infodatos Chapter 273, Section 272: The Terrifying Maze
Chapter 273, Section 272: The Terrifying Maze
Chapter 273, Section 272: The Terrifying Maze
The decaying leaves crunched eerily on the soles of Snape's boots, as if he were stepping on countless tiny bones. The glowing tip of his wand illuminated the forest before him, a dense forest that appeared lifeless, as if it were made of stacked blocks.
There was no sign of life.
Upon closer observation, one can sense even more eeriness—the trees are arranged too neatly, the rhythm of the wind is unchanging, and even the soil underfoot lacks the proper dampness and small creatures.
This is clearly not the state a normal forest ban should present.
"What do you mean by not being a real forest?" Hermione also sensed something was wrong, but unfortunately, her imagination was limited, and she couldn't immediately understand the meaning behind Snape's words.
"Fool, we're trapped in a special space, and I didn't even realize how we got in. It's like it affected us silently." Snape muttered to himself, a rare hint of tension in his voice. "It's spatial magic, a power capable of containing a vast space."
Although he couldn't fathom the power of the wizard or creature capable of wielding such magic, Snape could still discern the general situation.
Cold sweat trickled down the back of his neck and into his collar.
Hermione gasped upon hearing this.
"There's such magic!?"
None of the books she bought mentioned any similar magic.
"The wizarding world is far beyond your imagination, you first-year brat," Snape said through gritted teeth, but not out of anger.
Rather, it was to suppress the unease and inner turmoil within.
"What should we do now?"
Hermione was completely clueless about areas she didn't understand.
It's true that she's the external brain of the trio.
But even this external brain has its limits. What's happening now is probably similar to what happened to a first-year wizard, or even a senior wizard.
In school textbooks.
Not all knowledge is included.
"The only thing we can do is get out of here as soon as possible!" Snape seemed to have made a decision. He glanced at the little girl in front of him and didn't think he was capable of handling such a situation with her.
In fact.
Even without this first-year student, Snape felt he probably wouldn't be able to handle the trouble. The magic was so terrifying that even he found it unlike normal magic.
"Walk!"
Snape grabbed Hermione's wrist.
"What should we do with Ian? He needs our help!" Hermione asked with a look of doubt and uncertainty, her eyes filled with worry as she looked into the depths of the Forbidden Forest.
A complex emotion flickered in Snape's eyes: "This is beyond our control. Staying here will only mean one more death or three more."
His voice remained cold, but Hermione keenly noticed a slight tremor in his fingertips. Clearly, this was far from an option that would elicit a calm response from the Potions professor.
"I can't care about him right now!"
"We need to find Dumbledore—hopefully in time. We can only pray that the damned brat is lucky enough to survive until Dumbledore comes to deal with this trouble!"
The black mist surged up again.
Hermione felt enveloped in icy magic, as if her internal organs were being kneaded by an invisible hand. The whistling wind around her ears was mixed with a deep, guttural sound, like countless bees fluttering their wings.
This was definitely the strangest and most uncomfortable flight she had ever experienced. Even though she had just experienced it once, she still didn't feel any sense of familiarity with it.
"But we can't just stand by and watch him die! Can't we!" Hermione struggled in the black mist, her hair tugging painfully from the magic. Of course, it was also possible that Snape was secretly pulling her hair.
Who can say for sure?
The old bat is the kind of person who would do something like this to shut his students up.
"Few wizards can cast spatial magic of this scale. Staying here will only add two more names to the death list! It won't save anyone and will serve no purpose whatsoever!"
Snape's voice was filled with anger and annoyance, though it was unclear whether he was provoked by Hermione or for some other reason. He was more thoughtful and had a clearer understanding of the situation.
It's not just a difference in experience.
It is also related to the differences in thinking between men and women.
Women are generally more emotional beings, while men are more rational. This is determined by biological evolution.
Emotional girls and rational boys are the result of biological selection in the history of human evolution.
The reason is very simple.
