark Wizards could cast the Fiendfyre Spell.
And from the current situation.
The one who cast the Fiendfyre Spell was likely Ian.
So.
Was Ian a powerful Dark Wizard?
Hermione found the thought chilling, not wanting to think more about it, nor daring to. Not just her, Ron was also aware and greatly shocked.
"Was it... was it you who cast the Fiendfyre?"
Ron's expression was one of uncertain surprise.
His question received no response.
"You three, little Gryffindors, truly never give a person peace of mind." Ian shook his head helplessly at the trio's sorry state, thinking they've surely learned their lesson now.
"Uh..." Neville snapped out of his daze, patting his head with a look of sudden realization: "Oh, right! I heard from the senior students, Mr. Prince can also cast the Fiendfyre Spell!"
"It's the kind permitted by the headmaster, so he's definitely not a Dark Wizard." Neville's tone was decisive, not just trusting but also showing a hint of high emotional intelligence.
Ian chuckled lightly, spinning his magic wand into a beautiful arc: "In the dead of night, what are you three Gryffindor students doing in the Forbidden Forest?"
He was asking them knowingly.
"The dangers here, Professor McGonagall must have emphasized at least ten times." He even wore a stern expression, as if ready to report them at any moment.
"Gulp~"
Ron panicked immediately.
Hermione twisted the hem of her robe with her fingers, unable to speak. Neville lowered his head in shame, staring at his shoes. All three appeared to be intimidated by Ian.
Ron's Adam's apple bobbed up and down, then he suddenly stiffened his neck and said, "We... we have a reason we had to come! Please, don't tell Professor McGonagall, okay?"
Although he was pleading.
However.
It seemed he still didn't intend to confess to Ian.
Indeed it was so.
Learning from mistakes seemed genuinely difficult for Ron here. After hesitating for a long time, Hermione finally couldn't help but want to confess to Ian.
"Actually..."
Just as Hermione seemed about to say something, a sudden commotion burst out from the distant woods. The sound of snapping branches was continuous, mixed with the heavy breaths of some creature.
Suddenly, a deafening roar tore through the night sky, startling countless roosting birds into flight.