stonecrandall Chapter 198 Aftermath and Tracking
Chapter 198 Aftermath and Tracking
Chapter 198 Aftermath and Tracking
The deafening roar of the basilisk's massive body crashing into the Black Lake had barely subsided when a biting wind, carrying moisture and a stench, swept across the open corridor. Karen gasped for breath, her hands trembling slightly as she gripped her wand and phoenix feather, her fingertips icy cold. In the thermal vision of her Basilisk-proof goggles, the enormous orange-red heat source outline at the hole in the rock wall below was rapidly cooling, sinking, and finally disappearing into the frigid lake, leaving only churning foam and spreading ripples on the surface.
"Karen!" Dumbledore's voice was deep and steady, instantly dispelling the lingering ringing in Karen's ears and the frantic pounding of his heart. The old headmaster's gaze swept over Karen's entire body, confirming that he had no obvious external injuries, before his eyes flashed like lightning to the shockingly huge hole in the rock wall below, the scattered shards of rock and ice, the swirling eddies on the lake's surface, and the lingering alchemical smoke and the strong stench left by the basilisk in the air.
"I'm alright, Headmaster." Cullen took a deep breath, quickly calming herself down, and recounted the events to Dumbledore in a clear and organized manner. "It was the Basilisk. It attacked from beneath the Black Lake cliffs, its plan was probably to devour me whole. But I sensed the warning from the Soul Prism and dodged the first attack. I used the Rooster Crow to disrupt its hearing and balance, and the Alchemy Smoke Bomb to obscure its vision and neutralize any potential poisonous fog. It was distracted, but after a brief moment of stun, it immediately disappeared into the Black Lake. The whole process took about ten seconds. I had hoped to stall it for a while, but unfortunately, it didn't give me that chance."
Dumbledore's expression was incredibly solemn. He crouched down, the tip of his wand gently touching a remaining sample of the slime. A faint glow appeared on the tip of the wand. "Merlin's beard," he whispered, his voice filled with unprecedented seriousness. Voldemort finally couldn't resist making his move.
However, he also underestimated Karen, never expecting that a second-year student could achieve such a feat. In fact, if he hadn't left so decisively, he would have felt a huge surprise from Karen.
Just as Cullen was about to continue explaining her discovery to Dumbledore, hurried footsteps came from both ends of the corridor.
"Albus!" Professor McGonagall's voice was filled with panic. She practically ran over, followed by a pale-faced Professor Flitwick and a grim-looking but equally swift Snape. The other professors who had heard the loud noise were also rushing over from different directions.
"Karen Hawthorne!" Professor McGonagall visibly relaxed upon seeing Karen standing unharmed beside Dumbledore, but her heart immediately tightened again as her gaze swept over the massive hole and the chaotic scene below. "That sound, that vibration, and that aura..."
"Minerva, Felius, Severus," Dumbledore stood up, his voice steady yet carrying an unquestionable tone of command, "It's the Basilisk. It just attacked Cullen, bursting out from under the Black Lake cliffs, and after missing its target, immediately retreated back into the lake."
"A basilisk?!" Professor Flitwick gasped, his high-pitched voice trembling. "It actually dared to come to the castle and attack the students?!"
Snape's black eyes were like deep pools, staring intently at the hole below and the slime on Cullen's cloak. His lips were pressed into a cold, straight line. He didn't speak, but the chill emanating from him was almost colder than the lake breeze.
"Absolutely true," Dumbledore said in a deep voice. "Cullen reacted quickly, using a specially made alchemical artifact to successfully evade the deadly attack and scare it away. But the danger is far from over. It could reappear at any time, and its target is clear."
"Is the target Karen?" Professor McGonagall astutely grasped the key point and looked at Karen with concern.
"I'm afraid so." Dumbledore nodded. "Voldemort has confirmed the identity of Cullen's pursuer and sees him as an obstacle that must be eliminated."
Karen's earlier speculation has been confirmed," he paused, his gaze sweeping over the professors present.
"Act immediately!" Dumbledore commanded swiftly, his voice firm and decisive. "Minerva, you are in charge of the castle interior. Entire level of security! All students, return to your common rooms immediately. Prefects and the student council president will assist in maintaining order! No student is permitted to leave the common rooms without a professor's accompaniment! Notify Pomona to lead the Hufflepuff upperclassmen in guarding the Great Hall and main passageways. Her herbalist knowledge might be able to deploy some warning plants."
