A vandalized statue in front of the principal's office, and a mysterious big black dog that appears in the Forbidden Forest...... These two turmoil did not gradually disappear from the heated discussion among the students until more than a week later.

Everything was calm again, and on the bright side, Hogwarts Castle was slowly recovering from its previous state of emergency.

And so the days passed......

Professor Horace Slughorn was nothing out of the ordinary, he didn't even talk to Matthew about Matthew's farewell that night...... It's as if he didn't even notice Matthew had left early.

And "Severus Snape" soon returned to everyone. Matthew often went to him to ask questions about the theory of deformation, and he was more than happy to answer them.

Soon, Halloween arrived.

The atmosphere inside Hogwarts Castle is eager, because the day before Halloween, they can head to Hogsmeade for another day!

Walking down the hallways, you can hear people discussing Hogsmeade, about Duke Honey's candy shop, Jokowi's joke shop, and even the screaming shack......

......

At breakfast the day before Halloween, Matthew wakes up with the rest of his classmates.

However, when he went to the auditorium for breakfast, he was far less excited than the other students, but behaved normally.

Because Matthew wasn't going to Hogsmeade.

The experience at Hogsmeade a month ago left a deep "psychological shadow" on him...... Even if he guessed in his heart that Tom Gaunt would most likely not come back, Matthew did not dare to take that risk again.

In case of another accident, he couldn't guarantee that the waitress at the pig's head bar would save him again.

It's better to stay at Hogwarts, at least there are Aurors, Dementors, and many teachers, and it's safe to call it safe.

After breakfast, the castle was instantly less than half of the people.

Except for a few first-year students (who are not currently eligible to go to Hogsmeade), as well as a few older ones, who have apparently been to Hogsmeade many times, it doesn't feel new anymore.

Matthew walked alone in the direction of the library...... He was sure that the library would be quiet today.

"Meow!" As he passed by the door of the History of Magic classroom, Matthew suddenly heard a strange cat meow.

He looked intently and saw a big ginger cat.

It is Crook Hill, Hermione Granger's pet.

It jumped and scurried into the history of magic classroom, as if chasing something.

Matthew has to admit that this ugly big cat has been a little weird this semester...... Or rather, after it came back from India with Hermione, something was wrong.

Last semester, Matthew remembered that it was still quite well-behaved, far less "restless" than it is now.

Does this mean anything?

Matthew pondered as he slowly walked to the library.

But inside the library, Matthew met an acquaintance -

"Good morning!" Agnes Lestrange sat in the corner of the library, her head up and smiling at Matthew.

"Hello!" Matthew smiled at her as well.

......

It wasn't until after night that Matthew left the library.

He reached the foyer and walked toward the auditorium.

The auditorium was decorated with countless candle-lit pumpkins, a swarm of bats flying around in mid-air, and many colorful banners fluttering in mid-air......

I have to say, the atmosphere of Halloween is very strong.

The food was so delicious that even the students returning from Hogsmeade with Duke Honey's sweets stuffed with their bellies kept adding to their plates.

Matthew looked at the faculty table—

Headmaster Gellert Grindelwald was at the table again.

The Headmaster of Hogwarts has always been busy, and only returns to Hogwarts during holidays, and everyone including Matthew is used to it.

This is also the first time Matthew has seen him this semester since the opening party.

Matthew's gaze swept over the faculty table, and finally landed on Professor Severus Snape...... who looked as usual and talked to the faculty around him with a pleasant face.

But Matthew noticed that Professor Snape's eyes frequently glanced at Headmaster Grindelwald, and the number of times was somewhat unusual.

The feast ends with a performance by the Hogwarts ghosts, which is also a Halloween after-show every year.

Frequent ghosts scurrying out of walls and tables, gliding in a very neat formation......

The students also applauded with courtesy.

......

After the ghosts' performances are over, it also means that the party on Halloween has finally come to an end.

The students began to leave the auditorium, along with the teachers and ghosts.

In the end, in a huge brightly lit auditorium, only the two vice presidents and vice-principals of Grindelwald and Rozier remained.

"Tell me, Vita, what has happened during this time?" Professor Gellert Grindelwald's expression looked slightly tired, rather tired.

"Just as you expected, Master Grindelwald. Professor Rozier replied very calmly:

"Obviously, the rats were targeting Hogwarts, and they had easily blended in...... We don't know exactly how...... They tried to break into the principal's office, and at one point succeeded, but thankfully ......"

"What they want, it's not in the principal's office, is it?" Grindelwald interjected suddenly.

"Yes," Rozier said with a smile, "there is nothing in this world that escapes your eyes......"

"No, Veta," Grindelwald shook his head solemnly, "I've never been omniscient, and no one can do that...... prophecy, its real meaning is to give inspiration to the future, not to confine your future to a rigid framework......"

“...... Our destiny should be in our hands, not in our future through prophecy!"

Rozier nodded thoughtfully.

After a few moments, she continued: "From what we have, those rats know everything about us, and that's not normal...... Master Grindelwald, I suspect Hogwarts has their spies......"

"It's a possibility," Grindelwald replied calmly, "the world is never monolithic......

"I'll get the rat lurking inside us out as soon as I can!" Rozier said categorically.

"......No," Grindelwald shook his head, "to be precise, it's actually a phoenix lurking among us!"