A Terrifying Secret

In Isama Trettor's bedroom, the figure on the bed shifted slightly, even frowning in his sleep because of his injuries.

If Grindelwald saw this, he would definitely applaud and cheer. The Illusion Charm was a spell that he highly praised Sean for mastering, and Sean's performance proved that he had indeed learned it well.

The real Sean has entered his ring, but he still retains the appearance of Isama Trettor.

Before him, a phantom, pearl-white figure was frowning.

"Edmund, how is it?" Sean asked.

The ghost before them was Edmund Gruber, who died in the Victorian era from eating poisoned plums. He died at the main entrance of the Hogwarts dining hall, and often went to stop students from eating out of spite.

Edmund was stared at by the Basilisk in his second year and was petrified along with Filch, but was eventually saved by the Mandrake.

Sean had always maintained a fairly good relationship with Edmund, and this time he went to great lengths to get Edmund's help—he had someone procure a whole, completely rotting bison, which should be delivered in a couple of days.

Of course, he could only choose Edmund. When the ghosts were conscious, that is, when they were not petrified, they could only go to the places they had been in life.

Sean asked a few familiar ghosts, and only Edmund had swum in the Black Lake while he was alive, and even soared over the lake on Flying Broomstick —this guy wasn't exactly a model student in school either.

In other words, only Edmund could accompany Sean to the Durmstrang ship at the Black Lake dock.

This was Sean's plan. He obviously couldn't get the Defensive Spell of the ship's bottom restricted area from Durmstrang's students, and rushing in without knowing the details would most likely trigger an alarm.

Ghosts, who can move freely, become the best option to bypass the curse.

Edmund, who was not worried about dying again, readily accepted Sean's request. The rotting bison was very tempting to him, and ghosts were happy to help a fine student at Hogwarts.

Edmund, in his pearly white form, floated up and down, his brows furrowed tightly, his displeasure evident even in his ghostly form.

"Sean, is this Durmstrang's big ship?"

"Of course, why do you ask that?" Sean, somewhat puzzled.

"Good heavens, good heavens—" Edmund looked furious. "How could School of Magic on par with Hogwarts have fallen so low!"

"What exactly is inside?" Sean frowned as well.

What exactly did Durmstrang's men put in the Chamber of Secrets of the ship's cabin that would enrage a ghost who had been dead for many years?

"Inside—" Edmund glanced at Sean, "Is...a child."

Sean's pupils dilated sharply. "A child?!"

"Young wizards!" Edmund shouted angrily. "Several rooms are filled with young wizards! They're at most eleven or twelve years old! They're just starting school!"

The ghost's anger caused his body to flicker slightly.

"I saw that in those rooms, all the young wizards were locked in magical cages. They were trapped in dark, lightless Chamber of Secrets, and each of them had their hands and feet bound by magical shackles!"

"Durmstrang has committed a crime! They! How dare they do such a thing!" Edmund grew angrier as he spoke, and then tried to rush out of the ring.

Sean quickly called out to the other person, "Don't be impulsive, Edmund."

Edmund was furious. "I'm going to tell the headmaster! How dare those bastards do this to a group of children!"

"Not now. The other side should be watching the other bait I left behind. If we leave now, we'll easily be exposed—" Sean said in a deep voice. "Edmund, tell me the specifics of the room. Don't overlook any detail."

Although ghosts don't need to breathe, Edmund still gasped for breath for a while before calming down and describing what he had seen to Sean.

There were six Chamber of Secrets in the ship's hold, each Chamber of Secrets a young wizard. According to Edmund's description, all six young wizards were inexperienced, at most about the same age as second-year students at Hogwarts.

The Chamber of Secrets was not furnished with many items, except for a magical cage in the very center. The cage was woven from magic, and since Edmund was a ghost, he could not determine the nature of the magic, but judging from its appearance, the cage seemed to contain a variety of spells.

The young wizards inside the cages were either lying down or sitting up, their hands and feet bound by magical shackles, and each of them was in a drowsy state. However, even though it was the middle of the night, none of the young wizards had completely fallen asleep. Clearly, their minds had been tampered with by magic, and they were maintaining an abnormal state of semi-consciousness and semi-drowsiness.

Edmund saw obvious pain on the faces of each of the young wizards, who seemed to have been imprisoned in cages for some time. Their clothes were tattered, and there were scraps of food on the floor of the cages.

Upon hearing this, Sean frowned and asked in a deep voice, "What style of clothes are they? Wizarding Robes or Muggle everyday clothes?"

Although Edmund was indignant, he still maintained good concentration and, after a moment's recollection, said, "Wizard Robes, and they're all Durmstrang school uniforms, similar to the style of those guys in the castle lately."

"And the size?" Sean continued to ask.

"The size... some of the little wizards' uniforms seem a little too short," Edmund recalled.

It's a bit too short... Sean frowned.

"Did you notice what was beside them? Something they could reach out and touch."

Edmund nodded immediately. "Yes, although I was angry at the time, I still noticed that each little wizard had something next to them, either boots that didn't fit properly or a teapot that shouldn't have been there. They were all items that looked out of place."

The Portkey ... Sean's brow furrowed even more.

During the summer vacation, the special Portkey he received from Dumbledore had its route altered, leading him to suspect that the Returners possessed some kind of Portkey magic that could bypass the magical restrictions of Hogwarts.

After all, he himself can use "Trace Flash" to move freely in Hogwarts, and the Phoenix's magic can do the same, which shows that Hogwarts ' magical restrictions are not omnipotent.

In other words, if Sean goes back immediately to inform the professors to come to Durmstrang's ship, there is a high probability that they can use the Portkey to move those young wizards away directly. Without evidence, they won't be able to do anything to the people in Durmstrang, and might even alert them.

