Hogwarts Raven

Chapter 272: Snape's Terror
The shadows of the trees in the forbidden forest swayed in the night wind, and the friction between the branches made a rustling sound.

Under the night covered by dark clouds.

Snape grabbed Hermione's wrist, his black robe billowing like a wave, his footsteps swift and silent. Hermione was almost dragged forward by him, her legs could hardly keep up with his speed.

But Snape showed no sign of slowing down.

no way.

Of course Snape was anxious.

The experienced Snape was very sure that this was definitely not the roar of a dragon. He had come into contact with many dragons in his life, both dead and alive. It can be said that most potion masters are experts in magical animals, because many potion materials come from magical animals, so potion masters are very knowledgeable about magical animals.

however.

The sound just now, which was like a dragon's roar, was definitely not a roar that could be made by any dragon species he knew. That kind of sound contained the power to directly shock the soul!
Dragons don't have such characteristics!
Although their roars are very scary and can scare away many timid creatures and even wizards, they are definitely not able to shake the mind of a wizard like Snape.

Well known.

There are only a few dragons on the planet. The common Welsh Green Dragon is a small dragon, less than 20 feet long, and its roar is far from being as beautiful and melodious as this one.

The Hebridean Black Dragon is larger than the common Welsh Green Dragon, has a hot temper, and requires a large territory. It has black scales, purple eyes, and a row of sharp ridges on its back.

But the cry is the same thing.

Other species like the Australian Opisthodon, Romanian Longhorn, Swedish Shortnose, Peruvian Venomtooth, Chinese Fireball, and Norwegian Ridgeback are just a little louder.

If there are dragons whose voices contain some magic, there are the Hungarian Horntail Dragon and the Ukrainian Ironbelly Dragon. Their calls can make most creatures lose the ability to resist.

According to research.

There is a bit of magic in this. However, wizards with magical powers who have undergone some training can ignore the magic in the cry.

have to say.

Snape was indeed very knowledgeable about dragons.

As for Snape.

Even when listening to the roar of the Ukrainian Iron Belly while handling the potion materials that required the most delicate techniques, his hands would not be affected in the slightest.

But just now.

When that terrifying dragon roar sounded, Snape even felt that his magic power was frozen and his thoughts were solidified. It was definitely an extremely powerful influence.

"What is it?"

Snape felt a strong sense of uneasiness in his heart. Although he had been teaching at Hogwarts for many years, he still could not fully understand the secrets in the Forbidden Forest.

No one knew what kind of creatures lived in the depths of the Forbidden Forest. Snape felt that such terrifying creatures must be at least species left over from ancient times.

Only in an era that is difficult for most wizards to understand could such terrible magical animals exist. He knew this because he had obtained a magical notebook from a legendary wizard in his early years.

"The current conditions should not be enough for such creatures to survive." Snape recalled the knowledge in the magic notebook. He could not judge whether the magic notebook was wrong or there was some unknown reason.

to be frank.

It was hard for him to imagine what kind of species could live for thousands of years, or even more than a few thousand years - could it be that a living egg was hatched under some unknown circumstances?
Snape was making his own judgment based on what he had learned throughout his life.

And Hermione.

She simply felt a shudder.

Miss Know-It-All, who still lacks knowledge, has no idea how to think.

Things nowadays.

It had already far exceeded her understanding.

"Professor!" Hermione shouted breathlessly, "Is that really a dragon's roar? I've read some books about dragons. Dragons are very strong, but they shouldn't be this strong, right?"

"Even at such a long distance I can still feel uncontrollable fear..." Hermione still had cold sweat on her forehead. She could feel the palpitations just by recalling it.

This really wasn't the magical journey she wanted.

"The sound waves of a dragon's roar have a lower frequency and shouldn't be so oppressive, but this sound... To be honest, I don't know. It might come from a species that has not been included in the record."

Snape readily admitted that he was as confused as Hermione.