"Yes, Albus!" Professor McGonagall replied without hesitation, turning and walking away quickly, her robes fluttering in the wind.
"Felius, you are in charge of the defense of the upper levels and towers of the castle, especially the Ravenclaw Tower and the Astronomical Tower. Inspect all windows,
"Terrace, reinforce with protective spells, set up a magic-sensing alarm!"
"Understood, Headmaster!" Professor Flitwick straightened his back, waved his wand, and quickly left.
"Severus," Dumbledore's gaze turned to Snape, "you are responsible for sealing off and monitoring the Black Lake shoreline and all known waterway entrances. Inspect and seal off all sewers, spillways, and old aqueducts that could connect the Black Lake to the castle! I need you to ensure it cannot again use waterways to infiltrate beneath the castle and launch a surprise attack!"
Snape gave Dumbledore a cold look, then glanced at Cullen, and without saying anything more, he simply squeezed out a single word through gritted teeth: "Understood." With a flick of his black robe, he slid silently, like a bat, down the stairs to the ground floor.
Other professors who arrived, such as Sinister and Lady Hooch, were quickly assigned by Dumbledore to reinforce the castle's defenses and reassure the students. Soon, only Dumbledore and Cullen remained in the corridor, along with the distant figures of students being led away by the professors, their voices filled with fearful chatter.
The cold wind still howled, ruffling Dumbledore's silver beard and hair. He walked to the railing, looking down at the huge hole and the gradually calming lake, his brow furrowed.
"Headmaster," Karen walked up to him, lowering her voice to make sure only the two of them could hear, "when the attack just now..."
"I saw with my true sight that Voldemort's soul was inside the Basilisk, which matched one of the possibilities we had previously guessed."
Dumbledore whirled around, his gaze sharp: "What did you see?"
"A dark fragment of a soul," Karen said with certainty, "located behind the basilisk's head, near the cervical spine. Very thin."
It was extremely dim, like a dying black ember, clinging tightly to the basilisk's massive magical core, drawing life force from it. That was Voldemort! He was far weaker than when he was possessing Quirrell. That's why he was so cautious, making a desperate gamble before immediately retreating.
Dumbledore was silent for a moment, a flicker of understanding and a deeper worry crossing his eyes. "Attachment—absorption—no wonder he could control the Basilisk,"
No wonder he became so weak and agitated. Losing a human host and becoming dependent on a magical creature was like drinking water to quench thirst. Karen, your observations are crucial; they explain many of the contradictions in its behavior.
He gazed at the churning surface of the Black Lake and said slowly, "It escaped back into the lake. Voldemort is very cunning; he will definitely try his best to erase all traces, just like he did in the Forbidden Forest Clearing last time."
"But this time is different, Headmaster!" Karen's eyes flashed with determination. "Last time in the Forbidden Forest clearing, he had ample time and space to completely disrupt the magical traces. But this time it's an underwater attack, and a hasty retreat! No matter how fast he moves in water, he can't instantly and completely dispel the massive magical traces left by himself and the basilisk as he would in air, especially with his soul so weak! The flow of water itself leaves traces, and given the basilisk's enormous size and magical power, as long as we track fast enough, we'll definitely find clues!"
It must have fled back towards the Forbidden Forest, that's its old lair!
He looked at Dumbledore, his eyes filled with earnestness and confidence: "Please let me try! With the Eye of Truth and your magical senses, let's follow its retreat path! This time it didn't have time to completely erase its tracks! This is our best chance to catch it, or at least pinpoint its lair! Every day it remains is a greater danger!"
Dumbledore gazed at Cullen's young yet remarkably resolute face, then at the cold, deep lake below. Time was of the essence; every second that passed meant the traces were fading, and Voldemort was at risk of regenerating or relocating. He knew the value of Cullen's abilities and understood the necessity of this risky pursuit.
"Alright." Dumbledore made a decisive decision, and with a gentle wave of his wand, a small boat used to ferry newborns silently glided to the surface of the water below the hole. "But remember, Cullen, safety is paramount. Stay close to me, and if anything seems amiss, stop immediately."
The two quickly descended the castle stairs to the lower level exit near the Black Lake. A cold wind, carrying moisture, rushed towards them. Dumbledore leaped lightly onto the small boat first, the boat barely rocking. Cullen followed closely behind.
