novelnext Chapter 474 Strange Things
Chapter 474 Strange Things
Chapter 474 Strange Things
Without hesitation, Lupin headed straight for the Hogwarts dungeons.
The dungeons at Hogwarts have been abandoned for a very long time, and their only apparent purpose seems to be to show that Hogwarts was not always the place where gentle education is conducted.
However, with Karkaroff's death, this place took on a new purpose.
That's where his body was kept.
After his death, his body was delayed in being taken away because the German Ministry of Magic did not come—and now, although Steiberg has arrived, he has not allowed anyone to take the body back.
He seemed to be trying to find something on the corpse—some clue—
Lupin frowned and walked step by step toward the dungeon. He was going there now—and then, he would try to wipe away any possible clues.
He had never done anything like this before—it didn't sound very respectable or honorable—but that was all it sounded like.
After fully understanding Karkaroff's story, Lupin felt that the man should have died long ago.
A guy who bullies others at school—and then kills them—isn't taking his own life the best way to commit this crime?
To Lupin's surprise, he saw two Aurors standing there before he even reached the dungeon entrance.
"Mr. Lupin." They nodded slightly as they saw Lupin arrive; they seemed to have been chatting casually just moments before.
"What are you doing here?" Lupin raised an eyebrow, asking with some confusion. "Shouldn't you be next to the corpses?"
"Ah—" an Auror shrugged and said, "That German is in there."
"He said we'd be in his way if we stayed inside," another Auror chimed in.
It looked like Steinberger was inside—Lupin nodded slightly and then casually asked, "Does he come every day?"
"More or less." One Auror nodded, then looked at the other: "Have you taken notes?"
"No, not really—but it seems like he comes every day." Another Auror replied casually, "The only good thing about the Germans is that they're punctual."
Mr. Steinberger sounds like he's really putting in the effort—Lupin nodded thoughtfully, it seemed like destroying any evidence would be quite difficult—
However, I should indeed go and see what's going on—find out how far his investigation has progressed.
Thinking this, Lupin nodded and said, "I'll go down and take a look first."
"Please wait a moment, Mr. Lupin." An Auror instinctively reached out to stop him: "The Germans said no one else is allowed—"
""
"Are you stupid, James!" another Auror scoffed. "Mr. Lupin is in charge of the investigation too."
.
"And he's one of our own." He raised an eyebrow as he spoke. "You don't necessarily trust that German guy more, do you?"
"It seems so—" The Auror known as James pursed his lips and nodded.
"————" Lupin looked at the two Aurors and didn't know what to say for a moment. Perhaps he should thank them?
"By the way, Mr. Lupin," the Auror said, winking as he reminded James, "I heard you and Miss Hamilton are quite close."
"Can you tell me what she likes?"
"Huh?" Lupin was taken aback.
"That's enough, Charles," James said, rolling his eyes. "Miss Hamilton doesn't even know who you are."
"Let's not cause Mr. Lupin any trouble."
"Does she know you? Does she know James Lorne?"
Seeing the two Aurors arguing, Lupin shrugged helplessly and walked between them.
It seemed he had benefited somewhat from Loila's influence—he paced cautiously down into the dungeon.
As he approached the dungeon, he felt an increasing chill, whether it was his imagination or not, and the coldness made him shiver involuntarily.
However, as they drew closer, the chill seemed to dissipate quickly.
"Professor Lupin."
Seemingly aware of his arrival, Steinberg's voice rang out, and he asked with a hint of surprise, "So you finally thought to investigate the body?"
"That's not all," Lupin said slowly, walking over to see Steinberg standing beside Karkarov's body.
He was holding a small notebook, thoughtfully jotting something down.
"So it seems Headmaster Dumbledore has already told you?" He raised his head slightly and said, "About the report."
"Yes." Lu Ping nodded calmly. "Headmaster Dumbledore told me."
"You're requesting an interrogation of Professor Hamilton, are you right?"
"Hmm." Steinberg shrugged. "We do this all the time in Germany."
"Sometimes you can't expect prisoners to come out on their own."
"Are you so sure Professor Hamilton is the culprit?" Lupin asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Not necessarily, but the chances are high." Stöger said, then turned to look at the corpse again. "We should at least try, shouldn't we?"
"And it's just an interrogation—not torture or anything—" he said, pursing his lips. "Even Headmaster Dumbledore is here—"
"But it's never a good idea to interrogate people indiscriminately." Lupin shook his head and walked closer to look at Karkarov's body.
"Perhaps, Mr. Lupin." Steinberg shook his head. "I just think this way we can get clues faster."
""
"Oh, right." As if remembering something, Lupin looked at Steinberger and asked, "Could I take a look at your report and any other clues?"
Steinberg paused for a moment, then raised an eyebrow: "Do you understand German?"
"I don't understand," Lupin replied somewhat awkwardly.
"Then please wait for me to translate it into English." Stöger said, closing his notebook and walking outside, adding as he went, "Hopefully you'll find some clues."
Watching him leave, Lupin remained silent for a few seconds, lost in thought, before turning his gaze back to the corpse.
Because of the spell, Karkaroff looked exactly the same as when he had just died—even the folds in his clothes seemed unchanged.
But—in the end, he had no experience in autopsies, and he had no clue what to do with the corpse in front of him.
Lupin's gaze swept casually across the room, then he noticed Karkarov's collar with some surprise.
It was slightly damp here—as if some kind of liquid had been spilled on it—he paused for a moment, then reached out and gently squeezed it.
It feels a bit cool—or maybe it's just because the color is dark?
The dungeon was so cold that he couldn't tell if it was liquid or patterns—but—
As if struck by a thought, Lupin took out a quill pen and then slightly curled Karkarov's lips.
Thanks to the magic, it wasn't too difficult—then he slowly pulled out the quill pen—and the result was extremely unexpected.
The quill pen was covered with a little bit of wet liquid.
This must be... not quite normal, right?
Karkaroff has been dead for months—even with magic, there's no guarantee what's inside his body—
Just as Lupin sensed something was amiss, he heard footsteps behind him.
"Mr. Lupin, how's your research going?"
Two Aurors from the Ministry of Magic have returned.
"That's enough." Upon hearing this, Lu Ping turned and walked outside without lingering any longer.
"Mr. Lupin—your pen," an Auror warned, "Don't prick yourself."
"Oh—sorry." Lupin hesitated for a few seconds, looking at the slightly damp quill pen—but ultimately didn't put it in his pocket.
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