After the little incident, Harry and Ron were visibly much more relaxed.
They arrived at the dungeon without incident and stood quietly in front of Snape's office.
This isn't my first time here, but I still get trembling all over when I'm actually about to go in.
"Who's opening the door?"
"I'll do it."
"If Old Bat doesn't go to class..." Ron hadn't finished speaking when Harry pulled the doorknob.
It felt like a cold wind blew by, and the two of them shivered for no reason.
Ron closed his eyes tightly until Harry's voice rang out, "Hey, Snape's not here."
He removed his Invisibility Cloak and walked into the empty office.
Those bottles and jars filled with entrails are still quite creepy.
There was a clump of green slime on the workbench, and the two of them simultaneously recalled sitting next to each other a few days ago, extracting venom from a large basket of Acromantula.
"Let's get started quickly."
"Good."
They searched high and low, but found nothing.
Harry opened the desk drawer in the inner room. "Isn't that Snape?"
Unconvinced, Ron opened the wardrobe and saw it filled with black robes.
Summer styles, winter styles, fitted styles, long skirt styles...
"The Old Bat really does like black."
Harry pulled back the black blanket on the bed. "Uh—even the sheets are black."
Ron opened the drawer at the bottom of the wardrobe.
Black briefs, I can't bear to look at them.
"Lumos— " He lay on the floor and looked under the bed.
There wasn't a single insect, not even a speck of dust.
Harry reached into the black pillow. "Looks like it really isn't Snape."
Ron grabbed his hair, "Where on Scabbers have gone...?"
"Hmm..." Harry was also troubled by this problem.
Scabbers was missing for almost three months. Then he was taken to the Ministry of Magic's Temporary Headquarters for a week of investigation. After that, he was taken back to his dormitory and woke up to find that he was gone again.
"Could it be..." Harry and Ron exchanged a glance.
Scabbers is quite old; he might actually consider the Temporary Headquarters post his home.
But this place...
"Sigh—let's think of another way."
"This is the only way."
The two of them sighed and walked out of the Potions Office.
When Snape returned to his office after class, he immediately noticed the dense footprints on the floor.
He is one of the few Potions Master, and he would never allow even a speck of dust to fall into the Potions- making process.
And despite his greasy hair, he actually has very few small dandruff flakes; it's mostly large patches.
Therefore, these footprints could only belong to the intruders.
"Hmph—" Snape sneered and followed the footprints into the inner room.
A complete novice, with absolutely no experience.
"If it's not those brats, then who could it be..."
His cold gaze seemed to penetrate the walls.
Harry and Ron in the Great Hall suddenly felt a chill run down their spines.
This feeling is so familiar, it's like being stared at by Snape.
"Harry, do you think the Old Bat might find out it's us?"
"How is that possible? We're wearing Invisibility Cloak; no one will be able to spot us."
Ron breathed on his palms to warm them. "That's true, but how are we going to get into that place?"
"I've got it!" Harry leaned closer and whispered in his ear.
The Batman Family has never targeted students, and they even recently destroyed Temporary Headquarters.
Ron's eyes grew brighter and brighter as he listened.
Over the weekend, Hogwarts Castle underwent another thorough search.
Vincent readily handed the Mithril Briefcase to Wales, who didn't rush to check the personal belongings inside.
"Wayne, about that day..." He stammered, as if he had a hard time getting to the point.
Vincent shrugged nonchalantly, "Forget about the apology; after all, you were just following orders."
Wales's expression was quite interesting.
There was shame, regret, and resentment.
He silently opened the Mithril Briefcase and began to examine each item without saying a word.
This time it was very fast, it was over in less than two hours.
Before leaving the dormitory, he gave Vincent a deep look, seemingly not genuinely wanting to resolve the conflict.
Such a persistent personality suggests he's from Gryffindor.
However, the situation has changed. The Ministry of Magic has begun to consider public opinion and will not allow Wales and his group to act recklessly.
Vincent flexed his wrists slightly.
Leaving this problem unresolved is not a solution; it's time to escalate the situation.
At 2 a. m., the Batman Family finished dealing with the castle as quickly as possible and gathered in the shadows of the Temporary Headquarters.
Tonight's shift is with some familiar faces; it's going to be quite interesting.
After assigning their tasks, they gradually emerged from the shadows and soon disappeared back into the moonlight.
Although the cells at the Temporary Headquarters were no longer holding prisoners, it was still necessary to send someone in to check on them periodically.
Wales walked through the narrow tunnel, where torches on the walls barely illuminated his surroundings.
Suddenly a gust of wind blew by, and the flickering firelight seemed to indicate that something had entered.
"Batman!" He quickly drew his wand, on high alert. "I know you're here. Come out!"
"As you wish." A hoarse, deep voice sounded from behind.
"Stupefy!" The Wales Stunning Spell struck a torch on the wall.
A black figure swept past him, and he felt a sharp pain in his hand holding the wand.
"Clang—" The surroundings fell silent.
Wales stared blankly at his empty hands.
In the blink of an eye, the wand was taken away.
Judging from the sound, it shouldn't have fallen very far, but now is clearly not the time to be distracted.
"Damn it..." Wales clenched his fists, his eyes scanning his surroundings.
"Batman! Are you a coward? Come out and face me if you dare!"
"Whoosh—" A Batarang flew past his cheek.
"Face me?" A deep, hoarse voice came from behind again.
Wales turned around quickly, and a cloud of smoke suddenly exploded on the ground.
"Cough cough—" he coughed, crossing his hands to protect his head.
After bursting out of the smoke, all that remained was endless darkness.
Magic?
No, all the torches went out.
The smoke is just a smokescreen; Batman's true purpose is to instill fear.
It's just darkness, and Wales believes he can get through it.
"Whoosh—" The sound of Batarang slicing through the air broke the silence.
He rolled to dodge, but crashed headfirst into the wall.
My nose felt hot, and when I touched it, it was wet with fresh blood.
He shook his head and carefully stood up.
It was completely dark around them, so Batman certainly couldn't see anything.
However, as soon as this thought crossed his mind, he was suddenly struck by a sharp pain in his abdomen.
"Impossible..."
Wales crouched down, clutching his stomach, feeling the air he was breathing through his nose suddenly become thinner.
It must be that the nosebleed is blocking the trachea, that must be it.
He opened his mouth and gasped for breath, but still felt like he was about to suffocate.
Was it because of fear? Was he scared?
Impossible!
Wales suddenly stood up, wildly waving his fists at the air.
"You're scared..." a deep, hoarse voice said.
He quickened the pace of his fist swings, then suddenly slammed it to the ground.
My head feels dizzy, probably from excessive blood loss.
"This is fear, Wales..."
It must be an auditory hallucination.
"Face it, face the fear..."
A strange, orange-red light appeared before Wales' eyes, and then a blurry figure slowly emerged from it.
The person had a bat-like body, and their eyes and mouth emitted an incredibly blinding light.
Hallucination?
Maybe.
"I see you..." Wales struggled to his feet. "I see you... Batman ..."
His mind went blank, and he slammed back down hard.
Darkness, only endless darkness.
He slowly closed his eyes and completely lost consciousness.