#679 - Dark Mark (asking for monthly ticket recommendation)

After leaving Anduin's pasture, Harry and his friends walked back to the common room with disappointed expressions.

Professor Wilson ultimately failed to heed everyone's advice, stubbornly believing that Snape would not do anything to harm him or Harry.

Even the fact that Snape had once cast a spell on Harry during a Quidditch match couldn't change Professor Wilson's opinion.

From Anduin, the group also learned that something was indeed hidden in the room at the end of the fourth floor, but it seemed to be related to Dumbledore, not Professor Wilson as they had previously imagined.

"What should we do? The professor doesn't seem to be wary of Snape at all, but we all know he has ulterior motives," Harry said, scratching his head in distress.

"I really don't know what the professor is thinking. Someone is coveting what's beneath that room, but he doesn't seem to care," Ron complained, equally unable to understand.

"But did you hear what the professor said? What's hidden in that room is related to Headmaster Dumbledore and someone named Nicolas Flamel," Hermione said, rolling her eyes in thought. "Do you know this Nicolas Flamel?"

Harry, Ron, and Neville shook their heads in unison.

"Perhaps if we figure out who this mysterious name refers to, we can find out what Snape is plotting. That way, we can warn the professor again and prevent the other party from succeeding in their conspiracy!" Hermione, as the most resourceful member of the group, immediately suggested.

"That's a good idea," Harry agreed, nodding. "But with only a name, where should we start?"

"Hmm..." Hermione was stumped by Harry's question. "Someone related to Headmaster Dumbledore probably wouldn't be an unknown wizard. We can start by checking the library!"

The others knew there was no other way, so they had to nod in agreement.

Meanwhile, Anduin, having dismissed the young wizards, had returned to his residence on the Leona and was now frowning in thought.

"What's wrong, sir? Is something bothering you?" Hogg, who was resting nearby, looked at Anduin curiously.

"It's Quirrell. That guy is simply courting death," Anduin said, narrowing his eyes with an unkind expression. "He tried to jinx Harry's broom during the Quidditch match. I didn't expect this guy to be so bold, daring to attack a young wizard in broad daylight."

"Are you referring to the accident that happened two days ago?" Hogg scratched his head in confusion. "Wasn't Snape watching over him at the time? In the end, Quirrell didn't seem to succeed, otherwise we would have been alarmed."

"But his reach is getting deeper and longer. Who on earth gave him so much confidence?" What Anduin saw was something deeper behind the scenes. "Also, Harry and his friends seem to have noticed something. We can't let Quirrell continue to run wild."

"Then do you mean… to launch that plan?" Hogg raised an eyebrow. "I thought you were going to wait a while longer. And didn't you say Quirrell would be watched by Dumbledore?"

"But the old man seems to be a bit derelict in his duties. It's time to warn that guy. Let's set it for tomorrow. We'll give them a big gift right before Christmas!" Anduin tapped the desk in front of him with his finger, instructing softly.

"No problem!" Hogg propped himself up with an excited expression. "I'll go prepare right away!"

With that, Hogg darted out of the room, his mood clearly very excited.

Anduin, at the desk, turned his head to look towards Hogwarts Castle through the wall, as if he was planning something.

…

The next day, after finishing their Herbology class in the morning, the first-year wizards were leisurely walking from the greenhouses towards the main tower of the castle.

Hogwarts had already begun to enter winter, and the Christmas holidays were in two weeks. Although it hadn't started snowing yet, the teachers and students at the school had already put on thick winter clothes.

Among these young wizards, Hermione was the most special. She was holding a transparent glass bottle in her hand, inside which a cute little blue flame was suspended.

Having discovered her talent for controlling flames, Hermione had made this little gadget in her spare time. Although it wasn't an alchemical item, it was more than enough to keep warm.

Although this blue magic flame was no different from ordinary flames, Hermione loved it very much. She even used this flame to set Snape on fire.

The wind outside was particularly strong today, making everyone's necks feel a chill, which made Hermione hug the flame bottle even tighter.

Ron and the others beside her were still chatting away.

"The Mandrakes in Professor Sprout's greenhouse don't seem to be growing as well as the ones we saw at Professor Wilson's last night. Is it because of those bubotuber pus?" Ron muttered curiously, recalling what he had seen and heard last night.

