Regarding the information discovered by Lockhart, Severus pondered in his heart.
'From his description, it sounded completely unlike a place where any Hag's Ghost should appear.'
'But the Hag's Ghost remained in this forest also to search for something unknown. Considering its experiences in life, it was most likely related to dark magic.'
'As for the Albanian forest, it could be considered large, but also small.'
'Actually, the country's land area itself wasn't very big, and the forest's area couldn't be that much larger.'
'Since Voldemort was hiding here, any strange occurrence was likely related to him.'
After confirming the location of the trapdoor with Lockhart once more, Severus didn't continue chatting with him further.
The night passed, and early the next morning, Severus found Andrews.
He indicated that Lupin would stay behind to guard Lockhart, and Harry and Draco would also remain.
He, however, would go to contact those Albanian Aurors to search for the secret truth of that abandoned reserve.
Andrews naturally had no reason to refuse this. Subsequently, Severus also confirmed with Lupin and the others that they would need to stay at Andrews' place for a few more days. After he returned, they could leave Albania.
Harry was the first to express dissatisfaction, as he really wanted to go adventuring with Severus. But Severus obviously wouldn't agree.
"Wait until you've thoroughly mastered all the spells I taught you," Severus patted the back of his head, "I'll have Lupin check your learning progress periodically. You can't slack off even while staying here."
Draco was indifferent about staying behind, but he was resentful that Harry could start learning spells so early.
After settling matters with them, Severus didn't linger. He Apparated back to the previous valley.
The place was now completely dominated by the dragon herd. Traces of the original destruction could still be vaguely seen around, but there was no sign of the trolls that had run back during the migration.
Severus wasn't surprised at all. After those trolls chose to run back that night, they never had a chance to return to this place… they were torn apart by the enraged dragons before even reaching the halfway point.
Arriving at the valley, Severus aimed at the sky and released a burst of red sparks.
The fireworks exploded above the forest, soon catching the attention of the dragon tamers who had been patrolling the perimeter of the reserve these past days.
A dragon tamer rode a broomstick down into the valley. Clearly, after the dragon rampage that night, they had all become much more cautious.
"Are you lost here, sir?"
The dragon tamer didn't recognize Severus at first, thinking he might need help.
But Severus had no intention of hiding his identity. He directly pulled out the special envoy credentials issued to him by the British Ministry of Magic's Department of International Magical Cooperation from his pocket.
"I am Severus Snape, the British Ministry of Magic's Special Envoy. Please take me to see the Auror-in-Charge stationed here. I need to make contact regarding a matter."
Upon hearing Severus introduce himself, the dragon tamer was visibly stunned.
It took a full four or five seconds before he finally snapped out of it, looking at Severus in shock.
"You are! You're Mr. Snape! My goodness! The news is all about you right now! The French have been looking for you, I never thought you'd be here!"
Regarding his astonishment, Severus merely shrugged.
"I'm not some wanted fugitive."
"Alright, but you're more famous than most wanted criminals! Can I have your autograph? Mr. Snape, right here is fine, yes, on my robe!"
He looked very excited, quickly finding a quill from his pocket and stuffing it into Severus' hand, asking him to sign his robe.
Severus didn't refuse either, signing his name on the chest of the robe.
"Alright, sir, can you take me to see your Aurors now?"
The dragon tamer seemed in excellent spirits.
"It's an honor to be of service! Come on, Mr. Snape, grab my arm, I'll Side-Along Apparate you there."
As he spoke, Severus had already grabbed his arm. The dragon tamer waved his wand, and both of them Apparated away from the valley.
The next second, their figures appeared on a patch of grassland.
But before their feet had even properly touched the grass, over a dozen wizards in uniform outfits appeared around them, raising their wands to surround them.
This scene immediately caused the dragon tamer to raise both hands high and shout.
"Hey! Hey! Wait! Wait! We mean no harm! This gentleman here is Severus Snape! The famous Severus Snape! You must know what he did in France, the French are looking for him! He asked me to help him get in touch with you!"
Hearing the dragon tamer's words, some Aurors showed clear surprise on their faces, but none lowered their wands. Their gazes turned towards a middle-aged wizard walking towards them.
That wizard was evidently the person in charge of the Albanian Aurors stationed here to investigate, the same one who had previously intercepted Lockhart.
The moment he saw Severus's face, his expression also showed surprise.
Apparently, through some news channels, he had recognized Severus.
Under the gaze of the other Aurors, he walked up to Severus.
"Do you have anything to prove your identity, Mr. Snape?"
Severus again took out the credentials issued by the British Ministry and handed them to the wizard.
Ministry credentials naturally had their own anti-counterfeiting marks. The wizard only flipped through it a couple of times before determining it was genuine.
Without hesitation, after returning the credentials, he extended his hand to Severus.
"Hello, Severus Snape! Albania welcomes your arrival. I am Fates Kabunara."
With this gesture, the surrounding Aurors finally lowered their wands. Some looked excited, some puzzled, but they all glanced towards Severus and Kabunara.
The quality of Aurors from a small Ministry like this was clearly not on par with a large Ministry like Britain's, which had been tempered by Voldemort.
