Chapter 92: "Fletcher's Quest"

With the new year bringing its chill to the halls of Hogwarts, life within its ancient walls quickly returned to the usual pace of magical learning and lively student interactions. Classrooms buzzed with activity, the corridors echoed with the footsteps of students moving from one class to another, and the air was often filled with the sound of laughter or the occasional gasp following a spell that didn't quite work as intended. This peaceful return to everyday school life, however, was soon disturbed by unsettling events that began to worry everyone.

Students began reporting incidents where they were mysteriously found passed out in the corridors, either by themselves or in small groups. Strangely, none of them seemed to be hurt in any way.

Initially, these incidents were brushed off by many as just another bold series of pranks, adding a new twist to the ongoing trend of practical jokes at Hogwarts. However, as more students became victims of these unexplained fainting episodes, what started as curiosity turned into genuine concern. The laughter and dismissive attitudes gave way to a growing sense of unease and worry among the school's community.

It was noted that the majority of the affected students came from pureblood families, with only a few half-bloods impacted and none of the muggle-borns. This didn't go unnoticed by the school's faculty, who took swift action to investigate the matter more closely. They were particularly eager to manage the situation quietly, hoping to avoid alarming the victims' influential families.

The matter was of particular concern to Dumbledore, who was keen to keep the investigation internal. The prospect of the Board of Governors or, worse, the Aurors becoming involved was something Dumbledore wished to avoid at all costs. The idea of external parties interfering or challenging his authority over Hogwarts was unacceptable. He was determined to solve this mystery without losing his grip on the school's affairs or allowing others to dictate how it should be managed.

The school buzzed with speculation and whispers about the attacks.

In a cozy corner of the library, during their regular get-together, Harry and his group of friends delved into discussions about the eerie incidents shaking up their school life.

"Why would someone go after students, especially targeting purebloods?" Reggy voiced his confusion, his brow furrowed in thought.

Alicia, always quick to analyze, chimed in with her perspective, "It doesn't seem random at all, especially since no one's actually getting hurt. It's all very puzzling."

Harry, who had been quietly listening, offered a piece of advice grounded in his observations, "Best not to wander alone for now. From what I've gathered, it seems like there's just one person behind this. Stick together in groups, at least four or more, and you should be fine."

Nods of agreement circled among the friends, all deciding to heed Harry's suggestion for safety.

Harry had his suspicions about who was behind these attacks. Professor Fletcher had caught his attention, and Harry had taken to monitoring the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher through the Marauder's Map.

While the faculty hurried to piece together the puzzle of the attacks, Harry remained a silent observer from the margins. His careful surveillance of Professor Fletcher had already given him significant clues. Determined to confirm his suspicions, Harry resolved to shadow Fletcher in person, to catch him in the act if possible.

One evening, hidden under his invisibility cloak, Harry patiently waited outside the door to Professor Fletcher's quarters. It wasn't long before Fletcher appeared, dressed entirely in black. Making sure no one was around, he started casting various spells around himself, similar to the ones Harry had used to make sure he wouldn't be seen or heard.

With a final Disillusionment Charm on himself, Fletcher disappeared from view, blending into the air itself. Despite this, Harry, with the help of the Marauder's Map, could keep an eye on Fletcher's every move. The map showed everyone in Hogwarts, making it impossible for Fletcher to truly disappear.

Fletcher moved stealthily through the school's dim corridors, searching for students unaware of his presence. Harry, following silently, was curious to see what Fletcher was up to.

After a while, Fletcher encountered two Hufflepuff prefects on patrol, tasked with keeping the corridors safe and looking out for any trouble, including the recent string of pranks.

Harry watched on the map, as Fletcher stealthily approached the two and then suddenly, two quick bursts of red light shot out, striking the unsuspecting pair. These were clear signs of stunning spells being cast.

As soon as Fletcher cast these spells, he became visible again. Harry was quietly impressed by Fletcher's skill at casting such quick and silent stunning spells. This proved Harry's suspicion that Fletcher was indeed a powerful wizard, which meant Harry had to be cautious around him.

Observing quietly, Harry saw Fletcher take a small blade, carefully making a tiny cut on one of the students' fingers to collect a drop of blood. Fletcher then pulled out an old, round object and carefully placed the drop of blood in the center of it, hoping for some kind of reaction.

Fletcher stood there for a moment, watching the object closely, waiting for something to happen. But when the object showed no change, Fletcher expressed his disappointment with a muttered "another failure" and moved on to the other student to try the same experiment, only to be met with another failure yet again. He then proceeded to heal the wounds for them, hiding the objective of the attacks from the other Professors.

Watching Fletcher's actions gave Harry a clear idea of what was happening. Fletcher seemed to be on a hunt for a special kind of blood. This unique blood was needed to activate the old, round object that Fletcher had. Harry thought this object was a key to some hidden treasure, probably located in the library—a place Fletcher had already caused chaos in before.

The targets of Fletcher's attacks were mainly students from pureblood families, which hinted to Harry that Fletcher was on the lookout for blood from a specific magical family line. He figured Fletcher was betting on the close ties within pureblood families to lead him to the lucky person whose blood would work with the antique key.

After piecing this together, Harry decided to head back to his dorm quietly. The fact that students were being attacked was definitely worrying, but Harry chose not to step in and stop Fletcher. 

Harry thought that stopping Fletcher was something the Hogwarts faculty should handle, not him. He didn't want to be a hero. Besides, Harry was really curious about the treasure Fletcher was looking for. He decided it was best to let Fletcher figure out how to get to the treasure. That way, Harry could just come in at the end and take the treasure for himself without having to do all the hard work.

Unknown to Harry, he wasn't the only one keeping an eye on Fletcher's search for the hidden treasure. Back in Dumbledore's office, Snape and Dumbledore were deep in discussion about the same issue.

Snape, frustrated, said, "I can't understand why we're not stopping Fletcher. He's clearly behind the destruction in the library and these recent attacks on students."

Dumbledore replied calmly, "Fletcher is after something specific. I'm curious to find out what that is. Since the students he's targeted haven't been hurt, I've decided to let him continue his search. If no one is seriously injured, it's worth seeing what secret treasure he's chasing within Hogwarts."

"But we're running out of time," Snape countered. "Some of my Slytherin students have already told their parents about the attacks, and since most of the victims are purebloods, there's talk of blaming muggle-born students and escalating this to the Ministry."

Dumbledore asked Snape to keep the parents calm for the time being. "I'll allow Fletcher another month at most. We can't delay any longer without attracting the Aurors' attention. Let's hope he finds what he's looking for soon."

"Why not just capture him and extract the information directly from his memories?" Snape suggested, looking for a quicker resolution.

Dumbledore stayed quiet. He knew that capturing Fletcher and checking his memories was the simplest solution, but Dumbledore often liked to let situations unfold on their own. He preferred waiting for someone else to solve the problem, which would let him avoid getting his own hands dirty while still enjoying any positive outcomes that came from it.

Despite his reluctance to intervene directly, Dumbledore couldn't deny his intrigue about what Fletcher was desperately seeking. Having been at Hogwarts for many years, he wondered what secrets the castle still hid from him and was eager to see what Fletcher might uncover.

As the attacks continued without a clear resolution, the atmosphere at Hogwarts remained tense. Harry, meanwhile, kept a watchful eye on Fletcher, biding his time and waiting for the right moment to uncover the secrets that lay hidden within the walls of the ancient school.