Chapter Sixty-Six: Capture

Xiwen gazed at the countless menacing wooden hands closing in, and softly murmured, “I’m counting on you, little cat!”

With a flash of deep blue light, Xiwen and the kitten perched on his shoulder vanished from sight, only to reappear behind Professor Loray.

“What?” Professor Loray, startled by Xiwen’s sudden disappearance, sensed danger immediately and hastily conjured a transparent shield around himself for protection.

His response was swift, but a golden whip struck even faster, coiling tightly around his ankle before the shield could fully form!

The golden whip was Xiwen’s magical whip.

With a fierce tug, Xiwen yanked the whip, instantly throwing Professor Loray off balance and sending him crashing face-first onto the withered grass.

Sensing the peril, Professor Loray, relying on his formidable combat instincts, twisted his body mid-fall to land on his back instead. He then raised his wand, ready to retaliate.

But what met his gaze was a pair of strange yellow eyes, which brought upon him a heavy wave of drowsiness.

Professor Loray struggled desperately, barely staying awake. Through the haze, he saw a purple spell flying toward him.

“Stupefy!”

To ensure everything was foolproof, Xiwen cast a final stunning spell.

Seeing Professor Loray collapse unconscious to the ground, Xiwen let out a sigh of relief, only to feel exhaustion wash over him like a tide. Everything before his eyes blurred with double images, and his mind grew dizzy.

He numbly realized he had once again overspent his magical power, his mental strength equally depleted. The dizziness was its aftereffect.

‘Fortunately, the task is done, at least.’ Xiwen bent over heavily, wanting to sit and rest for a moment.

But a sudden beastly roar interrupted his movement.

Alongside the roar came the incantation of a spell:

“Flipendo!”

A powerful force struck Xiwen, sending him flying and crashing hard onto the distant withered grass. Even the kitten on his shoulder was knocked off by the impact.

“Cough, cough…” Xiwen coughed violently, feeling pain splitting through his back and left arm.

‘How could the dark wizards have arrived first?!’ Xiwen was shocked to see the two dark wizards he had previously encountered in the Forbidden Forest, accompanied by a black panther with a lion’s mane. One of them had cast the Knockback Jinx on him, while the other used a Reviving Spell to awaken Professor Loray.

“This kid’s got something odd about him. How did a child manage to take down Claude?” said one of the dark wizards, his face obscured by a black hood, as he approached Xiwen with suspicion.

“Better not risk any more surprises. Let’s finish him off!” the other dark wizard said.

“Understood,” the hooded wizard replied casually, then raised his wand and aimed at Xiwen.

“Avada Kedavra!”

At that moment, Xiwen’s body was wracked with pain and weakness; he could not muster any strength, and could only watch helplessly as the chilling green spell shot toward him.

‘That was careless of me this time…’ He closed his eyes.

…

Bang!

A deafening crash sounded from ahead. Xiwen opened his eyes abruptly and saw a towering earthen wall standing before him, blocking the killing curse!

With a rush of wind, a magnificent and beautiful bird landed in front of Xiwen. Its plumage was vibrant red, a golden tail gleaming behind it, with a golden beak and talons.

Once on the ground, the bird suddenly stood upright, its form twisting into the shape of Dumbledore.

Xiwen’s eyes widened in astonishment, his expression dazed. “Professor Dumbledore, this is…”

“You’ve done well, Mr. Rozier,” Dumbledore turned to him, offering a reassuring smile. “Leave the rest to me!”

“Professor, beware the venom of the Bladder Panther…” With this warning, Xiwen finally felt the weight in his heart lift. He lay weakly on the ground, ready to witness the fierce battle about to unfold between Dumbledore and the dark wizards.

Dumbledore nodded with a relaxed smile and waved his wand lightly.

A sudden gale swept forward, blowing away all the venomous gas from the Bladder Panther, sending it back toward the three adversaries.

Within that gale, Xiwen remained unaffected, feeling the air around him calm and serene.

By now, Professor Loray had fully regained consciousness. Upon seeing Dumbledore, his expression turned grim, and he urgently shouted to his companions, “It’s Dumbledore. Split up and run, whoever can make it out!”

He once again manipulated the sinister wooden hands around him, hoping to use these transfiguration creations to delay Dumbledore.

Dumbledore chuckled, and with just a glance, the control over all the transfigured hands shifted instantly. They turned on their masters, seizing the three dark wizards and the Bladder Panther.

The process was so swift it scarcely resembled a battle—more like a game of cat and mouse!

“…Is it over already?” Xiwen was dazed, looking at Dumbledore in disbelief.

“Not quite,” Dumbledore replied easily, extending his hand. The three wands bound by the wooden hands obediently flew into his grasp. “We still need to interrogate these people.”

“You intended to do just that, didn’t you?” Dumbledore winked at Xiwen.

…

In a room beside the entrance courtyard, Professor Loray and the two dark wizards were bound at the center.

With the castle’s magical system crippled, moving between floors had become difficult, so the interrogation was arranged on the ground floor.

Xiwen remembered this room vaguely; before the Sorting Ceremony, Professor Mellis had the new students wait here. He had even encountered a few ghosts who liked to prank and scare the newcomers. It was after seeing the state of those ghosts that Xiwen came up with the idea of living in the castle as a soul form, pretending to be a ghost.

Now, Headmaster Dippet, the four house heads, the board of governors, and young wizard Xiwen sat on either side of the room, their demeanor solemn.

“Claude, why did you sabotage the magic nodes of Hogwarts? Who sent you?” Headmaster Dippet asked sternly.

Professor Loray shrugged indifferently, chuckling, “Felt like causing trouble, so I did!”

“Maintain your composure, Mr. Loray!” Professor Mellis addressed him with unfamiliar coldness, no longer the friendly colleague. “Do you realize the disaster you’ve brought upon Hogwarts, the danger you’ve put the students in?!”

Professor Loray simply closed his eyes, ignoring the questions. The other two dark wizards followed suit, showing equal indifference.

“Gentlemen, if you refuse to cooperate, I can’t guarantee we won’t resort to certain special methods!” Mr. Malfoy tapped the table, his voice icy.

Hearing this, Xiwen silently took out a bottle of Veritaserum obtained from Professor Slughorn, turning it over in his hand.

…

…