Hogwarts starts with stealing power.

McGonagall collapsed to the ground, falling into a state of extreme weakness.

The backlash from the magic not only caused her physical injuries, but also disrupted her mental energy.

She tried to wave her wand, only to find that she couldn't even use the simplest, most basic glow flicker.

This magical backlash brought her extremely strong side effects.

In addition, because she lost a part of her soul, her body will also suffer from headaches, which require long-term treatment and may require a trip to Saint Goman if necessary.

"There must be something wrong with the forbidden book area, otherwise why would the location of the soul fragment that was last traced back to be a void space with so many spatial storms and turbulence!"

Intense pain struck, but McGonagall paid no attention to the injuries she had sustained; instead, she was more worried about Lin Xia's safety.

She quickly treated her injuries and staggered out.

They ran into Snape along the way. Seeing McGonagall's weak state, Snape was shocked and quickly helped her up.

"What happened? How did you get yourself into this state? Is there something strange happening at Hogwarts?" Snape asked hurriedly.

McGonagall shook her head, gripped Snape's arm tightly, and said in a hoarse voice:
"The forbidden book area! There's a problem there! I've lost track of Lin Xia! I must report this to Dumbledore immediately!"

"A banned book, Lin Xia?"

Snape's eyelids twitched slightly, and he had a bad feeling.

"We've sealed off so many important spatial nodes on campus, didn't you call Lin Xia out?"

As soon as he said it, Snape knew he was wrong.

Even if you enter the forbidden book area, you will definitely be able to find Lin Xia's traces, after all, the forbidden book area is a chaotic and disorderly space.

Although Hogwarts has interconnected nodes, each person entering a node will be randomly sent to another location, and may not necessarily be in the same area as Lin Xia.

Moreover, once inside, it's not guaranteed that you can get out quickly.

So at most, they just keep watch at the nodes so they can know immediately if any problems arise.

McGonagall whispered, "I suffered a magical backlash while investigating Lin Xia's whereabouts and was unable to use magic for a period of time. This news cannot be sent out, but we cannot give up tracking Lin Xia's whereabouts. We must report to Dumbledore immediately!"

Snape said, "Don't rush. Go back to your office first. I'll pass on the message. Don't worry."

With Snape's permission, McGonagall was finally relieved.

Pain and exhaustion overwhelmed her, and the next second, she collapsed on the spot.

Snape settled McGonagall and was about to wave his wand to deliver the message.

It turned out that his magic seemed to be blocked, and the message could not be sent out.

Snape then realized that Hogwarts had been completely sealed off in order to isolate the effects of the Forbidden Forest consciousness awakening.

News from the outside couldn't get in, and news from the inside couldn't get out.

Lin Xia can be considered the most outstanding student Hogwarts has had in hundreds of years.

This trip to the forbidden book area was also to investigate information related to mental power, which, to put it bluntly, was for the school's sake.

The school urgently needs her to develop an auxiliary drug related to mental power in order to advance the Alchemy Eyes project.

This was a serious matter, and Snape couldn't make a decision on his own. So he called Flitwick and Professor Sprout to discuss it together.

As for McGonagall, she has fallen into a coma and will not wake up anytime soon.

The three professors discussed it for a long time but could not make up their minds.

Snape preferred to open the school gates so he could pass the message to Dumbledore, but Flitwick and Sprout felt the school should remain locked down.

Because the awareness of the ban on forestry has been fully awakened, its impact on schools is too great, and this is the most direct threat.

Even though the Forbidden Forest and Hogwarts are adjacent and partially connected, the Forbidden Forest does not want to harm Hogwarts.

However, this influence was not something the ban on forestry actively sought; rather, it was an unconscious, spreading effect.

The power of the Forbidden Forest may awaken the ancient consciousnesses that have long slumbered within Hogwarts.

Once the ancient consciousness is activated and manifests, they may not be able to handle it.

Hogwarts has been established for thousands of years and has stood in this area for so long that it holds many secrets.

Even Dumbledore couldn't guarantee that he knew 100% of the school's secrets.

Snape was puzzled by the other two's conservatism, saying, "I believe that the awakening of consciousness in the Forbidden Forest is of no greater importance than Linxia's safety."

The Forbidden Forest is an integral part of Hogwarts, and it will not maliciously target Hogwarts.

