The person is at Hogwarts, but the system is in Middle-earth!

Chapter 84 Following the Spider!

Most of the lights in the castle had been turned off, and only the footsteps of the night patrol professor occasionally echoed in the empty corridors.

But on the grass outside the castle, three almost invisible figures were moving quickly close to the ground.

"Shh! That's Snape's patrol route." Rowe's voice was low under his invisibility cloak. "Avoid that corner, watch out for the branches on the ground, and don't alert the patrolling orcs."

"That's Filch, Rowe." With Hermione absent, the task of correcting Rowe temporarily fell to Ron, though his voice was trembling. "And there are no orcs here."

"In my eyes, they all look the same."

Their destination was the cabin located on the edge of the forbidden forest.

However, just as they reached the window of the cabin and were about to knock, a rapid knocking sounded first.

The trio froze. Harry quickly pulled the Invisibility Cloak tighter and pulled Ron's exposed foot back in.

The door opened, and Hagrid's enormous figure appeared in the doorway, holding a crossbow in his hand.

"Who is it?" Hagrid asked gruffly.

"It's me, Hagrid."

A short, stout man in a pinstripe robe and a dark green top hat walked in. Behind him followed a weary-looking Dumbledore and another man who made Harry clench his fist instantly—Lucius Malfoy.

Through the crack in the window, Lowe squinted and sized up the short, fat man.

[NPC Identification: Cornelius Fudge]

[System Tag: Corrupt Town Mayor]

Threat Level: Low (due to stupidity)

"Look at this guy," Rowe whispered in Harry's ear. "His face, all he wants to keep is just like that greedy mayor of Lake-town."

The conversation inside quickly became tense. Fudge was clearly driven to desperation by public pressure and needed a scapegoat to explain himself to the public. Hagrid, with his "criminal record," was undoubtedly the best candidate.

"Take me away?" Hagrid trembled with rage. "To Azkaban? But I haven't done anything!"

"Someone has to be held accountable, Hagrid." Fudge wiped the sweat from his brow, his tone dismissive. "Once the real culprit is caught, we'll apologize to you..."

"An apology?" Lowe sneered, his voice barely audible. "Hypocritical politician."

Immediately afterward, Lucius Malfoy entered. He was wrapped in a black traveling cloak and wore a nauseatingly fake smile.

[NPC Identification: Lucius Malfoy]

[System Tag: Isengard the Overseer (Saruman's Messenger)]

Threat Level: High

"A very nice house, Hagrid." Lucius brushed a bone away from the table with his cane. "But I'm here to deliver the board's decision... Dumbledore, you've been suspended."

Harry almost cried out, but Rowe quickly covered his mouth.

In the following minutes, the atmosphere in the room became extremely tense. Dumbledore calmly accepted everything, but before leaving, his own light seemed to sweep across the window intentionally or unintentionally—a pair of deep blue eyes seemed to see them through the Invisibility Cloak.

"I will only truly leave this school when everyone here betrays me," Dumbledore said softly. "And remember, at Hogwarts, those who ask for help always receive help."

At that moment, a golden notification popped up on Luo Wei's system interface:

[Legendary Quest: The Departure of the White-Robed Wizard]

[Current Stage: Twin Towers Have Fallen]

[WARNING: The sanctuary has failed; dark forces are about to launch a full-scale invasion]

As Dumbledore left, Hagrid was shoved towards the door by Fudge. Just before stepping across the threshold, the half-giant stopped and shouted, "If anyone's looking for something, just follow the spider! That'll lead them to the right path! That's all I have to say!"

After saying this, Hagrid wiped away his tears and disappeared into the night with the Ministry of Magic officials.

The cabin fell silent again. "Tooth" was trembling in the corner.

"Harry, Ron, come out here." Rowe lifted his Invisibility Cloak and was the first to jump into the house.

"We have to save Hagrid!" Harry exclaimed, removing his Invisibility Cloak, his face flushed. "We can't let them take him away!"

"We can't save him, at least not now." Rowe calmly began rummaging through Hagrid's house. "That's Azkaban, not this drafty shack. To save him, we have to prove his innocence first."

"Follow the spider..." Ron's voice trembled with tears. "Hagrid must be insane. Follow the spider? That's the worst advice I've ever heard."

"I'd love to complain, but this is the only clue." Rowe rummaged through Hagrid's cabinet and pulled out a few bottles of strong brandy, then stuffed some rags into the bottle openings. "Looks like we're destined for a 'dark forest' journey tonight."

"What are you doing?" Harry asked as he watched Rowe skillfully make a Molotov cocktail.

"A little something for the spiders to welcome us." Rowe stuffed the prepared Molotov cocktail into the inside pocket of his robe. "And this—" He pulled out a bag full of white powder. "A mixture of garlic and sulfur powder, which I smuggled from Professor Sprout's greenhouse. If those multi-legged creatures want a taste of us, this will make them nauseous."

"And you, Sam." Rowe shoved a huge brass kettle into Ron's hands. "Take this. If it pounces, hit it on the head."

"Why me?" Ron looked at the kettle in his hand, on the verge of tears.

"Because Harry is a Ringbearer, he needs to concentrate on fighting corruption," Rowe said matter-of-factly, then he looked at Tooth in the corner.

Biometrics: Fang

[System Tag: Timid Dire Wolf]

[Domination Status: Failed]

"Take this dire wolf with you." Rowe kicked Tooth's rear end. "Even though it looks like a deserter, its nose is sharper than ours in the forest."

The three people and the dog walked out of the small house.

The Forbidden Forest was more sinister than ever before. The enormous trees stood like a group of silent giants, their twisted branches casting menacing shadows in the moonlight.

Lowe raised his wand, but he didn't say "Flicker". He took a small glass bottle filled with water from his pocket, pressed the glowing tip of his wand against the bottom of the bottle, and then reflected it with a small mirror.

In an instant, a blinding white light pierced the darkness.

"What is that...?" Harry covered his eyes.

"The Light of Elandil," Rowe's voice grew solemn. "It is our only starlight in this dark world. May it guide us when all other lights are extinguished."

Under the bright light, the string of tiny, hurriedly fleeing shadows on the ground appeared exceptionally clear.

"See those?" Rowe pointed to the spiders. "They're leading the way. The path to the Shiro's lair."

[Environment Loading: Dark Forest]

[Dungeon Difficulty: Nightmare]

Current task: Track the spider

"Let's go." Rowe took a deep breath, gripping the frying pan in his other hand. "Keep formation. Harry in the middle, Ron at the rear. No matter what you hear, unless I tell you to run, don't look back."