After all, the tradition of men being responsible for external affairs and women for internal affairs has lasted for thousands of years. Even in the era of matriarchal clans, women were responsible for raising offspring while men were responsible for hunting to obtain food.
This is also related to the fact that men are naturally more prone to building muscle. Therefore, when facing danger, Snape would certainly consider more factors than women.
If Professor McGonagall were here.
She might protect Hermione.
Then he chose to go and save people.
But Snape was different.
He knew perfectly well that this was a hopeless choice.
The only way to maximize Ian's chances of survival is to find someone who can truly solve the problem as soon as possible. Snape, growing anxious, flew even faster.
This is why Hermione's flying experience was even worse than before. Hermione wanted to argue, but was stopped by the deathly silence of the Forbidden Forest. It seemed like they had been flying for a very long time without escaping this desolate silence.
Regarding this point...
Snape had already realized this long ago.
The Forbidden Forest sped past in the fog, but the higher Snape flew, the more somber his expression became. No matter which direction he went, it seemed there was no way to escape this desolate labyrinth.
"Damn it!"
Snape's curses were filled with shock and anger. Before Hermione could even realize what was happening, the black mist suddenly stopped, and Snape reformed and landed on the ground.
Hermione is still kneeling.
However, this time he didn't fall.
She was prepared.
"Aren't we supposed to be looking for Dumbledore?" Hermione asked, looking at Snape who was standing still, his gaze fixed on a spot in front of him.
Hermione looked in the direction they were looking and was suddenly startled—the charred tree trunk remained twisted in a contorted position, dark red sparks flickering in the ashes; it was the clearing they had passed through half an hour earlier. The air still carried the acrid smell of burning Fiendfire, mixed with the damp, decaying odor of leaves, making it nauseating.
They returned to that scorched land!
"Professor, have we circled back?" Hermione also realized something was wrong. Snape had been flying for so long and at such a fast speed that he should have reached the edge of the Forbidden Forest long ago.
Why have we come back to this place now?
Faced with the little witch's confusion.
The Potions professor had lost interest in answering.
"That's impossible..."
Snape muttered to himself.
His voice was so low it was almost hoarse.
The man looked around, waved his wand, and the fallen leaves on the ground were pushed aside by an invisible force, revealing clear footprints left by them when they left.
Yes.
You can even see the footprints left by the two people when they stopped here before, which completely shatters the possibility that they may have come to a similar place.
Hermione stared at the footprints, her throat tightening. "Are you lost?"
"Lost?" Snape whirled around, the tip of his wand almost poking Hermione's nose, the fluorescent light making his face appear incredibly grim.
He hurried along the edge of the scorched earth, the sound of his boots crushing the dry leaves filled with impatience, each step seeming to bore a hole in the ground. "Miss Granger, do you think I'm one of those little monsters who can't even find their way up the castle stairs?"
have to say.
Snape was quite adept at making sarcastic remarks.
He was in a really bad mood. He wasn't someone who cared much about his image to begin with, so he certainly wasn't concerned about how Hermione perceived him right now.
"Professor, what I mean is—"
Hermione's attempt to explain was cut off by a cold look.
"Miss Granger," Snape's voice was like a poisoned icicle, each word chilling, "if your head is filled with the stupidity of Gryffindor, then please shut your mouth."
He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. "I know exactly what's going on. You don't need to guess or tell me. We're trapped in a labyrinth constructed by ancient magic, and these paths keep reconfiguring based on our movements. In fact, we've probably been going in circles in the same place the whole time."
Snape frowned.
"We're trapped."
He spoke through gritted teeth.
"Trapped?"
Hermione's voice trembled slightly.
"What's trapping you?"
The little witch's face turned deathly pale instantly.
"You're asking me! Who am I supposed to ask?!"
Snape raised his wand and unleashed a powerful spell in one direction, causing countless lifeless trees to collapse, which inadvertently released some of the negative emotions within him.
Hermione was terrified by what she saw.
"So what do we do?"
She spoke cautiously.
Snape remained silent for a long time.
