Chapter 297: The Thief (Edited)

Chapter 297: The Thief (Edited)

After returning from a life-changing experience in the Sahara Desert, Sara's life took a turn. Unlike her mentor, Dr. Hunter, she was not involved in a lawsuit. Dr. Hunter had to answer to the parents of the students who had died in the desert, and although he would undoubtedly have to pay, it would have been a big problem.

Not so for Sara, who as a student had no burden or responsibility. She only had to give a statement and attend a few hearings. Countless interviews awaited her: television interviews, newspaper headlines, articles for editorials, and even invitations to give talks at universities and high schools. With her pretty face and legendary story, she became both famous and celebrated. Now she studies ancient Egyptian history at the University of Sheffield, researching the treasures she has unearthed. The only thing that worries her is her growing belly, and she is not sure if she should have the baby.

Today, as usual, she went to the laboratory to study the mysterious emerald slab. She dismissed the claims about the Emerald Tablet. She knew the basics of history. The reason for studying the tablet was the writing it contained. Anyone with common sense would know that the most valuable artifacts unearthed from ancient ruins are those with writing, which can help scholars determine dynasties and study the truth of history.

But as she pushed open the door to the research room, she felt a chill and, upon looking, saw that the window of the room was open and the emerald slab that had been on the table was gone. She panicked and triggered the alarm, but the security guards who had been alerted to the incident found no trace of the thief, and even a search of the security cameras revealed no clues.

The disappearance of the "Emerald Tablet" became a famous unsolved case, leading to numerous investigations by detectives, but without a lead, only one clue: many people suddenly felt cold and depressed that day, but what could it mean?

...

As soon as Tom entered the room, he knew he had been seen. Why did he know what was happening around him even though he couldn't see? Naturally, because although dementors can't see things, they are not blind. They can "see" the emotions of the objects around them and thus understand what is happening around them. And not only living beings have emotions, but objects do too, it's just that the "emotions" of objects cannot be sustenance for dementors.

From Tom's perspective, the mass of sickly-looking emotions in the room where the Emerald Tablet was kept suddenly changed color, emitted a scent of fear, and flew out of the place. A quick analysis revealed that someone had seen Tom, was terrified, and fled the area.

The only people who could have seen dementors were wizards or Squibs. The chances of a Squib being here were insignificant, so there must have been a wizard in this room!

Tom immediately looked around the room, needing to make sure that the Emerald Tablet had not been taken by the person, and the first thing he saw was the Emerald Tablet of Menes, resting on the table, shining like the sun. The scent of Menes, which had survived for thousands of years, was all Tom needed to see to be sure it was Menes'.

He felt relieved and placed the palm-sized slab in his robe.

[Emerald Tablet of Menes (5 stars): a masterpiece by Pharaoh Menes, the blood of Menes or his descendants can be dripped onto it to transform alchemical materials into alchemical creations, whose star rating depends on the purity of the blood. Alchemical creations of up to four stars can be made]

Tom's heart was shining; with the tablet in his hand, he could create endless alchemical creations if he had enough blood. As for the person who had escaped, they hadn't disappeared yet. They probably didn't know how to use magic like Apparition.

"They can't even use Apparition, definitely a novice." The thought crossed Tom's mind, and then he took a deep breath in the emotional mass.

In a quick movement, he trembled violently and shrank rapidly, like a candle in the wind, but he didn't completely disappear, leaving behind a small cloud of color with a deadly blackness at its core. If he were a true dementor, he could suck all the emotion from a person's soul, but Tom couldn't do that. He could only weaken a person's spirit to the point of fainting.

At that moment, from a Muggle's point of view, the research room was empty except for a window that suddenly opened and the emerald slab on the table that disappeared without a trace, followed by a "thud" in the room, as if something heavy had fallen to the floor.

Soon, the room returned to normal, with only a lingering chill.

Tom flew out of the study with the unconscious wizard in tow. He kindly adjusted the invisibility cloak around the strange wizard so that he wouldn't be exposed. Then he found a quiet and deserted place and landed, transforming back into his Yodel form.

Once in his human form, Tom looked at the wizard in his hands: a small, middle-aged man with disheveled hair, a pale face, and a yellowish wizard's robe under the cloak that seemed to have been washed many times. The invisibility cloak was the most valuable thing on his body.

An invisibility cloak, as the name suggests, is a cloak that makes a person invisible, and Harry Potter has one. But Harry's is special, so let's set that aside. The cloaks available on the market are either woven with the hair of an invisible beast or enchanted with an invisibility spell. The former is more expensive, the latter cheaper, but they all have one thing in common: their invisibility effect fades over time. This is where Harry's invisibility cloak became a real problem: it worked forever and was worthy of the name "Deathly Hallows."

Tom leaned over, opened the wizard's eyelids, and used the Legilimency spell to read his memories. He discovered that the man was nothing more than a lousy wizard, a poor wizard who had been fed worse as a wizard than many Muggles.

But there was good news: at least he wasn't a Hogwarts graduate. If you come across a final-year student from your alma mater struggling to get by, you should think about your future and look for a way out, and not believe the university propaganda. For example, there are some universities that boast and have a special entry in the world university rankings, but when you search for them, they don't even make the top 200. They are the schools that advertise a 98% employment rate after graduation, but in reality, you're in the 2%.

But Tom was also curious: how did someone like this get their hands on this invisibility cloak?