Sean fell into deep thought. He first needed to figure out what Durmstrang's purpose was in imprisoning so many young wizards.

And why would they risk being exposed by bringing the young wizard to Hogwarts...?

Furthermore, it remains unknown whether more such young wizards are imprisoned within Durmstrang Castle...

Sean frowned. "Edmund, you can't sense magic, but you should be able to see its outward manifestation or the color of a spell, right?"

Edmund nodded.

"What color are the magic cage and shackles?"

"Black," Edmund answered immediately.

"Are there any areas of blackness spreading around the cage, or around the little wizard?" Sean pressed.

Edmund thought carefully, then shook his head uncertainly. "I couldn't see clearly. Apart from the dark blue torches in the farthest part of the room providing some light, there was no other light. The visibility was very poor. I could only see the general situation around those little wizards. You told me not to get too close if I saw anything strange, so I could only observe from behind the walls."

"Okay, I understand."

Seeing Sean fall silent, the impatient Edmund said impulsively, "Sean, what are we going to do? Those children have clearly suffered inhuman torture! We can't let this continue!"

Sean sighed. "Of course I know, but we have to be clear about one thing: if we're not fully prepared, these children might be quickly moved away when we storm the ship. In that case, we might have to go to Durmstrang's Castle to find them—but that's unrealistic. Although Durmstrang has been corrupted, it was once School of Magic on par with Hogwarts, and its foundation cannot be ignored. If they are determined to play dead and hide the children, even Professor Dumbledore might not be able to find the imprisoned young wizards at Durmstrang."

Upon hearing Sean's words, Edmund could only float anxiously in place.

Sean stood there pacing back and forth in thought. After a moment, he looked up and said, "Let's go back first."

Edmund turned his head. "Didn't we say we shouldn't act rashly? Besides, wasn't your original plan to continue pretending to be this person when you went out to dinner tomorrow, which would have been the safest option?"

"My other bait has been lingering for too long. If nothing happens tonight, they might thoroughly inspect the entire ship to prevent me from infiltrating—in that case, I'm at risk of being exposed. I could run, but the imprisoned little wizards would definitely be moved quickly."

Sean narrowed his eyes. "Pretend to probe them from the outside, then 'return empty-handed.' I need to go back and discuss a strategy with the professors."

As he spoke, Sean brought out the real, unconscious Isama Trettor from inside the ring.

Sean has tampered with this guy's memory. Given that he's not a major suspect, this memory should be enough for him to handle the questioning. The other party should focus their main attention on Strong Hartman, who is currently loitering on the deck.

After placing Isama Treteau on the boat, Sean instantly Trace Flash back to the teleportation point he had set up in the Black Lake.

If the Shadow Bug is placed on Durmstrang's ship, it will be easy to spot, but it will be quite simple for it to get out.

His figure disappeared as he floated on the water's surface. Sean glanced at the large ship in the distance, then waved his wand and cast a very weak detection spell from afar. After a short while, he immediately turned and left without the slightest hesitation.

On the large ship, the Black Hood who had been waiting silently raised his head the moment the detection spell touched the hull. He narrowed his eyes but made no move.

A moment later he let out a shrill laugh, "Heh, just as described in the intelligence, this kid is very wary. It seems that the Magic Barrier I put to make Karkaroff relax was unnecessary... Tsk, slippery kid."

The figure reappeared from the shadows. "So what should we do?"

The Black Hood chuckled sinisterly, "He won't give up so easily... Send men to thoroughly inspect the ship's defensive barriers, make it look like a show for him..."

"What about Strong Hartman?"

"That unlucky kid shouldn't make a move tonight. Go, send someone to check him 'carefully' again, but don't find anything suspicious about Mr. Strong Hartman ..." The Black Hood licked his dry lips, a twisted, ugly smile spreading across his face. "So what if he's vigilant? If he wants to gather more intelligence, he has to board this ship. And once he boards, he'll fall into our trap..."

He laughed smugly, "The magic of [Pride], I'm really looking forward to it..."

If Sean had heard these words, he would have just laughed dismissively. However, because of those imprisoned young wizards, his mood was particularly heavy.

Back at the castle, Sean said to Edmund, "Please inform Professor McGonagall... no, also call the other three deans and professors, and Professor Scamander as well. Have them meet in the faculty Common Room —no, to avoid having any spies on their side in the castle, have them wait in their respective offices. I'll go find them."

The situation was urgent, and Sean's access to the Room of Requirement could no longer be concealed. However, it wasn't a big deal. Hogwarts had countless secrets, and Dumbledore agreed that he could freely use the Room of Requirement. These professors were also people who knew some inside information and were trustworthy.

While Edmund was informing the professors, Sean quickly traveled to Newmontgard via the Vanishing Cabinet and then used Floo Powder to reach the Wizarding Charitable Association's office floor.

He had just appeared by the campfire when Lupin, dressed in his pajamas, appeared at the door.

"Sean, what brings you here? What happened?" Lupin asked, frowning as he pulled on his clothes.

He had set up a spell near the fireplace so he would be notified if anyone teleported there, and Sean's visit at this time must mean something important had happened.

"Remus, I need you to quickly gather all the people from our association who have helped Hogwarts with admissions. Those who can't come, please send a message. I need the admissions forms and recruitment information for each person."

Sean quickly explained his purpose.

Lupin didn't ask any further questions, nodded, and immediately gave the orders.

Wuhu, I'm back—but I'm not feeling great right now. I'll resume updates first, and I'll wait a few days for 10,000 words a day. To be honest, my hands are a little numb from not writing for a while...