HP: Azkaban's Outstanding Graduate

Although the manuscript's text is spiritually corrupting, it is not entirely filled with worthless dark magic. His "Flesh Removal" magic was created after reading this manuscript, and its effects go far beyond inflicting pain and torment.

Sargeras even gleaned some insights into the mysteries of flesh magic and soul magic from it. Once he fully grasps them, he might be able to create a completely new form of soul magic in a short period of time.

Chapter 41 The Lion of Gryffindor

He was glad he had returned to Hogwarts, because it had the largest magical library in all of Britain, which made the private libraries of pure-blood families pale in comparison.

They may have some advantages in social status, but even pure-blood families almost always rely on formal education as their primary means of inheritance.

Therefore, the four founders of Hogwarts did something truly remarkable: they transformed the transmission of magic from the traditional apprenticeship system to a school system, which greatly propelled the progress of the magical world.

Sagres annotated the manuscript and circled some obscure descriptions before getting up and heading to the restricted section to consult relevant materials.

Sagress suddenly stopped in his tracks—the shrill, raspy voice of Peeves was coming from around the corner of the stairs, particularly jarring in the quiet corridor.

"Who's there?" the troublemaker drawled, circling in the air like a vulture that had caught a stench of decay. "I may not be able to see you, but Lord Peeves knows very well! Someone's been lurking around here!"

Sagres sighed helplessly and slowly retracted his right foot, which had already been stepped out.

Oh no, we've run into them again! Looks like these little wizards really love nighttime outings!

Sagres tapped the wall lightly with his wand, and the thick marble wall instantly transformed into a transparent one-way window. Through this magical window, he saw Peeves tugging at the tassels of the stair carpet, winking and making faces at the empty corridor.

"Let me guess—" Peeves suddenly floated upside down in mid-air, "Is it the crybaby Myrtle? Or the ghoul stealing food from the kitchen? Or maybe the little night owl!"

He suddenly ripped the carpet off and draped it over his head like a cloak.

Just as Pipi was about to sing his tattling song, a hoarse whisper suddenly came from the air: "Blood Man Barrow has his reasons for not wanting to be seen."

The sound froze Peeves in mid-air like a rooster being choked. He did a comical somersault, nearly throwing off his bell-adorned hat.

"Your Excellency, Your Excellency!" Pee-pee's voice suddenly became so obsequious it could drip honey. He gave an exaggerated curtsy, "Your loyal servant Pee-pee offers you his sincerest apologies!"

As he spoke, he pretended to slap himself twice, saying, "It's all my fault for having these useless fish-eye eyes!"

"Get out." A short command rang out in the air.

Peeves immediately darted up the stairs like a punctured balloon, knocking over a portrait along the way. The person in the portrait was mumbling sleepily, and all that could be seen was a rainbow-colored afterimage disappearing around the corner.

Sagrass squinted—though he couldn't see, he still knew who was talking to Peeves. Who else could it be but Harry Potter in his invisibility cloak? Perhaps his two inseparable companions as well.

“Interesting.” Sagres smirked and flicked his wand to dispel the transformation spell on the stone wall.

This is the staircase leading to the fourth-floor corridor. Dumbledore mentioned at the opening banquet that students were strictly forbidden from coming here.

Based on other information, this is likely where Dumbledore kept the Philosopher's Stone. From the professors' brief remarks, we know that some of them also helped design security measures to protect the stone.

Harry's purpose in coming here is self-evident. Judging from what Hagrid told him that afternoon, perhaps they were simply curious? Or perhaps they were worried?

Sagrais didn't delve into it. After all, everyone goes through school, and young wizards' heads are always full of strange and wonderful ideas. They might keep secrets for some reason, even if those reasons seem ridiculous to adults.

Instead of arresting the night-wandering wizard, he cast a disillusionment spell on Lochtis on his shoulder, allowing it to quietly follow him.

Soon after, Locktis followed them to the outside of the fourth-floor corridor—the door was already ajar.

Through Loktis's eyes, Sagres saw the door being pulled open slightly, then quickly closed again, and the raven flew inside before it closed completely.

Upon entering the room, a massive three-headed dog immediately came into view; it must be the Louie Hagrid had mentioned. However, the large dog was currently fast asleep on the floor, with a harp at its feet.

Clearly, someone had been here before them. Sagrais's eyes lit up; he had only intended to observe the group of young wizards' nighttime stroll, but this unexpected discovery had come as a surprise.

By this time, Sagres was already seated in the library's restricted section, but there was no rush to analyze the manuscript. He first placed the parchment on the table and then intently watched the "live broadcast."

Through Loctis's eyes, he saw the three-headed dog sleeping in the house twitching its nose incessantly, as if it were about to wake up.

Just then, the invisibility cloak was removed, and the figures of three young wizards appeared out of thin air.

Harry Potter took out a flute and started playing it incessantly, while the three-headed dog tilted its head and fell into a deep sleep. Ron tiptoed to the bottom of the trapdoor, and the three of them peered down into the cave.

The cave was pitch black, and nothing could be seen.

Sagress saw the group exchange a few words, then Harry handed the flute to Hermione and leaped away.

"Huh? That's way too reckless!" he couldn't help but mutter under his breath.

The other person just jumped straight down, without considering whether he would fall to his death from the height, or whether there would be a trap or he would be impaled by splinters.

To be honest, he admired that kind of courage; no wonder he was a chosen one. But he wouldn't recommend ordinary people do this, otherwise they wouldn't even know how they died.

Seeing that the other two young wizards had also jumped down, Sagres quickly controlled Loktis to fly into the cave.

The cave was pitch black, and even through the raven's eyes, one could barely make out the surroundings.