However, if Lin Xia loses her trail and no one comes to her aid, and no one comes to her rescue when the space collapses, she may get lost in the turbulent currents of the spatial storm, or she may be corrupted by the evil god's ravings.

You all know better than I what the consequences would be if a great wizard were turned by an evil god. Wasn't that how Tom Riddle became Voldemort?!

Flitwick said calmly, "Calm down, Snape!"

Everyone knows that the sudden awakening of the Forbidden Forest's consciousness this time is not simple; it was awakened by someone. The Forbidden Forest's consciousness itself will not target Hogwarts, but that person may not. We don't know what he's up to.

Moreover, this awakening is far too unusual. If there's even the slightest mishap along the way, if we make the wrong decision, Hogwarts will face a great crisis!

Sprout agreed with this.

"The awakening of awareness about the ban on forests also means that the ban on forests is constantly radiating energy outwards, and may not necessarily be able to provide protection for schools."

Don't forget, besides the Forbidden Forest, Hogwarts is also a very valuable asset, and it's inevitable that some people will try to take advantage of the school. Therefore, we cannot open the school gates this time.

“But what about Lin Xia?” Snape said coldly. “Are you all turning a blind eye to her safety?”

Lin Xia is a Hufflepuff person, and Sprout should be more nervous, but Snape takes this matter more seriously than Sprout.

Sprout forced himself to calm down, his voice filled with a suppressed calm.

“Snape, I believe in Lin Xia. She is Hufflepuff’s best student. I believe she won’t get lost in the turbulence of the spatial storm. I also believe she can protect herself well in the Forbidden Zone!”

Flitwick also chimed in, "And don't you think the timing of Lin Xia's crisis was too opportune?"
Shortly after Hogwarts closed, Lin Xia encountered trouble in the restricted book section, which seemed like a carefully orchestrated arrangement.

Snape looked at the two of them coldly. "You mean, this was intentional?"

Flitwick and Sprout hesitated to draw any conclusions. Flitwick said cautiously, "It's just a possibility."

Snape took a deep breath; he was very concerned about the danger Lin Xia was in.

Since the other two professors were unwilling to open the school gates, restore the magic signal, and send the message out.

So, just open a crack for him, let him break out of the school, leave Hogwarts, and personally go to the Ministry of Magic to deliver the message, is that alright?
Upon hearing Snape's decision, Flitwick and Sprout also disagreed.

Because they knew that leaving Hogwarts at this time was extremely dangerous.

The reason Hogwarts had to close its gates was because the outside world had become chaotic, making it easy to encounter all sorts of strange phenomena. Moreover, these strange phenomena were extremely terrifying and powerful, which is why Hogwarts had to close its gates to keep all the supernatural things out.

If Snape went out at this time, he would run into those strange creatures.

They didn't want to wait until the consciousness of the Forbidden Forest returned to its slumber and Hogwarts reopened its gates only to hear of Snape's death.

Flitwick: "No, you can't go out either. Snape, calm down. The best thing to do right now is to wait! We don't know for sure if Lin Xia is in danger. Maybe she's perfectly fine?"

Sprout suddenly said, "Yes, Snape, Hogwarts needs you to stay. You can't go out. I'll go out instead."

Flitwick: "That won't work either, Sprout. Snape still has a chance of survival if he goes out because he is a very powerful offensive wizard, while you are just a herbalist. You have no way to protect yourself if you go out."

Snape was getting impatient with the discussion.

At this moment, every second is precious.

He couldn't resist picking up his wand, wanting to threaten them with force to open a crack in the wall for him.

But as soon as they picked up their wands, they heard a weak cough.

McGonagall had woken up at some point and arrived at their place.

Her lips were very red, and there was a trace of blood at the corner of her mouth.

"No need to argue anymore. None of us need to go out. We should stay at Hogwarts and keep watch. I received a message from Dumbledore."

She took a deep breath and said, "He tried to track Lin Xia using special magic, but he couldn't find her either. This means that Lin Xia is not dead, but is very likely to have entered a deeper area of ​​the forbidden book space."

There, all magic is untraceable, so she is safe.

“But there’s also a high chance she’ll get lost in the temporal turbulence,” McGonagall said with a heavy heart.

Snape frowned. "What do you mean?"