Severus also extended his hand and shook Kabunara's.
"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Kabunara. I've actually been in this forest for quite some time. But I recently heard you seem to be having some trouble here, and I happen to have some findings."
Dispensing with unnecessary pleasantries, Severus got straight to the point.
With the Albanian Aurors stationed here, if Severus tried to investigate privately and any accident occurred, being discovered by these Aurors would be problematic.
Moreover, from beginning to end, Severus had no real need for secrecy.
The fact that the Albanian Aurors were guarding here meant they also wanted to resolve the trouble here as soon as possible, and Severus's goal was aligned with theirs.
Based on this premise, Severus openly found a dragon tamer to bring him directly to these Albanian Aurors.
After Severus finished speaking, Kabunara's face clearly showed delight.
"You have a discovery?!"
This current setting wasn't suitable for a detailed discussion, so Severus simply made a request to Kabunara.
"If it's convenient, please keep my presence in Albania confidential. If this news gets out, who knows how many French reporters would come looking for me. You yourselves certainly don't want the story of what happened in this Dragon Reserve to get out either, right?"
Kabunara was evidently thinking the same thing. He nodded and asked Severus to wait a moment.
Then, he went over to the dragon tamer, said something to him that made the dragon tamer follow an Auror away looking very pleased, waving goodbye to Severus before leaving.
Afterwards, the surrounding Aurors also received orders and dispersed to their respective guard duties.
But how long this group of seemingly less professionally disciplined Aurors could keep the secret was unknown.
Fortunately, Severus didn't need them to keep it secret for long, as investigating this area shouldn't take much time.
Soon, Kabunara led Severus to the Albanian Aurors' camp.
It was also a tent, but its exterior looked much more professional than the one Severus and the others used for their forest adventure.
Following Kabunara, Severus entered the tent. Inside, it resembled a professional office space with many compartments.
They came to the room at the end of the corridor, which was clearly Kabunara's office.
"Here, please tell me in detail what exactly you have discovered, Mr. Snape."
After pulling out a chair for Severus, Kabunara sat down himself and asked seriously.
When it came to serious matters, Severus was never one for excessive small talk. He directly relayed Lockhart's discovery.
"Within the area you've sealed off, there is a small hill and a lake that was drunk dry by the dragons, correct?"
"Yes."
"Not long ago, a British wizard named Gilderoy Lockhart accidentally broke into your sealed area. After verifying his identity, you let him go. Later, he found the person he was looking for, and I happened to be there. From Lockhart, I learned about some things he encountered when he accidentally entered the sealed zone."
Kabunara frowned slightly, annoyed that Lockhart didn't mention such things when first caught by the Aurors.
But he understood now wasn't the time to dwell on that. He clasped his hands together, looking at Severus.
"That Mr. Lockhart, did he have an accidental discovery in the sealed area?"
"A tall, but withered, fir tree," Severus stated the key landmark, "Do you have any impression of such a plant?"
"Of course," Kabunara nodded, "That tree was alive initially. After this place was designated a dragon reserve, a Norwegian Ridgeback dug up its roots, causing it to die."
"Near that tree, there is a hidden trapdoor. You had no previous discovery regarding this?"
Severus's words made Kabunara's frown deepen. He shook his head.
"No. But my people have conducted very thorough investigations of that area these past days. There's been no discovery."
"Perhaps a special magic is concealing the trapdoor, preventing you from finding it."
Of course, this was Severus giving the Albanian Auror a way to save their dignity.
After all, if even a third-rate wizard like Lockhart could find it, how could professionally trained Aurors miss it?
Kabunara naturally understood the implication in Severus's words. He just frowned, shook his head, and didn't say more.
At that moment, Severus continued asking:
"Incidentally, I have a question. I am searching this forest for a freely moving Hag's Ghost. Do you have any leads on that?"
"A Hag's Ghost?" Kabunara fell into thought, "The Aurors have only been stationed here for a few days. We aren't very familiar with this forest. But when we first arrived, I heard the dragon tamers mention that they had indeed spotted a strange ghost entering the Dragon Reserve some time ago."
Severus's attention sharpened, and he looked at Kabunara.
"Strange?"
"Yes. They said the ghost looked like an old lady. Of course, it could also be a Hag, since Hag often resemble ordinary old ladies. This was about half a year ago. The ghost entered the reserve and caused agitation among the dragons, which is how the keepers noticed it."
"The dragon tamers tried to make the ghost leave, but it said the thing it was looking for was here and it absolutely would not leave. Against such a spectral entity, the keepers had no choice but to let it roam within the reserve."
"But after less than two or three months, it disappeared within the reserve. The keepers thought it had left for elsewhere."
"It wasn't until the recent dragon trouble, when we came to investigate and set up camp, that they told us about this oddity."
Kabunara met Severus's gaze.
"But none of us thought that strange ghost was related to the dragon rampage, because the accidents in the reserve started three years ago, not after the ghost arrived."
Severus listened carefully to his account and asked one final question:
"Then, didn't it occur to you that the thing it was looking for might be connected to the disturbances in the reserve?"