RNP Chapter 193 The Gaze from the Window
Chapter 193 The Gaze from the Window
Chapter 193 The Gaze from the Window
The calm, as thin as ice, lasted only a day before being shattered by an even more chilling provocation.
This time, the traces were no longer limited to the outer perimeter of the castle.
The following evening, as the setting sun painted the snow a poignant orange-red, a terrified cry erupted from a relatively secluded stone corridor on the west side of the castle, connecting the herbalism greenhouse and the main castle.
"Aaaaaah! What's that?! A window! Outside the window!"
The scream came from a first-year Hufflepuff girl. She and some classmates had gone to the greenhouse to help Professor Sprout give some hardy magical plants a final frost protection treatment. After completing their task, she realized she had left a notebook behind and returned to the greenhouse alone to retrieve it, choosing this shortcut on her way back.
At that moment, she slumped onto the cold stone floor, her face ashen, her body trembling like a leaf in the wind, her finger pointing shakily to the tall, arched window at the end of the stone corridor. Several students who had rushed over after hearing the commotion surrounded her, their faces also showing fear.
Outside the enormous arched window, framed by thick glass, a thin layer of frost had once covered it. But now, the frost had been roughly scraped away by something huge and slippery, leaving a large, blurry, filthy mark. And in the center of that filthy mark, near the window frame, were several crooked words, seemingly written with a viscous, dark green slime:
I saw you; the slime hadn't completely frozen, glistening nauseatingly in the setting sun. A foul, fishy stench drifted in through the cracks in the window.
"What's written on Merlin's beard?"
"The scratch is huge, it looks like something enormous crawled over it."
"It sees you?" Who is it looking at?!
"It's a monster! The monster the professor and the others were talking about! It's right outside the castle!"
Fear, like a scalding bucket of ice water, instantly chilled the hearts of every student present. This girl was so terrified she nearly fainted.
He was being held tightly by two older girls.
The news spread like wildfire throughout the castle. When Karen and Professors McGonagall and Flitwick arrived, the stone corridor was already packed with curious and fearful students. Professor McGonagall sternly dispersed the crowd, leaving only a few students and professors who had discovered it first.
Karen's heart pounded heavily in his chest. He pushed through the crowd and stepped forward, his sharp gaze sweeping over the ravaged window. Huge scratches—familiar dark green slime—and a line of provocative writing in slime, brimming with naked malice and mockery.
He focused his mind; the world behind his glasses filtered out the chaotic heat emanating from the crowd, focusing instead on that cold window. Deep within the scratch, the familiar, cold, slippery, and malevolent dark magic within the slime, like the most glaring stain, was clearly imprinted in his vision! Its magical characteristics were completely identical to the bait traces he had previously found in the greenhouse and by the Black Lake!
This was no accidental trace left by the Basilisk! This was Voldemort's doing! A blatant, escalating provocation! A targeted test! After Dumbledore's fruitless search yesterday, he became even more arrogant. Now he might even be nearby, coldly watching the castle's reaction through the shadows of the Forbidden Forest, waiting for the one who could "see" him to appear!
A surge of anger and worry instantly gripped Karen. Voldemort was manipulating people's hearts, using the students' fears as bait! Right now, he might just be using these deliberately left traces to scare them, but if this continued for too long, he would eventually lose his temper and make his move, at which point there might really be lives lost.
"Karen?" Professor Flitwick keenly sensed the dramatic shift in his emotions and called out in a worried whisper.
Karen took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. He turned to Professor McGonagall, his voice low and hoarse with suppressed anger: "Professor, the traces outside the window are exactly the same as the magical remnants found in the greenhouse and by the Black Lake. This...this line of text was left intentionally." He didn't explicitly say "provocative" or "targeted," but the seriousness in his eyes said it all.
Professor McGonagall's face was ashen, her lips pressed into a thin line. She stared at the line of slimy writing outside the window, starkly glaring in the twilight, then glanced at the still-shaken Emily beside her, her eyes blazing with fury. She drew her wand and waved it at the window:
"Completely cleaned! Restoring it to its original condition!"
A flash of magical light, and the slime and scratches vanished instantly, leaving the glass sparkling clean. No indelible spell had been cast upon the mark. But the fear and chill emanating from those words were deeply etched into the hearts of the students present.
"Miss Ellie," Professor McGonagall's voice carried an undeniable authority, yet a subtle gentleness flickered across her face as she looked at the girl, "you did a good job, raising the alarm in time. Miss Jones, please take Miss Burns to Mrs. Pomfrey immediately."
Let her rest well. Tonight, all students are forbidden from approaching any windows on the outer walls of the castle! Professor Flitwick, please strengthen the protective spells on all ground floor corridors and windows! Expand the area to all areas facing the Forbidden Forest! I'm going to find the headmaster right now!
The crowd dispersed under the professors' stern orders, but the lingering fear in the air remained.
Karen didn't leave. He stood before the now-cleaned window, gazing at the silhouette of the Forbidden Forest rapidly sinking into darkness. The last rays of the setting sun disappeared below the horizon, and a heavy, inky blue night descended. He removed his heat-sensitive goggles, his grey-blue eyes appearing exceptionally deep in the dim light.
Voldemort's arrogance was like a poisonous thorn in his heart. Not only had the other party confirmed that someone at Hogwarts could identify the Basilisk's traces, but he had even begun to use this direct intimidation of the students in an attempt to force the "eye" to appear, or at least to enjoy their fear and helplessness, just as he himself had felt fear when facing Dumbledore.
Dumbledore soon appeared at the end of the stone corridor. His steps remained steady, but his aura was like the sea before a storm—suppressive yet powerful. He listened to Professor McGonagall's brief report, his gaze sweeping over Cullen before finally settling on the window that had just been cleaned, as if he could see through the glass to the missing words.
"I understand, Minerva." Dumbledore's voice was unusually calm, but the anger beneath that calm seemed to freeze the air around him. "Execute immediately: First, apply the 'Intensity Reflection Charm' to all windows facing the Forbidden Forest, starting tonight, and install physical sunshades on the inside. House-elves will be in charge, ensuring this is completed by sunset tomorrow. Second, double night patrols. Reschedule all ghosts, Filch, and the professors, focusing on monitoring the outer walls and the lower passageways. Third," he turned to Cullen, his gaze sharp as an eagle, "Cullen, from this moment on, without my personal accompaniment or explicit instructions, you are strictly forbidden from approaching the castle walls or attempting to track any anomalies in the direction of the Forbidden Forest for any reason! Your talent is now our most important weapon against the Basilisk. Understand?"
"Understood, Headmaster," Cullen answered clearly, meeting Dumbledore's gaze. He could sense the weight and protective intent in the headmaster's words, but the fire in his heart remained unextinguished. Passive defense would never solve the problem. There's no such thing as being able to guard against a thief for a thousand days, especially since it was still the holidays and there were fewer students at school. But what if the holidays ended? And Voldemort's patience was limited; perhaps next time, or the time after that, his provocation could lead directly to death.
Back at Eagle's Nest, Karen stood by the window, gazing at the castle's silhouette, illuminated by the magical light, which resembled a crouching behemoth. The Forbidden Forest lay shrouded in darkness, so deep it seemed to swallow everything.
The enemy watched smugly from the shadows, mocking their tension. But Cullen knew that sometimes, the hunter must become bait in the eyes of the prey. He had a plan, and this plan required Dumbledore's support, and even more so, a perfect opportunity.