Led by Severus, he, Granger, and Lyall left the apartnt.
The three of them ignored the darkening sky and plunged straight into Sherwood Forest.
This woodland was part of England's nature reserve. It is vast and largely uninhabited, with only the outer regions occasionally used as filming locations for certain movies.
By the ti they entered the forest, the sky had completely darkened. The woods buzzed with the sounds of cicadas and frogs, and it was nearly pitch-black.
Severus and Lyall cast Lumos for light, while Granger had brought along a cap with a built-in lamp… equipnt he occasionally used for hunting.
With Granger leading the way, they ventured deeper into the forest. After walking for a solid four or five hours, they finally arrived at the charred remains of a wooden shack.
The area around the shack had been deliberately cleared, leaving a neat, open space.
On the ground, traces of human habitation, like plastic bags, tattered clothing, and other things, were still visible.
"They've moved!" Lyall's expression darkened as he took in the burned-out wreckage of the shack.
Severus didn't jump to conclusions. He approached the ruins with his wand raised, using a Cleaning Charm and Levitation Charm to clear away so of the debris.
The fire that had been set had reduced most of the shack to ashes, but so things remained unburned.
Amid the ashes, Severus found an empty potion bottle, its surface still faintly bearing the partial mark of [St. Mungo's].
He uncorked it and sniffed, and ca to a conclusion:
"A general healing potion from St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. Effective against most common ailnts."
"They used it to treat the child." Granger speculated.
Severus continued searching through the wreckage. Soon, he found a few other bottles that hadn't been completely burned… though these were just ordinary water bottles.
It wasn't until Lyall, following closely behind Severus, discovered a scorched scrap of woolen fabric, which is no larger than a palm, that things took a turn.
"This... this is Remus's!"
His voice drew the attention of both Granger and Severus. Lyall picked up the tattered scrap, disturbing a layer of ash and revealing a hole in the floor beneath.
"Why would Lupin have this with him?" Severus frowned.
Lyall clenched the scrap tightly and said softly, "On his eighth birthday, during the full moon, his mother covered him with this after his transformation. From then on, he always kept it with him… even when he went to Hogwarts."
He seed lost in mory, as if recalling sothing he didn't share with Severus or Granger.
But the sharp Granger imdiately grasped the significance.
"Sothing this aningful to him… sothing he carried with him at all tis, wouldn't have been left behind without a reason, right?"
Severus had already moved to the hole in the floor.
Located at the back of the shack, not far from the origin of the fire, the scrap of fabric had likely survived because it had been damp at the ti.
The floor beneath it was blackened by the flas.
Severus tapped his wand against the hole, and a warped, fire-warped plank of wood flew out from the cavity!
He caught it. Two-thirds of the plank had been burned into charcoal, leaving only one-third of the original wooden structure, with obvious scratches clearly visible on it.
[...Greyback, East...]
Only a partial word and a half remained legible on the intact portion of the plank.
But the mont Lyall saw the na 'Greyback', his entire body shuddered. His face turned paler than it ever had before!
Staring at the na that was all too familiar even to Severus, he turned to look at Lyall.
"Fenrir Greyback? That notorious werewolf? You know him?"
Granger remained silent. Naturally, he didn't understand the significance of the na, but he could sense sothing was off about Lyall.
Lyall only murmured in response, "Yes... I know him... and he knows ... but Remus doesn't..."
As he spoke, Lyall suddenly clenched his jaw tightly, his expression twisted in pain.
Severus stared at him for a few seconds. He could tell there was so hidden story here, but even though he was a transmigrator, he couldn't possibly know everything. He couldn't guess what exactly Lyall was thinking.
He quickly shifted his focus to the half-burnt word below.
[East...]
It was clearly a place na, but the latter half of the word had been charred beyond recognition.
Neither Snape's original mories nor Severus himself were familiar with British city nas, so he turned to Granger.
"Can you tell where this is?"
As a pure Muggle dentist, Granger was obviously far more knowledgeable about England's cities. After a mont of thought, he quickly provided an answer.
"Most likely Eastbourne, in East Sussex! It's along the southeastern coast of England!"
Severus was quite decisive and made a decision imdiately, "We're heading there now!"
…
Just as Severus and the other two found the clue Lupin left behind, the Auror Office at the Ministry of Magic had descended into chaos.
The Departnt of Magical Law Enforcent had discovered that a Muggle family had been attacked by a wizard in East Sussex!
A family of three, vacationing by the sea, had been levitated and hung at the top of a lighthouse by magic, left to endure the cold wind all night.
If that had been all, it would've rely been a particularly cruel assault case.
But in the sky above where the Muggles had been suspended, a lingering, unmistakable symbol had blazed… remaining visible until the early hours of the morning!
A symbol that every Auror recognized instantly, one that sent a chill down their spines… the Dark Mark!
"Soone cast Morsmordre!"
Robards, who had led the team to the scene, looked extrely grim. Even when he'd learned that Severus had been acquitted, his expression hadn't been this dark!
A single Mark might not have ant much, as it couldn't prove that the long-dead Dark Lord had any chance of returning.
But just this morning, during the trial, the Minister of Magic had publicly declared before the wizarding community that 'The Ministry has completely eradicated the lingering influence left behind by You-Know-Who'!
As a result, that very night, soone had boldly raised the Dark Lord's banner, brazenly announcing that this supposedly wiped-out faction still had followers!
How would The Daily Prophet report this tomorrow?
What would the public think?
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