Magical Studies at Hogwarts...

Chapter 181 Black Forest

Since moving into Malfoy Manor, Old Voldemort has never left the castle's basement, leaving all external activities to the Death Eaters who came to the cemetery that night, each with their own tasks.

Snape was once again sent back to Dumbledore as an undercover agent. McNeil, Norton, and others were tasked with finding the hidden Death Eaters and winning over the wizarding families who had sided with him during the First Wizarding War. Lucius, due to his special relationship with the Ministry of Magic, was instructed by Voldemort to maintain that relationship and act as a spy to gather intelligence on the Ministry's secrets.

As for Wormtail, he'll only be responsible for serving Comrade Voldemort. It's a last resort; if Barty the Younger escapes from Hogwarts, this job will definitely be his.

Unfortunately, Barty Jr. was kissed by the Dementors and is now a walking corpse.

The basement was still dimly lit; Old Voldemort disliked bright environments, with only a few candles flickering in the light. When Ike entered, Old Voldemort was sitting in his usual chair, his wand resting on the long table in front of him, with Nagini curled up at his feet. Nagini only glanced at Ike briefly before lying back down.

"Teacher, you wanted to see me?" Ike bowed slightly, and seeing that Comrade Lao Fu waved, he sat down in the chair to his left.

"Little Ike, tell me, has the Dark Lord's reputation lost its power? Why would my former servant refuse my summons?" In the darkness, Old Voldemort's red pupils stood out conspicuously, gleaming with an eerie light.

"Humans are inherently greedy; a luxurious and wonderful life has made them lose themselves," Ike said slowly. "Perhaps this can serve as a reminder to them."

"Yes, someone should remind them." Old Fu nodded, then looked at Ike and said, "So, little Ike, can you do this well?"

"I think I can do it," Ike said confidently.

"I think so too." Comrade Fu tapped his fingers on the table and said calmly, "You are my most trusted student. With your abilities, you will definitely be able to complete this task well."

"Perfect timing, you also need to demonstrate your abilities to the servants."

"I understand, teacher."

"Then let's set off tomorrow. Find Karkaroff and ask him for me why he had the courage to run away but not the courage to face his master." Old Comrade Voldemort's voice was filled with murderous intent. "Tell him that the Dark Lord has no need for cowardly servants..."

"Then, kill him!"

"I will." Without the slightest hesitation, Ike immediately agreed.

"Lucius will help you. He'll tell you where to find that coward," Old Voldemort instructed, his right hand gently resting on Ike's shoulder. "When you come back after you've succeeded, don't forget to go to Knockturn Alley and bring Greyback to me. What we need to do next requires a lot of werewolves."

"Don't worry, I will reward you when you have done all this."

"Let me think... what about the Book of Melvin left behind by the wicked Melvin? You won't find that at Hogwarts."

Ike stood up and bowed to Comrade Lao Fu again.

"I won't let you down, teacher."

Comrade Lao Fu was clearly very satisfied with Ike's performance, and smiled happily. He gave him a few more words of advice and then let him leave.

Early the next morning, Ike, who had made all the preparations, found Lucius. Old Voldemort had given him instructions beforehand, and upon seeing Ike, he said directly, "Karkaroff is very well hidden. Besides us, many other people are looking for him, but in the end, we found a clue first."

"Someone saw a suspicious man in the Black Forest of Northern Ireland, and based on the description, it sounds like Karkaroff," Lucius said. "I heard this from Scrimgeour when I was talking to him. Apparently, our chief of staff at the Oro office didn't take it seriously and even thought it was just another false lead like the others."

"Are you sure?" Ike asked.

"It must be him," Lucius replied. "Since that night, the Ministry of Magic has increased border patrols and tightened control over port keys. There's no way he could have escaped the country."

"So, countries like Norway, Germany, and Finland are ruled out first." As he spoke, a hint of disdain appeared on Lucius's face. "I know Fudge very well. Even though he keeps saying that the master's return is fake, it's because he's more afraid than anyone else. You should have seen in the Daily Prophet that after the Triwizard Tournament, our minister beat someone up and locked down the whole of Britain, right? And there are a lot more wizards on the streets."

"Those aren't Aoruo, but Fuji's confidants. He clearly wants to find a master before anyone else, and perhaps he has some unrealistic ideas..."

"He solved a major problem for the wizarding world and tripped up Dumbledore..." Lucius's eyes flickered, as if he were referring to something. "Don't underestimate people, no matter how stupid they may seem."

Ike didn't say anything more, just nodded. Lucius didn't say anything more either, but took a photo out of his pocket and handed it to Ike. It showed a dense forest with only a small clearing in the lower left corner.

"See that open space? That's your target," Lucius said. "Like I said, the key is being guarded closely, and other methods are too obvious. You have to Apparate there."

"This photo was taken last year, so there shouldn't be any problem," Lucius added.

Holding the photo, Ike looked at it carefully for a long time before putting it in his pocket.

"The manor's anti-phantom teleportation magic has been dispelled, hasn't it?"

"certainly."

"That's good."

As soon as he finished speaking, Ike waved his wand and vanished from Lucius's sight in an instant.

This was a completely different experience; it was his first time performing long-distance phantom teleportation, and Ike wasn't entirely confident. Fortunately, his current magic power was sufficient to support him, and he successfully reached the open space in the photo, though he inevitably stumbled upon landing.

Shaking his slightly dizzy head, Ike rested for a while before taking his wand and heading into the forest.

The forest was quiet, and the ground was covered with a thick layer of fallen leaves, accumulated over countless years. It was so thick that it made a "crunch, crunch" sound when you stepped on it.

Ike didn't use magic to eliminate any sounds that might reveal his whereabouts. He didn't care if Karkaroff found him; in fact, only by alerting Karkaroff could he possibly be found. When facing a wizard, the Guiding Charm is unreliable.

Moreover, finding a wizard who deliberately hides himself in a vast forest is not an easy task.

(End of this chapter)