Capítulo 50: Not the face and hair! No!!
.-.
A few hours before. Second floor girls restroom.
Lockhart: "Well, I guess you guys don't need me. So I-".
Harry: "You're not going anywhere. We've already come this far and you're going to help us rescue our friends."
Ron: "That's right. You'll go down first."
Lockhart: "Boys, boys, what good is that going to do?" Lockhart replied in a weak voice. His smile trying to keep up front, but the paleness of his face betrayed the clear fear he was going through when he saw the dark pipe in the middle of the bathroom.
Seeing him trying to back away, Harry, Ron and Hermione raised their wands in his direction again, killing any attempt to move.
"I don't really think-Ahhhh." Before he could continue making excuses, Ron kicked him in the back, sending him falling down the large pipe in the center of the bathroom.
Hermione: "Ron!"
Ron: "What? He wouldn't shut up."
Hermione: "Yeah, but you didn't have to kick him, what if he hurts himself later?"
Harry and Ron only glanced lightly at her comment.
Harry: "Hermione, did you forget that he wanted to erase our memories?"
Hermione: "But if he's hurt he won't be able to help us… ". Continuing in a much lower voice, Hermione answered.
Harry: "Okay, let's not think about it, come on". Finishing his words, Harry launched himself down the pipe.
Ron didn't hesitate either and dove right after Harry. Leaving Hermione alone.
Hermione: 'I hope we're on time.'
Finally she jumped too.
…
The pipe was like a big dark slide, slimy and slightly wet, full of twists and turns, but mostly going down vertically. The four of them slid at high speed into the depths of the castle, lower even than the dungeons.
Finally, after a while, they all fell on wet and rocky ground. The place they arrived at was a completely dark cave.
Harry: "Lumos."
Lockhart: "Ughh."
Hermione: "We must have slid for miles."
Ron: "Yeah, I even think it's under the lake."
Dusting themselves off the mud and dust as best they could, Hermione and Ron moved closer to Harry and relied on his wandlight to take in their surroundings.
The place was a dark cave with uneven walls and floor. Not far from them stood Lockhart, in dirty robes and struggling to adjust his eyes to the sudden light.
Hermione: "Lumos." Hermione launched her own lumos and stepped away a bit to survey her surroundings.
Trusting in the light of the two of them, they began to move forward with cautious steps along the only path there was. Their footsteps echoing on the wet ground.
Even with lumos, the cave was very dark and visibility was very low, being able to see only a short distance.
Ron: "Oh, we forgot to ask Neville for the goggles Extimum made. I told you Harry, we should have bought them when Steve approached us."
Harry: "You're saying that because you weren't seeing the look everyone else was giving us. If I'd agreed to buy them without waiting in line, all the Gryffindors would have jumped on me."
Ron: "Yeah, but if you had, we'd have one with us now."
With panic and fear simmering in the hearts of the students, the Extimum-made glasses that Steve was selling quickly became a coveted item among all the students, and although there were initially more than enough to go around, fear it made it so that even if they weren't totally sure it would work, they would still buy more than they needed or used.
So in the end, not everyone had a chance to get one for themselves. An example of this had been Harry and Ron. However, Harry hadn't really wanted to buy them because he didn't want to have to put glasses back on so soon.
Plus, the deadly looks they were getting from the other Gryffindors when Steve offered to buy them without lining up was just too much.
On the other hand, when they decided to go with Lockhart they had thought of going back and borrowing from Neville who had bought three, since he was afraid of damaging or losing them by accident, however, with everything that had happened, they forgot.
Hermione: "*Ahem* Don't worry, I brought enough for everyone."
Ron: "What? Where did you get them from? You were with us the whole time and I didn't see you come over to buy Steve."
Harry: "Ron, that's not important right now."
Hermione: "*cough* Harry is right, what matters is that we have them, now put them on."
Still doubtful on his face, Ron took the glasses from Hermione's hands and put them on.
Ron: "Wow, that's how it feels to wear glasses."
Lockhart: "*Ahem* Miss Granger, wouldn't you mind giving me one too?" Trying to put on his best smile, Lockhart asked.
Hermione narrowed her eyes slightly at Lockhart's question, but still reluctantly pulled out another pair of glasses and handed them to Lockhart.
As they continued to move, Ron suddenly froze in place and grabbed the shoulder of Harry in front to stop him from advancing.
Ron: "Harry, there's something... ". The husky tone in Ron's voice made everyone stop as they followed the direction of his gaze.
They stood still, watching. They could only see the outline of a large, hunched thing lying across the tunnel. It was not moving.
Hermione: "Maybe it's asleep?" Hermione whispered softly.
The hearts of everyone present clenched and began to beat at an accelerated rate. Lockhart, still wearing the glasses, hastened to cover his eyes, not completely trusting them.
