Hogwarts Study Panel.

Chapter 572 (570): The Mysterious Servant (4k)

The Hanged Man's Tavern is still thriving today.

The patrons habitually ignored the few figures dressed in strange robes in the corner.

After all, Little Hangleton has always been a rather peculiar place.

In the innermost seat, two serious faces peeked out from under heavy hoods; even their travel-worn appearance couldn't hide their handsome features.

The bar owner noticed the two people when she was serving drinks. She was carrying a silver tray and swaying her body, but she was driven away by their cold gaze.

Conversely, when they noticed a figure who was also wearing a long robe but much shorter, their gaze, which had been wary of strangers, transformed into one of eager anticipation.

Good afternoon, Mr. Green.

The proprietress heard the voice, glanced at the pale skin hidden under the hood, muttered something like "So it's not normal after all" and walked away.

"good afternoon."

Sheen nodded, glancing around the bar as he did so.

"us----"

Sirius and Lupin exchanged a glance, about to say something, but were interrupted by Sheehan.

He shook his head slightly, shining the light on the men at the next table who were drinking heartily, signaling Sirius and Lupin to listen carefully.

"—I'm telling you, something's getting weirder and weirder in Little Hangleton."

A middle-aged man with a full beard lowered his voice and leaned over to his two companions at the bar, "First there was the old Riddle family affair, and now this strange thing has happened."

"Come on, Dave, you've had too much to drink."

The bald man sitting to his left waved his hand. "Nothing strange about it."

"I'm not drunk!"

Dave slapped the bar. "My nephew works on a farm east of Little Hangleton, and he said that several sheep have recently gone missing there—they look like they were killed by something, their necks were torn apart."

And then there were the lambs, several of them suddenly gone—the farmer was furious.

The bartender wiped the glass and casually interjected, "Foxes, I suppose. There are plenty of foxes around here."

"fox?"

Dave sneered. "Old Tom, have you ever seen a fox swallow a lamb whole? And they saw tracks in the mud—tracks like snakes crawling, and God, they said they were terrifyingly thick."

In the corner, Sirius and Lupin paused slightly in their cups.

They didn't look up, but their ears were already perked up.

"snake?"

The bald man on the left grinned broadly, "What kind of snake here could kill a sheep?"

"I don't know either."

Dave's voice lowered even further, "But that's not all. The youngest daughter of the Withers family was playing near Riddle House the other evening, and when she came back, she kept talking nonsense, saying that she saw a loach thicker than a tree trunk sticking its head out of the old house's broken window—"

You believe a child's nonsense?

"That place has always been strange."

Dave said.

There was a moment of silence at the bar.

"That godforsaken place, Riddle Mansion, people died there fifty years ago, didn't they?"

The bald man unconsciously lowered his voice.

"The entire Riddle family of three died overnight."

Dave nodded. "Gardener Frank Bryce was arrested as a suspect, but then released. Old Frank is still alive and lives nearby."

Frank Bryce —

As Sheen listened, he thoughtfully observed a figure on the table to his right and behind him.

He was a very old man, and the cane beside him indicated that his legs were probably not very strong.

His face was sour, and his gardener's clothes were covered in mud and grass roots.

He seemed to have some hearing problems; he only looked up and stared at those people with a sour face when they mentioned the name "Frank."

"If you ask me, that place is really weird."

Dave continued, "My nephew said he recently saw light coming from the windows of Riddle House, but the house has been abandoned for a long time."

You know, Frank doesn't light the fireplace in that house; he lives in a small room by himself.

"Stop talking, Dave, you're getting more and more creepy."

The bald man shrank his neck.

"Maybe Frank's been doing a thorough cleaning lately?"

The bartender eased the tension a bit.

A soft sound came from the corner.

Frank placed the empty cup on the table and slowly stood up.

He moved slowly, as if carrying something heavy on his back. He walked to the bar and placed a few coins on the table.

"Another one, please."

He said his voice was hoarse.

