"This is... the path to the Acromantula's lair."

In the Forbidden Forest of Hogwarts, Dumbledore looked solemnly at the trail leading into the depths of the dark forest.

As an old wizard who had lived at Hogwarts for nearly a century, he knew the distribution of magical creatures in the Forbidden Forest even better than Rubeus Hagrid—unicorns, centaurs, and Acromantulas, he knew them all like the back of his hand.

Following the guidance of the Apparition charm, it didn't take long for Dumbledore to determine the destination.

Unsurprisingly, Aileen and Grindelwald must have already encountered the Acromantulas.

Imagining the scene that might be unfolding, Dumbledore shuddered and muttered to himself.

"Gellert, please don't be impulsive. This is Hogwarts, not Paris..."

*Pop.*

With a soft sound, Dumbledore appeared on the edge of the Acromantula hollow.

The surroundings were a mess. The trees within a dozen meters of the hollow's center were almost all snapped in half, and the ground was pitted, as if it had just been hit by a meteor shower, clearly indicating a brutal battle had taken place…

No! Not a battle…

Perhaps, it would be more accurate to describe it as a massacre…

Dumbledore's gaze slowly swept around, the corpses of hundreds of Acromantulas littered the spider's nest. The vast majority of them had met a particularly gruesome end, either sliced in half or with a large part of their bodies smashed into minced meat.

And what shocked Dumbledore the most was that most of the dead Acromantulas hadn't been left with their entire bodies—they were mostly brutally broken, only leaving behind incomplete bodies and a few broken limbs.

Just then, a strange aroma wafted into Dumbledore's nose on the forest wind.

Looking down the steep slope, in the center of the hollow, shrouded in mist and smoke, a flickering flame could be faintly seen. Many shadowy figures were moving around the fire, and there seemed to be quite a few Acromantulas still active.

What… happened?

Faintly, he could hear strange sounds of clicking, smacking, and purring…

Dumbledore's expression suddenly tightened, and he swallowed nervously. He drew his wand and slowly walked forward.

"...The best ingredients only require the simplest cooking methods..."

"To move nimbly in the jungle, the limbs of Fuzz-shelled Crabs are rich in protein. Although they taste similar to tender chicken, they contain almost no lipids or cholesterol, making them very suitable for the elderly."

"However, when cutting these Fuzz-shelled Crab legs, you must be especially careful. The residual nerve endings inside may twitch reflexively. Just put them on the flame and roast them for a while, and they won't move."

"...Delicious, isn't it, old man? I told you, you'll love this taste once you try it."

"Aragog! Don't touch the one on the left, it was just put on, it's not cooked yet!"

"Fluffy! You too, sit down! There's some for you later!"

"Hey, you over there, these legs are almost gone, go and break off a few more from around..."

As Dumbledore slowly approached, the devil's whispers by the fire gradually became clearer.

Aileen was roasting spider legs over the campfire, methodically instructing and explaining the eating habits of something called "Fuzz-shelled Crab." Her delicate face was flushed by the flames, and a satisfied smile played on her lips.

Beside the silver-haired little witch, Grindelwald leaned against Fluffy's furry paw, enjoying a fragrant, crispy spider leg, completely ignoring the envious eyes of the three-headed dog, whose drool was dripping on the ground.

Further away, in front of a semi-circular giant spider web, an old spider the size of a small elephant lay quietly on the ground, occasionally fiddling with the spider legs stuck by the campfire with its long pincers, making clicking sounds.

Dumbledore glanced at the spider leg shells that the girl had casually discarded around, and immediately understood who was responsible for those incomplete spider corpses, and why…

"Eh? Professor Dumbledore, you're here."

Hearing the noise behind her, Aileen turned around, glanced at him, and nodded as a greeting.

"But you've come at a bad time. You'll have to wait a bit. A new batch of soft-shelled crab legs has just started roasting."

"Soft-shelled… crab?!"

"Yeah, full name Scottish Forbidden Forest Fuzz-shelled Crab. There, those on the fire."

"Oh, I see… Heh, hahaha…"

Albus Dumbledore took a deep breath, his cheeks stiffened, and a helpless expression appeared on his face.

For some reason, he suddenly remembered the "Scottish round-faced fat chicken" he had heard when he first met Aileen a few months ago—this little girl seemed to have some cognitive impairment in recognizing animals.

"Albus, don't just stand there, come and have a taste..."

Noticing the arrival of his old friend, Grindelwald, who had been half-lying down, stood up, raised the half-eaten "roasted soft-shelled crab leg" in his hand, and grinned at the old wizard.

Looking around at the spider remains, Dumbledore politely shook his head.

"I don't need to… uh!?"

Before Dumbledore could refuse, Grindelwald raised his eyebrows, revealed a mischievous smile, and directly shoved the thick, black cylinder into Dumbledore's mouth, blocking the old wizard's words in his throat.

"Just suck on it, the taste is very good! Suitable for the taste of old people like us."

"Uh?! Uh. Hmm…"

Dumbledore frowned and pulled out the spider leg from his mouth—although, it was indeed quite fragrant?

However, the most urgent thing was not to eat!

The old wizard first glared fiercely at Grindelwald, then glanced at Aileen, and felt a little relieved.

Their clothes were neat, and he didn't see any obvious injuries. Compared to a certain Defense Against the Dark Arts professor who was barely alive, they were like they had just returned from an autumn outing in the Forbidden Forest.

It seemed… that there wasn't a big problem.

It seemed that Tom's strength, who only had a remnant soul, had indeed weakened significantly. Perhaps he should slightly reduce the difficulty of the obstacles near the Philosopher's Stone. If he couldn't see any hope of stealing it, Professor Quirrell running outside the school all the time wasn't a good idea.

"You two, do you know that the castle is in an uproar?!"

Dumbledore's face darkened as he looked seriously at Aileen and Grindelwald.

"A professor is missing and may be dead, a student's whereabouts are unknown, and there are dark forces poaching unicorns in the Forbidden Forest outside the school… Most importantly, the whole school knows about it. What do you plan to do?!"

"Don't worry, don't worry, there's still time…"

Aileen shrugged and took a steaming Acromantula leg, exuding the aroma of roasted king crab, from the campfire.

"I believe you must have many questions in your mind right now. Don't worry, let's talk while we eat… Anyway, there are still many Fuzz-shelled Crab legs around. I plan to roast a little more by the way, so I can take it back and make a special episode of 'A Bite of Hogwarts'."

"This isn't…" Dumbledore frowned.

"The soul possessed by Quirinus Quirrell is Voldemort, who disappeared ten years ago, right?"

Just then, Gellert Grindelwald grinned and suddenly interrupted.

"Aileen and I have both fought him, so don't try to hide it anymore. That young man's magical basic skills and dueling awareness are still pretty good, but his strength is almost impossible to display, and he can't even beat Fluffy. But…"

Grindelwald paused, a hint of admiration and seriousness in his eyes.

"Even so, he can calmly and rationally deal with the crisis, and in a state that is not even a remnant soul, he can exert an effect that can influence the situation, which is quite remarkable—facing such a wizard, Albus, have you thought about how to deal with it?"

As a mature dark lord, Grindelwald has now learned not to underestimate the power of any wizard, after all, he has paid a lot for it over the years.

"Voldemort, okay, let me think about how to say it."

Dumbledore murmured thoughtfully, glancing at the calm-faced Aileen and Gellert Grindelwald beside him, rubbing his forehead with a headache, and subconsciously took the roasted spider leg that Aileen handed over and took a bite.

"Hmm… His current situation is quite complicated, let me briefly explain it first…"

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