Swallowing audibly, Harry took the first step forward with his wand raised. Ron's hands had grown cold and sweaty, but he still followed bravely behind with Hermione at his side.
Soon the light illuminated the skin of a gigantic snake, a deep green, poisonous skin, lying across the tunnel floor, twisted and empty. The animal that had left its shed there must have been at least twenty feet long.
Ron: "Wow!"
Hermione: "In the name of Merlin!"
**Boom**
Lockhart fell to his knees behind them, gazing through the crooks of his fingers at the view before him.
Ron: "What are you doing? Get up." Ron snapped at his actions and pointed his wand at Lockhart.
Lockhart obediently got to his feet, but in the next second, he leaped at Ron and Hermione who were in front of him and knocked them to the ground.
The sight of the basilisk skin had distracted them from keeping their guard up and vigilance up.
*Uhh*
Harry had been looking closely at the skin when he heard Ron and Hermione's scream and the sound of scuffling. Taking a step back to see what was happening.
But it was too late. Lockhart was already up and back, panting, Ron and Hermione's wand in hand and his brilliant smile back on his face.
Lockhart: "The adventure ends here, boys! I'll take a piece of this skin and go back to school, I will say that it was too late to save the girl and there was no sign of young Shadowless, as for you three, you lost consciousness seeing his mangled body and no trace of his other friend who was probably already lying in the beast's stomach. Now, say goodbye to your memories!"
Harry: "Ah." Harry gave a sudden cry of surprise and horror as he pointed behind Lockhart and backed away in a panic.
Noticing Harry's fearful expression as he looked behind him, Lockhart felt a sudden chill in his heart and fearfully hastened to turn around, wand at the ready, however, contrary to his fears, there was nothing behind.
Harry: "Exelliarmus."
Hearing Harry's yell behind him, Lockhart knew he had been tricked and scrambled to the side, narrowly missing Harry's spell.
Lockhart: "Heh, nice try lad, I must admit you almost got me there." Lockhart didn't forget to show off, having escaped the surprise attack unscathed. But Harry wasn't done.
Harry: "Exelliarmus, Everte status , Flipendo."
Lockhart jumped from side to side in a panic, dodging each spell by just inches each time, as if luck were smiling on him.
Lockhart: "Enough nonsense. Oblivate!" Wiping the sweat from his brow and lightening the fear in his heart from having to dodge all those spells, Lockhart cast his signature spell.
A nearly invisible ripple spread from the tip of Lockhart's wand toward the trio. Harry wanted to lunge to stop him, but he was too far away and he didn't know any warding spells.
Just as the spell was about to affect all three of them, Hermione jumped in front of them and received the spell herself, saving Harry and Ron and losing all strength in her body as she fell unconscious.
Harry and Ron: "Hermione!"
Seeing Hermione fall, Ron rushed to catch her.
Harry felt angry and worried as he watched Hermione fall unconscious and he directed all those emotions into his wand, causing his hand on it to clench.
Harry: "Eventratus Sapira, Obscurus!" **Whoosh** **Screech**
A spell of unknown nature and effect came out of Harry's wand, when a certain passage from a book he had read on his visit to China came impulsively to his mind.
The darkness of the cave seemed to twist, while a terrifying shriek was heard throughout the place.
Lockhart: "Wh-what did you do?"
Harry: "I…" Harry wasn't entirely sure, the spell was part of something else he had read by chance and it just stuck in his mind, but he had no idea what it did.
Lockhart: "Lumos"
**Shriek**
Lockhart: "Ahhhhhh. Bombarda."
An almost indiscernible dark shadow darted in Lockhart's direction. Fear made Lockhart scream and recoil as he saw the creature brought out of his worst nightmares.
**Boom**
Guided by fear, he cast one of the few spells he rarely used when he needed to defend himself. The spell impacted the creature, but after the small explosion there was no sign of it.
Not quite sure he had killed the creature, Lockhart looked around fearfully, however, before he could concentrate on searching carefully, the sound of footsteps brought him back to reality. Harry was approaching his position at a rapid pace with his wand at the ready.
Harry: "Expelliarmus."
Lockhart: "Expelliarmus."
He tried to back up to give himself room to maneuver, but in his panic, he coincidentally tripped over a stone and stumbled a few times until he was able to steady himself.
Harry saw the perfect opportunity to see him stumble and cast another spell. "Expelliarmus".
This time, his spell managed to hit Lockhart, who was thrown backwards, colliding with the wall of the cave, as the wand in his possession flew from his hand.
**Hoo**
Seeing Lockhart fly away and lose his wand, Harry let out a long breath he'd been holding.
**Ughh**
But before Harry could be content with his victory, Lockhart was back on his feet, another wand in his hand.