"Are there any species that have not been included or known about?" Hermione was shocked. Her long legs were already moving very fast, and she could barely keep up with Snape's pace.

"New species are discovered in the Muggle world every now and then. What's so strange about that?" Snape snorted coldly, still speaking in that cold tone.

"Right."

It dawned on Hermione.

"I didn't expect that Professor Snape knew so much about the Muggle world." To be honest, this was definitely something Hermione didn't expect, and perhaps most of the young wizards at Hogwarts wouldn't have thought of it either.

after all.

Slytherin House is well-known for its supremacy over pure-bloods, and almost all the young wizards who study there look down on Muggles. Being able to talk to Muggles for a few words already makes them feel particularly friendly to them.

Not to mention studying Muggle history and society - as the head of Slytherin House, Snape's original image in Hermione's mind was actually that of a condescending pure-blood advocate.

Although this professor has never laughed at Muggle-born students, everyone can see that he is the strongest supporter of the pure-bloods in Slytherin House.

"Ah."

Snape heard Hermione's sigh and sneered in disgust, "Why, Miss Granger, in your prejudice, wizards should not know anything about the Muggle world?"

His words left Hermione speechless.

"That was not what I meant……"

Hermione hurried to explain.

however.

Just at this time.

"Roar!"

Another dragon roar was heard.

It was no more frightening than the sound I had heard before.

With a somewhat angry feeling.

The ground covered with rotten leaves suddenly shook, and smelly mucus oozed out of the moist soil - although the distance was far, the dragon's roar was like thunder that shook the entire forbidden forest.

The oppressive feeling was like an invisible mountain, weighing heavily on the heart, suffocating. The sound waves exploded, seeming to shatter the soul, forcing people's backs to go cold and their legs to shake.

At least that's the situation with Hermione.

"hiss!"

Her face was as pale as paper, her legs were weak, and her eyes seemed to have become dull - this was the oppression of the soul by the power contained in the dragon's roar just now.

"Damn it!"

Snape was not so miserable, but he still felt his soul trembling. After coming to his senses, he couldn't help but feel deeply worried about Ian's fate.

Just the roar is so terrifying.

To what extent should its strength be?
Thinking hard.

"He may have already encountered the creature!"

This was a reasonable judgment. Snape picked up the incapacitated Hermione. Although he was anxious, he did not dare to leave a little wizard to die in the Forbidden Forest. After all, any carnivore might regard the first-year students as a gift from nature.

"Sigh~"

Hermione gasped again. Snape's grip on her arm was so tight that it hurt, and her joints were almost crushed. She was shocked to find that the corner of the professor's robe had turned into swirling black mist without her knowing.

A faint light like the tongue of a poisonous snake could be seen faintly in the mist.

"This is—" Hermione began.

The sound was torn apart by the whistling wind.

"Now is not the time for you to ask questions!" Snape's voice was extremely harsh, with the sharpness of metal friction, as if a rusty blade scraped across Miss Know-It-All's eardrum. Snape's wand was gray and misty, and his black robe was billowing. His figure suddenly turned into a ball of black mist that looked extremely scary.

Hermione shut up immediately, her heart pounding. She had never seen such magic before - a wizard could turn into black mist and fly? This was beyond the scope of the textbook!
Before Hermione's curiosity could grow.

She was already entangled in the black mist transformed by Snape and carried up to the sky - it was not her body that was wrapped up, but it was as if an invisible hand in the black mist grabbed Hermione.

It is still the familiar back collar position.

Snape might be used to holding Ian in this position, but Hermione must have been very uncomfortable with it, especially since she was carried up into the sky and flew wildly in a split second.

"ah--!
Hermione's hair was blown wildly by the fast-moving air currents, and she was wrapped in black mist and flew forward. It must be said that she had never experienced such a strange flight before.

Even when Ian used Transfiguration to create a magic carpet to carry her back, the experience was not so strange. Hermione only felt as if her whole body was wrapped in cold silk.

