Ghost Among Ghosts

"Ogg and Unicorns, huh..."

Another new week.

During some free time one day, Cypher raised his concerns with Dumbledore.

Dumbledore pondered for a moment before replying, "Ogg is no problem. Like Newt, he's someone with a pure heart for magical creatures, and one of the few adult men to have earned a Unicorn's trust."

Cypher was taken aback. So, there were Unicorn herds?

"Yes, there's more than one Unicorn herd in the Forbidden Forest. The Forbidden Forest is called the Forbidden Forest because we know so little about it. It's simply too vast."

Cypher was unimpressed. It wasn't just that ancient wizards were all homebodies; even now, as wizards began to step out of their homes and interact with the outside world, war had broken out.

It was just that there weren't enough people to explore the Forbidden Forest.

After confirming that Ogg wasn't deliberately luring Luna, Cypher asked a few questions about magic before ending the conversation.

Come the weekend, the young wizards were happily scurrying around the castle.

Laughter and cheers echoed from the lawn outside the castle from time to time.

At this time, Luna and Iris had already set off for the Forbidden Forest together.

Cypher had intended to read a book, practice magic, and then cook a delicious meal in the kitchen to welcome the two girls back.

However, the sudden appearance of Fawkes disrupted his plans.

The professor needs me urgently? Cypher thought in surprise, hurriedly putting on his coat and reaching for Fawkes' tail feathers.

In a flash of fire, Cypher arrived at the Transfiguration classroom on the second floor.

A little earlier in time.

Ever since Cypher told it that there might be an inside agent in the castle, Dumbledore had been taking some free time to patrol the castle.

And wouldn't you know it, this patrol actually turned up some problems.

Including, but not limited to, Peeves' contraptions designed to harm the young wizards.

Poisonous herbs discarded by older students.

Even a broken Dark Arts necklace in a secret passage.

Of course, none of this was a big deal.

As long as it wasn't fatal, the professors and the school nurse had plenty of ways to make these mischievous little ones lively again.

However, the last few patrols had left it with an eerie feeling.

It felt like something was watching it, silently observing it, even monitoring it.

However, whenever it patrolled with Fawkes, this feeling would disappear.

If that was all, it wouldn't be so bad, but it had seen several young wizards suddenly become silly and dazed in secluded corners, as if daydreaming.

If it was just one or two occasionally, it wouldn't mean anything, but when dozens of young wizards were exhibiting this behavior, it couldn't remain calm.

It had a guess, but it wasn't sure.

How could someone in Hogwarts silently bypass the ancient and powerful protective magic and curse the young wizards?

So, it quickly wrote a letter detailing its findings and sent it to Nicolas Flamel, the alchemist with centuries of life, in Libanus.

Today, Nicolas' letter finally arrived.

It couldn't wait to open it. After reading the letter, it thought for a moment and decided to call Cypher, because it didn't want the house-elves to know about this.

Time returned to Cypher's arrival.

"Professor, what do you need me for?"

As soon as Cypher landed, he looked around and saw Dumbledore looking out the window. He quickly asked.

"I've discovered some anomalies. The letters are on the table. Take a look for yourself."

Dumbledore replied without turning around.

So serious... who are they watching?! Cypher muttered to himself, stepping forward to pick up the two letters on top of the small wooden box.

The first letter on top was Dumbledore's letter to Nicolas explaining the situation. After reading it, Cypher understood Dumbledore's recent discoveries.

The second letter was naturally Nicolas' reply.

With his back to Dumbledore, Dumbledore didn't see the shocked look in Cypher's eyes.

In this letter, Nicolas Flamel briefly greeted Dumbledore before writing down the information and opinions he had found.

Dumbledore could sense someone watching it and was afraid of Fawkes.

That probably couldn't be done with magic spells, but was an unknown existence.

Phoenixes are immortal. Every time they suffer a fatal injury, they are reborn in flames, hence they are also known as phoenixes.

