Time flies by, and for some people, it seems like just yesterday that they left the campus on Hogwarts Express.
Then today I stood at King's Cross Station again, about to board the train back to Hogwarts. Many little Wizards had dazed expressions when they got on the train.
However, not everyone is like this. There are also some people who feel that this holiday passes very slowly. Such people either have a very fulfilling life, or... they have experienced too many things during this holiday.
St. Mungo's had a huge impact after all on that day. Even if Manus let two Raven secretly inject Life-Sustaining Charm on some patients, it would only allow some people to survive.
This is the cruelty of war.
Although the person who did it seemed to be neither Order of the Phoenix nor Death Eaters, the war itself made order exist in name only.
If it weren't for the current war, Auror would have arrived more timely, and therapists from other places would have rushed over to provide support. In fact, those who did it would not have dared to make such a big noise directly at St. Mungo's.
After putting away his luggage, Manus took out the enamel teapot and poured himself a cup of hot milk. He then gave the teapot to Bellows to play with the star map puzzle inside.
Along the way, the two of them ate snacks and exchanged information about Mrs. Travers's status. Time passed very quickly.
Back to Hogwarts, Manus just went to the bathroom to take a shower. When I came back, I found a bunch of people gathered in Ravenclaw Common Room, and people kept coming out of the dormitory with curious faces.
"What's going on?"
Manus came to a location relatively close to the fireplace and asked Jasper who seemed to have been here for a while.
By the way, Quirinus has applied for a leave of absence from school again to study seasonal wild magical creatures. One month's leave plus one month's leave of school are just enough, so he will not return to class until mid-February.
"Did you read the bulletin board when you came back?"
"It's not too late..."
Today King's Cross Station is cloudy, Hogwarts here has a heavy snowfall, and the walk has been wet and cold. Even if Manus is in good health, he still wants to take a hot bath early to feel comfortable.
Manus looked in the direction of the bulletin board, but his view was blocked by his classmates. No matter how good his eyesight was, he could not see the bulletin board through people.
Just ask directly.
"What's written on the bulletin board?"
"Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts is temporarily away from school due to something else, and other professors will take the class temporarily."
Manus was stunned for a moment. After two seconds, a voice sounded from the other side of him:
"Isn't this normal?"
Bellows, who had also just taken a shower and whose hair was still a little damp, was holding a towel and yawned:
"This year's fourth grade, this is the fourth time something like this has happened... and what does this have to do with us?"
To put it bluntly, even when Professor Staky died, Ravenclaw House didn't have such a big reaction...
Bellows was suddenly startled and whispered:
"Professor Millicent Bagnold didn't disappear during our Ravenclaw Tower... right?"
"How is that possible? If that's the case you should see Professor Dumbledore and Professor Flitwick."
Jasper rolled his eyes:
"Some people are saying that they seem to have seen Professor Millicent Bagnold, but after checking the time with the people at Hogwarts, they found that Hogwarts had already posted this announcement at that time."
"... So? What does this mean?"
Bellows blinked.
"This means that we can probably use this to explore why Professor Millicent Bagnold suddenly left school... but this really has nothing to do with us."
Manus shook his head:
"The announcement said that Professor Millicent Bagnold left the school for something. Isn't it normal to be seen outside the school?"
The announcement said that he had to leave school because of something. It would be strange to see a dead body. What is so strange about seeing a living person? And what does this have to do with them Ravenclaw House?
"Hey, don't worry, I haven't gotten to the point yet."
Jasper will have to live alone in a dormitory for the next month. He experienced this experience last year.
Although living alone does provide more freedom, occasionally I feel a little lonely, and it is inevitable that I would like to talk in a secretive way and seek interaction.
"Where do you think that person met Professor Millicent Bagnold? It was Knockturn Alley!"
Knockturn Alley...
Manus frowned slightly, and at this moment, he sorted out some useful information from the exchanges of other people in the common room - for example, Professor Millicent Bagnold seemed to be inquiring about some information or tracking someone.
It's a pity that the witness didn't know the specific situation. Knockturn Alley is not a good place. He went with his parents at the time. If something goes wrong in a place like this, his parents might take him home, hang him up and beat him.
As for why this kind of place is not a good place, why the other party's parents would take him with them, and what they were going for, no one asked.
In addition, Manus also heard the reason why everyone at Ravenclaw House is so concerned about this matter - it seems to have something to do with him.
I still remember that at the beginning, everyone in Hogwarts generally regarded Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts and Curse as campus ghost stories. Although they talked about it with words, they felt that it was fake in their hearts.
Ravenclaw House certainly has the same attitude.
But since Manus laid out the facts and made everyone at Ravenclaw realize that Curse does not seem to be fake, everyone's attitude towards the existence of Curse suddenly changed.
I rarely mention it on weekdays, but when I pay attention to Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, I inevitably think of it.
Originally, when other students saw Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, they would not think of Curse for no reason.
This change in cognition has brought about more than just changes. Some students who are more superstitious about fate, Prophecy... well, trustful students, do they think this Curse can also be regarded as a kind of power of fate?
After all, although no Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts escaped Curse, no Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts died directly under the power of Curse.
Curse does not directly kill people. Even if you study it carefully, it is not difficult to find that the way it harms people is as magical as fate.
Manus is not the only one who has noticed this. Others may not have summarized it so clearly based on the so-called fairy tale tendency, but they can also vaguely discover some patterns.
The previous death of Professor Staky was a sudden death without any warning to people who had no information channels, but this time is different...
These people feel that this announcement and Professor Millicent Bagnold's outing are signs that Curse's power is beginning to exert its force.