The skeleton gleamed with a cold, bluish-white sheen under the moonlight. At first glance, it looked almost like a carefully crafted artwork—each bone smooth and eerily pristine.
Luna's breath caught slightly. She instinctively took half a step back with her fingers unconsciously tightening around her scarf. Her slightly protruding eyes widened in surprise.
"Oh…" she breathed softly. "This is really quite unusual… I mean, I never thought I'd see this in school."
Rolf's face had turned pale. His Adam's apple bobbed once before he managed to speak with a trembling voice.
"Do you think… could this be… part of the Maze decorations?"
Wade didn't answer. Luna glanced at him with a puzzled expression. "Maze decorations?"
"I heard… that some Muggle schools have human skeleton models like this, so I thought maybe…" Rolf stammered, though even he didn't sound convinced by his own words.
"Then it should've been hanging in some hidden corner of the maze—ready to jump out and scare someone. Not buried under a bush outside."
Wade had seen far more terrifying things before. He spoke calmly and flicked his wand.
Rolf watched as a silver-white shape emerged from the tip of Wade's wand—it flashed briefly, then vanished.
"A Patronus…"
He muttered in awe, finally managing to steady himself a little.
"But isn't… isn't this skeleton strange?"
Rolf said, "There are no clothes, no flesh, not even a trace of blood… If it had been buried for a long time, the bones would have cracked or discolored—but they're so clean, and perfectly intact."
He had never seen a human corpse before, but he had seen animal bones many times. In his grandfather's magic suitcase space, some mischievous magical creatures would often bury bones in the ground, planning to dig them up later for a snack.
When those bones were unearthed, they were always marked by cracks, holes, or stains—and sometimes even changed color.
But the skeleton before them gleamed flawlessly, like a piece of art.
"It doesn't look like it was picked clean by anything," Wade said, as he cleared the surrounding soil away and lifted the skeleton into the air.
There were no tiny tooth marks left by animals or insects.
"And look at the alignment—it's perfectly orderly. Whoever this was, their body must have been intact when buried. And it hasn't been long… perhaps only a day or two."
Wade lowered the bones gently back into the pit, thought for a moment, then turned to the others. "You two should go back to the castle."
Luna bit her lip and shook her head. "No. We discovered it together. If someone asks, it'll be easier to explain if we all share the story."
"She's right," Rolf said firmly, nodding. "We… we can vouch for each other. And if something dangerous comes of this, we won't let you face it alone."
Seeing their determined expressions, Wade hesitated, then gave up trying to send them away. "Danger isn't likely," he said quietly.
His eyes fell once more on the pale skeleton. "Whoever did this… I doubt they'd waste time on a few students who happened to find the remains. They must have had a larger goal."
"You don't know who he is?" Luna asked softly with a dropping gaze . She looked at the skeleton with a kind of gentle pity. "Could this person… have been a student at the school?"
"I don't think so," Wade said. "I just examined him—the molars are quite worn, and there are signs of bone growth around the knees and lumbar spine. He must have been an elderly man."
"I must say, I had no idea you possessed such… refined and profound knowledge of human remains, Wade Grey."
A cold, sardonic voice drifted toward them from a distance. "I wasn't aware that any class at Hogwarts covered such a subject. Perhaps Mr. Grey would be kind enough to enlighten me?"
Everyone turned. Professor Snape swept toward them with his black robes billowing behind him. His thin lips curled slightly as his deep, cutting voice continued with its usual derision:
"Or perhaps… you were present, watching, when someone buried the bones?"
Luna's eyes went wide with shock. She looked at Professor Snape as though utterly appalled that a teacher could make such a reckless accusation.
Rolf's face immediately filled with anger and disbelief. "That's impossible! Wade would never do such a thing!" he shouted.
But Wade's gaze flicked past Snape—and he noticed that the Potions Master was not alone. Striding behind him, besides Dumbledore, were several other figures:
Professor Moody, Professor McGonagall, Karkaroff, and Headmaster Adeso of Uagadou.
McGonagall's sharp eyes went straight to the skeleton the moment she arrived. Moody, disregarding his wooden leg entirely, dropped to one knee beside the remains to examine them closely.