"Can you not be so disgusting?" Hermione glared at him reproachfully. "We're going to eat lunch now. Stop mentioning those things. After going back last night, I used seven or eight 'Scourgify' charms in a row to get rid of that strange smell!"

"But we still have to go do dirty work tonight, don't we? I think we should get used to it sooner rather than later," Ron said, shaking his head nonchalantly.

"You idiot!" Hermione was furious that Ron had to talk about this before eating, and slapped him on the back.

"Didn't you see? Those compost piles were obviously stockpiled for a while. How could there be so much every day? Either we move them once every few days, or we clean up a little bit every day," Hermione said, rolling her eyes, explaining to Ron word by word.

"Is that so? I thought we had to work as hard as we did last night every day," Ron said, feeling happy. "No wonder the professor only found Percy and the other two at first. I thought the professor wanted to torture them."

"Did you think everyone was as slow-witted as you?" Hermione retorted, dissatisfied.

Harry and Neville next to them couldn't help but cover their mouths and snicker. Of course, this was also a daily occurrence for the group.

"Speaking of the devil, do you guys feel like it's extra cold today?" Ron, who had been sprayed in the face by Hermione, changed the subject awkwardly, pointing to the sky.

And the weather at this time was indeed as he said, colder than the previous two days. It was clearly not yet time for the weather to change, nor had it started to snow.

At the same time, the sky was filled with a low, dark cloud cover, but it didn't seem like it was going to thunder and rain.

The others also looked at the sky with some confusion. They also felt that something was strange today, but they couldn't put their finger on what the problem was.

Just as these lower-grade wizards were about to return to the main tower, a sudden change occurred!

"Morsmordre!"

A sharp, dark chanting voice suddenly appeared in everyone's ears, like a lizard whispering beside them.

Then, a dark green spell projectile suddenly shot out from nowhere, rising straight into the sky, and then exploding in front of everyone's eyes.

Immediately afterwards, the suddenly exploded spell turned into a green light, rolling continuously in the air, until finally revealing a strange magical image!

It was an enormous skull, composed of countless emerald-green star-like things, with a large snake emerging from the skull's mouth, like a tongue.

After it appeared, it rose higher and higher, a cloud of green mist emitting a dazzling light, set off by the ink-black clouds, like a new constellation.

This suddenly appearing image soon rose above Hogwarts, allowing all the teachers and students to see it clearly.

"What… what… what is this thing?" Harry, who was outside the castle, widened his eyes in horror, muttering in question.

Malfoy, who was also in the crowd, flushed with excitement and couldn't help but shout loudly.

"The Dark Mark! This must be the Dark Mark, my father once mentioned it to me, it's exactly as described!"

"The Dark Mark? What is that?"

A group of young wizards, including Harry, looked at the shouting Malfoy in confusion. It was the first time they had heard this word.

"It's the Dark Lord's sign!" Malfoy said, his voice slightly trembling, popularizing the knowledge for everyone. "In the past, when the mysterious man was still alive, whenever the Death Eaters killed someone, they would leave the Dark Mark above the corpse or house. This is also the symbol of the mysterious person who cannot be named."

"Oh my god, this is terrible!" Hermione wrinkled her entire face in disgust. "But why is there such a mark at Hogwarts? Is it someone's prank? But it doesn't look like it!"

"This can't be a prank!" Malfoy swallowed. "No one dares to joke with the mysterious person's symbol, this is an ominous symbol."

"Could it be…" Malfoy's brain opened up and thought of something, "Could it be that the Dark Lord has really returned?"

After saying that, Malfoy couldn't help but tremble all over, partly because of fear and partly because of excitement.

He had grown up listening to the story of Voldemort since he was a child. In the eyes of Malfoy's father and those relatives who were also pure-blood families, that Dark Lord was powerful, invincible, and a synonym for pure-blood glory.

Naturally, Malfoy, who had been influenced by such training, harbored a trace of worship for this Dark Lord, so he was inevitably a little excited after seeing the Dark Mark.

But at the same time, Malfoy also knew that this Dark Lord was also a representative of coldness, cruelty, darkness, and power. As an 11-year-old wizard, he still had an instinctive rejection of these, so he subconsciously feared the return of this Dark Lord!