"Minerva, where is Dawn right now?"
The moment Dumbledore saw the words Flesh-Splitting Curse written on the parchment, he instantly knew who had written the note—and a faint sense of dread crept over him.
"In the Ravenclaw tower… We had the young wizard stay in his dorm all day today, and dinner was delivered to his room."
Professor McGonagall responded instinctively. Seeing the grim expression on Dumbledore's face, she pressed further. "Albus, what exactly does the note say? Why does it concern Dawn?"
Dumbledore shook his head, unable to answer in time. He called out to Fawkes, and in a flash of flame, vanished from the front of his office.
Professor McGonagall frowned. From the urgency in Dumbledore's behavior, she knew something serious must have happened and immediately headed toward the Ravenclaw dormitory herself.
But as she passed by one of the corridor windows, she suddenly froze.
Through the dimming light, she saw Cornelius Fudge approaching Hogwarts at a brisk pace, flanked by several Aurors and wearing a stern expression.
.....
"Professor, you have to see what our dorm's become! Richter's gone too far! A bunch of my things were completely ruined!"
Outside the Ravenclaw dormitory, Aemon Carter and two other roommates were quietly complaining to Professor Flitwick.
They had returned that evening to find their dormitory dramatically changed without anyone noticing. After checking through their belongings, they discovered many personal items had gone missing.
Unable to bear it, they had gone straight to Professor Flitwick to report the situation.
But Flitwick didn't speak. He simply frowned as he walked around the room, inspecting the surroundings.
As a master duelist, he could easily tell from certain leftover traces that a rather intense magical duel had taken place here.
"Where's Dawn? Do you know?" Professor Flitwick turned back to the students, his voice unusually serious.
Aemon and the other two looked at each other and shook their heads. "Uh, Professor, we haven't seen him all afternoon."
Flitwick opened his mouth to ask more, but just then, a phoenix's cry interrupted him.
Dumbledore stepped out of the firelight. Seeing Professor Flitwick there, he was momentarily surprised, but only managed a quick nod before also beginning to examine the room.
"Albus…"
Professor Flitwick called out softly.
The two exchanged a look—and both immediately understood what the other was thinking.
Flitwick first instructed the three students to leave, then walked to a corner where a clear impact mark was visible. Gently touching it, he asked, "Albus, have you found Dawn?"
"…No. I've already searched the castle using my headmaster's privileges. There's no trace of him…"
Dumbledore shook his head.
"I see…" Flitwick seemed to grasp the hidden meaning behind Dumbledore's words. He closed his eyes, a flicker of sorrow and anger crossing his face.
"Uh, Filius, what I mean is—Dawn may have left on his own… He left me a note. I'm certain he's still alive."
Dumbledore shrugged.
Flitwick's expression froze for a moment. He shot Dumbledore a less-than-pleased look. The sorrow faded, but the anger intensified.
No matter what, attacking one of his own students inside Ravenclaw's dormitory was something even mild-tempered Professor Flitwick could not forgive.
Just as he was about to ask whether the note identified the attacker, a sudden rush of footsteps interrupted him again.
Flitwick turned toward the sound and saw Professor McGonagall arriving, followed by Cornelius Fudge and his group.
"Dumbledore, I'm sorry to bother you again so soon after we just spoke… but I've just received an anonymous tip."
Fudge pulled out a letter from his sleeve. "It claims that the person who harmed Harry Potter has now murdered Quirinus Quirrell inside the castle."
"You must be joking!"
Professor McGonagall, who hadn't yet asked Fudge what was going on, exclaimed in shock. "You're saying a student killed a professor?"
"If someone casts the Killing Curse from behind, it's not impossible."
Fudge shrugged. "Besides, if this were false, wouldn't Professor Quirrell have shown up by now to refute it?"
Flitwick frowned. In his mind, the other participant in the dormitory duel had become clear. But his wisdom told him there might be more to this than met the eye, so he remained silent.
Dumbledore sighed. "Fudge, this has nothing to do with Dawn."
"Oh, of course. I believe you, I really do! But you always say that—and then stop us from investigating… Dumbledore, the public deserves an answer!"
Fudge spoke righteously. "I must take him in, Dumbledore! You know this incident has already stirred up an uproar! If he's innocent, the Ministry will clear his name!"
The pudgy Minister of Magic waved his hands for emphasis, his expression earnest. From behind him came the clicking of camera shutters.
Dumbledore remained silent.
.....
A constant hum filled the air.
After five hours of flight, the plane finally touched down.
Egypt.
Dawn, still under the Disillusionment Charm, disembarked. He slipped past the airport's outer security checks and stepped into the lonely streets under the starlight.
Yellow.
That was Dawn's first impression of Cairo, the capital of Egypt.
The yellow windblown sand, the low mud-brick houses—each breath seemed to fill his nose and mouth with gritty grains. From a distance, the whole city looked as though it were made of sand.
And yet, Dawn felt a sense of ease.
He stretched, preparing to find a place to sleep.
The airport was surrounded by inns, and since it wasn't tourist season in November, Dawn easily found an empty room using the Disillusionment and Unlocking Charms.
He wasn't trying to freeload—but he truly didn't have any usable currency here.
Luckily, Egypt hadn't fully adopted electricity systems requiring keycards for power. For once, Dawn didn't need to use magic, and simply headed to the bathroom for a hot shower.
Steam rose, melting his exhaustion into the flow of water.
Even the dull ache in his head from the Cruciatus Curse seemed to ease slightly.
When he stepped out of the bathroom, towel-drying his hair, Dawn looked out the window at the distant city, his mind turning to what came next.
His first task in Egypt was overcoming the language barrier. Whether it was communicating with others or reading magical texts, language was crucial.
Dawn had never heard of a spell that enabled flawless communication, so this was something he'd have to learn the hard way.
Still, he wasn't too worried.
Many Hogwarts graduates went to Egypt for curse-breaking work each year.
So as long as he could find British wizards in Egypt, not only could he learn about the local magical community, but he might also discover a way to study the language.
And finding British wizards wouldn't be difficult.
Curse-breaking work was centered around the pyramids. Wandering near one of those sites should lead to useful encounters.
With his plan settled, Dawn decided to stop thinking about the future for now.
After traveling non-stop for nearly twelve hours, he was thoroughly exhausted.
Casting a simple warding charm around the room, and a few cleaning spells on the bed, Dawn lay down fully clothed and drifted slowly into sleep.
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