Lockhart: "You asked for it, boy. Bombarda Maxima!"
**Swish**
A fire-like beam of light shot from Lockhart's wand in Harry's direction. Due to lack of practice and knowledge of it, the spell did not come off as destructively and effectively as Lockhart had hoped, but it still served its purpose.
Even so, Harry didn't dare neglect it and hastily redirected it, afraid that if he dodged it, the blast would affect Ron and Hermione behind him.
**Booom** **Crack crack**
Lockhart: "Bombarba, Bombarda maxima, aguamenti, Everte statum ." Lockhart went on a mad spree of spells with a bit of madness and despair. Throwing everything he could think of even if it wasn't entirely destructive or offensive.
**Boom** **Boom**
Harry did his best to redirect or dodge them when he could. His hands were sweating, but he did not dare to be careless.
Ron: "Harry, watch out!"
Ron's scream came from the side, but it was too late. The constant explosions had damaged the structure of the cave and the ceiling of the cave was collapsing.
**Din**
Harry could only roll to the side at the last second with any luck and save himself from being engulfed by the huge falling stones.
Dust flew everywhere and for a moment, everything went black as the lumos in his wand went out.
Harry: "Lumos." Still maintaining his guard, Harry picked himself up from the ground and returned to illuminate the cave.
However, in front of him was a thick stone wall that covered the entire path he had come from, separating him from the other side.
To the other side.
The landslide also affected this part of the cave but to a lesser extent and while Lockhart could only clumsily dodge the falling rocks. Ron had it much harder with Hermione in tow, but he still managed to get them both to safety.
After making sure Hermione wasn't hurt, Ron hid her behind a rock and then slipped away.
On this entire side of the cave there was only one source of light, which belonged to the wand in Lockhart's hands and otherwise, the other places were almost completely dark.
Ron tried to be as quiet as possible and then, taking advantage of Lockhart's carelessness, who was still somewhat disoriented, he charged at him and knocked him against the wall causing him to hit his back hard against it, then grabbed Lockhart's hand, which he had the wand and repeatedly slammed it against the wall until he released it.
**Uhh**
Lockhart recovered at that moment and tried to lunge for the wand, but Ron wouldn't let him and the two got into a physical fight.
Lockhart: "Let go of me, animal."
*Bang*
Ron kicked, punched, and bit at times, while clinging to Lockhart and preventing him from getting anywhere near the wand.
*Bang*
Lockhart: "Ahg! Stop! Stop! Wait! Not the face and hair! No! Aghhhhhh!"
They twirled on the ground. Ron was pulling at his hair and continuing to hit him with his free hand, while Lockhart tried to separate the hand that was pulling at his hair with one of his hands and shielded his face with the other.
*Bang*
Finally, confident in his physical superiority, Lockhart emerged the victor. His clothes were all messy and dirty, with bruises on his face and bite marks on his hands and legs, even so, he rushed to retrieve the wand and not wanting any more unforeseen events, he immediately pointed it at Ron.
Lockhart: "*gasp* *gasp* This ends here. Oblivate!"
Ron: "Ah." Ron closed his eyes and let out a gasp of fear upon learning his fate. However, **Boom** Lockhart was thrown backwards hitting his head and falling unconscious.
Lockhart: "Ughh."
The sound of the loud bang and Lockhart's scream caught Ron's attention.
Opening his eyes, he looked through the settling dust and low visibility, to find the scene of Lockhart knocked out and leaning against the wall.
Getting up from the floor and ignoring the pain from the bruises he received during the fight, Ron approached Lockhart at a slow pace. Arriving in front of him, he put a finger under his nose to see if he was still alive.
Ron: "*Sigh* He's still alive." Ron didn't suspect it was some kind of trap, after all there was no reason for Lockhart to pretend when he already had him cornered.
Reaching out his hand, Ron picked up the wand that had fallen not far away.
Ron: "It's broken… The magic must have gone haywire like it did when mine broke and that's why there was an explosion *sigh* Hermione's going to be mad when she finds out. Now I just have to find mine"
Harry: "Ron! Are you okay? Ron!" Harry's muffled voice came from the other side of the rock wall.
Ron: "Harry, I'm fine."
Harry: "Ron, are you sure? I heard a lot of noise from there."
Ron: "Yeah, a few things happened but…"— Glancing at the unconscious Lockhart "It all ended well in the end. But this idiot didn't. The wand turned on him."
Harry: "And Hermione?"
Ron: "I don't know, she's still unconscious. But what now? We can't get through. It would take us forever to move all those rocks... ".
Harry: "There's no other choice. Wait here. Take care of Hermione and be careful with Lockhart. I'll go. If I'm not back in an hour… ".
Ron: "I'll try to remove some stones. So you can…so you can cross when you come back. And…"
Harry: "I'll be back." After that last word, Ron couldn't listen to Harry anymore.