Old Tom poured him a drink, looking at the old man's face: "Old Frank, you heard that? You live closest to there—what do you think?"

Frank picked up his glass but didn't answer.

He tilted his head back and gulped down a large mouthful of wine, his gaze drifting through the bar window to the silhouette of an old, overgrown house on a distant hillside.

Gossip is like weeds. Over the years, he has been working in the flower garden, and the weeds have been quietly spreading around him, and he can't stop them no matter what he tries.

Moreover, Frank had to deal with more than just weeds.

The boys in the village always liked to throw stones at the windows of Riddle House.

Frank had put in a lot of effort to keep the lawn flat, but they just rode their bicycles and ran over it carelessly.

On one or two occasions, they even broke into the old house because of bets between them.

Frank believed that the boys tormented him because they, like their parents and grandparents, thought he was a murderer.

Thinking of this, he snorted coldly.

Completely unaware that three strange men in robes were observing him from the corner.

"Riddle Mansion—"

Sirius seems to have found some crucial clue.

"It's not there anymore."

Sheen vetoed it.

"It needs to eat."

Lupin said.

"Old buddy, you mean that farm?"

Sirius asked.

"Let's go take a look."

Lupin turned his questioning gaze toward Sheehan.

Sheen nodded.

Finding a snake should theoretically be quite difficult.

After all, it could go anywhere.

But if you want to find a large snake, especially one that's roaming around a small village, that's easy.

There are few places to eat in the village, let alone the appetite of a large snake.

After listening for a while longer at the Hanged Man's Tavern, Sheen and his companions located the giant snake.

It went eastward, further and further east.

If they had arrived a few days later, it might have wandered away.

Little Hangleton sits between two steep hillsides, where the church and cemetery are always clearly visible.

On the hillside opposite the valley, there is a very grand mansion surrounded by a large expanse of lush green grass.

Beside a narrow dirt road some distance from the mansion, three men in robes, each holding a "wooden stick," had just emerged from the Hanging Man's Bar and were heading towards the easternmost farm.

How often do snakes typically come out to feed?

Sirius asked as he trudged along the bumpy, rocky dirt road.

"Around 6 PM to 10 PM."

Lupin answered immediately.

Sirius's expression froze.

Do they seem to have arrived too early?

"Maybe we'll just happen to bump into it."

When Nagini was mentioned, a dark look appeared on Lupin's usually mild face.

Anyone who knows the name Nagini would not think she is a snake.

On the contrary, she was a wizard, a wizard with a name, and perhaps braver than most people.

Lupin pieced together her image from the gossip of some old members of the Order of the Phoenix, after receiving instructions from Sheehan.

She was a beautiful and captivating woman of East Asian descent with long, dark, jet-black hair.

As a female sorceress afflicted with a blood curse, she had been tortured for too long by the circus Okanus as a juggling monster, which made her yearn to escape to a better place.

So she became friends with a wizard. Perhaps they both saw in each other the same abandoned side of themselves during their naive youth, and neither wanted to be alone in life anymore. They spent a happy but slightly regretful time together.

But in the end, the wizard chose to follow in the footsteps of the previous Dark Lord, Gellert Grindelwald.

Nagini possessed sufficient principles and morality to quickly discern Gellert Grindelwald's true nature and character, even though he seemed quite persuasive.

Nagini vehemently urged her friend not to join him, but unfortunately, her pleas were in vain—that was all Lupin knew.

"If we see her, Sirius."

Lupin glanced at the young wizard examining the sign, then spoke solemnly to Sirius.

Sirius Black, with his sleeves wrapped around his arm, paused, looking relaxed.

He knew his friend too well; after learning about Nagini's past, his soft-hearted friend might well feel some pity.

But at most, he only felt pity. For example, making a costume or something for the snake.

"We must kill it as soon as possible. Regardless of whether it's a Horcrux or not."

Lupin said, emphasizing each word.

"Huo."

Sirius looked at his old friend with surprise.

"The blood curse cannot be reversed; perhaps this is a relief for her."

Lupin shook his head.