Driven by Dumbledore, the small boat glided smoothly toward the enormous crevice in the rock wall. The closer they got, the clearer the pungent stench and the oppressive, lingering scent of violent magic became. The crevice was pitch black, with lake water constantly pouring in, its depths unfathomable.
Karen stood at the bow of the ship, took a deep breath, and activated his True Sight to its fullest extent. His vision shifted instantly. The cold, dark lake water transformed into a complex tapestry of flowing, faint magical energy. Among these various manifestations of magic, an exceptionally thick, intense, and dark green magical trajectory stood out prominently, extending outwards from the breach and into the Black Lake!
"There!" Karen pointed to the right side of the hole, about twenty feet from the entrance, in deep water. "Very clear marks! Like a turbid, muddy torrent! It's dissipating rapidly, but the main body is still clearly visible! It's heading towards the deep water in the Forbidden Forest! That's it!"
Dumbledore tapped his wand lightly, and the small boat immediately changed direction, heading in the direction indicated by Cullen.
"The trail is fading very quickly." Karen stared intently at the underwater surface, her brow furrowed. The dark green torrent of magic was like ink dripping into clear water, its edges rapidly blurring, spreading, and being diluted by the lake's own power. Voldemort's control was extremely efficient; even in his hasty retreat, he instinctively tried to disrupt the remaining magical signatures. Moreover, the basilisk moved much faster underwater than the small boat.
"It's accelerating away and deliberately stirring up the water, creating whirlpools and turbulence to wash away the traces," Dumbledore sensed and said in a deep voice, confirming Cullen's observation.
The small boat followed the increasingly faint and elusive dark green trail, venturing into the deeper waters near the edge of the forbidden forest. Here, the light was dimmer, aquatic plants grew abundantly, and the lakebed became more complex, littered with driftwood and boulders. The difficulty of tracking increased dramatically.
"The trail has branched!" Karen suddenly exclaimed. Near an area dense with aquatic plants and driftwood, the main trail, which had already faded, suddenly split into four or five weaker streams of magic, each heading in a different direction, like ink spurting from an octopus, deliberately misleading us. "He's using the same trick again! Trying to mislead us!"
Dumbledore opened his eyes, a glint of light flashing within them. He pointed his wand at the forked paths, a soft silver light emanating from its tip, and released a complex detection spell. The silver light, as if alive, probed into the water, contacting the forked streams of magic.
A few seconds later, Dumbledore withdrew his wand and shook his head. "It's all interference. The energy is weak and discontinuous, deliberately created magical afterimages. The main trajectory—" He pointed to one of the faintest paths, leading to the shadow of a huge underwater rock wall, "...it should be this direction. Although it's well concealed, the remaining traces of 'will' are deeper."
Karen stared intently, and under the full focus of the Eye of Truth, the trajectory Dumbledore had pointed out, though almost invisible in its magical aura, did indeed retain a faint trace of the cold, venomous magic belonging to a fragment of Voldemort's soul, quite unlike any other interference created by pure magic.
"That's right! This way!" Karen affirmed.
The small boat adjusted its course again, carefully navigating around the driftwood and seaweed, heading towards the shadow of the underwater rock wall. However, when they arrived, the faint trace of that will had completely vanished into the cold lake water and the complex lakebed topography, impossible to trace again.
"It's gone." Karen murmured unwillingly. In the vision of the Eye of Truth, only the natural flow of water and biological magic remained. "It pointed to this rock wall—or rather, the side of the rock wall that is closer to the Forbidden Forest."
Dumbledore steered the small boat to the surface. Before him lay the steep, snow- and ice-covered shore of the Black Lake, near the Forbidden Forest. Tall trees stretched their branches into the water, casting deep shadows. The rocks on the shore were slippery and cold.
"He escaped into the Forbidden Forest." Dumbledore gazed into the dark depths of the forest, his tone certain. "Although we haven't been able to track him directly to the entrance of the lair, the area has been greatly narrowed down. This area is clearly connected to the clearing where the Fiendfyre incident occurred on Halloween, and it's the key point."
Karen looked at the desolate forest and nodded. Although they hadn't pursued it to the very end, this hasty underwater tracking had yielded crucial information: confirming Voldemort's possessed state and degree of weakness, and pinpointing the Basilisk's final retreat direction—the depths of the Forbidden Forest. This provided a clear target for the next step. The icy lake water lapped against the hull, as if foreshadowing that the true battleground lay within that dark forest.