vncnus Chapter 199 Hunting in the Forbidden Forest
Chapter 199 Hunting in the Forbidden Forest
Chapter 199 Hunting in the Forbidden Forest
Inside the principal's office, the stove roared, dispelling the damp chill brought back from Black Lake, but unable to dispel the somber atmosphere that permeated the air.
Cullen sat in a high-backed chair, holding a steaming cup of sweet, hot cocoa—a gift from Dumbledore, but he barely drank any. His mind was still racing, reviewing every detail of the underwater tracking while contemplating the complex environment deep within the Forbidden Forest. Dumbledore stood by the window, gazing at the deep night and the distant silhouette of the Forbidden Forest, which resembled a lurking beast; his back appeared exceptionally tall.
There was a knock on the door. Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape, Professor Flitwick, and Hagrid entered one after another. Hagrid's massive body almost filled the doorway; his face was flushed, his eyes were bloodshot with anger and worry, and his huge hands gripped his pink umbrella tightly.
"Albus! Is Karen alright?" Hagrid's booming voice, thick with a nasal tone, rang out. "I just got back from the Forbidden Forest and heard the students talking about how the Basilisk jumped out of the lake and almost ate Karen! Merlin's tattered pants! That beast! How dare it!"
"Cullen is safe and sound, Hagrid, thanks to his own alertness and thorough preparation." Dumbledore turned around, his tone calm yet carrying an undeniable authority. "But we can no longer wait passively. Voldemort is possessed by the Basilisk and is in dire straits, and the Basilisk has also revealed its route back to the depths of the Forbidden Forest. This is the best time, and perhaps the only chance, to eliminate them both."
"You're going to venture into the Forbidden Forest to hunt the Basilisk?" Professor McGonagall's voice was filled with shock.
“We don’t need too many people. Our objective is clear, and we’ll act swiftly.” Dumbledore’s gaze swept over everyone present. “Minerva, Pomona, your task is to remain at the castle, ensuring the safety of the castle and the students, and to guard the Philosopher’s Stone to prevent any possible diversionary tactics. Severus, Felix, Hagrid, you will accompany me into the Forbidden Forest. Also,” he paused, “we need the assistance of the Ministry of Magic to seal off the other side of the Forbidden Forest, forming an encirclement. Minerva, notify the Auror squads and strikers responsible for patrolling the Forbidden Forest to cooperate with our operation.”
"Yes, Albus." Professor McGonagall nodded. "The leader is Drax the Auror, and their squad's camp is on the northwestern edge of the Forbidden Forest, near Hogsmeade. Shall we begin the operation now? Should I contact them immediately?"
"Contact them immediately," Dumbledore said decisively. "Explain the seriousness of the situation and request that they immediately seal off all possible large exits on the northwest and west sides of the Forbidden Forest, and set up barriers against Apparition and large creatures. Tell them the target is a thousand-year-old basilisk controlled by a dark wizard, and to exercise extreme caution. Have them set up defenses on the perimeter, and not to venture into the heart of the Forbidden Forest without my signal. We will enter from the direction of the castle to search and drive it away."
"If the basilisk really attacks from that side, is that Captain Dexter capable of stopping it?" Karen couldn't help but ask. He remembered the name; an Auror in the original story with mediocre abilities but a stubborn streak.
Professor McGonagall summoned a silver guardian cat-like creature as she replied, "Captain Delis usually oversees operations from the camp or personally leads patrols at key outposts. He should be in charge of this emergency deployment. I will instruct him to be extremely cautious in the message, informing him of the level of danger."
"Cullen," Dumbledore drew Cullen's attention, "you are the most crucial. You need to guide us in tracing the Basilisk's remaining trail, finding its lair, and you also need to personally investigate its soul. This mission is extremely dangerous; are you sure you want to participate?"
“I’m sure, Headmaster,” Cullen stood up, her eyes resolute. “Only I can track it down the fastest and most accurately. Moreover, capturing Voldemort’s soul requires the Soul Prism, and right now I’m the only one in Hogwarts who is most proficient in it, and I’m better at timing it than anyone else.” She showed him the warm, silvery-grey disc.
"Very good." Dumbledore said no more. "Prepare to depart. Rubeus, lead the way; we'll take the shortest route to the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Felix, Severus, guard the flanks and deal with any unforeseen threats. Cullen, stay close to me and focus on tracking."
The night was as dark as ink, thick clouds obscuring the stars and moon. At the edge of the forbidden forest, towering trees, like silent giants, cast deep shadows. The air was icy cold, thick with the scent of earth, decaying leaves, and an indescribable tension.
Hagrid, carrying a huge lantern, led the way; he knew the paths of the Forbidden Forest as well as his own backyard. Dumbledore followed closely behind.
The tip of the Elder Wand emitted a soft glow, illuminating an area several meters ahead. Professors Flitwick and Snape, like two ghostly shadows, vigilantly scanned the dark forest from either side. Cullen followed closely beside Dumbledore, took a deep breath, and activated her Sight of True Sight once more.
A magical vision instantly enveloped the surrounding environment. Trees emitted a faint green glow of life, and the intricate root systems underground resembled luminous veins. Small magical creatures hid in the gaps between the trees, emitting faint specks of light. Various kinds of mixed magical dust drifted in the air.
