Chapter 72 "Disappearing Memory"

The expression on Fletchley's face was extremely agonizing. He clutched his head desperately as if it were on the verge of bursting.

"If you can't remember, don't dwell on it." Matthew calmly comforted him.

Simultaneously, he bent down, picking up all the items Justin had dropped on the ground, and returned them to him.

"Thank you!" Justin's expression eased slightly, and he embraced them once again.

Then, with a hint of frustration, he said, "I'll head back to the Hufflepuff common room first. I'm feeling exhausted and sleepy now..."

"Okay, goodbye!" Matthew waved his hand.

As Matthew watched Fletchley's retreating figure, he fell deep into contemplation.

Undoubtedly, the reaction displayed by this Hufflepuff boy was a clear manifestation of the "Forgetfulness Charm" or "Obliviate."

The Charm's effect was to erase specific memories from people's minds.

Moreover, in Fletchley's case, it appeared to be a less sophisticated version of the forgetting spell, or perhaps the wizard who cast the spell was of average skill...

Most of the memories related to the Witch wearing a thick black scarf had been deleted, leaving only a faint trace.

Consequently, he would react strangely whenever others mentioned that image before him.

This raised a question:

Why did the Witch in the thick black scarf approach Justin Finch-Fletchley?

And the time she sought out Fletchley should have been after Matthew passed through the One-Eyed Witch Passage.

Was she attempting to extract information about herself through him?

If that were the case, it was undoubtedly a miscalculation on her part... Matthew and Fletchley had only just met today, and Matthew knew very little about himself before then.

Matthew's first thought wasn't far off; the sole purpose of the Witch was not to capture Matthew in particular.

She simply wanted to capture a young wizard at Hogwarts and extract information from their mouth.

Her initial target was Matthew, who evaded capture through the One-Eyed Witch Passage.

She then redirected her focus to Fletchley, who was also in Hogsmeade.

Matthew's expression turned solemn.

If those were true, then the true motive behind the Witch wearing a thick black scarf was worth questioning.

And most likely, it was connected to the series of previous attacks at Hogwarts.

...

"What are you doing here?" a cold voice asked Matthew from behind.

It was Agnes Lestrange, holding a rear admiral hat in one hand and shimmering balloons in the other as if they were small gifts exploded from colorful firecrackers.

"Sorry, I was lost in thought," Matthew regained his composure and replied softly.

"Shall we go back to the common room together?" Lestrange offered, "Or do you have other plans?"

"No," Matthew nodded, "Let's head back to the common room together."

The two walked shoulder to shoulder, deep into the basement, with the peculiar Christmas presents in their hands.

In this cold, damp, and even gloomy corridor, their footsteps were only heard, creating an uncomfortable silence.

Matthew suddenly realized that he and Lestrange had known each other for nearly four months, and they had interacted quite a lot.

They even played Gobstone and Wizard chess together every day for a while... But they rarely engaged in conversation.

In other words, they rarely talked…

"The previous attack..." Lestrange also noticed the strange atmosphere. She took the initiative as they approached the potions classroom and said, "Do you think it's over?"

"Of course not," Matthew replied without hesitation.

"Are you that sure?" Lestrange gave him a peculiar look.

"It's merely a reasonable assumption," Matthew quickly clarified, realizing his mistake.

"Then why are you so certain?" Lestrange scoffed, "It's as if you know the whole story!"

Matthew remained silent, and an awkward silence fell between them.

They encountered an abandoned bathroom a few steps deeper into the Potions classroom.

Matthew carefully examined it. The doorplate displayed the word "Moaning Myrtle's Bathroom."

"This is the girls' bathroom!" Lestrange reminded Matthew.

"Of course, I know. I just want to take a look," Matthew replied calmly, "It shouldn't violate any school rules."

"In this bathroom, someone died!" Lestrange's voice turned low, "Almost fifty years ago, a Ravenclaw girl died bizarrely... The then headmaster, Armando Dippet, closed down this bathroom, and it has remained abandoned ever since."

Naturally, Matthew was aware of this.

He also knew that the girl who died was named Myrtle, and after her death, she became a ghost known as "Moaning Myrtle." Her murderer was the basilisk released from the Chamber of Secrets by Tom Riddle!

Matthew suddenly stopped.

"What's the matter?" Lestrange looked at him with confusion.

"Nothing," Matthew shrugged and continued walking toward the Slytherin common room.

...

A few minutes later, they stood before the giant snake statue guarding the entrance.

"Victory First!" Matthew provided the password for the past two weeks, and the entrance opened.

Agnes Lestrange walked toward her bedroom without looking back.

However, Matthew halted as he noticed a ghost lurking in the corner of the common room.

Quickly, Matthew approached and asked respectfully, "Sir Nicholas?"

Nearly Headless Nick raised his head, observing Matthew up and down. "What's the matter?"

"Is there a ghost named Moaning Myrtle in Hogwarts Castle?" Matthew asked hurriedly.

"That's correct," Nearly Headless Nick confirmed.

"Have you seen her recently?" Matthew continued his inquiry.

"Myrtle rarely strays from her haunt," Nearly Headless Nick replied coldly, "But since the beginning of this semester, I haven't seen her once!"

"Okay, thank you!" Matthew bowed politely.

Then, he returned to his bedroom.