"The Dark Magic detector just now—?" Daphne looked at Rhys, her eyes full of suspicion. She couldn't shake the feeling that the rod hadn't simply malfunctioned.
"As that Auror lady said—it broke." Rhys replied.
In his view, the detector had indeed malfunctioned, forcibly identifying something that wasn't Dark Magic as if it were. If that wasn't broken, then what was?
Following the same route the Thestral carriages had taken at the start of term, Rhys led Daphne into Hogsmeade Village.
Today, Hogsmeade was more bustling than ever, crammed full of Hogwarts students. To seize this "windfall of wealth," the village's shopkeepers were going all out. Their shelves were stacked to the brim, and on top of that, they were rolling out all sorts of new products, terrified they wouldn't meet the demands of the deep-pocketed, eager-to-spend students.
It was Daphne's first time in Hogsmeade. Her eyes widened as she looked left and right, nearly overwhelmed by the sight of it all.
"Let's go to Honeydukes first, then check out Zonko's Joke Shop, and finally grab something to eat at the Three Broomsticks. Are you interested in visiting the most haunted house in Britain—the Shrieking Shack?" After finally tearing her gaze away from the shop windows, Daphne pulled out the plan she had made beforehand and asked Rhys what he thought.
Of all the shops, Rhys was most interested in Honeydukes. It was said to sell magical sweets famous worldwide, and all the major candy companies' newest products would also be available there. He absolutely wasn't going to miss that.
The second place that caught his interest was the Shrieking Shack. He very much wanted to see for himself what this so-called "most haunted house" Daphne spoke of was really like.
After all, the wizarding world did have actual "harmful ghosts," such as the banshees that roamed Scotland and Ireland. If the Shrieking Shack really housed something like that, he would need to carefully assess the threat it posed to Hogwarts—since a banshee's wail was deadly.
"Shall we head to the Shrieking Shack first?" Upon learning that there was such a strange place near Hogwarts, Rhys decided that would be their first stop.
"Alright then." Daphne led Rhys up a sloping path.
The Shrieking Shack stood slightly higher than the other houses in the village, and all of its windows were boarded up. Looking past the fence into the garden, they saw only wild overgrowth. Combined with the shack's sinister reputation, it was enough to make anyone standing there feel a shiver down their spine.
"They say this place is haunted by vicious, violent ghosts—not even Hogwarts' resident spirits will come near it. Nearly-Headless Nick once told me he'd heard that a whole band of rough, brutal beings lived here." Daphne shivered as she glanced at the desolate garden.
The unknown was the greatest source of fear. If someone had told her the place held a troll, or even a dragon, she might not have felt this level of dread.
But the idea of vague, intangible "harmful ghosts", which even the Ministry feared, was enough to scare her.
Rhys carefully studied the small wooden house before them but saw no signs of life.
The nearby homes were built at a safe distance from the Shrieking Shack, so there was no real worry about banshees endangering the residents.
Should I go inside and take a look? The thought crossed Rhys's mind, and he quickly acted on it.
"Hey!!!" When Rhys stepped willingly into the grounds of the Shrieking Shack, Daphne felt her scalp prickle with fear.
She didn't really want to go inside, but being left alone outside was even scarier, so she timidly followed behind Rhys and entered the garden of the Shrieking Shack.
"There's no need to worry. There are no Dark creatures, no magical beasts, no curses here. This is nothing more than an ordinary, abandoned little shack." Rhys sensed the fear in Daphne's heart and spoke up to reassure her.
"Really? But—" Daphne wanted to tell him about the rumors she'd heard, but Rhys cut her off.
"All the so-called information about the Shrieking Shack is just rumor," Rhys turned and looked at Daphne. "What you see before you is the true reality. Tell me, do you sense anything unusual here? Let me ask you another question—what kind of thing could make so-called ferocious ghosts linger in this shabby little hut for decades?"
Daphne was struck speechless. She couldn't answer either of those questions.
After a while, she suddenly thought of the seals beneath the school and quickly asked, "Could it be like the seals in the dungeons? Maybe someone sealed a group of evil spirits inside this shack…"
Rhys: "…"
Thank you, Daphne. With that one line you've single-handedly lowered the dignity of all four of us.
"No, that's impossible. I don't feel any sealing magic here. What I do feel—" Rhys tapped on the wooden planks nailed across the windows and said, "—are just a few ordinary, common protective spells."
"Anti-Alohomora Charm, Permanent Sticking Charm, and a spell to reinforce the boards… Tsk, tsk. Whoever sealed up this house's windows clearly didn't want people outside coming in, or those inside getting out." Rhys carefully sensed the enchantments on the planks and listed them off one by one, like treasures catalogued from a collection.
Daphne blinked. With Rhys's explanation, the place suddenly didn't seem quite so terrifying.
"So many spells… was it to imprison someone?"
"Then why only the 'screams,' and never any cries for help?"
"Maybe they were drugged, or there were interfering spells nearby?"
Rhys and Daphne tried piecing together what might have happened back then, but with so few clues, neither of them could reach a conclusion.
"Let's go inside and take a look first." Rhys drew his wand, pointed it at the ground, and quickly dug out a deep U-shaped trench. Using the trench, he bypassed the protections on the walls and windows, leading straight into the Shrieking Shack.
Bang!
Rhys lifted a floorboard, then flicked his wand to sweep away all the dust that billowed up. Rising, he leapt into the Shrieking Shack.
Once inside, he carefully surveyed the layout and found it exactly what one would expect of a long-abandoned house. Dust coated the furniture, and most of it had been smashed or broken, as though the previous occupant had been in a foul temper.
"Hm?" Rhys noticed something unusual. He bent down and carefully examined claw marks left at the foot of a bed.
They looked like wolf claws. A bold guess began to form in Rhys's mind.
He continued exploring the house, and soon discovered a hidden passage leading who knew where.
"Things are getting more and more interesting." He slipped straight into the tunnel and walked forward. Daphne followed closely behind him into the narrow passage.
The passage was long and winding. After walking for quite some time, a faint glimmer of light finally appeared ahead.
As soon as Rhys climbed out of the tunnel, before he could even take two breaths of fresh air, he heard the explosive crack of air being torn apart.
He immediately knew where the tunnel ended.
Dodging swiftly past the Whomping Willow's attack, Rhys retreated back into the tunnel.
He knew how to deal with this rare magical plant—simply find the knot at its roots and press it, and the tree would calm down.
But before Rhys could make a move, the sound of the Whomping Willow abruptly stopped.
A moment later, a massive black dog with sleek, glossy fur charged straight into the tunnel.
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