Black vines slithered everywhere; upon closer inspection, they turned out to be a devil's web. This magical plant had extended tendrils like snakes, unknowingly binding the three people's hands and feet.

Hermione, the last to enter, managed to break free before the vines could hold on. She watched in horror as the two boys desperately tore at the vines, but the more they struggled, the faster and tighter the vines tightened around them.

Sagles almost laughed; this was the consequence of acting recklessly.

"Don't move!" Hermione suddenly shouted, her voice echoing in the damp cellar. "It's the Devil's Web! The more you struggle, the tighter it will wrap around you!"

Ron's face had turned purplish-red, and a thick vine was coiling around his neck like a python.

"That's amazing!" he squeezed out through gritted teeth. "Knowing that this thing is called the Devil's Net is a huge help! Otherwise, I wouldn't even know what I died at the hands of."

"Help me, Hermione, think of a way to solve this!"

"I'm thinking, I'm thinking!" Hermione bit her lower lip, her curly hair sticking to her face with sweat.

"Please hurry up, or you'll only be able to save our corpses in a bit."

The little witch ignored their rambling and suddenly her eyes lit up. "Professor Sprout said that the Devil's Web prefers dark and damp environments—"

Harry was using all his strength to pry the vines wrapped around his chest: "Then set it on fire!"

His glasses hung askew on his nose, the lenses fogged up.

"But...but..." Hermione frantically patted her empty pockets, "I don't have any firewood on me!"

Sagres' vision went black, and even the raven Lochtis nearly fell over.

The professor of advanced magic theory and practice clutched his forehead in pain, as if struck by a stun spell.

"Merlin's beard!" Ron suddenly roared, already hanging upside down in mid-air. "You're a witch! Do something with that damned wand of yours!"

These words struck Hermione like a bolt of lightning.

"Oh, right!"

She abruptly drew her wand, her other hand reaching for the crystal bottle hanging around her neck—a gift from Harry containing a ready-made spell.

The cork was popped open, and a miniature, glowing figure flew out, controlled by Hermione—something she had set up when she audited the Sacramento course.

"Fluorescent flash!"

A pure white light emanated from the little figure, shining like a bright sun in the dark basement.

The two boys, who were entangled in the devil's net, suddenly felt a warmth. Then, in just a few seconds, all the vines began to retreat and avoid the light, loosening their grip on them.

Chapter 42: Moving Forward

"Cough cough—!"

Ron collapsed to the ground, panting heavily, his fingers still unconsciously tugging at the now-gone vines.

Harry stumbled forward and fell, his glasses askew, but he immediately looked at Hermione and said, "Well done!"

Hermione's hands were trembling slightly. The spell in the crystal bottle had disappeared. She watched as the vines retreated at an alarming speed into the cracks in the stone wall, leaving charred marks on the ground.

Sagres pursed his lips upon seeing this and muttered under his breath, "What a stroke of luck."

"Thank goodness you paid attention in class, Hermione, you're amazing." Harry clearly didn't think it was just luck; he gave Hermione a thumbs up and kept wiping the sweat from his face.

"That's not my spell. My spells don't have that much power..." Hermione said, feeling very embarrassed.

“I know,” Ron said. “You took it from Professor Greengrass’s class, didn’t you?”

“Yes,” the little witch nodded, “it’s very difficult to stay calm in a crisis, I’m sorry I just…”

“Hermione!” Harry interrupted her. “You just saved us.”

Ron nodded repeatedly: "You've done very well, Hermione, but that spell was used up, right? The one in your bottle."

“That’s right, so we have to keep going.” Hermione nodded.

They passed through a dark cave passage, and suddenly a brightly lit circular hall appeared before them. Countless tiny, shimmering metallic objects danced and swirled in the air above the towering vaulted ceiling, like a rain of jewels.

“Wait a minute…” Harry squinted, then suddenly realized something. “Those aren’t birds! They’re keys—winged keys!”

He pointed to one of the bronze keys and could clearly see the cold light reflected off the key teeth.

Hermione quickly glanced around. "This is clearly a puzzle... Ah!" She pointed to a pile of flying brooms in the corner. "We need to grab the right key!"

Ron had already run to the carved wooden door and was examining the keyhole: "What we're looking for should be an old-fashioned large key, silver, maybe like this—"

He gestured the shape of a doorknob.

The three quickly mounted their brooms and took to the air. The cluster of keys immediately stirred, with hundreds of keys scattering like a startled swarm of bees.

Harry nimbly weaved through the storm of metal, his Quidditch Seeker instincts quickly locking onto his target—a large silver key, its left wing drooping unnaturally, its flight much slower than the other keys.

"I saw!"

Harry swooped down and chased after the target. Ron and Hermione immediately understood and flanked him from both sides, clearing a path for Harry.

The key seemed to sense danger and suddenly veered upwards. Harry jerked his broom up, making a beautiful backflip just inches from the vault, and caught the struggling key precisely with his right hand.

"Well done!" Ron cheered. The key fluttered unwillingly in Harry's hand until it was inserted into the lock and turned with a crisp "click".

A slight smile played on Sagres's lips in the shadows. He noticed the creases on the key's wings were still fresh—clearly, the people ahead of them had just passed through.

Dumbledore said he had set up a clever trap, but he suddenly had other plans. Letting Quirrell get the Philosopher's Stone might actually be a good thing, as it would allow them to trace Voldemort's hiding place...

What were those terms again—luring the snake out of its hole, entrapment—that's roughly the idea.

This is why he hasn't stopped the trio yet; there's no need to find another excuse to come in here, and he can also cover for the young wizards if they encounter any life-threatening situations.

“Let’s go!” Harry pushed open the door, and the figures of the three young wizards disappeared into the darkness behind it.

Sagres steered the raven to follow, a hint of amusement flashing in his eyes.