Harry Potter: Transmigrated Detective Link

The fire released by the Fire Spell was not ordinary flame. With Link's magic infused into it, the flames could continue to burn even in an empty environment, let alone in a place like the Forbidden Forest, which was full of trees.

Thus, following the flow of Link's magic, the fire that had originally surrounded him rapidly spread forward, devouring everything in its path.

The situation on the field reversed instantly, those Acromantulas who had previously been eyeing Link like prey were now frantically fleeing, chased by the advancing sea of fire.

Seeing this, Link revealed a satisfied expression.

Acromantulas, these dark creatures secretly bred by Hagrid inside the Forbidden Forest, usually only moved around in the deepest parts of the forest. This was a rule set by Hagrid and also a method of protecting them.

After all, the Ministry of Magic and the parents would never allow creatures with a 5X classification like Acromantulas to inhabit in large numbers near Hogwarts. If they disrupted the ecosystem within the forest or were discovered by students, they would face complete extermination.

The Acromantulas themselves were also clearly aware of this.

So, the fact that they had now abandoned their usual behavior and appeared in the outer perimeter of the forest meant there had to be some compelling reason.

For example… their original habitat had been taken over by their natural enemy, the Basilisk.

Thinking this, the look in Link's eyes as he gazed toward the lingering magical traces of the dark shadow gained a slight smile.

"Looks like… this might all be resolved in one go tonight." Link spoke softly, and then, surrounded by flames, rushed deeper into the Forbidden Forest.

———

Boom! Boom!

From the perspective of the waning moon, a line of fire was rapidly spreading through the Forbidden Forest, and in just a short moment, it had drawn a long, narrow triangular strip of scorched earth in the originally dark green forest.

At the tip of this triangle was Link.

At this moment, his whole body was bathed in orange-red fire, charging forward at an astonishing speed in the direction indicated by the "breadcrumbs."

Around him, flames spread rapidly to both sides, and countless Acromantulas struggled and howled within the sea of fire.

This night fire was an absolute disaster for the Acromantulas who lived in the Forbidden Forest.

But as the instigator, Link felt not a bit of guilt. He didn't share Hagrid's strange aesthetic. Toward such cruel monsters, the only emotion he could feel was disgust.

Furthermore, Acromantulas were non-native creatures. The Forbidden Forest originally didn't contain their natural enemies.

In such an environment, they could only spread unchecked and eventually cause devastating harm to other creatures and even the entire forest.

This was evident from the fact that even now, Link hadn't found many creatures besides the Acromantulas in the forest.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The advance continued.

Inside Link's chest, Yoyo was squirming unhappily.

The smell of roasted spider on the outside was so enticing that it wanted to rush out and feast.

Unfortunately, afraid that the fire might hurt the Yoyo, Link had already put it away during the first wave of the Fire Spell. This made the Yoyo very displeased, even wriggling around inside Link's chest in protest.

Helpless, Link could only reach out and vigorously rub it a few times to calm it down again.

Then, as Link lifted his head once more, he unexpectedly discovered that the Acromantulas ahead, who had been fleeing in chaos, were now crowding together, and their running speed had suddenly slowed down.

Eventually, they even charged toward the flaming Link with a moth-to-flame sort of tragic determination.

The outcome, of course, needs no elaboration.

The fire, already in full force, was a natural counter to the Acromantulas. Even if a few managed to survive, Link would immediately end their suffering.

But staring at this strange behavior, Link's expression turned serious.

Acromantulas had social behavior similar to ants, protecting their nest was instinct, and they would even give up their lives for it.

This meant, up ahead was either the Acromantulas' nest, or the Basilisk's location, or… both.

Thinking this, Link couldn't help but speed up.

The burning triangle of fire was also stretched even longer by his acceleration.

After rushing forward nearly a thousand meters more, a clearing covered in milky-white spider silk appeared before Link's eyes.

This area was quite large, with thick pieces of wood randomly piled on the ground. Judging by the breaks, these trees had likely been forcibly snapped by some giant creature.

Now that the trees no longer blocked the light, the dim rays of Miss Waning Moon once again spilled across the land.

In the distance, beside a mound covered in spider silk, stood a small figure.

He was sitting leisurely on a giant tree stump, showing no concern at all about the eerie surroundings or the billowing smoke and fire behind him.

Link's speed suddenly dropped.

The magical fire, having lost its core drive, continued charging forward under inertia, roaring across the spider-covered clearing and continuing to burn fiercely.

The fire lit up the surrounding darkness, and also illuminated the ornate suit worn by the figure on the tree stump.

'It's actually Lockhart.' Link said this silently in his mind, and his face revealed a "so that's how it is" expression.

Crack! Crack!

The semi-crystallized ground, scorched by intense heat, let out crisp crackling sounds under Link's feet. Only then did the figure sitting atop the tree stump finally react, waving and calling out to Link as if meeting an old friend,

"Yo! Link! You finally came!"

Link didn't speak. His eyes kept scanning the surroundings, searching for Emily's figure.

"Lockhart" seemed to notice Link's intention. He grinned and said,

"Looking for them, are you?"

As he spoke, the Basilisk Arkam slowly slithered out from the mound beside "Lockhart," coiling itself into a large snake disk, tongue flicking.

And at the center of this snake disk, was Emily, struggling.

Upon seeing this, Link's steps came to a halt.

He fixed his gaze on Emily and the Basilisk, and after confirming that both of them had no obvious injuries and were in good condition, he finally looked back at "Lockhart."

"What do you want?" Link asked coldly.

"Lockhart" waved his hand and smiled,

"No rush. Let's chat a bit first. Oh! Right, it's rude to speak to you in this form. Please wait a moment."

Saying this, "Lockhart's" body began to shrink and distort.

As he shriveled, a mass of sticky black mist crawled out from his facial features and gradually formed into the black shadow that Link had seen before.

But the black shadow did not stop there. It continued extracting Lockhart's life, until the man was reduced to a completely dehydrated, shriveled corpse, only then did it stop.

In contrast, the black shadow, whose appearance had originally been unclear, now developed facial features and skin, and even wore a Slytherin robe.

"Ahh! Much better now!" Bathed in firelight, the man stretched lazily, speaking in utter delight.

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