Digging around a bit among the rocks and dust on the ground, Ron found his wand, luckily it hadn't broken.
He conjured some vines to tie Lockhart's hands, for safety, he didn't know what would happen when he woke up. He then transfigured a few things trying to make a more comfortable place for Hermione and finally turned his gaze to the rock wall.
Ron: "*sigh* It seems I have a big job ahead of me, besides…"—Glancing at the clear cracks in the continuous ceiling—"I have to be very careful if I don't want to end up completely buried."
With the end of his words, he began to move the rocks. The small and light ones he moved himself and the heavier ones he tried to move them with the levitating enchantment. Even so, there were still too many rocks and some were especially large and heavy and he couldn't just levitate them, not with his current mastery of the spell, plus he had to be careful with the structure.
.-.
.
Returning to the present.
Extimum still in his nine-tailed fox form slipped down the dark pipe. Having regained control of his form, he shrank back so that he could easily slide down the duct, however, he didn't dare return to his human form yet. He knew he hadn't lost the woman yet, and he wasn't entirely sure what would happen if she found out.
However, as he slid further and further down the pipe that seemed more like an endless slide, time began to pass second by second and he heard no trace of her coming close enough to hear her.
Extimum: "It seems that when I appeared, the tracking spell that made her appear right next to me lost its effect. I can no longer feel the magic that prevented me from regaining my form, which confirms that she is not close enough or… that she left the cane behind".
Soon, the slide came to an end. Upon landing, Extimum immediately reverted to his human form. He no longer felt so insecure and believed that the woman had not followed him or not at least immediately.
'At first I thought of using an excuse to explain my disappearance, but with the way things are, I'd better go with the flow and go with what everyone believes so far. The basilisk kidnapped me…and for some reason it didn't eat me. I just have to make sure Ginny doesn't talk or make it look like she didn't know anything'
Giving no more thought to the matter, Extimum went further into the dark cave he had come to.
He didn't turn on any lumos, not only so he wouldn't expose his location, but because he didn't need it either. His night vision allowed him to see the entire interior of the cave with perfect clarity. It was good that it worked under a more "magical" concept instead of a scientific/biological one, since if that was the case, then he would not be able to see anything as there was no light source nearby.
As he walked, he began to check himself for any abnormalities. Previously due to the high stress situation, he had barely been able to take care of himself and the situation, but now he had more time.
Most of his wounds were already closing and the most superficial ones had even completely disappeared. His tunic was in perfect condition, something that would have to be fixed later if he wanted to be convincing. There were no superficial signs of any spell on his body either, but without closer examination it would be hard to tell, however, something soon made him frown slightly.
'My connection to Hermione almost seems to have disappeared, just this slight feeling remains, very different from how it was before. I can clearly remember that before I was chased I could feel her clearly and the bond was strong, now it's almost non-existent. Something happened?'
The more he tried to feel the link, the more he frowned. That wasn't natural, that's not supposed to be how it works. In the current state, apart from being able to feel that she was still alive, he couldn't perceive anything else. Thinking about it, he sped up his pace through the cave.
After walking for a while, he arrive at a somewhat rugged area. Dust floated through the air, the walls and ceiling had marks of cracks and explosions, and the end of the path ended in a small hole through which a person could barely pass by lowering their heads.
Extimum: "Professor Lockhart?" Focusing his sight near the hole that was the only way to go, he noticed a blond man with somewhat tattered clothes.
Lockhart: "Who? Me? Do you know me?"
Extimum: 'Did he still end up losing his memory?' Extimum thought that with the small changes he made, things would turn out differently, after all, now not only did Ron have a working wand that could do more than just deter, but they also had Hermione with them.
Extimum: "Yes, I mean you. Do you know where the others are? Or rather, have you seen anyone around here?" As he spoke, he kept walking.
Lockhart: "Ah well, there was a boy with me before. I don't know who he was, but he was very bossy, he made me help him move all those stones, after that he went to the other side of the hole and told me to wait here.
Oh that's right, the boy also asked me to help him move a young lady, she was fast asleep, even when we moved her she didn't wake up. We put her on the other side, but he told me to stay away from her, so I don't know anything else."
Extimum: "I see, thanks for the information."
Lockhart: "You're welcome, have a nice day."
Extimum: "Yes... I'll do that. Oh, but first... Oblivate!". 'You won't remember seeing me pass by here.' Finishing his spell, Extimum went through the hole to the other side, leaving a stunned Lockhart.
He didn't feel guilty for messing with the mind of someone who already had it screwed up, after all, he was just erasing the last few seconds and not messing with his mind in depth. Not that he had the ability for that, of course.
Passing to the other side, he came across the large dry skin of the basilisk.
