HP: Fantastic Beasts And The Right Way To Use Them

Chapter 143 - 144: Riddlers Really Deserve to Die!

Staring at where those words had disappeared, Evans was slightly stunned.The first half of the message wasn't too difficult to understand. With the signature at the end, it seemed like a little surprise Hufflepuff had left for future young wizards.

But the last two sentences really caught Evans's attention.

What did "the one he chose to break the seal" mean? Who was "he", and what exactly was this "unsealing person"?

And who was "she" in "be careful, she may return at any time"?

Evans's mind raced as he tried to piece together a theory.

If he had to think of the most impressive seal he knew, it would definitely be the one completely covering the centre of the Forbidden Forest.

That seal covered at least a fifth of the forest's area, and its property of being invisible without magically enhanced eyes gave it an air of mystery.

Could Hufflepuff have been referring to that seal?

And this so-called "unsealing person" – did that mean himself?

A flash of surprise crossed Evans's eyes.

That seal seemed to have existed since Hogwarts was founded. He'd always assumed it was created by Hufflepuff or Slytherin, since both the Runespoor blood research and the Lethifold blood research seemed like something only they could pull off.

But apparently, that wasn't the case.

Hufflepuff had explicitly said "he" chose the unsealing person, and this "he" probably didn't refer to Slytherin.

If it was a seal created by Slytherin, Hufflepuff probably wouldn't have specifically mentioned it in this kind of surprise gift for young wizards. After all, they were equals, and their relationship in later years apparently wasn't very good.

But aside from Slytherin, who could Hufflepuff refer to as "he"?

And if this message was specifically meant to remind him, then who was "she"?

No good. Too little information to deduce anything useful.

Riddlers really deserve to die!

Shaking his head vigorously, Evans committed those sentences to memory, planning to find an opportunity to ask people who might know something.

Professor Binns would be a good choice, for instance.

Not dwelling on those lines anymore, Evans focused on the seal beneath him.

This was an extremely complex magical seal. Breaking it properly would require a series of complicated procedures. It couldn't be undone in less than a day.

However, due to its extreme age and the fact it wasn't specifically designed to prevent wizards from entering, forcing it open wouldn't take too long.

One fully charged Thunderstomp would make any seal step aside.o pass through.

"This..."

Looking at her hands in shock, Hermione recalled everything she'd experienced, thought about that huge hatch, and suddenly had an epiphany.

Maybe it wasn't that those things had gotten bigger, but that she had gotten smaller?

She remembered the feeling of her body compressing toward the centre when she and Nana had grasped Professor Kahn's letter together.

She'd initially thought that was discomfort from portkey transport, but now it seemed like... a Shrinking Charm?

If it was a Shrinking Charm, that would explain where Professor Kahn had gotten a castle identical to Hogwarts. But why had the professor lifted the Shrinking Charm's restrictions here?

Was this place really still part of Professor Kahn's puzzles?

Hermione once again doubted her current location. After all, everything she was experiencing seemed quite different from Professor Kahn's original intent.

And wasn't Nana a bit too excited?

Looking at the Niffler ahead that had passed through the waterfall, grown larger, and charged straight forward, doubt appeared in Hermione's eyes again.

But since she was already here, she couldn't turn back.

Finding a rock nearby, she pointed her wand tip at it. Soon, the rock became a stone slab that could barely cover her.

Carrying the slab, Hermione rushed through the waterfall, then tossed the slab aside.

Nana had already run out of sight. Observing her surroundings, this seemed to be a somewhat dim corridor. The corridor's style... looked somewhat similar to Hogwarts' architectural style.

Following the corridor forward, she soon turned a corner ahead, and a bright room appeared before Hermione.

In the centre of the room sat a rather impressive-looking Venomous Tentacula, with a rocking chair beside it. A somewhat ethereal old woman lay in the chair, while in the corner, Nana was constantly clawing at a wall, apparently trying to claw a hole through it.

Seeing Hermione enter, the old woman smiled at her and waved, then looked at the Niffler still scratching the wall.

A gentle voice came from her mouth:

"Don't waste your energy! You can't get through until your friend completes this little surprise."

Having said this, she petted the Niffler's head with her somewhat ethereal palm, then turned her gaze back to Hermione, who had just entered.

"Hello, lovely little witch. May I know your name?"