McGonagall shook her head. "Even Dumbledore couldn't track Lin Xia down. She may be facing another threat, but none of us can help her. She has to rely on herself."

Sprout asked anxiously, "Even Dumbledore can't help?"

McGonagall said, "Lin Xia is a student of Hogwarts, and Dumbledore won't just stand by and watch her die, but you all know what the forbidden book area is like."

The energy there is chaotic and disordered; even Dumbledore couldn't stay in that space for long. Furthermore, the Forbidden Book Dimension specifically repels powerful wizards.

She paused for a moment: "So all we can do is believe that she will come out of the forbidden book space safely."

On the other side, in the Forbidden Forest.

Because Hogwarts was in a closed state, the professors did not realize that the danger in the Forbidden Forest was gradually dissipating, and that powerful energy fluctuation was disappearing.

The consciousness of Forbidden Forest possessed Mikel, and the complete chip was extracted. At that time, the deal made with Babling had already been reached.

Babling couldn't hold onto the chips, and most of them were taken away, but the consciousness of Forbidden Forest also helped in the process, so this wasn't Forbidden Forest's problem.

The contract has taken effect. Whatever Babling gets from this small chip, she has to share most of it and provide a large number of coordinates from other worlds.

Babuling looked solemn; she couldn't tell whether this contract was a gain or a loss.

She manipulated Mikel's body to analyze the chip.

Because Mikel has a strong connection with this chip, using his body for analysis is the most efficient method.

If we analyze it separately from his body, it will take a very long time.

Babling didn't want to waste so much time, so she decided to take a permanent solution and keep the body's vitality alive with potions.

"Who exactly is this person connected to Hogwarts...?"

Babuling muttered to herself, her hands never stopping.

Meanwhile, the keen-eyed magical creatures and plants all sensed that powerful consciousness slowly dissipating.

They had initially fled out of the Forbidden Forest, but after realizing the danger had disappeared, they slowly returned from the surrounding area.

But the hunting in the Forbidden Forest has only just begun.

At the moment consciousness descended, the magical creatures and plants inside dared not move, allowing some wizards to venture deeper into the Forbidden Forest.

Now that the magical creatures and plants of the Forbidden Forest have recovered, it is becoming increasingly difficult for wizards who have ventured deep into the forest to emerge again.

British Ministry of Magic.

Although Dumbledore did not come to the vicinity of the Forbidden Forest, he kept an eye on the Forbidden Forest's movements and also prepared a backup plan at Hogwarts.

McGonagall's power was greatly reduced due to the backlash from her soul trauma, which Dumbledore also sensed.

After all, McGonagall is the vice-principal and has some of the authority of Hogwarts. At the same time, part of Hogwarts' luck is also due to McGonagall.

McGonagall suddenly became weak, and Hogwarts' overall fortunes also weakened.

Fortunately, the professors were rational enough not to open the school gates during the school's weakest period, otherwise it would have been vulnerable to strange disturbances from the outside world.

There are many ancient wills that have been dormant for a long time in the school. Once they are awakened by the disturbance of external energy fields, they can cause great trouble for the school.

If some strange external forces were to infiltrate the school, chaos would ensue.

At that time, he also had to figure out how to resolve this chaotic situation.

Fortunately, things didn't get to the worst possible outcome.

As for Lin Xia...

Dumbledore's eyes darkened slightly as he muttered to himself, "What exactly do you want to do?"

Lin Xia had been in his sights from the very beginning.

He felt that this student was more rational than Harry and seemed to have some kind of great fortune. However, Lin Xia had been very cautious in the early stages, so he could only observe him secretly.

If Babling hadn't discovered her talent in ancient runes and taken her as his disciple, he wouldn't have turned his attention away from her.

But since Lin Xia is someone Babuling favors, he can't pay too much attention to her, otherwise it would be seen as a provocation to Babuling.

From the beginning, Dumbledore believed that Lin Xia's entry into the forbidden book area was ill-intentioned, but he couldn't think of any reason to stop her.

After all, she possesses exceptional research talent.

He wouldn't refuse someone with such a strong research talent from stopping their exploration of knowledge, after all, each of her inventions brought many shocks to the wizarding world.

"In any case, I hope you won't affect my plans." Dumbledore's eyes turned slightly cold.

Everything is fate; leave everything to fate. (End of Chapter)