'I had forgotten this was here, not that I have many details on everything to begin with. Will the dried skin of the basilisk have any use? It doesn't look very suitable for making items, it's been dry for a long time, however, it might have some use as a potion ingredient.'
Taking his eyes off the long basilisk skin, he looked around and tried to feel the link with Hermione to find its location.
Although weak, given the small size of the cave, he soon found himself walking in a specific direction until he came upon a strange accumulation of rocks.
As he got closer and took a closer look, he realized that it was actually some kind of rudimentary shelter and through the cracks, he realized that there was something inside.
Moving a large rock that covered one of the sides and served as a door, he bowed his head and entered.
And there he saw her, stretched out on what looked like a straw mat.
Extimum: "Hermione."
Extimum hastened. The interior space was not very big and when he got in front of her he was almost crouching.
A rare tinge of concern crept between Extimum's eyes as he looked at her, especially as he focused what seemed like a jumble of mixed emotions around her head.
He took her wrist in one hand and pointed his wand with the other, silently casting all manner of diagnostic spells on her. His concern greatly decreased when he realized that his body was in perfect condition, however, it did not completely disappear due to what he could perceive with his empathy.
'Her body is fine, but her mind… '. He couldn't say exactly what the problem was, but something was clearly wrong. He didn't feel an exact emotion, it was just chaos, a real confused chaos.
'I must take her to Madam Pomfrey as soon as possible, but it can't be now…'. The situation did not allow it. The only way out of the place was where that crazy woman was and even in her human form, she didn't know what would happen when she found her. There was always the possibility that he was suspicious.
Plus he just couldn't show up at the infirmary, not when he's supposed to be missing.
Of course, even with that, Hermione's safety came first over mere "what ifs".
'Although I don't know if it will help, I can still try'. He had nothing in his bag that could help and he still had a sense of urgency for the crazy woman after him, yet there was still something he could try.
Focusing his mind, he gathered the purple energy and infused it into Hermione's body. He didn't know if it would work, but there was nothing to lose by trying.
The second his energy entered her body, he felt a sudden tug and suddenly, all the energy he infused was immediately sucked out, what's more, he felt that if it wasn't for his control, she would even try to suck the energy out of his body.
Feeling taken aback, he continued to infuse more energy into Hermione's body curiously. Time passed second by second and just as the purple magical energy in his body was about to run out, it stopped.
In the next second, he felt the chaotic state of Hermione's mind quieten and the previously nearly dead bond revive. But even though her mind quietened and the amalgamation of previous emotions disappeared, he didn't know if the main problem or its effects had disappeared.
'But I can't take any longer. I've taken too long, but leaving her here… Oh, right! Now I can use my magic again, I had forgotten.'
Taking Hermione into his arms, he waved his wand and disappeared.
**Jumble Pop**
.
.-.
--Pov Christelle--.
???: "You must go, nothing can happen to that child." The cold and indifferent voice of a man was heard from a face made of green fire in the fireplace of the place.
"But Brother, I have important matters in the ministry, besides, they must only be children's things, they tend to get lost-".
A chillingly sweet female voice was heard the moment the woman in the room opened her mouth.
? ??: "There is a basilisk." The man's voice sounded again, interrupting Christelle's words and creating a brief moment of silence, completely undisturbed by the woman's voice.
"Okay, I'll go, I needed a break after all, plus it's always good to pay a visit to reminisce about old times."
???: "Don't forget why I'm actually sending you there."
"Yes, yes. You worry too much, Callum. Your son, my nephew is a Shadowless after all, he'll be fine. Just leave it to me."
Callum: "It's because I know you that I say so. Ensure their safety first and then you can do whatever you want."
"Good…"
…
Christelle: "And how is my nephew? Is he a good student?"
Flitwick: "Oh yes, young Extimum is an excellent student, in fact he is the best of his year"
Christelle: "Wow? What the first? Nice to know he haven't disappointed the family name."
Flitwick: "Ahem, with all due respect Christelle, but it's not good to put burdens like a family's honor on a student's academic performance, especially since everyone doesn't have the same talents."
Christelle: "Oh, Professor Flitwick, it's not that I want to be antagonistic to you, but I'm sorry to disagree with your words. While it is true that not everyone has the same talents and therefore should not be measured in the same mold, but Extimum is first and foremost a Shadowless and as a member of the Shadowless family, performing no lower than third place academically is the bare minimum that is expected of him."
"But changing the subject, does Extimum play Quidditch? Or is he in some study group here at Hogwarts?"
Mcgonagall: "Miss Shadowless, young Extimum is currently only in his second year here at Hogwarts, so not to mention if he's made the Quidditch team, it would be quite rare if he even knew about study groups."
Christelle: "I see… And what is he like? I mean, what does he look like?"
