Volume 1 Chapter 37 Little Boots
"Da, da, da, da..."
There was a very light sound that was unlikely to attract other people's attention, but it made Jon, whose left ear was pressed against the floor through the sleeping bag, couldn't help but tense up.
He knew what he had been waiting for was coming!
The faint sound of footsteps came from far away and gradually approached. The people walking on the corridor seemed to be very cautious, not daring to move too quickly, but just moving forward step by step.
Soon, the sound reached Jon's ears. He held his breath and saw a pair of worn leather boots through the gap under the wooden door !
The boots were not very big and obviously not suitable for adults, but they looked very suitable for the owner, as if... as if the owner of the feet was about the same age as Jon and the others!
Jon was stunned at first, but he didn't have time to think about it. He quickly got out of the sleeping bag and didn't risk opening the door. Instead, he went straight to Mag who was keeping watch in the middle of the restaurant.
"There's someone outside, Professor!"
Mag's face had never been so serious. She did not express any doubt about Jon's words, but immediately stood up and walked quickly to the door of the restaurant and opened it!
The moment she looked towards the corridor, a door was gently closed.
Mag drew out her wand. Without looking back, she slowly closed the door of the restaurant with her hands behind her back.
The lights in the corridor were not very bright, but they were enough for her to clearly know that there was indeed someone here!
Walking to the place where the figure disappeared, Mag found that the doors here were close to each other. Mag was not sure which room the figure had hidden in, and she did not blindly go in to search.
Now that Slughorn was injured and Filch's fighting ability was not to be mentioned, Hagrid had to keep a close eye on the carriage in such a situation. She was the only one protecting the entire carriage. If a battle broke out on the carriage, she would not have any more energy to ensure the safety of the students.
Without any hesitation, McGonagall walked quickly to the end of the corridor and to the door of Dumbledore's office. The door was not locked, so she pushed it open. There was no one inside, only a phoenix with colorful feathers standing on a golden branch, staring at McGonagall who had opened the door.
"Fox, you need to go to the square and ask Moody and Kingsley to bring people here immediately!"
Fox tilted its bird's head, then it spread its crimson wings. A golden light enveloped its entire body, and then it disappeared into the office.
The carriage was cast with the same anti-Apparition spell as the Hogwarts Castle. Wizards had no way of teleporting directly into the carriage and had to rely on the power of the phoenix.
While waiting, Mag stood in the corridor to make sure no one came out of any room.
She didn't have to wait long before the entire corridor was illuminated by the same golden light that Fox had left. The scarlet bird landed with seven or eight people, including an old wizard with a disabled body, a young and beautiful fashionable witch, and a dark-skinned wizard with a calm gaze.
"What's going on, Mag?"
Moody's magic fake eye kept spinning, and as soon as he arrived at the carriage, he began to scout the surroundings.
Mag took a deep breath and quickly explained the current situation.
"We have encountered Death Eaters. Dumbledore and his men are trying to stop them. Slughorn is seriously injured and is lying in the infirmary. But now a person who shouldn't be here has come into the carriage. I have to look after the students and don't have the energy to continue the search. I need your help!"
Moody calmly drew out his wand, and the seven wizards and witches who came from the square beside him also held their wands upright in front of them.
"Of course. The last time something happened, we were busy in Finland with something that Dumbledore had assigned us, so we couldn't come. We will definitely not miss anything this time."
"I haven't been back for a long time. I really miss this place." The fashionable witch with curly hair like pink bubble gum took a deep breath of the air in the car with a look of enjoyment.
The dark-skinned wizard with gold earrings beside her reminded her.
"Don't treat this as a homecoming. You've been through some things, Tonks. Stay alert and be vigilant."
"Of course I know. It's a pity that Bill and the others are still in Finland, otherwise they would definitely clamor to come together."
Moody, the leader, glared at them with his one remaining eye.
"Disperse! Stop chatting and check all the rooms in the carriage immediately!"
The wizards of the Order of the Phoenix skillfully began to separate into groups of two and began to carefully examine the few rooms that Magg had pointed out to them.
Mag returned to the dining hall. Most of the students had fallen asleep and were not alarmed by the sudden incident on the carriage. Jon was still thinking about the pair of boots he had just seen through the crack in the door.
Mag did not wake up the other little wizards. After coming back, she took Jon directly to an empty corner of the restaurant and spoke solemnly.
"Grimm, tell me everything you saw."
Without hesitation, Jon told everything he had seen and all the guesses that had just come to his mind.
"I saw someone walk through the crack in the door, Professor. He didn't look like a grown wizard, and his boots were so small and worn, unless he was of the same build as Professor Flitwick."
Mag frowned and looked at the shoes on Jon's feet.
"Are those boots bigger than the shoes you wear?"
Jon said, shaking his head.
"It's about the same size as my shoes, but looks a little smaller."
His words made Mag go and confirm the number of first and second graders in the restaurant. After checking and finding no missing people, she fell into deep thought, while Jon whispered a reminder beside her.
"Professor, I think it's unlikely that the man is a little wizard, and people with this body type in the wizarding world are not necessarily wizards."
Mag turned around suddenly and stared at Jon.
"Tell me whatever's on your mind, Green."
"When I was reading in the library, I learned that there had been rebellions by humanoid magical creatures in the wizarding world before, professor." Jon said calmly, "The goblin rebellion. The book says that they are generally small in stature and use a different set of magic from wizards. And house-elves, these creatures have always been servants of pure-blood wizards. They are loyal to their masters and can use magic. More importantly, they are also short in stature like goblins!"
