Chapter 104: Fate
The scene was eerily reminiscent of the time when Sirius Black invaded the school years later, but the current situation was even more severe.
Above them, the ceiling displayed a slowly rotating dark nebula, interspersed with green streaks that glowed like eyes.
The only light in the entire hall came from the Hogwarts Orb at its center. It spun gently, but its hazy glow seemed suppressed by the surrounding darkness, appearing dim and feeble.
It offered no protection whatsoever.
Numerous Auror teachers patrolled around the towers and the hall. Even the ghosts, usually indifferent, maintained a vigilant demeanor.
Yet no one knew how that terrifying individual had managed to enter the school. Hoffa couldn't figure it out either.
The train station outside was heavily guarded, the entire Forbidden Forest closely watched by Aurors, and even the secret passages within the school had been sealed by the teachers. This year, students weren't even allowed to visit Hogsmeade.
How had that person gotten in?
Using Ghost Walk, Hoffa slipped silently through a group of patrolling Aurors and approached his two friends. His steps were so light that he didn't wake anyone.
However, Aglaia wasn't asleep. Her blue eyes gleamed in the darkness, and the moment she saw Hoffa approaching, she sat up quickly, as if about to speak.
"Shh."
Hoffa glanced around at the sleeping students, gesturing for her to keep her voice down.
"Did you find out anything?"
In the darkness, Aglaia mouthed her words in an exaggerated manner, her voice barely audible.
Hoffa shook his head.
Aglaia grew anxious. "How can that be? Who is it? How did they know where I hid my things? If it wasn't Slytherin—"
"Shh."
Hoffa shook his head again, signaling her to stop talking.
Once she quieted down, Hoffa leaned close to her ear and whispered softly.
"Was it a key?"
"What are you talking about?"
Aglaia rubbed her hair, her chest rising and falling rapidly. She seemed agitated.
"Your bracelet?"
"What on earth are you saying? What key?"
Hoffa pondered for a moment before replying, "Forget it."
In the darkness, several Aurors passed by.
Hoffa pulled Aglaia down to lie flat.
The Aurors moved slowly, their eyes scanning the rows of sleeping bags on the floor. Their tall figures gradually faded into the shadows.
Once the footsteps disappeared, Hoffa turned his head to look into Aglaia's blue eyes, and she gazed back at him in the darkness.
"I'm scared, Hoffa," she whispered.
Under normal circumstances, Hoffa might have mocked her, but now he simply patted the back of her hand.
"It'll be okay."
Then he let go, sat up, and carefully moved through the maze of sleeping bags.
Ghost Walk allowed him to vanish into the dark hall.
Hoffa knew where Osyvia's office was, even though he had no desire to know. His dormmates had long since mapped out the teacher's routine, and every night, they spent time discussing the female professor.
Her office was located on the first basement level, right next to the Slytherin common room. There were rumors that Dumbledore had offered to let her use his sunny third-floor office, but she declined, citing her inability to adapt to the environment.
Hoffa glanced at his watch. It was almost 1 a.m., and he wasn't sure if Osyvia would be in her office.
He hesitated for a moment outside the door, then knocked.
"Come in."
The soft, calm voice came almost the instant his knuckles touched the door.
The door handle creaked as it turned on its own, revealing a spiral staircase leading downward. Faint sounds of running water echoed from within.
Hoffa began descending slowly. It was the longest spiral staircase he had ever walked, and it led downward.
After descending over ten meters, the sound of trickling water grew louder in the darkness.
Her office was nothing like Slughorn's. It was a standard Slytherin office—dark and oppressive, with simple furnishings.
The office had an entire glass wall, beyond which lay the dark, bottomless expanse of the Black Lake. The faint moonlight filtering through the water provided the only illumination in the subterranean office. Shadows moved faintly within the murky lake water, their forms indistinct.
As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, Hoffa noticed a massive snakehead sculpture mounted on one of the walls.
A stream of water flowed from the mouth of the snakehead, dripping into a pool below.
Osyvia sat cross-legged atop the snakehead, her figure blending seamlessly with the dark background. If not for the faint green glimmer in her eyes, Hoffa might have been unable to discern her presence at all.
The oppressive atmosphere of this watery serpent's den made Hoffa instinctively uneasy.
"I've heard about the incident in your common room," Osyvia said softly. "It's horrifying."
Her voice was somewhat muffled by the sound of the flowing water.
Hoffa said nothing, merely looking up at her.
"You've come to see me, which means you've made up your mind?" Osyvia asked.
Hoffa took a few steps to the side. "I'm willing to be your teaching assistant—not just as an observer. I also want to find that person."
"That wasn't my original intention in seeking your help," Osyvia said coolly.
"That's my goal," Hoffa replied. "And I have one condition."
"What is it?"
"I need to know everything. You must tell me everything about the Half-Blood King and why he appeared in the Ravenclaw Tower."
"Sorry, I can't answer that," Osyvia said. "I don't know the so-called Half-Blood King, nor do I know his identity."
"But didn't you fight him?"
"Yes, but I failed. During that fight, I learned nothing about him. But one thing is certain—he isn't a wizard."
"Then what can you tell me?"
Without a sound, Osyvia slid down from the snake sculpture and stood beside Hoffa, leaning in to gaze into his pale-golden eyes.
"I can take you to the Forbidden Library. Whatever that man is planning, his goal will involve the Forbidden Library. Once we locate the library and set up an impenetrable trap, not even the most formidable opponent will be a match for hundreds of Aurors."
Hoffa was silent for a moment.
"And after he's dead? What will you do—claim the knowledge in the library for yourself?"
"I don't care about that," Osyvia said, shaking her head.
"What about the ambitious people in Britain? Do you care about what they'll do if they gain access to infinite forbidden knowledge?"
Osyvia shook her head again. "I don't care. The world is already chaotic and mad. Whether the library exists or not, those ambitious people won't disappear."
"Fair enough."
Hoffa sighed and extended his hand.
"Let's hope our objectives align this time."
Osyvia's cold hand clasped his. When she let go, Hoffa felt a hard object in his palm.
Looking down, he saw a silver badge in the shape of a serpent, engraved with small text: Transfiguration Assistant.
"Meet me at the library entrance tomorrow at six after classes," Osyvia said.
"Which library?"
"The Hogwarts Library."
(End of Chapter)
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