McGonagall and Flitwick: "…"
…
"Wow? Do It dodge it? Now, that's interesting. I guess I should give you some points for that."
'Though I didn't cast the spell too seriously, but It shouldn't have been able to dodge it that easily. Though I haven't seen the Basilisk yet, this creature alone makes it completely worth coming here.'
Mcgonagall: "Miss Shadowless, I'll ask you to please be careful with the spells you use. Although destroying school property is still acceptable to deal with the current threat, but your sudden attack may have hurt the students."
"Hehehe, don't worry, Headmistress. My Shadowless family will pay for all the damages and as for the students, rest assured, I have a sense of myself."
"A basilisk, though…? Are you sure? Is this really the same creature that's been causing trouble?"
'No matter how I look at it, even if it's covered by that thick layer of mist, I don't feel like it's a basilisk. Otherwise, the expanse of mist would cover a much larger area and not as concentrated, yet this creature is very large on its own.'
'Neither is there any hissing sound or the putrid odor of basilisk breath and venom.'
Flitwick: 'Christelle, even if it's not the basilisk, given the current situation, it's best to capture or kill it. I already spoke with Principal Mcgonagall and Professor Sinistra. We will surround it and you will eliminate it'
'My, Professor, I didn't know you had also dabbled in the arts of the mind. On the other hand, that's a good idea, so-'.
Flitwick: 'Christelle? Something wrong?'
The beautiful face under the cloth mask creased as she inadvertently checked the device hidden in her cloak. It was a family artifact that was used to monitor the status of a relative and know their approximate location. It only worked with family members and a DNA sample from the person had to be offered.
And that same artifact, was pointing right in the direction of the creature made of mist in front of her.
Which could only mean two things.
The first option was that the creature in front of her was the nephew she had come looking for, which was quite ridiculous and unlikely. As for why? It was simple. Because the creature in front of her had a shadow. A real shadow.
No member of the Shadowless family in its long history after the founder of the family had ever had a shadow of its own. From there came the nickname with which they had been known in ancient times and which was later adopted as their last name.
Even when the Shadowless had offspring with members of the other ancient families or with ancient magical creatures/beings, they couldn't get their children to be born with their own shadow, no matter what lineage they mixed, that was a distinctive and unique characteristic of them.
For simple convenience, the Shadowless had developed a spell that created an artificial shadow, which was one of the first spells that each member learned to maintain appearances to the outside and in the case of children, it was their parents who cast it on them. Even so, any Shadowless could see at first glance if they concentrated hard enough when a shadow was artificial.
And the shadow of the creature in front of her wasn't fake, it was completely real. As a distinguished member of the Shadowless family and an accomplished mage in shadow magic that was one detail that couldn't mislead her at all.
So the second option was the most feasible. The creature in front of her had eaten her nephew or was carrying him with it.
And taking into account that the artifact marked that his nephew was still alive. No matter the situation within all that mist, she couldn't let that creature escape, nor could she carelessly attack it.
But considering that his nephew had been missing for quite some time now, it was unlikely that he was lying in the creature's stomach.
'Change of plans, I'll need you to please not interfere. I will deal with the creature myself. Let others know. Anyway, I think you guys still have a 'big' situation to take care of here.'
Its implications were obvious when looking at the army of students in front of them and those still elsewhere in the castle. There was a lot to put in order.
Flitwick: 'What? Why? Christelle? Christelle?! '
Ignoring the voice in her head, Christelle cut the mental link and focused all her attention back on the creature in front of her.
"Well, it doesn't matter anyway even if it's not a basilisk. You've appeared at a very bad time and you're clearly an unknown and dangerous creature, so…"
'No matter the situation, I must capture it without hurting it…too much.'
"Tristis tie". A spell shot out quickly and almost imperceptibly from Christelle's staff.
However, before it could take effect, the creature suddenly moved, a second before the spell could take effect, it jumped high into the air and then took a strange turn and ran over all the students.
'Do It anticipate it? Is it a creature sensitive to shadows? It doesn't matter, you won't be able to run away from me.'
'Semper in umbra!'.
An invisible spell slithered under everyone's feet and attached itself to the shadow of the creature that had just landed on the other side, seconds before it bolted down the hall at full speed.
'? It's surprisingly fast, plus it can somehow…step on the void? It's clearly not flying. Hahahaha This creature is getting more and more interesting. I can't wait to catch it.'
*pop*
"Oh my, where do you think you're going little cloud?" Before the creature could get too far away, Christelle activated the spell's effect and apparated directly at its back.
'Hehehe, I can't see it because of all this fog, but I can imagine the surprised face it must be making right now.'
'Oh my, it can run fast. **Crack Crack**. its footsteps are also quite strong.'
