Deep within the Forbidden Forest.
Twisted tree shadows clawed and danced beneath the moonlight.
It was as though the entire forest were controlled by some invisible force.
Perhaps because a Legendary Wizard had joined them, Snape and Hermione were no longer trapped in that looping world. Wizards of that rank could always dispel certain unseen mists.
Dumbledore led Snape and Hermione through a search before finally stopping before the towering Bronze Door. The traces of battle Ian had left behind had not been "refreshed away."
Perhaps there was something special about legendary power that could prevent these endlessly "resetting" environments from regenerating, just like the footprints Albus Dumbledore had left behind earlier.
Before them—
The scene was a complete mess.
A gale swept ashes through the air, and vast stretches of the Forbidden Forest had been utterly erased. The once towering trees and lush green grass had all become nothingness. The ground was charred black and covered in cracked patterns.
Gullies of varying depths crisscrossed the land.
Still, no birds flew overhead, no insects chirped softly. Even the air was frozen in suffocating silence. Only this blackened earth silently spoke of the battle's brutality.
"There are powerful magical fluctuations lingering here." Snape's black cloak swept over the scorched ground. Perhaps he liked wearing black because dirt did not show on it?
"Perhaps Ian came here." Albus Dumbledore's tone was certain. From the lingering magical fluctuations, he could determine who had fought here before.
How should one put it?
Actually, any powerful wizard could do this. If Snape's level had not been so vastly different from Ian's, perhaps he too could have sensed Ian's distinctive magical fluctuations.
"Then where is Ian?" Snape frowned as he looked around. He could not find even the traces of a corpse, nor could he determine