Snape, the Sunshine of Hogwarts.

Chapter 190 Albanian Auror

Severus pondered the information Lockhart had discovered.

From his description, it didn't sound like a place where any banshee or ghost should appear.

But the banshee ghost remained in this forest for some unknown reason, and considering her past experiences, it was most likely related to dark magic.

Albania's forests are both large and small, considering the country's relatively small land area and the fact that its forests cover a much smaller area.

Since Voldemort is hiding here, any strange things that happen are very likely related to him.

After confirming the location of the trapdoor with Lockhart once again, Severus didn't continue talking to Lockhart.

After a night, Severus finally found Andrews early the next morning.

Lupin indicated that he would stay behind to look after Lockhart, while Harry and Draco would also stay, and he would go to make contact with the Albanian Aurors to find the secrets of the abandoned reserve.

Andrews, of course, did not refuse. Severus then confirmed with Lupin and the others that they would stay with Andrews for a few more days until he returned, after which they could leave Albania.

Harry was the first to express his dissatisfaction. He really wanted to go on an adventure with Severus, but Severus obviously wouldn't agree to it.

“Let’s talk about it after you’ve mastered all the spells I’ve taught you.” Severus patted the back of his head. “I’ll have Lupin check on your progress from time to time, so you can’t slack off while you’re here.”

Draco didn't mind staying there, but he was bothered by the fact that Harry was able to learn spells so early.

After confirming things with them, Severus didn't linger; he used Apparition to return to the valley he had been in before.

This place has been completely taken over by the fire dragons. Some traces of destruction can still be seen around, but there are no signs of the giants that have migrated back.

Severus was not surprised at all. After the group of giants chose to run back that night, they never had a chance to return to this place. They were torn to pieces by the berserk fire dragon before they even got halfway there.

Upon arriving at the valley, Severus aimed at the sky and unleashed a red spark.

Fireworks exploded in the sky above the forest, and soon attracted the attention of the dragon trainers who had been patrolling the area around the reserve for the past few days.

A dragon tamer arrived in the valley on a flying broomstick, clearly having become much more cautious after the fire dragon rampage that night.

"Did you wander into this place by mistake, sir?"

The dragon tamer didn't recognize Severus at first, thinking he needed some help.

But Severus made no attempt to conceal his identity; he simply pulled out the commissioner's badge issued to him by the International Magical Cooperation Division of the British Ministry of Magic from his pocket.

“I am Severus Snape, a commissioner of the British Ministry of Magic. Please take me to the Auror Supervisor stationed here. I need to contact him about something.”

The dragon tamer was clearly stunned after hearing Severus introduce himself.

It took him a good four or five seconds to come to his senses and look at Severus in shock.

"You are! You are Mr. Snape! My goodness! You're all over the news! The French have been looking for you, and they never expected to see you here!"

Severus simply shrugged at his shock.

"I'm not some wanted notorious thief."

"Alright, but you're much more famous than those wanted criminals! Can I get your autograph, Mr. Snape? Here it is, yes, on my robe!"

He seemed pleased, and pulled a quill pen haphazardly from his pocket, shoved it into Severus's hand, and made him sign his robe.

Severus did not refuse and signed his name on the chest of his robe.

"Alright, sir, can you take me to see your Auror now?"

The dragon tamer looked extremely excited.

“It’s an honor to serve you! Come, Mr. Snape, grab my arm and I’ll Apparate you there.”

As he spoke, Severus grabbed his arm, and the dragon tamer waved his wand, Apparating away from the valley with Severus.

The next second, their figures appeared on a patch of grass.

Before the two had even set foot on the grass, more than a dozen wizards in uniform appeared around them, raising their wands and surrounding them.

This scene prompted the dragon trainer to raise both hands high and shout.

"Hey! Hey! Wait! Wait! We mean no harm. This man next to me is Severus Snape! The very famous Severus Snape! You should know what he did in France. The French are all looking for him! He wants me to help him get in touch with you!"

Upon hearing the dragon tamer's words, the Aurors clearly showed surprise, but they did not put down their wands. Instead, their gazes turned to a middle-aged male wizard who was walking towards them.

The male wizard was clearly the Albanian Auror leader who had once led a group to stop Lockhart and was responsible for investigating the matter here.

Upon seeing Severus's face, his expression immediately turned somewhat surprised; clearly, he had recognized Severus through some news channels.

Under the watchful eyes of the other Aurors, he walked over to Severus.

"Do you have any proof of identity, Mr. Snape?"

Severus still took out the document issued by the British Ministry of Magic and handed it to the wizard.

Ministry of Magic credentials naturally have their own anti-counterfeiting features, and the wizard only glanced at them twice before confirming that the credential was genuine.

Without hesitation, he returned the documents and extended one of his hands to Severus.

“Hello, Mr. Severus Snape! Albania welcomes you. My name is Fatez Kabnara.”

Seeing his statement, the Aurors around him finally put down their wands. Some were excited, some were puzzled, and they all looked towards Severus and his group.

The Aurors of the Minor Ministry of Magic are clearly inferior to those of the Major Ministry of Magic in England, which has been tempered by Voldemort.

