In the Hogwarts Headmaster's office, Dumbledore rested his chin in his hand, his long beard trailing down to his waist as he fell into deep thought. "So it really is that Black. Let us hope he does not become a variable."
Crunch. A highly realistic Cockroach Cluster burst in his mouth, and Dumbledore, having exhausted himself over the course of the night, broke into a sweet smile.
---
Ever since the night in the Forbidden Forest, rumors of monsters lurking within the trees had spread rapidly through the school, thanks entirely to Malfoy's big mouth.
Most of the students were terrified, making sure to steer well clear of the forest edge during their free time. Even the usually mischievous Weasley twins had significantly curtailed their antics.
Before long, a veritable blizzard of angry letters from parents descended upon the school via owl post. Chief among them were letters from several school governors, led by Lucius Malfoy, fiercely demanding that the school thoroughly investigate the Forbidden Forest to ensure the students' safety, threatening to slash school funding or even replace the Headmaster if their demands were not met.
Of course, none of this was the students' concern. As for Julien, only Elizabeth Rosier came to ask him for the details. She advised him to be extremely careful, noting that there had been constant fluctuations of Dark Magic within the school recently—sensing such things was one of the innate talents of the Rosier family.
However, since that night in the forest, Liriya had not had a single good night's sleep. The Children of Nature from the North possessed a sense of smell far sharper than ordinary humans, and this scent was tied to a blood feud.
The smell of that shadowy figure—rotting moss, stale blood, and a cloying, sickening sweetness—was branded into her memory.
Every night, when all was quiet and she lay in her four-poster bed in the Hufflepuff dormitories, that scent would seep in through the cracks in the windows, the floorboards, and the walls, constantly reminding her: the murderer was close by. He was right here in Hogwarts.
"I can smell him," Liriya intercepted Julien in the corridor after dinner one evening. Her ice-blue eyes were filled with a rare, intense anxiety. "That person. The one who killed my grandmother. He's been in the castle this whole time. He never left."
Julien didn't question her judgment, as he already knew the plotline. "Who do you suspect?"
"Professor Quirrell," she whispered. "Or rather, the thing parasitizing him."
Julien nodded calmly, showing no surprise.
"You think so too? I thought you suspected Professor Snape, just like Harry and the others."
"I've suspected him for a long time," Julien nodded. "But tonight... I have a feeling he's going to make his move."
"Why tonight?" A figure stepped out of the shadows of the corridor. It was Elizabeth Rosier, wrapped in a dark cloak, the starburst brooch gleaming faintly at her collar.
"I heard what you were saying." She kept her voice extremely low.
"The dark fluctuations have been particularly strong lately. It's my family's talent—the ability to sense Dark Magic."
She paused, a complex expression crossing her face. "Even though my grandmother... was once a follower of Grindelwald, she taught me how to distinguish these fluctuations."
Ever since Liriya learned that the person who killed her grandmother was actually Him, her attitude toward Elizabeth Rosier had softened considerably, even though the Rosier family had done plenty of terrible things themselves.
"But why tonight? What's so special about tonight?" Rosier pressed.
"Because Headmaster Dumbledore isn't here tonight," Julien said. "I just heard Professor McGonagall say so in the Great Hall. The Board of Governors urgently summoned Dumbledore to the Ministry of Magic for a meeting tonight."
The three of them exchanged glances. In the dim light of the corridor, an unspoken understanding immediately formed between them.
"What do we do?"
"Whatever he's planning to do, we have to stop him! But I'm guessing his primary target is the Sorcerer's Stone!"
"The Sorcerer's Stone?"
"Right. Harry mentioned that when Hagrid took him shopping in Diagon Alley, he brought the Sorcerer's Stone out of Gringotts. The Stone is here at Hogwarts, and it might be the only thing that can resurrect Voldemort—the wandering spirit parasitizing Professor Quirrell."
"Voldemort! So what do we need to do?" Liriya asked through gritted teeth.
