After the end of the Easter holiday, the students of Hogwarts were surprised to find that their Dark Arts Defense professor had disappeared?
The seventh-year students attending the Advanced Dark Arts Defense class were the first to notice this issue. They were puzzled as to why Professor Smith hadn't shown up for class. The student council president had to inform Professor McGonagall about this matter.
However, what surprised them even more was that Professor McGonagall was also unaware of what had happened.
The news of Professor Smith's disappearance spread throughout the entire school like a plague.
Everyone was discussing this matter and wondering where Professor Smith had gone and why he hadn't come to teach.
Most students believed that Professor Smith might have resigned early. After all, the case of Professor Brode from the previous semester was still fresh in their minds. The only question was why Professor Smith hadn't informed anyone in advance.
Professor McGonagall was also unable to contact her missing colleague and had to inform Dumbledore about the situation.
Dumbledore, who was dealing with the Philosopher's Stone issue, hurried back to the school to learn more.
Hogwarts Castle, Headmaster's office on the eighth floor.
Professor McGonagall was explaining the current situation to Dumbledore.
"My owls sent to contact Rovina haven't been able to reach him, and he didn't mention where he was going before." Professor McGonagall's brows furrowed deeply. Although she was reluctant to admit it, the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor was indeed one of the most dangerous in the wizarding world, and it changed every year. That was an undeniable fact.
"Did he not mention anything about going anywhere to anyone?" Dumbledore asked as he listened to Professor McGonagall's report.
"No," Professor McGonagall said, "Mr. Anderson, the MacDougal sisters, and Rovina had more interaction. I've already asked all three of them, but none of them know where Smith went."
"When was the last time he was seen in the school?" Dumbledore asked again.
"Ten days ago," Professor McGonagall replied. She didn't pay much attention to it, as professors also needed holidays. They couldn't be required to stay in the school even during breaks. "By the way, Rovina's family is also searching for him everywhere."
Professor McGonagall placed the Daily Prophet on Dumbledore's desk.
Dumbledore intertwined his hands on the table and fell into a brief silence. Actually, Dumbledore didn't have many options at this point. It had been too long since Rovina's disappearance, and some tracking spells might not even work anymore.
"Let's first see if we can find any news about Rovina. If there are no results... I'll think of other ways!" Dumbledore glanced at the missing person notice in the Daily Prophet and then continued, "Hogwarts professors are all quite busy, and they don't have time to look into this matter. I'm also swamped with matters right now."
"What should we do about the Dark Arts Defense class?" Professor McGonagall asked.
"We can have Severus cover the class, or..." Dumbledore's words suddenly trailed off as his gaze moved to the fireplace in the office, where green flames were flickering. A figure emerged from the flames.
"Your timing is perfect, Bard!" Dumbledore greeted the newcomer with a smile.
"I heard that Rovina went missing, and our old buddy Gabby is trying to find his whereabouts through various channels. He asked me to come to Hogwarts and see what's going on. Gabby's not in a good condition, you know, Rovina was practically his most promising successor," Professor Brode said with some helplessness. "I corresponded with Rovina via letters just half a month ago. How could he suddenly disappear?"
"I don't know either. We're still in the dark at the moment," Professor McGonagall said as she exchanged greetings with her former colleague. "Rovina left Hogwarts during the Easter holiday, and no one knows where he went."
This matter was indeed very sensitive. The position of Dark Arts Defense professor was not well-received, and now another professor had gone missing. Professor McGonagall was even worried that this might discourage other applicants. What would they do if they couldn't find a professor?
"Oh, Bard, there's something I'd like to ask you to do!" Dumbledore suddenly said, changing the topic. "Could you come back and help..."
"No, I can't. The position of Dark Arts Defense professor is too ominous. I even suspect that Rovina's disappearance might be related to that damn curse," Professor Brode flatly declined Dumbledore's invitation and added self-mockingly, "Thank goodness I left quickly last year; that's the only reason I haven't had bad luck yet."
Professor McGonagall furrowed her brows, but she had to admit that the man before her was the luckiest Defense Against the Dark Arts professor in the past few decades.
"No, I just want you to come back and substitute for classes. I've already found a new Dark Arts Defense professor for the next semester," Dumbledore kindly reminded him. "If you stay at the school, maybe you'll be able to find some useful clues about Rovina's case."
"Substitute... alright!" Professor Brode stroked his beard and agreed, "Just these two months."
Rovina Smith's disappearance drew the attention of the magical world. The Smith family offered a substantial reward and used various methods, but they still couldn't find any trace of him. It was as if he had evaporated from the mortal world.
"The prophecy failed."
Nicolas Flamel looked at the crystal, which showed no change at all, and shook his head. "I think... the person
you're looking for might be dead."
Undoubtedly, this was the worst news Dumbledore had heard so far.
"Dead?"
"A dead person has no future, nor does he need one," Nicolas Flamel explained. "Of course, it's also possible that someone used very powerful magic on him, interfering with my prophecy. However, that possibility is quite slim."
"This is terrible!"
Dumbledore was considering whether he should inform his old friend about this matter.
What he didn't know was that Gabby Smith had already known about it long ago and was well aware of the truth. Everything he had done was just a disguise.
Of course, Rovina's death was also a heavy blow to the old man, who was almost a hundred years old.
After taking over Smith's position, Professor Brode gradually erased the lingering traces.
Mr. Mog had turned Smith's remains into a stone and buried it in a hidden place deep within the Forbidden Forest. No one would ever know where Rovina Smith was, let alone finding his body.
The students at Hogwarts were curious about what had happened to Professor Smith, but upon hearing that Professor Brode would be substituting as the teacher, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. After all, Professor Brode was equally reliable.
Rumors spread once again throughout the school, suggesting that the Dark Arts Defense professor had been cursed, and that was why Professor Smith had mysteriously disappeared.
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(End of this chapter)