r18novel Chapter 263, Section 262: The Missing Trio
Chapter 263, Section 262: The Missing Trio
Chapter 263, Section 262: The Missing Trio
The corridors of Hogwarts are always filled with a mysterious atmosphere at night.
The spiral staircase is changing.
Ian stood at the entrance of the corridor, making a deal with the old Gryffindor portrait—a scene destined to go unnoticed, and perhaps many would still think that the Gryffindor portrait at the entrance of the corridor could not speak.
"Looking for a portrait of me when I was young?"
The old Gryffindor portrait paused slightly, seemingly surprised that Ian would make such a request. But he quickly regained his composure and pondered for a moment.
It seemed as if he was genuinely considering whether to agree.
"Yes, I believe you will be able to find him. After all, who knows you better than yourself? You must have some ideas in your mind about where he might be hiding."
Ian also offered his own advice.
He took this matter very seriously.
Regarding the portrait of Gryffindor in his youth that he had been searching for all year without success, that narcissistic...
The portrait, which claimed to be Gryffindor's last masterpiece left on Earth, was something Ian truly cherished. It wasn't because the other person was being secretive and infuriating, nor because of any slight grudge between them.
The main reason is that Ian still remembers the treasure of the four giants mentioned in the portrait, and that Gryffindor has a treasure vault. What he is thinking about is, of course, the so-called Gryffindor treasure vault.
Yes.
There's no such thing as shame or disgrace. What Ian really wants is the Gryffindor treasure. You know, just imagine how rich the treasure trove must be for someone who loves adventure so much.
Gryffindor, the legendary figure known for his courage and adventure, has, according to historical records, traveled all over the world, so each adventure must have been accompanied by countless rare treasures.
It's hard to imagine.
If these things weren't stored in Hogwarts' storeroom, but in a separate, secret hidden room, the treasures inside would be unimaginably abundant.
Ian's heart pounded uncontrollably, as if the treasures were beckoning him—those precious magical items and mysterious magical manuals were definitely hidden somewhere in Hogwarts.
Is he greedy?
Do not!
He just couldn't bear to see treasures gathering dust!
Ian didn't want to seek out any tests from the Four Great Masters. He believed that as long as he found the portrait of the young Gryffindor, he would definitely be able to find out the location of the treasure vault from them.
Coercion and bribery?
He's not the Dark Lord; he wouldn't do something like that. He always has a better way.
"How is it, Mr. Gryffindor?"
Ian respected the Four, and even when faced with their portraits, he maintained sufficient politeness. Although the portraits were not of the real people, their words likely carried some of the real person's will.
"Sure, no problem, deal. But you must promise me that you will do your best to ensure their safety while you are with them. Those children are brave, but the dangers in the Forbidden Forest are not something they can easily handle." The portrait's tone became serious, clearly indicating a deep understanding of the dangers of the Forbidden Forest.
"??????"
Ian was dumbfounded.
"Shouldn't I have just packed them up and brought them back?" He felt that the person in the portrait had a problem with their brain circuitry; knowing the dangers of the Forbidden Forest, why would they want those three people to continue taking risks?
"You cannot suppress the nature of one, no, three Gryffindor students!" Old Gryffindor became excited, gesturing wildly as if he were about to leap out of the picture frame.
Ian didn't even know how to respond, and in the end, he could only nod, which was considered as agreeing to the request for the portrait. Of course, he already had an idea in his mind whether or not he should do it.
Oh.
nature?
We'll beat all three of them up, drag them back, and then say they came back voluntarily. I doubt any of them will dare to show the "bravery" of a Gryffindor student and jump out to refute us.
Moreover.
He'd already been defeated in the Forbidden Forest, so how could that not count as completing an adventure? Logically, it made perfect sense, and a satisfied smile appeared on Ian's face.
In response to this...
The aged Gryffindor portrait obviously couldn't sense anything. After all, it was just a portrait of one of the former Four Great Leaders, and naturally didn't possess the magical power that the Four Great Leaders had to perceive Ian's thoughts.
of course.
Even if Gryffindor were reborn and stood before Ian, it would be unlikely that he could break through Ian's mental defenses, since they were both legendary wizards.
Ian's expertise in mental powers is exceptional.
Who is spying on whose thoughts?
That's hard to say.