"Hehehehe, oh, come on, don't be shy, I'm really intrigued by what's hiding under all that purple mist, also…you smell strangely of poison and…of dark magic."
'The aroma is unmistakable and comes from the layer of mist that surrounds it.'
"That's right, run, run…" 'That just makes the experience more fun when I catch you.'
As if heeding her words, the creature in front of her again increased the speed with which it moved even more.
*pop*
'It's pretty fast. Although I have dealt with some much faster ones. It's not a problem to keep up with its speed, although it does take some effort. Wait, do It accelerate even more? Fascinating'
'**Hoo** Looks like I'll need a boost if I want to continue. 'Aequalitatem status'.
Another invisible spell shot out, impacting the figure of the running creature just before it was lost as it turned into a hallway.
…
'**Haaa** That damned creature, how dare it hit me? **Deep breath** *sigh* Not yet…hehehe. Let's first ensure my nephew's safety and then…'. Images of all kinds began to run through Christelle's mind as she imagined the torment she would put its through.
After recovering a bit and taking advantage of the speed boost from the last spell he had cast, she managed to follow it with the artifact to the area of the stairs, but when she looked down, it was nowhere to be seen.
*pop*
'There you are!'
"Expulso!"
**Swoosh** *Slam* *Boom**
"Where do you think you're going in such a hurry?"
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, you shouldn't have thrown yourself like that, don't you know that the stairs are for something? It's not like I expected a mere beast to understand something like that though."
Creature: "GRrr *Heavy breathing*." The creature tried to get up with clear pain and although with difficulty it still got up again.
'That's it, writhe in pain and misery.'
However, contrary to Christelle's expectations, the creature did not start running again as it had been doing, which soured her enthusiasm a bit.
"Wow? Did you get tired of running so fast? That's not fun, I thought we'd have a little more fun…"— Giving a little wait and not moving from her place, Christelle looked expectantly, only to be disappointed when she didn't see its move— "Hmm ? Nothing? Maybe it's finally time for a desperate fight?"
Emotion could almost be felt bubbling up in Christelle as she uttered those last words.
However, she soon sensed a disturbance from the creature.
"Hmm? Trying to use your magic? Kukuku, you can try all you want, but it won't work. Ha! See this beautiful staff of mine here? It's specially made to deal with beings like you, once I use it, it causes all the magical creatures in the surrounding area to go into chaos, unable to control themselves.
Something very useful when dealing with elusive or sneaky creatures.
In fact, you're already quite outstanding from your monstrous physical ability alone, plus you seem strangely calm…a fine specimen to be sure, jujujuju, although it's disappointing, as this usually doesn't have much of an effect on mythical creatures, so perhaps, You're not that special..."
"Well, that's fun enough I guess, I still have a big snake to catch, so make haste to put up your desperate fight or die like the good beast that you are." As Christelle spoke her words, the tip of the staff she was holding began to glow dimly.
She wasn't planning on killing it, no, that would be too easy and under the current assumption, also potentially bad for her objectives, but at least if she planned to hit it hard enough to knock it out completely.
"Hmm ? The cloud dissipates?" Just as she was about to act, Christelle noted with surprise that the layers of mist that enveloped the creature were beginning to thin and dissipate.
However, before she could see in more detail, she was swept away by an irresistible force.
**Pop Jumble**
.
Second floor, Bathrooms.
**Boom**
Christelle appeared somewhere else abruptly, but before she could steady herself, the momentum she was carrying sent her body flying and colliding with a bathroom stall and hitting her hard.
"Ugh, damn creature, so you could teleport too? But... how?, your magic should be sealed." Christelle let out a weak moan as she got up a little unsteadily from the floor and tried to recover from the hard and unexpected blow.
Nothing had been broken luckily, but the blow had still been hard.
"Heh, looks like I'll have to get serious or a lowly creature like you will start getting too trusting."
"Shadow Banishment!"
A dark glow immediately expanded from the tip of the staff in her hand and began to cover the entire bathroom room with her body as the center. Erasing every trace of light and form as if devouring them from existence.
But just as the darkness was about to close all gaps for the creature in front of her to escape and devour it as well. The creature leaped and dove into a large hole in the middle of the bathroom next to it.
"*UGhh* It escaped and By Erebus where did a hole in the whole center of the bathroom come from?"
"It doesn't matter. As long as I can still track it, it won't be able to escape, but I sense that something is not quite right, there is something strange with the situation, perhaps the tracking device is malfunctioning?"
At the last moment the fog had dissipated enough and although she was unable to fully appreciate the true form of the creature, she did not see anything that would give her clues as to her nephew's situation.
Besides, if the creature had been able to teleport all this time, why didn't it do it sooner?
'Unless something prevented it? There was a trace of dark magic in the creature, but at first I thought it was because it was a creature of a dark nature. Although I still can't eliminate that possibility entirely, but if so, it would explain why it only teleported now. This is getting more and more interesting.'
