Chapter 118: A trail of destruction

Disclaimer: 

Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K Rowling.

I own nothing but the original characters I make.

"Dialogue"

'Thoughts'

-Author notes-

Chapter 118: A trail of destruction

"Where is it? Where is this monster?" Snape moved his eyes around the area as they hovered on the flying carpet but could not see anything out of the ordinary.

"It came from the castle and then…it moved that way!" Nick pointed to the mountains.

"It was almost like it was chasing after someone…at one point, I heard it shriek in agony, but could not see who was attacking that beast…then, I saw a blinding flash of light common from that area. It completely surrounded the monster…and then…" the ghost made a troubled expression.

"And then what?" McGonagall asked.

"Nothing….the monster was not there anymore. I don't know where it went." 

"Could it be some sort of vanishing charm?...maybe someone sent this creature away." Suggested McGonagall.

"Let's take a look." As Dumbledore spoke, the flying carpet took off and flew into the nearby forest, where Nick had told them the monster went

Not that they would need many indications to find its trail…

"Merlin!, look at that devastation!" McGonagall pointed down.

"Looks like my estimation of its size was accurate… " Snape had a grave expression on his face.

They followed the path of destruction until they realized something.

"The beast was changing directions here…" Snape commented.

McGonagall gasped.

"It was going back to Hogwarts!"

"Luckily, it was stopped before it made it too far…"

Dumbledore was staring at the area where the ghost was said to witness the flash of light.

As he moved the carpet closer, they were able to get a better look.

At the end of the beast's track, was a massive circular hole, they could still see light coming from the bottom.

"It's very hot in here!" McGonagall got alarmed.

Dumbledore made the flying carpet descend until it reached the bottom.

"Headmaster, don't get so close!, it will burn the carpet," Snape warned.

"Albus, what is that?" McGonagall pointed at the glowing substance.

"That's…lava." He glanced around the hole. It was completely covered in a pitch-black rock.

"And this is all obsidian…"

"The heat necessary to create something like this would be ridiculous!" Snape had studied a bit of muggle science. Not much, but at least enough to understand how obsidian is formed. 

"Is this obsidian?, I have read about it but…I have never seen it in person. Is supposed to only exist near volcanos." McGonagall said.

Dumbledore performed some readings, trying to figure out the cause of this phenomenon.

"I can't detect any specific spells…the amount of magic concentrated in this single point is just too much."

"So this was made with magic, it wasn't made by a dragon or something," McGonagall said.

"Definitely magic. I can't tell if it was one wizard or many, but it was no dragon or any other magical creature, of that… I'm sure." Dumbledore.

"Then, if this monster was hit by…whatever this magic was…I think we can conclude that it's dead. Even if this creature was ten times bigger than the one we saw at the Chamber." Snape declared.

"I need to go back into the castle right now," Dumbledore said with urgency.

"Albus? What is it?" Asked McGonagall.

"Someone has entered my office withouth permision." The Headmaster said.

"How?, that place is impossible to open without the password," Snape said. He knew well how secure that office was.

Dumbledore made the carpet lift again into the sky and started to fly back into Hogwarts.

"You both have a lot of work to do." Dumbledore's eyes moved to meet theirs.

"This is very important…what we have seen today…no one must know about, not even the other professors. "

"You want to hide all of this?!. Don't they deserve to know the cause for all these tremors we've been having all year?" she exclaimed.

"We will tell them that the problem has been resolved. Give me some time to come up with some explanation that will not cause mass panic." said the Headmaster.

"He is right. " Snape added.

"If people found out that several giant basilisks have been hiding under the school…you can be sure they will close the school until it has been inspected, brick by brick…we will also lose all of our jobs." 

"Minerva, there is no need to cause more dread in the hearts of the students and their families. We can assure them that Hogwarts is completely safe once more. That's all that matters." Dumbledore explained to her.

McGonagall did not seem completely convinced but knew she had to relent on this one.

"Now, Minerva, I will need you to repair as much of the damage caused on the sixth floor as possible. And make sure to properly seal the entrance to the Chamber. " He then looked at Snape.

"And you, my friend…I need to take care of all the damage that has been caused to the exterior. Just try to cover it as much as you can….I know I'm asking a lot of you."

Snape frowned. He was indeed asking a lot. Just covering that hole filled with lava was going to take him days of work.

"I'll do what I can."

"I'll help the two of you as soon as I finish checking my office," Dumbledore said.

"You don't want us to be there with you?. What if it's related to…you know." Snape dreaded the worst-case scenario.

"Coult it be? Albus, you can't go by yourself. We should call the Order at least!" McGonagall exclaimed.

"Now now….calm down. If I thought there was a chance that 'He' was involved in this in any way….I would of course call the Order. But I am sure that my 'guest' does not have bad intentions…"

"You seem to know who it is." Snape realized.

Dumbledore smiled.

"I do have an idea."

It was someone he had hoped to talk to for a while now.

He had so many questions. 

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