"As far as I know, Harry and the others are going to make a move tonight too. We'll follow them and figure it out as we go!" Truth be told, Julien wasn't exactly sure which day the climax of the first book took place, but he knew it was the day Dumbledore left. The worst that could happen was a wasted trip.
"Harry Potter?" Rosier raised an eyebrow, her tone tinged with disdain. "That first-year Savior?"
"Hey, he's the child of destiny. Besides, we need to protect the Mirror of Erised first."
"What mirror?" Both girls asked simultaneously.
"I'll explain the details later. It involves both of you. But for now, we need to move."
Without further delay, the three of them used the cover of night to head toward the third floor.
They navigated through the corridors, carefully avoiding Filch's usual patrol routes.
Julien's familiarity with the castle surprised both girls. He always seemed to find hidden shortcuts at just the right moment, or accurately predict which way the staircases were about to swing.
"How do you know all this?" Liriya couldn't help but ask.
"Seriously. It's like you didn't even start school at the same time we did," Rosier added. "Are you sneaking out every single night just to break school rules?"
"What do you mean, sneaking out to break rules? I just consider the school my home, that's all." Just as he finished speaking, Julien suddenly stopped as they rounded a corner and threw his hand back.
The three of them instantly ducked into the shadows and held their breath.
A faint noise came from ahead. They couldn't see anything, but the space in front of them looked somewhat blurry.
"Harry, you're standing on my foot." It was Ron's voice.
"Shh, be quiet." Hermione's voice.
"This Invisibility Cloak is too small for three people." Harry's voice.
They peered closely in the direction of the voices and could make out a blurry outline moving down the corridor. It vaguely resembled three human figures huddled together, shuffling forward in an awkward, ungainly manner.
Once the blurry shape had moved far enough away, Liriya asked, "What was that?"
"An Invisibility Cloak," Julien answered. "That was probably Harry, Ron, and Hermione."
"An Invisibility Cloak?" Liriya was still confused.
"I know what that is. One of the legendary Deathly Hallows," Rosier said. "I didn't expect Harry Potter to have an Invisibility Cloak."
"What are they going to do?" Liriya asked softly.
"The same thing we are," Julien smiled wryly. "Stop Voldemort. But I'm afraid they have no idea what the real danger is."
"Should we stop them?" Rosier's hand went to her wand.
"No," Julien shook his head. "Let's observe for now. But first, come with me. I need to verify something."
He led the two girls down another branching path, heading toward the north corridor on the third floor. However, when they arrived at the room where the Mirror of Erised had previously been kept, they found it empty.
Just as he thought. Dumbledore had taken the mirror to hide the Sorcerer's Stone and provide Harry with some extra experience points.
"It's been moved, just as I suspected," Julien confirmed his guess. "I was worried Voldemort might have figured something out."
"Where to next?" Liriya and Rosier asked in unison.
"The west corridor. The same way Harry and the others went."
Just as they were preparing to leave, a shrill, piercing cackle echoed through the corridor.
"Hehehe! Looks like I've caught some more troublemakers! Let's see... little Black! Oh? And the Child of Nature, and... the little traitor from the Rosier family?"
Peeves popped halfway out of the wall, his bell-covered hat sitting crookedly on his head, his eyes gleaming with mischievous delight.
"Peeves," Julien lowered his voice. "You know a lot of secret passages. Is there a secret passage leading down from the third-floor west corridor? Near where Dumbledore hid that thing!"
Julien knew the trapdoor guarded by the three-headed dog was in the forbidden corridor on the third floor, but the path beyond that went straight down.
"There's nothing Peeves doesn't know! But why should I tell you?" Peeves blew a raspberry. "Unless..."
"Unless what?"
"Unless you promise me," Peeves seemed to ponder for a moment, "that during the next Slytherin Quidditch match, you'll throw Dungbombs onto the pitch! I've been sick of the Bloody Baron for ages."
"Deal. I'm an expert at that," Julien agreed without a moment's hesitation. The two girls shot him bewildered looks.
Peeves' eyes lit up. "Follow me."