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Chapter 38: Tracking
Chapter 38: Tracking
Nighttime, at the edge of the Forbidden Forest.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione hid in the grass at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, constantly looking toward the castle.
Hermione said anxiously, "I don't think we should suspect the professor..."
Ron quickly replied, "Hermione, we've been burned by this before. Remember Professor Quirrell from our first year? Who would have thought that the timid and cowardly man had a Dark Lord stuck to the back of his head?"
"But that doesn't mean the other professors—" Hermione tried to reason, defending the professor she admired.
"Think about Lockhart. He might not be a Dark Wizard, but he's certainly not a qualified professor. Harry, do you remember playing a vampire in Defense Against the Dark Arts?"
Harry thought for a moment and suddenly felt a bit queasy.
So Harry whispered to her, "We're not accusing anyone, just being curious. We want to see what he's doing in the Forbidden Forest. This way, we can rule out a suspect. We could even seek help from Professor Hup."
Hermione didn't say anything.
The three of them hid in the grass. The November night had a slight chill, and the thin mist added to the cold.
Ron, frozen and stiff, shivered and said, "Maybe he won't come tonight. Should we go back?"
"Just a bit longer", Harry said patiently.
A while later, near midnight.
A tall figure emerged from the castle.
"Someone's coming, it's Professor Hup", the three of them got excited, relieved that their wait wasn't in vain.
Meanwhile—
Felix left the castle and headed toward the Forbidden Forest.
A gentle night breeze blew across his face, feeling quite refreshing.
He reached the edge of the Forbidden Forest and immediately sensed something watching him.
A small animal? A Forbidden Forest creature?
But they shouldn't be this close to the edge.
Felix took out his wand, and the tip emitted a glow. A dozen milky white light points flew out and quickly exploded, illuminating a hundred-meter radius of the Forbidden Forest.
Nothing.
He found it strange and followed his intuition to a large tree, examining it closely.
After a moment, he chuckled softly.
On the other side, the Golden Trio, cloaked under Harry's Invisibility Cloak, barely dared to breathe, their faces tense as they watched the professor.
Harry could feel his legs trembling, and Ron's warm breath was on his face.
Fortunately, the professor didn't suddenly reach out and lift their Invisibility Cloak. He passed by them and entered the Forbidden Forest.
"Phew! Phew!" The three of them panted heavily.
"Did he notice us?"
"He probably didn't."
"Should we go back?" Ron was considering giving up.
"No, we'll continue", Hermione insisted, determined.
So the three of them, under the Invisibility Cloak, took small steps and followed the professor.
Felix's pace wasn't fast. He fiddled with his wand, a peculiar feeling rising in his mind.
Golden Trio, main trio, is something "plot-related" going to happen today?
There were too many clues: the disordered footprints by the tree, the faint breathing, and the intuition that guided him, all revealing the trio's location.
But what truly identified the Golden Trio was the scent of his Assistant's shampoo.
This was also why Felix didn't expose them on the spot.
Felix continued toward his destination and noticed the three of them following. He was a bit surprised—were they targeting him?
Well, this was a good opportunity to meet the other two "protagonists."
After about half an hour, Felix arrived at a clearing deep in the Forbidden Forest and stopped.
About thirty meters away, Harry, Ron, and Hermione hid behind a large tree. "What is he going to do?"
“Shh!”
Felix raised his wand, flicked his wrist, and three crimson spells struck the stones. To the astonishment of the three observers outside, the stones transformed into three black hounds.
The dogs were about half as tall as a human, with glossy, sleek fur that resembled fine black velvet. The three large black hounds moved their bodies slightly, then fixed their gaze on Felix. They crouched low, baring their teeth, their eyes filled with aggression.
"Quite advanced transfiguration skills... Look, they seem almost alive", Hermione whispered.
"I don't care about his Transfiguration level; I just want to know what he's doing in the Forbidden Forest", Ron muttered, though his eyes were fixed on the scene.
But the next moment, something happened that left them all stunned. The three black hounds simultaneously lunged at Professor Hup, launching an attack on him. They moved with incredible speed, covering the distance in the blink of an eye.
"Ah!" Hermione couldn't help but scream; from her perspective, the black hounds' sharp fangs were less than three feet from Professor Hup.
But Felix didn't dodge. Instead, he cast a spell with a light, graceful motion.
Hermione was frantic, knowing that even if he could fend off one hound, there were still two more. Harry and Ron's faces were filled with terror, especially Harry, who couldn't shake the memory of another professor dying before him after a year.
However, they had all forgotten that the three black hounds were Professor Hup's own transfigurations.
In a second, the situation on the field changed dramatically.
Felix's figure vanished, leaving behind a cloud of black smoke. The next instant, he reappeared two meters away, and a red light shot from his wand. His figure disappeared again, reappearing in another corner, casting another spell.
To the three onlookers, it seemed as if the professor had multiplied into three, casting three spells simultaneously.
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
The three black hounds fell to the ground, struck by the spells.
Under the Invisibility Cloak, they watched in disbelief.
"Good heavens, what kind of magic is that!" Ron's mouth hung open, still replaying the scene in his mind.
From the black smoke, Professor Hup's stern face appeared, accompanied by a red light, and he vanished again, reappearing elsewhere. His speed was so fast that it was impossible to follow, let alone dodge or block.
Harry's eyes were wide open as well.
In the center of the clearing, Felix shook his head. It was still off by half a meter.
This was only two jumps. If he made ten or eight, would he risk being hit by his own spells?
Felix had come out to perfect his trinity assault tactic. In his younger, more dramatic days, he had named this technique "Instant Kill":
The principle was simple—trinity, or the simultaneous use of three spells, perfectly fused to achieve an effect far greater than the sum of their parts.
The speed of "Apparition", the power of the "Petrification Charm", and most importantly, the ability to maintain balance and reaction speed with "Mind Acceleration."
When combined, Felix could instantly cast spells from over a dozen different positions, creating a dazzling crossfire that made him as formidable as a whole team.
The principle was indeed simple, but the execution was extremely challenging.
The difficulty lay in improving his reaction speed and maintaining balance in the blink of an eye.
At the beginning of the school year, he had developed the basic form of this magic, or a branch technique— "Mind Chamber." However, it could only be used as a teaching tool. Over the past two months, he hadn't been idle.
While Hermione practiced Runic Script in the Mind Chamber, Felix had been working on how to apply it in combat.
Luckily, he had made significant progress recently.
This was why he had ventured into the Forbidden Forest for several consecutive days—to avoid the anti-Apparition charms that were everywhere within Hogwarts Castle!
"Two jumps, barely acceptable", Felix said, somewhat satisfied. After all, there was still room for improvement.
Then, he lifted his head and fixed his gaze on the direction of the Golden Trio.
"Come out."
(End of Chapter)
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