Severus extended his hand and shook hands with the wizard named Cabunara. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Cabunara. I've actually been in this forest for quite some time, but I've recently heard that you seem to be having some trouble here, and I've just happened to make some discoveries."

Without any unnecessary pleasantries, Severus got straight to the point and stated his purpose.

With Albanian Aurors stationed in this area, if Severus were to attempt to investigate on his own, things could get complicated if something went wrong and he were discovered by the Aurors.

Moreover, Severus had no need to hide anything from the beginning.

The fact that the Albanian Aurors are stationed here means they also want to resolve the troubles here as soon as possible; Severus and they share the same goal.

Based on this premise, Severus openly found a dragon tamer and asked him to take him directly to meet the Albanian Aurors.

After Severus finished speaking, Cabona's expression clearly turned to surprise.

"You've made a discovery!"

In this situation, it was certainly not appropriate to speak; he simply made a request to Cabunara.

"If it's convenient, please help me keep my trip to Albania a secret. If this news gets out, I don't know how many reporters from France will come looking for me. You yourselves certainly don't want to spread the word about what happened in this Fire Dragon Nature Reserve, right?"

Cabona clearly meant the same thing; he nodded and asked Severus to wait a moment.

Then, he went to the dragon tamer and said something to him that made the dragon tamer happily leave with an Auror. Before leaving, the dragon tamer waved goodbye to Severus.

After that, the surrounding Aurors also received the order and began to disperse, each taking on their respective guard duties.

However, it remains to be seen how long these Aurors, whose professional skills don't seem to be very high, will be able to adhere to the confidentiality order.

Fortunately, Severus doesn't need them to keep the secret for long; exploring this area shouldn't take long.

Soon, Cabnala led Severus to the Albanian Auror's encampment there.

It was also a tent, but just by looking at it, it was much more professional than the tent that Severus and his companions used when they went on their adventure in the forest.

Following Cabunara, Severus entered the tent, which resembled a professional office space with numerous cubicles.

They arrived at the last room in the corridor, which was clearly Cabunara's office.

"Now, tell me in detail what you have discovered, Mr. Snape."

After pulling out a chair for Severus, Cabunara sat down himself and asked earnestly.

When it comes to serious matters, Severus never engages in excessive pleasantries; he simply relayed Lockhart's discovery directly.

"In this area you've sealed off, there's a small hill and a lake that the fire dragon drank dry, right?"

"Yes."

“Not long ago, a British wizard named Gilderoy Lockhart accidentally entered your restricted area. After you found out 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 of the things that happened to him when he accidentally entered this restricted area.”

Cabona frowned slightly, thinking about something Lockhart should have said the moment he was captured by the Aurors.

But he also knew that now was not the time to dwell on these things, so he clasped his hands together and looked at Severus.

"Did Mr. Lockhart make an unexpected discovery in this restricted area?"

“A tall, but withered fir tree,” Severus said, pointing to the key landmark. “Do you recall such a plant?”

“Of course there is.” Cabunara nodded. “That tree was alive at first, but after this place was designated as a fire dragon nature reserve, a Norwegian spinal dragon once severed its roots, killing it completely.”

"There's a trapdoor hidden near that tree. Didn't you discover this before?"

Severus's words made Cabunara frown even more, and he shook his head.

"No, but my men have conducted a fairly detailed investigation of that area these past few days, and they haven't found anything."

"Perhaps some special magic concealed the trapdoor, which is why you didn't find anything."

This was obviously because Severus didn't want to embarrass the Albanian Auror in front of him, so he deliberately gave him a way out.

Normally, if even a third-rate wizard like Lockhart could detect it, how could a professionally trained Auror not?
Cabnaras naturally understood the meaning behind Severus's words. He simply frowned, shook his head, and said nothing more. Just then, Severus continued to ask.

"I happen to have a question too. I'm looking for a banshee ghost that can move freely in this forest. Do you have any leads on that?"

“A banshee ghost?” Cabunara pondered. “The Aurors have only been stationed here for a few days, and we don’t know much about this forest. But when we first arrived, I heard the dragon trainers talking about how they had indeed discovered a strange ghost drifting into the Fire Dragon Nature Reserve.”

Severus's attention was drawn to Cabunara.

"strangeness?"

"Yes, they said the ghost looked like an old witch. Of course, it could also be a banshee, since banshees do look a lot like ordinary old witches. It happened about six months ago when the ghost entered the nature reserve and caused the fire dragons to become agitated, which is how the dragon tamer discovered it."

"The dragon trainers tried to get the ghost to leave, but it insisted that what it was looking for was right there and it would never leave. The dragon trainers had no choice but to let it roam freely within the protected area."

"But less than two or three months later, it disappeared from the reserve. The dragon trainers all thought it had left and gone somewhere else."

"It wasn't until a few days ago when something went wrong with the Fire Dragon and we came here to investigate that they told us about this strange incident."

Cabona and Severus looked at each other.

"But none of us felt that the strange ghost was related to the fire dragon rampage, because the accidents that happened in the reserve started three years ago, not after the ghost came here."

Severus listened attentively to his story and asked a question at the end.

"Didn't you consider that what it's looking for might be related to the trouble happening within the protected area?"

(End of this chapter)