The wand spun unconsciously in his palm.
"There's nothing I can do. This is a situation beyond my capabilities. This isn't ordinary spatial magic; it's a product of ancient magic, and I don't have much knowledge of ancient magic."
His voice was low and hoarse, tinged with frustration. To be honest, his words weren't entirely truthful; if one didn't know much about him...
It's certainly impossible to discern the situation so clearly.
Compared to other modern wizards.
Snape certainly knew more about ancient magic.
Not only because he possessed a magical notebook from an ancient legendary wizard, but also because of his expertise in potions.
It requires research and understanding of some ancient magical knowledge.
Snape was an expert at finding cheap alternatives, so how could he not understand the ancient magical system? And it was precisely because of this that Snape felt increasingly powerless.
"Damn it!"
Snape was not the type to sit idly by and wait for his fate.
Snape's wand flashed a blinding light in the darkness. Dozens of ancient trees in front of him instantly exploded, splintering wood, tearing thick trunks into pieces, and blasting a scorched trench into the ground.
"What kind of magic is this!?" Hermione instinctively covered her ears, her pupils contracting in shock—she had never seen such violent and chilling magic before.
It felt as if even the air itself could be torn apart.
Snape had no intention of answering.
He continued casting spells.
"Boom!"
Snape attempted to use magic to tear a way out.
but.
He discovered it very quickly.
The shattered tree debris suddenly floated in mid-air, as if pulled by invisible threads, the wood chips reforming.
The broken branches rejoined themselves, and the charred bark peeled away to reveal new textures. In just a few breaths, all the destroyed trees were restored to their original state, with even the position of a single fallen leaf exactly the same as before.
A bizarre restoration.
This stopped Snape's impotent rage.
"What's going on here?"
Hermione's breath almost stopped, and a chill crept up her spine.
"It's a situation where we're trapped and can't get out."
Snape's knuckles turned white from gripping his wand so tightly. He swung it again, and dark magic shot out like venomous snakes, turning an area in front of him into a sea of fire.
however.
Meaningless.
The flames were simply not enough to completely ignite the trees.
"Are we going to die here?" Hermione's voice was so soft it was almost inaudible, yet it was exceptionally clear in the silent Forbidden Forest. Her heart had sunk to the very bottom of the valley.
"have no idea."
Snape's eyes flickered slightly.
"If we want to survive, we can only hope that Dumbledore will realize something is wrong here and come to our rescue." His words were filled with worry and extreme frustration.
It wasn't just about worrying about himself and Hermione.
They also thought Ian was probably beyond saving.
"Dumbledore always goes to bed early at night, doesn't he?" Hermione had observed the old headmaster's biological habits before, so at this moment she felt that the chances of her and the professor she hated surviving were probably slim.
"Oh."
Snape looked at the little witch.
"That dragon roar just now could definitely be heard in the direction of the castle. If we're lucky enough, he should already be on his way. Don't underestimate our headmaster's sensitivity to the slightest sound."
have to say.
This man still trusted Headmaster Albus Dumbledore so much.
however.
The voice just fell.
A gentle voice suddenly came from behind him.
"Severus, are you waiting for me to come to your rescue?"
It was that familiar voice. Snape and Hermione turned around simultaneously. Dumbledore was slowly emerging from the shadows of the trees, a wry smile playing on his blue eyes behind his half-moon spectacles.
Sorry... I was trapped even earlier than you were.
He said softly.
It wasn't just Hermione who was stunned.
Even Snape wore an extremely incredulous expression.
"How is this possible!?"
His voice trembled.
It's terrifying to think about.
A crisis that even Dumbledore is trapped in?
How could such a thing possibly exist in this world!
It wasn't a collapse of faith.
Instead, he felt that his good nephew was probably already dead.
"Nothing is impossible." The principal's blue eyes held a weary smile, yet remained as bright as stars. "It seems we'll have to work together to figure out a way to solve this ancient mystery."
The old man's words.
It doesn't sound that worrying.