"This way!" Karen whispered, pointing northeast, away from the path and deeper into the dense forest. Amidst the chaotic magic, he detected extremely faint traces of the basilisk's magic, mixed with the basilisk's unique, scaly, residual magic and Voldemort's familiar, nauseating dark soul aura.
The squad immediately turned and entered a denser, more rugged woodland. A thick layer of humus and tangled tree roots made progress difficult. Professor Flitwick occasionally cast small spells to clear away thorns or reinforce the soft ground. Snape, like the most alert hound, kept his wand ready at all times, his cold eyes scanning every suspicious shadow.
The deeper one ventures into the Forbidden Forest, the more eerie the atmosphere becomes. The usual chirping of insects and birds at night almost completely disappears, replaced by a suffocating silence. The occasional hoots of owls seem particularly mournful. A restless atmosphere pervades the air.
Karen caught a glimpse of some normally gentle magical creatures, such as the silhouettes of unicorns, in the distance before they vanished swiftly into the depths of the forest, clearly terrified. The Bowtruckles huddled trembling in their tree hollows, even their fireflies dimming. Not a single giant eight-eyed spider could be seen on the path; it seemed that after encountering their natural enemy, the basilisk, these spiders had likely left the Forbidden Forest altogether.
"The creatures of the Forbidden Forest are very uneasy," Hagrid said in a deep voice, his massive body appearing unusually tense. "They're afraid of that big guy."
"Concentrate, Cullen, are the traces still there? Can you confirm it?" Dumbledore asked, his voice exceptionally clear in the silence.
"It's still there, but—it needs careful observation." Beads of sweat appeared on Karen's forehead. The basilisk was clearly intentionally navigating the complex terrain; its tracks were intermittent, sometimes requiring him to expend more effort to "connect" the remaining fragments of magic. Moreover, the deeper they went, the stronger the interference from natural magic became. "The direction is roughly northeast, towards the deeper waters."
The tracking lasted for nearly an hour. The team had penetrated deep into the Forbidden Forest, surrounded by towering ancient trees and dense, almost opaque canopies. The air was cold and damp. Karen was highly focused; the prolonged use of the Eye of Truth had brought on noticeable fatigue.
Suddenly, Karen stopped and stared intently at a relatively open area in front of her.
"Wait! The traces become very dense here!" He pointed to a patch of fallen bushes and a few small trees ahead. There were obvious, huge drag marks on the ground, and the soil was turned up, with some viscous liquid remaining on it that emitted a faint, foul-smelling green light in the magical vision—basilisk slime.
"Look here!" Hagrid crouched down, carefully dipped his gloved fingers in the slime, and brought it to his nose to sniff. The others instinctively took a step back. "That's right! It's from the basilisk! It's fishy and cold! And very fresh! It just passed by not long ago!"
"It's not just slime," Karen added, his gaze following the drag marks and dense magical disturbances forward, beyond the mess, pointing deeper, "The magical trajectory points over there!" The direction he pointed was none other than the scorched clearing where the Fang Shengjie Fiendfire incident had occurred!
"That scorched earth from Halloween?" Professor Flitwick shrieked. "Where is it hidden?"
“No,” Karen shook his head, squinting as he tried to discern, “the trajectory—around that scorched earth clearing! It goes behind the clearing.”
"He went in the direction of the cliffs near Black Lake!" A map of the Forbidden Forest instantly flashed into his mind—that scorched earth clearing was close to the center of the Forbidden Forest, and further in, there were cliffs where the terrain dropped sharply and connected to the deep waters of Black Lake!
The team's spirits lifted, and they quickly advanced along the increasingly clear tracks. Passing the barren clearing that still smelled faintly of burning, the terrain began to slope downwards. The trees thinned out, revealing the outline of steep cliffs. The cold, immense magical power of the Black Lake's deep waters became incredibly clear to Karen.
"Stop!" Karen suddenly lowered her voice and raised her hand to signal. Everyone immediately stopped and held their breath.
Ahead, near the bottom of the cliff, in a place partially obscured by dense vines and enormous ferns, the entrance to a deep cave suddenly appeared! The entrance was about ten feet high, irregularly shaped, and its edges were covered with huge, fresh scratches, clearly left when the basilisk forced its way in. Scattered on the ground at the entrance were more dark green, viscous liquids, which glowed like warning lights in Karen's magical vision. A chilling aura, a mixture of foul, damp, and faint sulfurous smells, slowly wafted from within the cave.
What made Karen's heart race even faster was that from within that deep cave entrance, an extremely intense and violent magical energy fluctuation was continuously emanating! Like the breath of a sleeping behemoth, it carried a chilling sense of oppression! And deep within the core of that immense magical energy, Karen clearly "saw" that cluster of extremely weak yet endlessly malevolent and icy dark soul fragments, resembling the Bone Sister, coiled there!
"This is it!" Karen's voice was filled with barely suppressed excitement and a hint of nervousness as he pointed to the cave entrance hidden by vines. "The basilisk's lair! Voldemort's soul and the basilisk are both inside!"
The prey's lair had finally been found. The tense atmosphere instantly reached its peak. All eyes were focused on the ominous cave entrance. A sharp glint flashed in Dumbledore's azure eyes.