Chapter 807: Chapter 181: Skeleton Under the Moon_2

Dumbledore said gently, "Severus, I believe curiosity is the most precious spark of wisdom, don’t you agree?"

He looked at Vid, his face showing approval, and smiled:

"Moreover, while Muggle knowledge lacks the intricacies of magic, their understanding of the world is equally astonishing."

Karkaroff clicked his tongue lightly, showing some disdain on his face, but said nothing.

"That’s right. But knowledge is like Felix Felicis, a proper amount can bring good luck, but too much can bring disaster."

Adesso added, "Curiosity is the same... an overly strong desire for knowledge is a vice, just like Grindelwald once was."

If it weren’t for that person’s intense "curiosity" about Dark Magic, he wouldn’t have been expelled from his school when he was young.

Dumbledore agreed, saying, "So Muggles have another saying—curiosity killed the cat. But I think children can understand what moderate exploration is."

He patted Vid on the shoulder, walked over with large strides, squatted down, and the tip of his wand glowed with a soft light as he carefully examined the skeletal remains.

Moody, who had already conducted an inspection, turned his head, with his Magic Eye spinning crazily in its socket, while his regular eye stared sharply at the three of them.

"Tell me... how did you discover these remains? Did you touch anything here?"

"It’s like this..."

Rolf glanced at Luna and proactively took the blame for wandering around at night: "Because one of our Tree-Protector Lofa friends hasn’t been well recently, I thought I’d find it something tasty..."

With an incident like this, there’s no point in hiding that they once "coveted" the small beetle parasitic on the Divine Talisman Horse. Rolf had learned since he was young from his grandfather that the truth is a more powerful weapon than lies.

However, sometimes, he also knew how to tell only part of the truth.

Rolf recounted their activities for the night, carefully omitting the part about Madam Maxime and Hagrid’s quarrel, pretending they went to the stable afterwards, especially emphasizing "after seeing Professor Hagrid leave."

When Dumbledore led a group of people out of the castle, some students who were still awake in the carriage saw them. They hurried to report to Madam Maxime, so she also donned a cloak and rushed over.

With the third match imminent, even though Clementine’s hope of winning wasn’t high, Madam Maxime wasn’t giving up and would not allow herself to be excluded by the other judges.

As she approached, she heard Rolf mention the "Divine Talisman Horse," and her steps halted for a moment, her expression somewhat unnatural.

Upon hearing that they hadn’t seen their quarrel, her tense face slightly relaxed, and she quickened her pace to move closer, looking at the remains in the pit and then at the others’ expressions, standing quietly to listen.

Skipping the small talk, Vid and their actions weren’t complex, and Rolf finished recounting in a few minutes.

The Tree-Protector Lofa Ailuo, not fully recovered yet, lay in Luna’s palm, indirectly serving as a "witness."

Afterward, the professors didn’t ask any questions.

Dumbledore straightened up, his expression grave, and said, "Someone used extremely evil Dark Magic on these remains, dissolving the flesh and clothing. This magic is very ancient and rare; I haven’t seen it in many years."

"Regarding... the identity of these remains..." Madam Maxime asked cautiously, "Do you have any thoughts?"

Dumbledore lowered his eyes, paused for a moment, then said, "Regrettably, the magic destroyed too many traces. I can only say... he’s a male wizard, at least over 60 years old."

"Could it be some missing older wizards?" Karkaroff said slickly, "We all know, some old folks live in seclusion, and even if they lose contact, no one cares."

Moody snorted, speaking gruffly, "Has your brain been kicked by a troll? If it’s an old guy nobody cares about when they die, why bother handling the remains like this? And hide them in Hogwarts? Do you have a hobby of hiding remains in other people’s yards?"

Karkaroff’s face turned pale, his goatee trembled slightly, but his eyes quickly blinked and darted around after meeting Moody’s Magic Eye, suppressing his anger.

"So the key is..."

Moody’s gaze shifted to the remains, slowly saying, "Why are they here? Why handle the remains this way?"

"What are you implying, Moody?" Snape asked coldly.

Moody locked both of his eyes on Snape, his rough voice dripping with sarcasm: 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

"I’m merely stating a possibility... the murderer might be trying to cover something... perhaps with the help of certain individuals, infiltrating the school assuming the identity of an unfortunate person."

Professor McGonagall inhaled sharply: "Are you suggesting... the murderer might be hiding in the castle right now, disguised as someone else?"

Moody nodded, his eyes still fixed on Snape, not hiding who his real suspect was.

A dangerous gleam appeared in Snape’s eyes: "If you’re insinuating—"

"Alright, gentlemen."

Dumbledore intervened gently but firmly, stepping forward to form a soft barrier between them.

"Now is not the time for mutual suspicion. Alastor, I trust Severus is not the one you need to question... Severus, I hope you understand we need to be especially cautious now."