Alice MacFusty stared intently at Adelaide with a strange, curious gaze.
Adelaide was pacing back and forth like an ant on a hot pan, her hands haphazardly slapping her head, as if doing so could clear her thoughts.
After a long while, Alice, unable to suppress her curiosity, asked, "You know about that vanishing cabinet?"
Upon hearing this, Adelaide, who had been in a state of confusion, suddenly stopped, looked up at Alice, her eyes revealing a hint of confusion and struggle.
"Ah... I don't know how to put it, whether I really know about it or not? But that thing is truly magical; it can directly transport Death Eaters from the outside into Hogwarts. Ugh, I'm so stupid, why didn't I think of this before!"
Adelaide complained in annoyance, reaching up to vigorously scratch her messy, bird's nest-like hair.
Recalling the first time she saw the vanishing cabinet in her previous life, Adelaide's mood grew even heavier.
In the savior's sixth year, those brutal Death Eaters broke into Hogwarts with the help of the vanishing cabinet and cruelly murdered Principal Dumbledore—at that time, the young her was heartbroken, crying profusely and soaking the pages of her book.
Later, she learned that it was all a meticulously planned act by Dumbledore and Professor Snape.
Although she felt a little better after knowing the truth, whenever she recalled that heartbreaking plot, Adelaide still felt an indescribable pang of sorrow and regret.
She took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. The most important thing now was to find the mole and the cockroach diadem within Hogwarts; the vanishing cabinet could wait.
"By the way, where's Hagrid? Did he not see the Death Eaters either? You don't need to see their faces, just tell me if there was a short person among them."
Fifth-year Terence Higgs was already as tall as a normal person, but third-year Stephens was still very short; even with a cloak, the height difference from an adult would be noticeable.
As long as the evidence was conclusive, Professor Snape could apply to the Ministry of Magic to use Veritaserum on underage Wizards, and none of the other Death Eaters would escape!
Alice gently shook her head, her eyes revealing a hint of pain, and slowly said, "When my brother discovered my transformation, he didn't hesitate for a moment and immediately rushed to find Rubeus Hagrid. Before long, they hurried to the Enchantment with a group of tall Centaurs. However, by then, I had already successfully broken through the Enchantment and flown into the sky with you."
"Because they were in the Forbidden Forest, the dense trees blocked most of their view, making it impossible for them to determine my flight direction."
"Left with no choice, they decided to split into two groups to search. One group, led by Rubeus Hagrid, headed in one direction with some Centaurs, while the other group, consisting of my brother and three Centaurs, went in another direction."
"But not long after they separated, a sudden Centaur neigh and a deafening explosion came from nearby. Rubeus Hagrid's heart tightened, sensing something was wrong, and he quickly led his Centaurs to where the sound came from."
"When they finally arrived at the scene, they were stunned by what they saw—three Centaur corpses lay scattered on the ground, their blood staining the surrounding earth. My brother lay unconscious nearby, and not far away was a severely damaged vanishing cabinet. Besides that, nothing else remained."
"Initially, they were worried that those hateful Death Eaters might be hiding in some nearby corner, waiting for an opportunity. Rubeus Hagrid decisively carried my unconscious brother and led the others quickly out of the Forbidden Forest, anxious to find Headmaster Dumbledore for assistance."
"Later, the Centaur tribe, along with the Hogwarts Professors, conducted a thorough search of the entire Forbidden Forest. However, to their disappointment, they were unable to find any trace of the hidden Death Eaters."
"Dumbledore speculated that the vanishing cabinet might not have been damaged immediately after the battle. The situation was extremely urgent at the time, and the Death Eaters didn't have enough time to move it—left with no choice, they had to quickly retreat, allowing the mole left at Hogwarts to seize the opportunity to completely destroy the vanishing cabinet, preventing Dumbledore from using it to track the Death Eaters."
Adelaide nodded slightly after hearing this, agreeing with Dumbledore's conjecture.
If this were not the case, it would be difficult to explain why no Death Eater bodies were found at the scene, nor any injured Death Eaters fleeing in the Forbidden Forest.
If the Death Eaters could kill three Centaurs without harm and severely injure Professor MacFusty, then logically, they would never easily let Rubeus Hagrid and the other Centaurs escape to seek help from Dumbledore.
After all, Dumbledore would never give them a second chance for such a rare opportunity as a Dragon losing control.
These Death Eaters' visit could not have been merely to kill a few Centaurs and severely injure Professor MacFusty; they must have had other objectives.
The only reasonable explanation for their hasty retreat, even abandoning their original plan, is that the casualties they suffered far exceeded expectations, rendering them unable to continue with the subsequent tasks, thus forcing them to retreat in a panic with their injured and dead companions.
Adelaide breathed a sigh of relief, secretly glad that she had finally found this crucial breakthrough.
She clearly remembered that another vanishing cabinet was stored in Borgin and Burke's Shop, a shop that was the Borgin Family's ancestral property passed down through generations!
As long as she wrote a letter to Edward—
Oh right, he seemed to have fallen out with his brother... Thinking of this, Adelaide couldn't help but frown slightly, gently stroking her chin as she fell into thought.
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck her mind like lightning.
She vaguely remembered Edward mentioning that his sister married into the MacFusty Family!
Adelaide eagerly turned to Alice MacFusty beside her and asked urgently, "Miss MacFusty, do you have a family member who married a Borgin daughter?"
Hearing this somewhat abrupt question, Alice was slightly taken aback but quickly returned to normal and replied, "Indeed, one of my cousins had the good fortune to marry Ms. Anna Borgin a few years ago."
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