bookandnovel Chapter 140 The Intruder
Chapter 140 The Intruder
Chapter 140 The Intruder
The door closed gently.
Snape was left alone in the room. He was still staring at the fire in the fireplace, but his gaze was sharp and no longer empty.
Some things are better known to as few people as possible. Lin Qi's words and his expression flickered in his mind like Yu's.
A few seconds later, his gaze suddenly swept to the two cups of tea on the small table—one was empty, the other half full, and both had long since gone cold.
He suddenly swung his wand.
"Completely cleaned up."
The teacups and teapot, along with the cold or remaining liquid inside, vanished instantly, leaving the small table empty, as if no one had ever sat there drinking tea.
After cleaning the tea set, he suddenly stood up, his black robe billowing, walked to the bookshelf, pulled out a heavy potion book, opened it but didn't even glance at it, instead gripping the spine hard until his knuckles turned white.
A familiar, repulsive feeling enveloped him—the feeling of being excluded from the real game, only able to see the small square of battlefield before his eyes.
Even though he understands that it is necessary.
Even though he told himself he didn't care.
But that feeling still lingers, like a persistent, intractable disease.
Harry felt utterly terrible; he and Ron were having a run of bad luck.
It all started at King's Cross Station, a station that had never made a mistake before—at least Ron swore he had never made a mistake before—yet they were barred from Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.
Then, in a panic and a fit of rage, they made a decision that would easily rank high on the list of the dumbest decisions of the year: stealing Mr. Weasley's flying car.
The start of a flight is not without its fun.
Freed from the constraints of the ground, they soared over rolling green hills and winding roads, like free birds.
The clouds were so close they seemed almost within reach, which reminded Harry of Uncle Lynch's breathtaking open class, where the entire Hogwarts community floated above the clouds.
At that moment, the excitement brought on by adrenaline almost overwhelmed all unease.
However, the romantic fantasy was soon shattered by the harsh realities of life.
After the initial excitement subsided, a chilling fear crept into Harry's heart.
How anxious and angry would Mrs. Weasley be after dropping off the children? How would they explain the missing car?
The more pressing and immediate problem is that there isn't a single drop of water in the car!
Hunger and thirst, like a slowly burning flame, seared their throats and eroded their energy.
Harry missed the cool, refreshing pumpkin juice on the Hogwarts Express, accompanied by the clatter of snacks from the carts and the cheerful laughter of his classmates—all of that now seemed as distant as an unattainable dream.
Just as exhaustion and regret were about to completely engulf them, on the distant horizon, their gaze pierced through the thin clouds, and that familiar outline gradually became clear.
The towering towers and sturdy city walls, silhouetted against the setting sun, create an incomparably magnificent yet welcoming scene.
"We're almost there!" Harry shouted excitedly, his dry throat stinging from the shout, but his heart was instantly filled with a huge sense of relief.
Upon hearing this, Ron practically jumped out of the driver's seat, mustered his strength, gripped the steering wheel with both hands, and tried his best to steer the weathered flying car steadily toward that castle of hope.
But at that moment, the car engine, which had been working all the way, emitted intermittent and piercing groans, like the last gasps of an exhausted beast.
The hands on the dashboard trembled wildly, and the car body began to shake slightly uncontrollably. "Just a little bit more! Help me, hold on—" Ron gripped the steering wheel tightly, his knuckles white, almost desperately pleading with the dying car beneath him.
Perhaps his prayers had a tiny effect, for the car jerked upwards, struggling to clear the high wall at the edge of the Black Lake, and slid crookedly into the air above Hogwarts.
The castle lights twinkled in the distance, and hope seemed within reach.
However, the good luck ended there.
Just as they flew directly above the Black Lake, the engine let out a mournful wail of complete shutdown, and all sound suddenly disappeared.
In the vast silence, only the whistling wind could be heard.
Immediately afterwards, the front of the car dipped down without warning!
The feeling of weightlessness suddenly stopped them, and their hearts almost jumped out of their throats.
The flying car, like a clumsy bird that had been hit, plummeted helplessly towards the black lake!
"No! No!" Ron's scream mingled with Harry's gasp.
They tried in vain to pull the steering wheel up, but there was no response.
A cold wind brushed against their cheeks, and the lake rapidly expanded in their field of vision, so much so that they could even see the castle lights reflected on the inky water, creating subtle ripples.
Just when they thought they were doomed to plunge into the icy lake, the car, tilted and out of control, barely grazed the surface of the lake, its immense inertia carrying it toward the opposite shore of the Black Lake!
A tall, ancient tree on the shore appeared to them like a black giant lunging at them, rapidly enlarging and taking up the entire windshield at an alarming speed!
There was simply no time to react.
"ah--!!!"
Let's push the timeline back a little.
The Great Hall of Hogwarts was filled with flickering candlelight and boisterous cheers.
The college sorting ceremony has ended, and the long tables of the four colleges are crowded with students chatting excitedly. The air is filled with the tempting aroma of food and the lively atmosphere unique to the beginning of the semester.
The atmosphere at the teachers' long table was relatively quiet.
Lynch was slowly cutting a piece of grilled steak, occasionally exchanging a few words in hushed tones with Professor Flitwick beside him.
However, at a certain moment, his hand holding the knife paused slightly.
An extremely subtle magical fluctuation, like ripples caused by a pebble thrown into a calm lake, gently touched a chord in Hogwarts' ancient defense system and reached his heart—someone had forcibly entered Hogwarts' territory from the outside.
He almost immediately looked up, his gaze precisely fixed on Dumbledore in the very center of the long table.
At almost the same time, Dumbledore also seemed to sense something.
His hand, which was holding a wine glass, froze in mid-air. A quick, thoughtful glint flashed in his deep blue eyes behind his crescent-shaped glasses. He had also sensed the warning coming from the castle.
The two wizards' eyes met briefly in the air.
Lin Qi conveyed a silent question with his eyes.
Dumbledore shook his head very slightly, almost imperceptibly, and his white beard swayed gently.
His calm gaze clearly indicated that this was not his arrangement, and he was unaware of the intruder's origins.
No more words needed.
Lin Qi frowned slightly. In the blink of an eye, without even needing to give a verbal command, the crow Xiu Ran, which had been quietly perched on his shoulder, opened its eyes.
Silently, it spread its glossy wings and nimbly leaped from Lynch's shoulder. Without uttering a sound, it simply skimmed low over the teachers' table, then with an elegant glide, silently flew over the heads of the students below, who were engrossed in their food and conversation, and sped toward the great oak door of the auditorium.
A few students who happened to look up noticed the crow flying towards the door. A hint of curiosity flashed in their eyes, but they didn't pay much attention to it.
The crow disappeared into the darkness outside the door.
After a few breaths, it arrived outside the castle.