Even so, there was still something that didn't quite add up in Christelle's mind. If the creature was already free of what ailed it and was able to teleport ignoring the effects of its staff, then why did it jump into the hole? Why didn't it just teleport back?
Most magical creatures don't think too much, they just follow their instinct, if they can just disappear why would they bother doing anything else? So perhaps there was more involved here and the teleportation had been more of an accident.
'Besides'. Taking a look at the hole in the middle of the bathroom.
'I might have ended up discovering something more important in the process. For now, I should let the teachers know that I have the situation covered so they don't become a nuisance later, plus, I must close all access and exit from this bathroom, lest it try to turn back and escape through here later.'
With those thoughts in mind, she began writing and sending various messages on paper airplanes to report the situation, and then set about setting up barriers to seal off the entire bathroom. Nothing would escape from that hole while she was in this castle.
…
As she finished setting up the wards, her attention was once again drawn to the tracking device. The device's compass was beginning to go crazy and spin in all directions.
When it finally stopped, its needle pointed in the opposite direction that it had pointed before and was now pointing up instead of down.
'Did it really break down? No. Did the creature teleport again?'
However, a few seconds later, the compass took another crazy turn and again changed the direction it was pointing a few moments ago, stopping pointing up and pointing down again.
'Strange, if it can really teleport why does it return almost immediately? Well, it shows that there's something strange and as long as it's still down there, it won't escape now as long as there's no other way out down there.'
There was also another possibility that had been on Christelle's mind ever since she had been chasing the creature.
The device actually has the ability to show the location of the person, but its operation was based on trying to find where the same DNA was found. So if that creature had eaten or carried a substantial part of Extimum's DNA with it, then the artifact wouldn't be able to tell the difference for a while at the same time.
Nor could it indicate the direction or differentiate the main body from one of its parts. So if Extimum had lost a leg or an arm and was in that creature's stomach, she would be wasting her time.
"Here we go"
Walking towards the hole that was a large pipe in the bathroom, Christelle dove.
--End Pov--.
.-.
**Pop Jumble**
**panting**
Landing in his room, Extimum landed almost on his knees. Performing the apparition once in a day was already very strenuous for him since neither of his magical sides could sustain the casting of the spell and only by using them at the same time could he achieve it.
So doing it 2 times without too much time apart and even having to do it for a third time to come back, had him extremely exhausted.
Still, with an effort, he got up and still with Hermione in his arms, he walked over to his bed and deposited her there, then he hurried to his cupboard and took out some potions, putting them on the nightstand next to the bed.
As he did so, his movement caught the attention of Bloom who flew out of the room's bathroom.
Bloom: "Extimum, you finally came back, what happened? Did you stay sleeping with Luna?" Bloom asked innocently unaware of all the commotion that had occurred outside.
Extimum stopped for a moment, he think it would have been very good if he had made that decision and never left Luna's room, but he quickly shook off those thoughts.
Too bad there wasn't a What If… Also.
He knew enough about shadow magic and it was precisely because he knew it, that he wasn't entirely sure that he had completely shaken off that woman who seemed to be his relative. He had gotten rid of what made her arrive right next to him in a second yes.
But he barely knew a few spells in that regard and even among those few, he also knew one that could leave an almost undetectable tracking mark on the target. If he knew it himself, why not her? From what he had seen, she was someone who enjoyed playing with people, so it wouldn't be too unusual for her to have learned that.
And if so, the last thing he wanted is for the creature that created chaos throughout the school to be linked to him.
He had to spend considerable time analyzing whether there was something off about the first one and it wasn't something he could do in a short time. So every second counted and he couldn't stay here long.
Bloom: "Wait, is that Hermione?"
Extimum: "No, I didn't, but I don't have time to explain the situation right now. Take care of her and give her one of those three potions at your discretion, bye"
Bloom: "But-".
**Pop Jumble**
Bloom: "*sigh* What's happening now?"
.-.
**Pop Jumble**
Extimum reappeared again in the dark cave, next to the dried skin of the basilisk. This time he landed directly on his knees and arms as soon as he landed.
Extimum: "The price is too high...*gasp* Ughh, even so"— Relying on his physical strength and will, he ignored the great physical-mental wear and tear and got up from the rocky ground—"I must continue, find a somewhat hidden place and with difficult access if possible. As long as I have a full 5 minutes without any distractions, I should be able to be sure I'm not being followed."
It was a pity that while Extimum made the correct assumption, he had missed the methods they were actually following up with.
.
REFLEXIONES DE LOS CREADORES 
Zeroz7
Zeroz7 I wanted to upload the chapter on Saturday, but I was not satisfied, so I just uploaded it :/
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