"Wait for me, you two!" Ron called out desperately.
Harry and Dudley were moving with incredible speed, and Ron hurriedly followed behind them.
But even now, he was still completely confused, having absolutely no idea what was happening.
"Did that voice say anything specific?" Dudley asked while running.
"No, it just kept repeating that it was hungry, that it wanted to kill, to tear someone apart..." Harry said with a pale, frightened face.
Although the voice was faint, it made him feel like he was falling into an icy abyss, as if the voice itself contained terrible supernatural power.
"Why can't I hear anything at all!" Dudley frowned with frustration.
He could sense that there seemed to be some danger lurking in the castle, but he couldn't hear the voice Harry was describing.
As the two raced along the corridor, Dudley carefully sensed the changes throughout the castle.
He could vaguely feel some dangerous aura moving rapidly through the building.
"Wait!" Suddenly, Dudley stopped Harry, preventing him from continuing the pursuit.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked with confusion.
He felt he was about to catch up to that terrifying voice but was stopped by Dudley.
"Whatever is making that voice is extremely dangerous. If we just rush over like this, who can handle it?" Dudley said with direct concern.
That entity gave Dudley an equally dangerous feeling, meaning it had the ability to threaten his life. Under such circumstances, if they rushed over so recklessly, the result would probably be catastrophic.
"Then what should we do?" Harry was getting increasingly panicked.
Now pursuing wasn't right, and not pursuing wasn't right either.
Thoughts raced through Dudley's mind, then he quickly said to Ron, "Ron, go find Professor Dumbledore immediately."
"Okay," Ron agreed and turned to run, but after only a few steps, he stopped again.
"What should I tell Professor Dumbledore?" he asked.
"Tell him I've discovered something extremely dangerous in the castle!" Dudley instructed urgently.
Ron didn't hesitate and immediately rushed off toward the headmaster's office.
"What do we do now?" Harry asked anxiously.
Dudley didn't say much, but with a quick turn of his hand, he produced the Mirror of Erised.
"Let me see if I can locate it directly," Dudley said, pouring spiritual power into the mirror and beginning to quickly examine the surrounding situation through its reflective surface.
"What's this?" Harry looked at the palm-sized mirror in Dudley's hand, feeling it looked somewhat familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere before.
But before he could figure it out, he was captivated by the images continuously flashing across the mirror's surface.
One scene after another appeared, some crystal clear, some frustratingly blurry, almost all showing places not far from their current location as reflected by various mirror surfaces.
"What an incredible magical mirror!" Harry couldn't help but exclaim with amazement.
He quickly realised that this mirror could display everything reflected by all mirror surfaces around them, including but not limited to glass, mirrors, water surfaces, and so on.
As long as something could cast a reflection, this mirror could show it.
Just then, the image in the Mirror of Erised flickered slightly, and a cluster of brilliant yellow light appeared...
"Not good!" The moment this cluster of light materialised, Dudley felt a cold, malevolent aura rushing toward him, followed by a mysterious force entering his body.
Instantly, Dudley felt his body freeze as if it had turned to rigid stone. This sensation almost made him think he had encountered a Marionettist's control.
But soon, Dudley realised this was an exceptionally powerful dark magic.
With this understanding, Dudley directly whispered an incantation in Hermes: "Finite Incantatem!"
His spell was remarkably powerful, especially enhanced by the ancient Hermes language.
But this Finite Incantation didn't dispel the dark magic completely; it only slowed the speed of the magic's deadly progression.
At this moment, countless thoughts flashed through Dudley's mind as he desperately considered countermeasures.
Suddenly, he remembered something crucial.
His palm turned slightly, and a golden ring appeared in his hand. Using his last bit of strength, Dudley slipped it onto his finger.
Instantly, a warm, protective aura burst forth from the ring, sweeping through Dudley's entire body and quickly dispelling that cold, evil sensation.
"Solar Halo!" Dudley activated the beyonder ability within the Solar Ring. A pale golden light spread out in all directions, boosting the courage of everyone within a twenty-meter radius and dispelling evil from this area.
At this moment, Dudley and Harry seemed to be bathed in holy sunlight. All evil auras were quickly dissipated in this pure, radiant light, including the dark magic affecting their bodies.
"Huff~" Harry suddenly gasped for breath with relief.
Just moments ago, he had felt like he was about to be completely petrified but suddenly felt a warm ray of sunlight appear, dispelling the bitter cold and that terrifying force within his body.
"Harry, are you alright?" Dudley had already recovered and quickly asked with concern.
"I'm... I'm fine," Harry shook his head, still shaken by the experience.
"What was that thing just now..." Both had seen that flash of brilliant yellow light. It looked like a cluster of crystalline gems, but the image was too blurry for them to make out what it actually was.
"I don't know either," Dudley shook his head with obvious concern.
The Mirror of Erised no longer showed that yellow light, and everything had returned to deceptive calm.
Only Dudley truly understood how dangerous that moment had been.
If he hadn't reacted in time, the two of them might have already become stone sculptures by now.
Moreover, judging by the power of that dark magic, it wasn't at the level of something like Petrificus Totalus, but several times more powerful than an ordinary Petrification Curse. Normal spells couldn't dispel this level of petrification at all.
"But regardless, we've confirmed that something extremely dangerous has indeed appeared in the castle," Dudley's expression remained grim.
He had only glimpsed that yellow light in the mirror for a brief moment and had nearly been petrified. If he had direct contact with it, it would probably kill him instantly.
This was the first time Dudley had encountered such terrifying dark magic. It was comparable to the Killing Curse in its lethality.
"You're absolutely right," Harry said, recalling what had just happened and also feeling chilled to the bone.
"Can you still hear that voice?" Dudley asked.
Harry frowned and listened carefully for a moment but found that the voice had completely disappeared.
He shook his head with disappointment.
"I can't sense any evil aura either," Dudley said at the same time.
Dudley looked around but found nothing unusual. The second-floor corridor was eerily quiet, with only some water sounds coming from a nearby bathroom.
He felt his body getting uncomfortably hot, while a bright sun appeared in his mind.
Without hesitation, Dudley immediately removed the Solar Ring from his finger.
Footsteps could be heard approaching in the distance. One set seemed to be Ron's, but the other definitely wasn't Professor Dumbledore's.