Seeing Altair in the dormitory, the expressions of all three boys stiffened, and even the sound of their voices dropped a little.
Still, compared to those first days after term began, when they had been too frightened to speak at all, this was already much better.
"You're in the dorm too."
Malfoy gave an awkward smile and greeted Altair.
At this hour, Altair was usually in the Room of Requirement brewing potions. Normally, he was not in the dormitory at all.
"Mm."
Altair looked up at Malfoy, suddenly thinking of something.
"Malfoy, I remember you mentioned a few days ago that your family has some business in Liechtenstein, right?"
"Oh, yes. That's right."
Malfoy remembered the matter he had been complaining about to Goyle two nights earlier. He had not expected Altair to have overheard it.
"But my father is already planning to sell off the business there, because there's a large tribe of mountain trolls in that area. They attack wizards from time to time, and my father's business has been affected."
Malfoy answered with a smile, then asked curiously, "Why are you asking all of a sudden?"
"My family is planning to travel to Switzerland for Christmas. It's very close to Liechtenstein, so I wanted to ask what things are like there."
Altair spoke in a low voice.
"I see. Then you don't need to worry. Trolls have intelligence too. They won't attack Muggles easily. But it's still best not to stay there too long. Those stupid creatures don't have much sense. There's no telling when they might wander across the line."
Malfoy shrugged. In any case, he was quite certain he would never visit some tiny place like Liechtenstein in his life.
"And there are just too many trolls there. My father said there are at least several hundred mountain trolls living in that area."
"Several hundred?"
Altair fell silent in thought and said nothing more.
Malfoy exchanged looks with Goyle and Crabbe and came to the conclusion that it would probably be better not to remain in the dormitory any longer.
"Well... I suddenly remembered that Pansy seemed to want something from me. I should head out."
After saying that, Malfoy turned and left the dormitory, with Goyle and Crabbe hurrying after him.
Altair chuckled softly. Then he put on the One Ring and left the dormitory as well.
He was planning to go to the Forbidden Forest again.
If nothing unexpected happened, then the Forbidden Forest would belong to Shelob from now on. That thing seemed to have an enormous appetite, and Altair was worried she might end up eating all the centaurs in the forest, so he intended to collect the centaur blood first.
After leaving the Slytherin common room, Altair exited the castle and headed toward the Forbidden Forest. When he passed Hagrid's hut, he discovered that Harry and Ron were inside as well.
"I really don't know what happened in the Forbidden Forest, Harry. Dumbledore didn't tell me. He only said that some dangerous creature appeared in there."
Hagrid gulped down a huge mug of tea and glanced at Harry with a trace of apology.
"Could it have something to do with that three-headed dog? Ever since last time..."
Harry and Ron discussed it in low voices, while Hagrid shook his head at the side.
"It has nothing to do with Fluffy. Dumbledore had Fluffy guarding that thing. He wouldn't be appearing in the Forbidden Forest. Harry, stop thinkin' about these things. This has nothin' to do with yeh."
Hagrid tried to persuade him, but it was obvious that Harry, who always wanted to prove himself, had not taken the words to heart.
Altair listened for a while, then left.
When he reached the entrance to the Forbidden Forest, he stopped.
"Someone cast a barrier here?"
Altair closed his eyes.
He could sense an invisible magical barrier before him, containing an immense and complicated power. It was probably the work of one of the professors.
It might even have been set by Dumbledore himself.
"A terrifying kind of power."
Altair could clearly perceive the gap between himself and the person who had cast this magical barrier. It was not a difference in talent, but a difference in magical power itself. If his own magic was a stream, then the other person's magic was like great rivers and lakes.
As for the other first-year students, they were probably no more than little splashes of water.
Altair took out a pale gray potion from his system space and drank a small mouthful. It tasted slightly bitter going down, with a faint tang of blood.
Very soon, Altair transformed into a purebred Doberman.
If anyone from the Shelby family had been here, they would certainly have recognized him. This was Charlie, the Doberman Altair had raised.
Animal Potion allowed the user to transform into an animal for a short period, with an effect not far off from Animagus transformation. Meanwhile, the barrier Dumbledore had left behind was mainly meant to prevent wizards from entering and the giant spider inside the forest from coming out.
It placed no restrictions on ordinary animals. Altair had only thought of using Animal Potion after noticing that many spiders were moving in and out of the forest without difficulty.
In Charlie's form, Altair passed straight through the barrier without the slightest obstruction, causing no disturbance at all. Then, following the route he remembered, he headed toward the place where he had last encountered the centaur patrol.
This was already centaur territory.
Because he had only taken a single sip, the transformation wore off in less than ten minutes, and he changed back.
Then Altair took out his wand and traced a strange mark through the air. A great surge of magic poured out from him.
"Mid-Tier Undead Creation."
"Death Knights!"
The moment Altair's words fell, black deathly energy roiled around him, and within that deathly aura came faint, shrill cries of anguish.
A moment later, two undead beings appeared before him.
These were two Death Knights, each over three meters tall, their bodies completely enclosed in pitch-black enchanted steel armor. Their helmets were sealed shut, revealing only two crimson eyes like ghostly fire. Strapped across their backs were two enormous one-handed swords, crossed against each other and faintly exuding black mist.
Their mounts were skeletal warhorses, likewise clad in armor, with flames burning around all four hooves.
These were mid-tier undead creatures, Death Knights. With Altair's current ability, he could summon only two of them.
"Go. Kill to your heart's content."
Altair whispered softly.
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T/N:
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