Watching the door behind him gradually vanish, and feeling no abnormal change in his body at all, Avada finally let out a quiet breath of relief—
They really had forgotten to block the Vanishing Cabinet.
But that wasn't entirely on them. The Vanishing Cabinet was an old, obscure technology—primitive, unpopular, insanely expensive, extremely difficult to manufacture, and even harder to deploy in practice. There was hardly any need to guard against it. Besides, he could sense it clearly: every corner of this hall was layered with detection and protective magic. If an outsider tried to sneak in with some kind of miniature Vanishing Cabinet and set it up, they would be discovered immediately.
To be honest, this was almost the most tightly guarded place he had ever seen—nearly comparable to one of Gringotts' high-security vaults, and in some aspects even more extreme. The manpower, materials, resources, and time poured into it had to be a terrifying number.
It was hard to imagine who these people really were.
"Come with me… it's this door."
As Avada was thinking, he had already followed Benjamin Baker to a great set of doors. Baker traced a few gestures in the air, and the doors opened slowly, revealing a corridor so long its end couldn't be seen—and a figure standing just beyond the threshold.
"Tuft?"
The moment the door opened a crack, Baker froze. When he fully saw the face behind it, he asked with confusion, "Why are you on duty? Isn't your side usually pretty—"
"I'm the most free one right now."
The old man—his face lined with deep wrinkles, addressed as Tuft—gave a bitter smile. "Belby's gone mad. He's got those few locked in the lab with him, working overtime like maniacs. It's made it impossible for me to proceed normally over here, and the headmaster supports him… So if I'm going to be idle anyway, I might as well stand guard."
"You can't blame him."
Baker sighed. "If anyone found out that something they developed with the intention of benefiting society ended up shining brightest in doing evil… they wouldn't handle it much better. He's probably regretting to death that he published the Wolfsbane Potion formula."
"And he probably hates Greyback and whoever's behind him even more," Tuft muttered in agreement.
Then his eyes shifted to Avada behind Baker. "Right—weren't you out on field duty? Who's this? A new professor?"
"No. I ran into an incident. I need to bring him to see Mr. Shafiq."
"Oh. If you're looking for Mr. Shafiq, he was just talking with me a moment ago—he even provided some Azka—"
"Ahem!"
Tuft flicked a fast glance at Avada, then immediately switched to a stiff, official tone. "He should be in Library Three reviewing files. Go find him there."
"Understood. Thank you."
Baker nodded slightly, then said nothing more as he strode down the corridor. Avada followed after him, his mind full of questions.
The information they had just let slip was… a lot.
And if Avada remembered History of Magic correctly…
The surname "Tuft" seemed to belong to that pair of Ministers for Magic from over thirty years ago—a mother and son who held the post consecutively. The Tuft he'd just met looked fifty or sixty. If you did the math…
It matched.
That man might very well be the former Minister for Magic, Ignatius Tuft.
A Defense Against the Dark Arts Alliance council member. A top-tier Potioneer. The head of the Shafiq family. A master of spatial magic. And now a former Minister for Magic…
Merlin's beard. What kind of place is this?
For a moment, Avada finally understood what the Dark wizards recorded in that black tome must have felt in their last moments.
He drew in a silent breath, forcing the shock down, and kept close behind Baker—because another hurdle was waiting for him ahead.
After several minutes, Baker stopped before a wooden door. He knocked gently, then took a step back.
A few seconds later, the door opened slowly from within, revealing the room inside.
It wasn't particularly large—about the size of the Hufflepuff common room. Rows upon rows of shelves were arranged neatly inside, packed with books and file folders. It felt like a library crossed with an archive.
Standing in the doorway was a tall, straight-backed middle-aged man whose face showed faint exhaustion—
Johnson Shafiq, the head of the Shafiq family. Baron's father. A man Avada had met years ago.
"…"
Avada's emotions were… complicated.
"Benjamin?"
Mr. Shafiq's eyes moved from Baker to Avada, a trace of puzzlement appearing on his face. "Why are you back at this hour? And this gentleman is…?"
"You don't recognize him, Mr. Shafiq? He claims he knows you—says he even knows your son."
Baker narrowed his eyes, subtly hiding his left hand beneath his sleeve. "And he knows about my Horcrux. Otherwise, I wouldn't have trusted him enough to bring him here."
"That's normal, Mr. Shafiq—because the last time I met you, I wasn't wearing this face."
Avada had already adjusted his mindset. Facing Baker's fully raised guard and Mr. Shafiq's scrutiny, he smiled calmly.
"My current name is Nathan Clarke. It's a pleasure to see you again, Mr. Shafiq."
"Very well, Mr. Clarke."
Mr. Shafiq stared straight into his eyes. "Then could you tell me—what name did I know you by?"
"Best not to ask, Mr. Shafiq."
Avada's expression turned solemn at once. Before either of them could react, he continued:
"That name is a taboo. Even Dumbledore must avoid it."
Shock flashed through Mr. Shafiq's eyes.
He seemed to recall something from three years ago. His brows tightened, and his voice dropped so low it felt as if he feared disturbing something unseen.
"That name once drenched the wizarding world in blood and chaos… so much so that even Dumbledore has had to conceal it with absolute strictness… Believe me, Mr. Shafiq. You do not want to hear that name."
"No one wants to hear that name."
"…"
After those eerily familiar words, Mr. Shafiq fell into a long silence.
Baker could tell he truly remembered something, and he didn't interrupt.
"Nathan Clarke… Nathan… Clarke…"
Mr. Shafiq murmured the name under his breath for a moment—then suddenly lifted his head, his eyes filling with disbelief as he stared at Avada.
"It's you?!"
(End of Chapter)