Karkaroff and Adeso merely glanced at the bones in the pit with thoughtful expressions. Then, with evident interest, both turned their attention to the three young wizards—fixing their gaze most intently on Wade.
"I've merely read a few books on anatomy and possess some basic knowledge," Wade said calmly. Then he inclined his head slightly. "Good evening, Professors."
Dumbledore nodded, his long silver beard glinting softly in the moonlight. The other professors returned his greeting with polite nods.
Snape gave a sharp, disdainful snort. "Dumbledore, it seems Hogwarts' library no longer satisfies its students' hunger for knowledge—if they've resorted to learning Muggle subjects like this!"
Dumbledore's tone was gentle. "Severus, I believe curiosity is the most precious spark of wisdom—don't you agree?"
He looked at Wade with approval and smiled slightly.
"Besides, while Muggle knowledge may lack the elegance of magic, their understanding of the world is often astonishing in its own right."
Karkaroff clicked his tongue softly, and his face showed a touch of contempt, but said nothing.
"True," Adeso added calmly. "But knowledge is like Felix Felicis—a little brings fortune, too much brings disaster."
"Curiosity is the same," he continued. "An excess of it becomes a vice… much like Grindelwald once had."
If not for that man's obsessive thirst for forbidden knowledge, he would never have been expelled from his school in his youth.
Dumbledore nodded in agreement. "And as Muggles say—curiosity killed the cat. But I trust our students understand what it means to explore with moderation."
He patted Wade on the shoulder, then stepped forward. Kneeling beside the pit, he raised his wand and its tip glowed with a soft light as he began to examine the skeleton carefully.
Moody, who had already conducted an initial inspection, turned his head. His magical eye whirled wildly in its socket, while his normal one fixed sharply on the three students.
"Tell us… how did you discover this skeleton? Did you move anything here?"
"Well…"
Rolf glanced at Luna, then took responsibility for their nighttime wandering upon himself. "One of our bowtruckle friends hasn't been feeling well lately, so I thought I'd find some treats for it…"
After an incident like this, there was no point in hiding the fact that they had "coveted" the small beetles living on the Abraxans. Rolf had learned from his grandfather that the truth was often a more powerful tool than a lie.
Though sometimes, he knew, it was wise to tell only part of the truth.
Rolf carefully recounted the night's events. Naturally, he omitted the part about Mrs. Maxime arguing with Hagrid, pretending they had gone to the stables afterward, and he even emphasized that it was after Professor Hagrid had left.
When Dumbledore and the professors left the castle, a few students who hadn't yet fallen asleep in the carriages had seen them. They reported it to Mrs. Maxime, who hurriedly donned her cloak and came at once.
The third task of the Tournament was imminent. Even though Clémentine's chances of winning weren't high, Mrs. Maxime refused to give up—or allow herself to be sidelined by the other judges.
As she approached, she heard Rolf mention the "Abraxans," and her footsteps faltered slightly and her expression stiffened.
When she realized the group hadn't witnessed her argument with Hagrid, her stiff expression softened. She quickened her pace, came closer, looked at the skeleton in the pit, then at the others' faces, and stood quietly listening.
Skipping the small talk, Wade and the others' actions weren't complicated, so Rolf finished recounting everything in just a few minutes.
Ailo, the Bowtruckle that hadn't fully recovered, still lay in Luna's palm, indirectly serving as a "witness."
Once Rolf finished, the professors raised no questions.
Dumbledore stood up with a grave expression. "Someone used extremely dark magic on this body, dissolving the flesh and clothes. This type of magic is very old and rare—I haven't seen it in many years."
"And regarding… the identity of this skeleton," Mrs. Maxime asked cautiously, "do you have any thoughts?"
Dumbledore lowered his eyes and was silent for a moment. Then he said, "Unfortunately, the magic destroyed too many traces. All I can say is… he was a male wizard, at least sixty years old."
"Could it be one of the missing elderly wizards?" Karkaroff said smoothly. "We all know some old wizards live in isolation. Even if they disappear, nobody pays much attention."