"You really will help me find a portrait of your younger self, right? Well, it's not that I'm being paranoid, but you two are portraits of the same person after all."
Ian also confirmed the details again before setting off.
"Don't worry, I believe this will be an exceptionally exciting adventure for the younger version of my portrait." The old wizard's mustache twitched.
There was even a hint of anticipation in his mind; his thought process was truly indescribable. Ian believed that the younger version of Gryffindor would never think this way, and might even berate the older version of his portrait.
"OK."
Ian was about to turn around and move when he suddenly stopped.
"By the way, do you know where Gryffindor's treasure vault is?" He suddenly realized that both of them were portraits of Gryffindor, and perhaps he could also get the information he wanted from the older version of the Gryffindor portrait. Anyway, Ian's goal was the treasure, so telling him where the treasure vault was wouldn't hurt.
He didn't necessarily need to find the portrait of the younger version.
They really don't hold grudges.
Once he graduates and returns to Hogwarts for a job, Ian will have plenty of time to play hide-and-seek with that portrait. He looked at the elderly Gryffindor portrait with a slightly expectant gaze.
however.
"Gryffindor's treasure vault?"
The portrait of the elderly Gryffindor is somewhat ambiguous.
His brows furrowed even more deeply.
They looked extremely confused and puzzled.
"Child, I don't know what you're talking about. Gryffindor's treasure isn't in material wealth."
Rather, it lies in the adventures he experienced and the wisdom he gained.
"This is the greatest treasure left by Gryffindor." Clearly, the old Gryffindor portrait was unaware of the Gryffindor treasure vault that Ian was looking for.
He even took the opportunity to give Ian some chicken soup—no, perhaps it could be called duck soup? After all, Ian is a male wizard, so duck soup seems more fitting for his gender.
"You're right, okay."
Ian didn't bother to argue further and gave a perfunctory reply, looking somewhat disappointed. Perhaps the young version of the Gryffindor portrait wasn't as boastful as it seemed.
He is probably the most unique of all the Gryffindor portraits. Not only in terms of knowing the secret, but also in the lifelike quality of the portrait itself, which feels more alive than the older version of Gryffindor. And this feeling, to some extent, does indeed demonstrate the dedication and effort poured into it.
The Gryffindor portrait in the hallway is a bit too "AI-like," switching to a duck soup mode at the drop of a hat. I reckon it wouldn't even pass the Turing test.
"Perhaps you should hurry, lest they be eaten by the dangerous creatures of the Forbidden Forest." Indeed, the older version of Gryffindor's slightly worried urging confirmed this.
He probably also has a problem with his perception of time.
"Right away, right away, they're not as fast as me, how could they possibly get to the Forbidden Forest in just a few minutes—even with a flying broom, they couldn't fly that fast."
"The brooms in our house are all antiques, and I don't think Ron, Hermione, and Neville can handle them. It's not something you can learn to use skillfully in just a few lessons."
Ian muttered a reply and gave an OK sign to the portrait of the elderly Gryffindor.
His figure suddenly transformed into a wisp of white mist.
This was clearly a flight magic created by Ian, imitating the Dark Lord and his uncle's flying techniques. It worked very well, but he chose a less stereotypical white color scheme for himself.
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh~"
The young wizard darted out of the corridor window like a wisp of morning mist scattered by a gale. The cold night wind, carrying a light rain, soaked the castle's outer walls, and the moonlight cast a silvery halo on the edges of the rain curtain.
"Um?"
Ian was somewhat bewildered as soon as he flew out of the castle. He had thought that the three of them probably hadn't even reached the other side of the small bridge, but to his surprise, he couldn't see or sense their presence at all.
"This is unbelievable!"
Ian's low curses could be heard from within the white mist.
Outside the deserted school, where were the three little lions? There wasn't even a footprint on the road from the castle to the Forbidden Forest, as if the three first-year students had vanished into thin air.
All I saw was...
The white mist that Ian had transformed into swirled in mid-air and condensed into Ian's bewildered face.
"Could it be that these three guys discovered some secret passage I'm not familiar with right after enrolling?" Ian asked, somewhat surprised.
I don't know if I should say that Gryffindor students are truly gifted in this area.
He paused for a moment to think while in mid-air.
