A strong, acrid smell filled the air, mixed with the lingering ash from something burned. Scattered along the edge of the clearing were several charred branches, lying on the ground in various shapes, some still in their fallen positions, as if they had been pushed down from the roots by some force and burned before they could rot.
The remains of the corpses on the ground were mixed with the charred remains of the trees, making it impossible to distinguish which parts were branches and which were bones, thus making them difficult to identify.
Professor Malin stood in the center of the open space, her dark blue robe stained with ash and dirt but not torn, her wand hanging at her side, the faint light at its tip slowly fading.
Her gaze fell on the shadows in the distant woods, as if confirming something.
Quirrell stood at the edge of the clearing for a moment, hesitated, and then spoke, his tone tentative and cautious. "Um... Professor Malin, are you alright?"
After asking the question, he realized it was somewhat unnecessary. Marlene was clearly fine; the problem lay with the charred remains on the ground.
It seems that Professor Malin sent her away earlier because she thought he was in the way, just like when she used Alchemy to clear the entire mountain on the train. Having him around would only get in the way.
Professor Malin heard Quirrell's voice, turned her gaze away from the distance, and looked at Quirrell with a cold expression, as if she had not yet fully recovered from the battle.
However, her tone was relatively calm when she spoke, " Professor Quirrell, how's Hagrid doing?"
Quirrell stepped forward and stood on a relatively intact patch of grass at the edge of the clearing. He briefly described the situation inside the cave, from the severed vines to the scattered limbs and remains on the ground, from the wound on Gori's chest to the corpses of the treacherous Vampire and Werewolf, and Gori's demands.
Marlene listened quietly and nodded. " The Forbidden Forest is indeed not very safe; it's too large to be monitored in all areas."
She glanced at Quirrell. "A Werewolf just slipped away from here; he disappeared into the shadows in the blink of an eye. Hogwarts has Dumbledore; a Vampire can't cause much trouble."
Quirrell still frowned. "After all, he's a Vampire elder; there's still a risk."
After he finished speaking, he realized his words sounded a bit abrupt, so he added, "But that's not something we need to consider; we can leave it to the principal and Deputy Headmistress McGonagall to decide."
Marlene nodded, saying nothing more, and glanced towards the cave. "You mean the magic the headmaster set up over there was destroyed? Hagrid is guarding it by himself?"
Quirrell nodded. "Some parts must have been damaged. At least the magical vines at the entrance are basically ruined. But Hagrid will be fine there. Don't let his Hagrid appearance fool you; he's quite powerful. Vampire Werewolf can't get close to him. And there shouldn't be any more attacks today. Assassinations like this, if they fail the first time, they won't launch a second wave anytime soon."
Marlene listened to his words, her gaze still fixed on the direction of the cave, as if assessing something in her mind. "I'll go take a look; I don't have anything else to do anyway."
Quirrell didn't refuse. "Thank you for your trouble. I'll come back and relieve you after I've finished reporting to Professor McGonagall."
Marlene nodded, and Quirrell turned and walked quickly back towards the castle in the direction he had come from. His boots crackled as they stepped over the charred debris, and he soon disappeared around the bend in the path.
Marlene stood there for a while, until Quirrell's footsteps were completely out of earshot, then she looked up again at the shadowy trees deep in the Forbidden Forest that were darkening.
The wind in the forest blew through the gaps in the bushes, swirling up a few charred fragments from the ground, which reached the hem of her robe before falling back down.
She looked in that direction for a while longer, as if confirming the location of something, then looked away and turned to walk towards the cave.
Her pace was neither fast nor slow, each step steady, as if she were already very familiar with the path beneath her feet.
Let's return to Hagrid's Hut, the home of our Son of the Champion and Child of Prophecy.
After Neville and his two companions entered the house, Hagrid's Hut was quiet for a while, with only the crackling of wood burning in the fireplace and the bubbling of stew in the iron pot.
But soon after Neville recovered from the shock of his hurried journey, he first looked at Herman, then at Draco, and then at Ron and Hugo, and resumed the trio's usual routine of discussing Quirrell's conspiracy theories.
"What's Professor Quirrell doing in the Forbidden Forest?" Neville asked, lowering his voice as if afraid of being overheard. "He's usually in his office or library when he's not teaching. It's very unusual for him to be wearing dark clothes and heading to the Forbidden Forest today."
Hugo stood beside him, adjusted her glasses, and seemed to mentally process all the known information. "Furthermore, Hogsmeade was just sealed off due to reports of unidentified individuals gathering, and Quirrell entered the Forbidden Forest right afterward. The timing of these two events is too close; it's unlikely to be a coincidence."
Ron peeked half his head out from behind Neville and whispered, "And he's brought Vampire Monster to class before. Those aren't things just anyone can get their hands on. Could he be raising something else in the Forbidden Forest?"
The three of them chatted away, completely unaware that Draco was sitting on the chair next to them, clutching the cloth wrapped around the pastries, her expression somewhere between "I don't want to talk to you" and "But you're so noisy."
It's obvious that the little girl still dislikes the red-haired Weasley, and by extension, Neville, the youngest Quidditch player. However, this dislike might disappear once Harry is announced as a member of the Quidditch team.
Neville seemed to have made up his mind, taking another half-step forward. His voice was low but his tone certain. "Anyway, I don't think he's up to anything. What normal professor would dress like that and run into the Forbidden Forest?"
Hugo nodded in agreement. "Besides, there are many dangerous creatures in the Forbidden Forest. It's unlikely that a Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor would go in there just to sketch."
Ron added quietly from behind, "They wouldn't choose this time for sketching; it's almost dark."
The three of them exchanged glances and spoke amongst themselves, like a well-rehearsed deduction process. Each person was responsible for filling in the puzzle piece they saw, and the final result always pointed in the same direction: Quirrell was not a good person.
Herman sat at the table listening, holding the teacup in his hand. The rim of the cup had gone cold, but he just held it there, neither drinking nor putting it down.