Moody snorted roughly. "Did a troll kick your brain? If it was an old wizard nobody cared about, why would someone go to such lengths? Why process the corpse like this? Why hide it in Hogwarts? Do you have a hobby of sneaking skeletons into other people's yards?"
Karkaroff's face turned pale, and his goatee trembled slightly. When his gaze met Moody's magical eye, he blinked rapidly, shifted his eyes, and forced down his anger.
"So the key question is…"
Moody's gaze returned to the skeleton. "Why is it here? Why was the body treated this way?"
"Are you implying something, Moody?" Snape asked coldly.
Moody's eyes locked firmly on Snape as he said in a rough voice dripped with sarcasm: "I'm merely suggesting a possibility… Perhaps the culprit wanted to cover something… maybe, with someone's help, they infiltrated the school under the guise of a poor soul's identity."
McGonagall gasped sharply. "You mean… the culprit could be hiding in the castle right now, disguised as someone else?"
Moody nodded, and his eyes never left Snape, openly showing who he suspected.
A dangerous glint flashed in Snape's eyes. "If you're implying—"
"Enough, gentlemen."
Dumbledore interrupted gently but firmly, stepping forward to form a calm barrier between the two.
"Now is not the time for suspicion. Alastor, I trust Severus is not the one you need to doubt… Severus, I believe you understand that we must exercise extreme caution at this moment."
Tension hung thick in the air. Luna gently stroked the restless Ailo, while Rolf nervously watched the professors, feeling almost suffocated.
Moody shifted his gaze. "There aren't many male wizards over sixty in the school. Dumbledore, I recommend a full sweep of the castle, including its outer perimeter… Boy, what's on your mind?"
His magical eye spun rapidly, locking directly on Wade, who had raised his arm.
Everyone turned to look.
"I'm just a bit curious," Wade said calmly. "I don't fully understand the effects of certain magics. I want to know… if the deceased had been transfigured when they were alive, or had consumed age-altering potions, or Polyjuice Potion…"
The air suddenly froze, leaving only Wade's voice:
"Then after death, what state would the bones show? Would they reflect his true form when they were alive, or the transformed elder bones?"
A gust of night wind passed through, and several people shivered involuntarily.
They all knew well that death does not automatically remove the effects of transfiguration.
The culprit could even have killed the person and then applied a transfiguration spell to the corpse.
"Merlin…"
Mrs. Maxime gripped her wrist tightly; Karkaroff's thin fingers nervously rubbed his cufflinks, his gaze darting around; McGonagall's face was paler and sharper than usual with her lips pressed into a tight line.
Only Dumbledore remained composed, though perhaps more grave than usual. Wade could not tell whether he hadn't anticipated this possibility or already knew and had chosen to remain silent.
Though Moody and Snape had been discussing the possibility of the culprit hiding inside the castle, everyone present understood:
As Hogwarts professors, it was difficult for them to say outright—any remaining members of the magical schools could potentially be the targets of the culprit's disguise or transfiguration.
Limiting the age to sixty and above, however, narrowed the suspects considerably. Very few adults came from the other schools—usually only the headmasters exceeded that age.
And if a headmaster could be replaced so easily, they wouldn't be headmaster in the first place.
But if the age range were expanded, then every student at every school could become a suspect.
Adeso quickly approached the pit and muttered an ancient Uagadou incantation in a low voice. His wand tip emitted a bright yellow light.
The beam spread, enveloping the skeleton, and slowly faded after a few minutes.
Adeso's face darkened. He turned to the others and said slowly, "It's impossible to tell if the age has been disguised… everything has been destroyed."
"So… the culprit could be disguised as a student…"
McGonagall's voice trembled unusually. Wade thought that even during Voldemort's reign, her expression had never looked this grim.
It was as if a cold, silent wind had swept through, sending chills creeping up everyone's backs. For a moment, no one spoke, and even their breaths were held instinctively.
The castle lights remained warm and bright. Carriages, boats, and other transport from the schools rested quietly by the lake with their lights reflecting on the water, sparkling.
Yet in that moment, the scene could bring neither peace nor security. Everyone realized that behind those lit windows could be a pair of eyes filled with malevolence.
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