Sirius readily nodded and patted Lupin on the shoulder.

Unfortunately, even though they searched all the farms to the east—right under the farmer's nose, and even questioned him without his knowledge—they still couldn't find the giant snake.

After going around in circles, the three of them returned to the Hanged Man Bar.

"It will come back to forage for food."

Lupin thought about the repeated skidding marks they had found on the dirt road.

"But we'll have to wait a bit."

Sirius grinned, his gaze already fixed on the group of drinkers playing dice.

One of them sipped his drink, while the other stared intently at the dice-playing patrons—but what they had in common was that they would occasionally glance at the little wizard who was wrapped up like a ball.

He was staring intently at an old man who looked like a butler.

I watched him drink alone in silence, then slam his glass on the table with a sour expression.

"Mr. Sirius Black, Mr. Lupin,"

Sheehan spoke, and the two wizards before him instinctively sat up straight. "Young Hangleton is about to be in danger."

Sheen's words immediately made the expressions of the two men serious.

They quickly recalled their last communication with the other party, and the words urging them to stay away from Little Hangleton seemed to still ring in their ears.

"I bet there are more than just snakes hunting for food here—"

Sheen paused.

Of course, Voldemort was also there, along with—his two servants.

If a person is to live in a certain place, then he will inevitably come into contact with the outside world.

Obtaining food is not only something snakes need to do.

"Mr. Green, you mean—"

Lu Ping frowned, one speculation after another surfacing in his mind, only to be dismissed by him.

"But I need someone to stay here. Of course, sir, you can choose to refuse."

Sheen was silent for a moment before speaking.

Another servant of Voldemort, now the biggest variable.

If he lives here, he's bound to slip up.

Sheehan realized that he must have a lot of information about Voldemort.

about----

Did he create Horcruxes? What were his Horcruxes? Where were they placed?

They needed to know that Voldemort had split his soul into several parts—though Sheehan believed it wouldn't be too many—and that Voldemort wouldn't just randomly pick a rock or a grain of sand and attach a part of his soul to it—that was a very difficult thing to do, but nothing is impossible.

"Mr. Green, please don't underestimate my determination."

Sirius sat upright, his expression solemn. "Of course, maybe Lupin would like to go back to teaching or something—"

He said it flippantly.

Lupin's face stiffened slightly: "Well—after all, I didn't raise my son properly."

He said it calmly.

"Hey"

Now it's Sirius's turn to be uneasy.

Sheen, reading the meaning from their expressions, paused slightly before continuing, "If we find Nagini, and it's not a Horcrux, that means Voldemort's servants are still helping him find his murder targets, or they've already carried out the murders. Has anyone died in Albania?"

"That forest is too big, Mr. Green."

Lu Pingping looked troubled.

"Um----

'

Sheen knew this was asking the impossible.

If Voldemort killed people in Albania, then the Horcruxes were created in Albania.

They had no way of knowing unless they searched the memories of another servant—

And excluding Albania —

"Investigate the people along this route—"

Sheen took out a map, on which the red lines depicted the places Peter Pettigrew and Voldemort had passed through, along with the exact times.

If the deceased can be found along the route, then things will be much simpler.

"besides,"

After finishing the first task, Sheen looked into the depths of the tavern, "Take old Frank away."

Sirius and Lupin showed surprise in their eyes, but still nodded.

"The most important thing—Little Hangleton is hiding Voldemort's servants, and I need your help to find him," Sheen said, ignoring their tense bodies. "I hope you can work together, Mr. Sirius, Mr. Lupin. Little Hangleton will be in great danger, extremely dangerous."

This is the third time Sheen has emphasized the danger.

"In any case, please don't alert them. More importantly, I hope you can protect yourselves and conduct the investigation further."

Sheen has finished speaking.

The sky gradually darkened.

It gazed at the silhouette of Heimer's old house on the distant hillside.

As dusk fell, Riddle House resembled a crouching behemoth, silent and sinister.

And in that darkness, something was wandering.

Something is waiting.

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