Aurora recognized the visitor in surprise in her heart.
Ian, on the other hand, had a somewhat peculiar expression.
Could it be that Snape's office gets so many visits every night?
It shouldn't be!
How much wealth would it take to withstand such waste!
"Eagle's eyeballs, serpent's nerves..." Even when no one else was around, the frail Quirrell still looked weak as he stealthily carried out a theft in Snape's office—seeing this fellow steal several materials before leaving, Ian stopped Aurora, who was curious and wanted to follow.
"We have to be cautious, this professor doesn't look like a good person at a glance." Ian's words were acknowledged by Aurora, as a thief couldn't possibly be considered a good person.
As for her and Ian... they weren't good people to begin with either.
"This guy didn't return to his dormitory." Ian observed Quirrell's whereabouts through the Living Map, seeing him enter a desolate, unused classroom.
"Should we catch him? Then say the things were stolen by him." Aurora was a bit dumbfounded seeing the materials Ian had bagged as if on a sweeping spree.
She realized she had still underestimated Ian's methods.
"He won't admit it."
Ian minimized the bag and stuffed it into his pocket.
"So perhaps let there be no evidence to support it?"
Aurora, holding her Magic Wand, seemed eager to try.
"That wouldn't be good, would it?"
Ian hesitated for a moment, "Attacking our professor in Hogwarts Castle is improper behavior, and I suspect he's already allied with some very troublesome dark forces."
He thought as long as it wasn't the noseless one himself, dealing with one or two Death Eaters wasn't much trouble; Quirrell's recent behavior had already sufficiently shown that he had become a turncoat. The materials he took were key to many Dark Arts, and crucially, there was a faint blood scent about him.
"My grandfather's Saints now listen to me."
Aurora blinked her eyes.
The meaning in her straightforward words was self-evident.
"Let's first see what he's up to!" Ian also didn't wish for Quirrell to create any disturbances to interrupt his peaceful studies, but evidently, he had more to consider than Aurora.
Checking the markings on the map.
Ian, with Aurora, slowly approached the empty classroom where Quirrell was—they both maintained the Illusionary Body Spell, and Ian cleared away anything in the surroundings that might make noise if accidentally touched. They stood outside the window peering in, seeing that Quirrell was indeed performing Dark Arts as Ian had anticipated.
Not having returned to his dormitory, likely for fear of leaving traces of Dark Arts there. In the center of the classroom was an empty basin filled to the brim with blood. Quirrell was using the materials he had stolen to perform Ritual Magic, muttering unintelligible spells.
As the blood in the basin began bubbling as if boiling, it eventually formed a grotesque face, making Quirrell immediately kneel on the ground in a state of anxious reverence.
"Master~"
His voice was full of sycophancy.
"Is the item still there?"
The face formed by the blood spoke with a hoarse voice.
"I went to that room, but your treasure wasn't there." Quirrell answered with a shivering voice, tense as he kept glancing around nervously.
Maybe fearing Dumbledore, who had left the school, would suddenly return—clearly worrying unnecessarily, as he probably didn't know Dumbledore had already fallen in love with avoiding work.
"Just as expected!"
The blood-formed face surged fiercely, showing visible frustration, "When Aflisson Carlo disappeared without sending back any message, I had a feeling. I didn't think someone could actually find what I hid. Damned fool didn't even find out who took it away!"
The voice wasn't loud.
But evidently, it was due to Quirrell's control over the "volume."
The person on the other side was practically roaring.
"Master, I... I... I have completed the task you assigned. Can I return to your side now, to continue serving you as your loyal servant?"
Quirrell lay on the ground pleading.
"You still need to help me find out who stole my item." The face formed by the blood didn't agree to Quirrell, only issuing a frigid command to him.
This made Quirrell shudder uncontrollably.
"I'm scared, Master, I'm scared that Dumbledore might discover my situation. Today he made me feel something was off, I even suspect he might have already found out about my connection to you."
Quirrell's voice carried a sobbing tone along with deep fear and trepidation.
"Relax, our great Dumbledore is far from as clever as you think. His adversary will soon render him unable to cope. What you need to do is seize the opportunity to find that thief for me."
Voldemort's low, hoarse voice carried a hint of gritted teeth.
"I'm only a professor of Muggle Studies, an elective course that doesn't... doesn't let me interact with many people. I'm not very familiar with the other professors either."
"Perhaps... perhaps it was Dumbledore who took your item." Quirrell exerted all his effort trying to convince the person opposite, clearly very reluctant to remain at Hogwarts.
Understanding.
After all, he was a traitor to Hogwarts.
"Then find a way to have Dumbledore move you to another position... Defense Against the Dark Arts would be a good choice." The Black Demon King was evidently still bitter about his rejected employment application from back then.
Perhaps hoping his servant could become the professor of that course to prove some points about worthiness, never forgetting the insult Dumbledore had given him back then.
"But, but currently Gilderoy Lockhart holds this post as professor." Quirrell wanted to decline but found the bloody face in the basin staring at him grimly.
"Then kill him!"
The tone of the Black Demon King was full of disdain.
"Just an attention-seeking clown, don't forget, you too graduated from Ravenclaw. This is your best chance to prove if you're competent enough."
"Kill the fellow, replace him, complete the task I gave you!"
The hoarse, low voice echoed through the classroom.
Ian and Aurora outside the classroom were listening very clearly by the window.
"Yes... Master... for you."
Quirrell finally seemed to make a decision after several minutes, lying on the ground giving a response to the Black Demon King linked through that surging blood.
In that moment.
Ian finally let out a long breath.
He knew.
The peaceful days were about to return soon.
Without needing him or Aurora to take any action.