nagpurpolice Chapter 189 Jun 1 Hair
Chapter 189 Jun 1 Hair
Chapter 189 A Close Call (Seeking Monthly Tickets)
Inside the office, the fireplace still crackled, its flickering light casting uneasy shadows on the walls, reflecting Lynch's thoughtful face. Although he had promised Harry that the attack that had plagued Hogwarts would soon be over, he had no say in when the play would end. He was merely a passive supporting character; the true director, the attacker, remained hidden behind the curtain, deciding when the Basilisk would next appear.
With that thought in mind, he no longer hesitated and immediately took out a crystal bottle about the size of a thumb from a hidden compartment in his desk.
The bottle was cool to the touch, and the potion inside, illuminated by the firelight, possessed an exquisite clarity, appearing at first glance no different from plain water. Only when he gently shook the bottle would a faint, almost imperceptible silver ripple appear deep within the liquid, like the surface of a lake rippling in a moonlit breeze, hinting at the extraordinary magical properties it contained.
He carefully tucked it into the inside pocket of his trench coat. This tracking potion, specially made by Snape at his request, needed to be replenished regularly at key points in the pipeline to monitor any traces the basilisk might leave. Three weeks had passed since the last deployment, and the potion's potency was probably nearing its limit; it was time for a refill.
He quietly left the office, his figure disappearing into the shadows of the castle at night, heading towards the entrance to a main pipe located on the castle's basement level.
However, plans never keep up with changes.
Just as he stepped into the lobby, preparing to turn towards the destination leading to the underground staircase, he suddenly stopped.
He sensed that an extremely subtle warning spell, set up somewhere in the castle, around a rather secluded pipe exit, used to detect the passage of unusual magic or life forms, had been activated.
The intensity of the magical feedback far exceeded that of common castle creatures like rats and cats; this was quite a commotion—it was a huge one!
The basilisk! It's out! Right now!
Without any hesitation, he swayed slightly, and the next moment, a crow with glossy black feathers and sharp, piercing eyes took his place.
Without the slightest hesitation, the crow flapped its wings violently, its form transforming into a black arrow shot from a powerful bow, hurtling across the empty, deserted...
The cold wind howled down the corridor as they sped toward the exact location where the warning magic had been triggered!
The icy night wind howled fiercely through the gaps in the feathers, but instead sharpened the senses in raven form. The piercing bird eyes captured the slightest changes in light, the auditory nerves filtered out all irrelevant noise, and the raven's senses searched intently for any unusual magical fluctuations or strange sounds. Speed was pushed to its limit; the murals and armored statues rushing past on either side of the corridor blurred into indistinct patches of color.
The raven swept across the final distance like a black lightning bolt, hovering precisely in the air at the coordinates corresponding to the warning magic point.
Its sharp bird eyes quickly scanned the surroundings.
However, the empty corridor was deathly silent, with only the occasional crackling of torches stuck in the walls. The cold stone walls reflected a faint light, and there was no sign of any living creature in sight, as if the alarm just now was just my imagination.
His gaze slowly moved downwards like a searchlight, finally locking onto an anomaly on the ground below.
Between the stone slabs, a pool of water, reflected in the flickering torchlight, gleamed with a damp, unsettling light. Not yet completely dry, its edges clearly defined, it stood out starkly against the otherwise dry interior of the castle corridors. It couldn't possibly be a student's careless spill of a drink or a puddle of water; it was more like the clear mark left by something soaking wet, having just crawled out of a damp, cold pipe, pausing or moving about briefly.
An ominous premonition gripped him.
The basilisk did indeed come here, and it just left not long ago!
Without hesitation, the crow's form instantly dissolved, and Lin Qi's figure appeared in the air. He reached out and tapped the air.
An invisible and intangible magical ripple, far faster than sound, originated from his fingertip and spread rapidly outwards like water ripples, meticulously scanning a large area around him.
Instantly, Lin Qi received a clear feedback in his senses: not far ahead, about two corridor corners away, a huge figure was moving rapidly.
To make matters worse, there was a small figure ahead of it in its path.
Without the slightest hesitation, the transformation spell was activated again, and the raven's form reformed. Its wings flapped, and it unleashed all its power to charge forward at such speed that it created a whistling sound, leaving only a blurry black afterimage in the air.
It nimbly swept past the first corner.
Just as he flew past the second corner, the scene came into view: at the top of the stairs, a short student was bending down with his back to the stairs, seemingly trying to pick up something that had fallen to the ground. Lynch's view was blocked by the corner wall, so he couldn't see directly what was behind the student.
However, on the stone wall to the side, the flickering torchlight cast a chilling shadow. A huge, ferocious head was emerging from above the stairs, its jaws wide open, filled with sharp teeth, about to bite down on the unsuspecting back!
A life-or-death situation!
"Soul-reaping ritual!"
There was no time to think; his actions were driven purely by his honed fighting instincts and unwavering will to protect.
In mid-air, the crow's form blurred and elongated instantly, its feathers shed, and its limbs reconstructed, completing the transformation from animal to human form before its feet even touched the ground.
Almost as soon as Lynch's feet touched the cold stone floor, he pointed his fingers like a sword and swiftly swung his right hand out!
A solid yet almost invisible magic rope appeared instantly upon his command, traversing a short distance and precisely wrapping around the student's waist. Then, Lin Qi suddenly swung his arm backward!
"Ah!" The child let out a short, terrified scream as his body was violently pulled away from his spot and flew backward by an irresistible force.
"Bang!" The rescued student fell to the ground in front of Lin Qi, letting out a muffled groan and a cry of pain.
Lin Qi had no time to check on the other party's situation; all his attention was fixed on the fleeting threat ahead.
His figure leaped forward like a cheetah poised to pounce, instantly overtaking the fallen student and pouncing on the edge of the shadows at the stairwell. He raised his right hand, palm facing downwards, his muscles tense, magic surging within him, ready to respond to any possible counterattack or pursuit.
His sharp, hawk-like gaze swept quickly and carefully over the spiraling stone steps and the bottomless, dark stairwell below, finding it completely empty.
There was no enormous snake body, no flashing, deadly pupils, only deathly silence.
It was as if the thrilling scene just now was merely a hallucination caused by extreme tension.
Only a faint, fishy smell, carrying the scent of underground silt and aged moisture, was rapidly dissipating with the subtle movement of the air—the only proof that the monster had once been within arm's reach.
The basilisk vanished without a trace once again, like a ghost. Lin Qi's eyes darkened, and he turned and quickly returned to the student who was still curled up on the ground, kneeling down on one knee.
"Are you alright?" His voice remained as steady as ever, but he spoke a little faster than usual.
Upon hearing his voice, the student trembled and slowly raised his head.
The torchlight illuminated a pale, bewildered, freckled face and a striking head of Weasley's signature red hair—it was Ginny Weasley, a freshman in school this year.
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