The mist surged again, shooting towards the edge of the Forbidden Forest like an arrow. The thick trunks of oak trees cast menacing shadows in the moonlight, and the entrance to the Forbidden Forest reeked of damp, decaying leaves. Ian stood at this entrance, calculating the distance and time it would take for the trio to reach the Forbidden Forest, deciding to wait and ambush them.
He first brought out his latest masterpiece, the Gatling gun.
"No, that's too harsh; this isn't the Middle Ages."
I thought about it.
I don't think it's appropriate.
Ian stuffed Gatling back into his purse, then pulled out the intimidating forty-meter-long sword, thinking it would surely terrify the three Gryffindor students.
"I also need to add some special effects."
Ian made his forty-meter-long sword light up with the cheap special effects of a level 1 to 999 game, which he thought was enough to make people shudder. However, as time passed, Ian finished three bags of potato chips, but still did not see his three junior students. At the entrance of the Forbidden Forest, apart from the howling wind and the occasional low growl of an unknown creature, there was nothing else.
There was no further movement.
"Something's not right. At the normal pace of first-year students, they should have been here by now. Could it be that they haven't come yet?" Ian's doubts deepened. Even a child should have arrived by now, let alone three young people. The white mist rose for the third time, this time drifting directly towards Hagrid's cabin.
Ian guessed that the three of them might go to this big friend for help.
however.
When Ian arrived at Hagrid's cabin, he couldn't find the three of them. Hagrid's cabin was exceptionally quiet in the night, with warm light shining through the cracks in the windows. Inside, there was the sound of snoring, loud as thunder, as Hagrid lay soundly asleep on the old, worn-out chair.
The fireplace is burning.
Hagrid's seemingly fierce but actually cowardly dog lay at Hagrid's feet. However, as expected of an animal with keen senses, it sensed Ian as soon as he landed outside.
It wasn't for any particular reason.
Ya Ya, curled up in the corner, suddenly raised its head, sniffed hard, and then its fur stood on end, letting out a weak whimper, its eyes filled with fear.
It didn't bark loudly.
Instead, they didn't even dare to breathe loudly.
It wasn't because Ian's aura was particularly frightening, but rather because Ian had petted a dragon in the illusionary realm—a real ancient dragon. What frightened him was clearly the scent of the ancient dragon.
Dragons are now at the top of the food chain, not to mention that purebred dragons were absolutely the kings of the hill. Even a dog that had never seen such a creature would instinctively feel fear.
Just like many people who have never been bitten by a tiger, they will tremble with fear when they actually hear a tiger's roar in the zoo; that is an instinct ingrained in the bodies of all animals.
"Could it be that they went straight into the Forbidden Forest? Indeed, I know a few secret passages that lead directly to the Forbidden Forest, but they shouldn't be on the grass outside the school."
"There are secret passages that I, Ian, don't know about?" Ian didn't believe it. He directly pulled out his Marauder's Map, the parchment glowing faintly yellow in the moonlight.
All I saw was...
Ian then activated it.
Ink lines spread across the paper like a spiderweb, outlining the entirety of Hogwarts. Ian's fingertips traced each section, examining the locations of the secret passages within each area.
You know what?
He discovered a secret passage he hadn't noticed before—a passage located inside the Quidditch pitch.
It is also a secret passage that leads directly to the Forbidden Forest outside Hogwarts.
It's no wonder Ian didn't pay attention to it normally, after all, apart from the first time he went to the Quidditch stadium to see Quidditch, he didn't really have any interest in the sport.
They wouldn't go towards the Quidditch pitch, and of course, they wouldn't pay attention to the secret passages there. Ian, on the other hand, was extremely familiar with the secret passages leading from Hogwarts to the outside.
"How did these three manage to find such a secluded secret passage? Even without Harry Potter as their Quidditch player, do they still love the sport?"
Ian couldn't quite understand most wizards' love for Quidditch. Of course, he respected what others liked, but he found it absurd that three people could find the secret passage and know where it led. He didn't know whether it was Ron, Hermione, or Neville who suggested the secret passage.
Perhaps Gryffindor students are truly born with this kind of exploratory gene.
Thinking about this...
Ian flew back into the Forbidden Forest.
Well, how should I put it?
He thought he was just there to capture three night-wandering wizards, but he probably never imagined what kind of things he would encounter during this trip to the Forbidden Forest.