Even my breathing became slow.

My lungs felt like they were filled with wet cotton.

"Quiet!" Snape's voice came from the fog, low and stern. He carried Hermione with him and flew, "Don't move if you don't want to fall to your death."

Upon hearing the warning from the Potions professor.

Hermione immediately became like a quail and dared not move.

I can only tremble in fear.

Snape was not only flying fast, but also flying high, as if to get a better view. The treetops under his feet were madly retreating behind his sight like green waves.

Snape flew in the direction of the dragon's roar.

A giant spider's nest looms in the treetops.

however.

The monsters that usually run rampant were now eerily quiet. The wind whistled in her ears, and Snape suddenly lowered his altitude. Hermione then realized that the Forbidden Forest, which was originally noisy, had fallen into dead silence.

There was no cry of night owls, no sound of unicorns stepping on fallen leaves, and even the most common poisonous tentacle vines curled up in the shadows, as if all living things had disappeared in an instant.

Or maybe they were hiding from some terrifying existence. The black fog moved through the Forbidden Forest at an astonishing speed, with the shadows of the trees rapidly retreating on both sides. However, as they went deeper, Hermione became more and more aware that something was wrong.

"It's so quiet."

Her voice was particularly abrupt in the silence, like a stone thrown into a deep pool. The surroundings were really quiet. The higher Snape flew, the fewer plants he could see around him.

There are no longer any plants that can be used as medicinal ingredients for potions.

Not to mention biological beings.

Even beetles and mosquitoes have completely disappeared.

This is definitely not normal.

"professor……"

Hermione spoke quietly.

"How is this going?"

She became more and more uneasy and tried to get an answer from Snape. However, Snape did not answer, but Hermione could feel that the flow of the black mist was slightly stagnant for a moment.

Apparently, the Potions Professor had also noticed this almost impossible anomaly - even in the territory of the most powerful creature, it would be impossible not to find even an ant.

The Forbidden Forest should be full of life. But now it is completely silent, even the chirping of insects has disappeared, as if all life has disappeared or does not exist at all.

"Something's wrong."

Snape also felt uneasy.

That's the fear of the unknown.

He really didn't understand what was happening in the area.

The forbidden forest, which was once full of vitality, seemed to have its soul sucked out at this moment, leaving only a dead atmosphere. Even the numerous trees seemed to have no life at all.

Like a projection.

Yes, Snape's eyes were sharper than those of Hermione and Ian. The black mist transformed by the Potions Professor suddenly fell to the ground and condensed into a solid entity.

This was a very sudden action.

He landed calmly.

but.

Hermione, who was let go by him, stumbled and fell to the ground due to inertia. Her delicate face was immediately covered with mud, and she looked like a real "mud man".

She was embarrassed and annoyed, and after getting up from the ground, she was ready to turn around and ask Snape if he did it on purpose. However, as soon as she turned her head, Hermione found that Snape's expression was unusually heavy.

The focus wasn't on her at all.

There was no intention of teasing her and then mocking her. Snape walked hurriedly to a big tree, as if observing something that made him unbelievable.

obviously.

The professor also found it difficult to comprehend the current situation.

Hermione then realized that Snape was just too anxious, and what could be more urgent than finding Ian - she walked carefully to Snape's side.

Following the Potions Professor's gaze, the branches of the trees remained motionless, not even trembling in the breeze, as if they were not "interacting" with the surrounding environment.

Very weird.

Very inconsistent.

Hermione's heartbeat accelerated involuntarily, and an inexplicable fear surged in her heart.

"Professor, what...what is going on?"

Her instinct told her that this was definitely not a good thing.

This is true.

"I've never been in anything like this... I've never even heard of anything like this. These trees, no, this whole environment that we're in right now."

Snape tapped the trees with his wand.

Nothing happened.

"None of them are real things!"

Snape withdrew his wand.

His expression was solemn.

(End of this chapter)