Another month passed in the blink of an eye.
The school remained peaceful. Aside from Peeves's daily antics and his endless battles of wits with the students, nothing significant had occurred.
Sylas, Gandalf, and Galadriel appeared relaxed on the surface, but inwardly they remained continuously alert.
Two months into the semester, the hidden intruder still hadn't revealed themselves. Sylas couldn't help feeling frustrated.
How long could someone guard against a thief who never stopped hiding?
Sylas absolutely couldn't tolerate an infiltrator lurking inside his castle, right under his nose. It was nothing short of open provocation.
He could practically picture the hidden enemy watching their fruitless searches and laughing at them in the shadows.
Two whole months had passed, and even with Sylas's power, Galadriel's ancient perception, and Gandalf's wisdom combined, they still hadn't caught the culprit.
That alone showed how dangerous and cunning the infiltrator really was.
Sylas had to find another method, quickly, before anything happened.
There were more than two hundred students in the castle.
If even one was harmed, the consequences would be irreversible.
That was when Sylas suddenly remembered the Marauder's Map.
The Marauder's Map was a magical artifact created by James Potter and his friends. It showed a detailed layout of Hogwarts, and even more impressively, it revealed the real-time names and locations of every living person and ghost inside the castle.
Even a wizard as powerful as Dumbledore could not hide from it.
Its capabilities spoke for themselves.
Although Sylas didn't know the exact method the four boys used to create it, with his current level of alchemy and enchantment, reproducing the map wouldn't be difficult.
After all, James Potter and his friends had been mere fourth or fifth years when they made it, hardly master-level wizards.
With Sylas's current skill, creating a new Marauder's Map would take at most half a month.
The most troublesome part was drawing a complete and perfectly accurate layout of the castle, without missing even a single corridor or room.
The original creators took six full months to map Hogwarts by hand.
But Sylas didn't have to.
When he had commissioned the dwarves to build the castle, Balin had left behind precise architectural blueprints.
Sylas retrieved them and used ink to draw the entire castle, including Weathertop Peak.
However, just as Sylas began crafting the map, the hidden infiltrator seemed unwilling to give him more time.
After hiding silently for two months, they finally made their move.
In November, the cold northern winds swept into Elador.
Down the mountain, the Black Lake had already frozen over with a thin sheet of ice, shining under the pale winter sun.
In Hogsmeade, the townsfolk bundled themselves in thick furs and preferred staying by their fireplaces unless absolutely necessary.
But Hogwarts Castle was a sharp contrast.
While the world below sank into winter, the mountain remained warm and full of life.
The Golden tree and Silver-white trees glowed with gentle warmth. The wide meadows stayed lush and green. Flowers in the garden continued blooming, filling the air with sweet fragrance despite the season.
Even the forests outside the castle remained lush and green, showing no signs of winter.
This unusual scene was due not only to the vitality of the trees, but also to the influence of Galadriel and Gandalf.
As the bearers of the Ring of Fire (Narya) and the Ring of Water (Nenya), their presence at Hogwarts caused the entire Weathertop Peak region to fall under the gentle influence of the Elven Rings. Time seemed to slow, or even stand still, around them.
Thus, while the rest of Middle-earth was deep in winter, Windfall Peak remained eternally springlike, warm, bright, and full of life.
In this comfortable climate, another Quidditch match was underway.
Nearly every student and professor had gathered at the pitch to watch Phoenix House face Basilisk House.
Only Sylas remained in his office, working alone on the Marauder's Map.
Before long, hurried footsteps echoed down the corridor, followed by a sharp knock on his door.
"Come in," Sylas said, raising his head.
"Headmaster, something has happened!" Professor Edward burst in, his voice urgent.
Sylas's expression hardened. "What is it?"
"During the Quidditch match just now, several brooms from the Phoenix team suddenly malfunctioned and disintegrated mid-air. The players fell from a great height. If Professor Gandalf hadn't reacted instantly, they would have been seriously injured, or worse!"
Sylas's face darkened at once.
"What exactly caused it? Why did the brooms fall apart? Who sabotaged them? Has anyone been identified?"
Professor Edward shook his head. "Not yet. Professor Gandalf and Lady Galadriel sent me to fetch you."
"Then let's go." Sylas rose immediately and strode out with Edward.
When they arrived at the Quidditch pitch, the professors had already evacuated the spectators. Only Gandalf, Lady Galadriel, Professor Alan Heath, the head of Basilisk House, and a Basilisk student in Quidditch robes remained.
Gandalf and Galadriel both wore grim expressions. Professor Alan Heath looked furious. The Basilisk student was trembling, his face streaked with tears.
Sylas recognized him. He was a first-year, one of the three Southern Dúnedain students from Gondor.
"Gandalf, Lady Galadriel," Sylas said sharply, "what happened? Did you discover who sabotaged the brooms?"
Gandalf gave a weary nod, his gaze settling on the crying boy.
"Thanks to Lady Galadriel's perception, we identified the culprit immediately. It was this student, Angber.
He admitted that before the match, he snuck into Phoenix House's broom storage and used an unlocking charm to damage the internal structure of their brooms, causing them to break apart in mid-air."
Sylas's eyes snapped back to the trembling boy.
"Angber," Sylas said sternly, "explain yourself. Why did you do this? Why deliberately sabotage those brooms? Do you understand that what you did could have killed your classmates?"
He had paid special attention to all Gondorian students during his secret investigation.
In Sylas's memory, Angber was a timid, fallen noble, quiet, introverted, eager to improve himself, but not someone who would ever attempt something murderous.
Faced with the Headmaster's questioning, Angber fell to his knees, shaking violently.
"W-waaah… Headmaster, please don't expel me! I...I don't know! I didn't want to! But there was this voice… a voice telling me to do it… telling me to destroy Phoenix House's brooms so Basilisk could win the Quidditch Cup…"
He sobbed, clutching his head.
"I didn't want to do this, but I couldn't control myself..."