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Chapter 649: People Who Appear and Disappear
🕑 Added 2019-10-31 19:46:19 +0000 UTC“Caresius Slytherin, who’s this?!”
Ron blinked and saw the name blur, twist and disappear completely in front of him; as though it had never appeared before and everything was his illusion.
Before Ron could look away, Snape popped up in his office the next second.
He stayed for a while, then turned and went out to leave the dungeon and walked to the hall.
Snape was so fast that he seemed to be running after someone, just in time to meet Evan and Hermione who had just slipped into the castle.
Ron’s gaze remained there, and then moved to Snape’s office to look at it, hesitating for a long time.
It was really weird. Was the Marauder’s Map damaged?!
He was impressed by the name Caresius, which had appeared and vanished just now, as though he had heard it somewhere...
Ron immediately recalled that this was the name of the vampire who had attacked at the Quidditch World Cup.
The week after the World Cup, the newspapers were full of reports of his deeds and arrests.
He remembered Evan saying that those vampires were now working for Voldemort, and they were very, very evil Dark wizards.
Ron's blood became cold, his breathing quickened, and his body trembled uncontrollably.
The vampire who was being hunted by the Ministry of magic actually sneaked into the castle. What did he want to do?
And why was he in Snape's office? Was there any relationship between them?!
Ron felt that he had caught something. Like Harry, he thought Snape had a problem.
What he saw just now seemed to prove it all. Did Snape have secret business with Voldemort and the vampires?!
Ron held his breath and subconsciously searched for Dumbledore's name, but the latter was not in his office.
Then, Ron thought of Mad-Eye Moody, the strongest Auror.
There must be nothing wrong with finding him for such a thing!
But when Ron’s gaze moved to the office of the professor of the Defence Against the Dark Arts on the second floor, he actually saw Barty Crouch!
His name came out, now inside the fireplace of Moody's office.
Of course, Mad-Eye Moody was also in the office, and they seemed to be chatting at a certain distance.
Ron couldn't believe his eyes. He blinked hard and stared at the two dots.
Oh God, the Marauder’s Map must be damaged!
In the middle of the night, he first saw a terrible vampire appear in Snape's office. And now, he saw Mad-Eye Moody receiving Barty Crouch in his office!
He still remembered Percy saying it on Christmas Day: Mr. Crouch was seriously ill, could not go to work, and could not attend the Yule Ball.
However, what did he come to Hogwarts for in the middle of the night after everyone had gone to bed?
Ron speculated that Crouch must have come by the Floo Network. Otherwise, his name could not have appeared in the fireplace.
But why? That was really hard to explain.
A sick person unable to work went to Hogwarts via the Floo Network to meet Moody, the professor of the Defense Against the Dark Arts.
Given the time, this kind of thing was very strange, no matter how to look at it. It was so weird and incredible just to think about it!
Mr. Crouch, who had always been strict, disciplined and law-abiding, would come to Hogwarts in the middle of the night and meet Moody secretly.
No matter what important things he had to say to Moody, this was not in line with Crouch's character.
If Percy knew about this, he would be shocked by Crouch's actions!
Ron looked at the dot. He just wanted to call Harry's attention to look at it, and Barty Crouch's name had vanished, as was the case in Snape’s office. Did the vampire named Caresius leave by the Floo Network?!
"What on earth is going on?!" Ron gasped and squinted at the Marauder’s Map, feeling a little out of his mind.
In his opinion, the Marauder’s Map was definitely damaged!
He actually saw the names of two people tonight, and no way were they normally to appear in the castle.
If he said what he had just seen, Harry would probably not believe it, and he would definitely think he was crazy!
When he got back to his senses and noticed where they were, Ron hurriedly said, "Harry, we'd better not go to the hall!"
At this time, the two of them did not feel that they had come to the first floor!
"Why?" Harry asked, looking at Ron puzzled, feeling like he was acting strangely.
"It's the Marauder’s Map, I was checking it..." Ron paused and said everything he had just seen in one breath, regardless of whether Harry believed it or not. "I know it's incredible, but I did see their names."
"Caresius and Barty Crouch?!" said Harry, and he leaned over. "You’re probably dazzled!"
"You’re maybe right," Ron rubbed his eyes and sighed. "I’m probably under too much pressure after I knew about the second task. Anyway, we can't go down now, Snape is down there right now, and this is absolutely right!"
"Yeah, he seems to have caught Evan and Hermione," said Harry worriedly. "They’re too unlucky!"
"They ran into Snape, who was rushing out of the dungeon. I don't know why he was in such a hurry."
"I don't know. Evan had always been very vigilant. I didn't expect him to be caught by Snape! You're right, Ron … we can't go now. Let’s go back to the Common Room and wait for them there. I hope they won't be punished too severely!"
Ron nodded and tried not to think about the vampire and Barty Crouch. If he talked about this incredible thing, nobody would believe him, just like Harry’s reaction.
Harry and Ron walked down the stairs of the west tower and took a different route.
They crept as quietly as they could towards the main central staircase, trying not to make a sound, though the faces in some of the portraits still turned curiously at the squeak of a floorboard, the rustle of their pajamas
At this point, they were in a corridor on the first floor.
Harry and Ron hurried to stop as though they could hear Snape's roar in the hall, which was terrible.
The people in the portraits also heard Snape's roar, and all ran to the hall on the ground floor.
Harry prayed secretly for Evan and Hermione. Taking advantage of this opportunity, he and Ron quickly headed for the main staircase.
At this time, both of them were a little distracted, and from time to time, they glanced at the map.
As a result, Harry’s leg suddenly sank right through the trick step Neville always forgot to jump.
He gave an ungainly wobble, and the Golden Egg, still damp from the bath, slipped from under his arm…