Since Fawkes could make the unknown retreat in fear, it must be related to life, death, and souls.

Nicolas boldly guessed that it must be something similar to a Ghost.

You know, in the Magical World, normal Ghosts are translucent, incorporeal beings that can communicate.

But what if someone invented a spell that could make Ghosts invisible too?

After sifting through a mountain of information.

Nicolas Flamel found an antique that even he couldn't replicate to this day.

Back then, he was young and strong, not the withered husk he is now.

A wizard named Marco Polo had the good fortune to come into contact with the ruins of a mysterious ancient Eastern country.

Once, he needed a favor from Nicolas but couldn't afford the price, so he reluctantly mortgaged some of his findings. Little did he know, he would never come back to redeem them, even in death.

What shocked Cypher was what Nicolas said.

Inside this unopened small wooden box was a Compass and its instruction manual.

"Professor, can I open it?" Steadying himself, Cypher quickly asked.

"Of course." Dumbledore still didn't turn around.

If Cypher had looked back, he would have seen Dumbledore's gaze fixed on the edges of the lawn, a look of worry involuntarily appearing on their face.

Magical items are delicate, especially unknown magical items, so it's best not to touch them casually.

But Nicolas Flamel wouldn't send him a Dark Arts artifact without protection.

Moreover, Cypher wasn't a reckless person; he never messed with unknown things.

Cypher carefully opened the small wooden box.

Sure enough, what came into view was a disc with complex and familiar lines, with a round wooden stick lying next to it.

What wooden stick! It's a scroll! Cypher wanted to slap himself.

Checking his hands, finding nothing dirty, Cypher carefully took out the scroll, unfolded it, and took a look.

Heh, traditional Chinese characters! Cypher could barely make out the gist of it.

The general idea was:

The compass needle points to the target. Inject magic power from the bottom of the compass. If it floats in your hand and the base remains still, always pointing north, then the positioning is successful.

That's it? Where's the spell incantation? Just inject magic power (mana) so crudely?

"Professor?"

Nicolas Flamel said he couldn't replicate it, so this might be the only Compass in the world.

Because there was no second Marco Polo to find a second ancient country's ruins.

"Give it a try; I've tried it. Normal magic power won't work; it probably needs pixie magic power."

Yes, Dumbledore had tried it before Cypher arrived.

Hearing this, Cypher carefully picked up the Compass.

The Compass seemed to be made of some kind of metal, with a metallic texture, but as light as balsa wood.

On the back were some dense little dots.

Cypher flipped it over and saw a passage of ancient text in very small font.

Squinting, it was still difficult. Cypher grabbed the quill pen next to him and used magic to turn it into a magnifying glass.

Frowning, he struggled to translate.

"When a person dies, they become a Ghost; when a Ghost dies, they become a Nihil; when a Nihil dies, they become a Void; when a Void dies, they become Nothingness."

"That which cannot be seen when looked at is called Nothingness; that which cannot be heard when listened to is called Void."

After reading it, Cypher put down the Compass and rubbed his sore eyes.

"Professor, are you saying that what's been observing you in secret is a Ghost?"

"Yes, that's what I think. That's why I called you here, to have you try this."

Cypher thought for a moment, his eyes lighting up. "Professor, how do normal Ghosts maintain themselves?"

"The Ghosts in the castle are protected by the castle, which provides them with a source of magic power. Other Ghosts should have similar things to replenish them."

Dumbledore finally stopped looking outside; they turned their head in surprise, then quickly composed themself.

Cypher could actually understand these words? You have to know, they were still lucky...

"If someone destroyed the Ghosts' source of magic power, replaced it with another method, and controlled them, while keeping them in a state of near dissipation, would that cause this faint sense of being watched?"

"Cypher, your guess may be the truth, but we still need to verify it!"

After hearing this, Dumbledore showed the first smile they had in recent times.

Intuition told them that this Compass could easily help them find the mastermind.