Most of the Gryffindors had not gone to bed. They had gathered in the common room to discuss what had just happened. []
Harry was surrounded as soon as he entered, and George pulled him into the most comfortable armchair by the fireplace and asked eagerly,"Harry, is the cat really not dead?”
"Yes, the headmaster has checked it. It's just petrified.”said Harry.
"I see…" George said regretfully.
"What a shame," said Fred.
Hermione glared at them and said anxiously to Harry,"But, who would harm a cat? And the words on the wall, the secret room was opened, what did that mean?”
"Filch's offended so many people, I'm afraid someone's after that cat to get back at him. As for those words, they were meant to scare people, right?”said Ron carelessly.
George pinched his chin thoughtfully." I think someone mentioned the secret chamber to me…"
Harry hesitated, but told them what he had just told Snape.
"This is just a legend." Harry added quickly, seeing their frightened expressions,"In fact, the school has checked it many times, but no one has ever found it.”
Hermione said,"But if the Chamber of Secrets can only be opened by the Heir of Slytherin, then no one else will ever find out, will they?”
"If so many headmasters and headmistresses haven't found it," said Wood,"it's unlikely it exists.”
"But the writing on the wall doesn't look like a joke.”said Fred.
"In fact, there has already been an attack, even though it was only a cat.”George's serious expression made the people around him feel uncomfortable." If the Heir of Slytherin really appears and insists on the pure-blood theory, then the Muggle-born students will be in danger. Hermione, you must be careful during this period.”
Hermione looked at the worried eyes of her classmates and nodded." Thank you, I'll be careful.”
Neville's voice faltered."Will the Heir of Slytherin be a student of the school?”
"Let's see," said Ron."Who thinks everyone Muggle-born should be kicked out of school?”
Wood shook his head." There are many people in Slytherin who have this idea. We can't check them one by one. Alright, someone will handle this matter. We should consider how to ensure our safety before that guy is caught."”
" Then we have to know what the scary thing in the secret chamber is.'Let it out...' Fred looked eager." Could it be a monster?”
"What kind of monster can petrify people?”" What can we do about it?" Hermione recalled the books she had read in distress.”
"Try to stick together," said Harry."Practice a few defensive spells, too, so we'll be able to hold out for a while if anything happens.”
"I can teach you a few offensive spells.”George suggested.
Harry looked at him helplessly."George, if there's a monster in the Chamber of Secrets, it's probably been there for thousands of years. If they were really unlucky enough to encounter it, they could only try their best to reduce the damage and find an opportunity to escape.”
"You're right." George admitted dejectedly.
Harry thought for a moment and said seriously to the people around him,"You have to master the Water Mirror Spell first. When you turn the corner, detect if there are enemies in front of you…"
"Isn't this too exaggerated? People will laugh at us Gryffindors for being cowards.”Fred jumped out to object.
Neville said,"Safety is the most important thing, and I think Harry's suggestion is very good.”
"There are also spells such as 'Armor Protection,''Heavy Barriers', and' Drowsy.'You also need to be very familiar with them.”said Hermione.
Harry got to his feet."All right, we'll start tomorrow, then. George, Fred, you'd better not go looking for secret chambers, or I'll write to Mrs. Weasley."”
The twins looked at him resentfully and finally gave in to Harry's persistent gaze.
"We won't go." They looked unhappy and said sullenly.
――――――――――――――――――
Who opened the secret chamber?
Harry tossed and turned in bed, thinking hard.
There was another Horcrux at Hogwarts, the Crown of Ravenclaw. Could it be that some student had accidentally found the Room of Requirement and took it out?
If he had known this would happen, he would have destroyed that thing first. Back then, he had the mentality of a bystander and actually did not guard against this kind of thing in advance. It was really a mistake.
Harry rolled around gloomily, got up, and set up a barrier.
(Ying, come out.)
Lan Ying appeared beside him and looked at him silently.
"You stay here, I'm going out.”
"It's not safe outside."
Harry sighed."I've got to go to the Requirement Room and see if that thing's still there.”
"I'll go," Lan Ying said lightly.
"Don't worry, there won't be a second attack today.”said Harry."Even if they did, I could handle them. I'll be back soon."
Dismantling the enchantment, he made his way to the common room, invisible, without alerting the Fat Lady, and used the Wall Spell to get out of the door. He soon found the corridor between the hanging rug and the human-sized vase that depicted Barnabas the Fool training the Dwarf for the Ballet. With a light wave of his hand, he ensured that all the portraits, spirits, and other creatures would alert him when they approached.
I want a place to hide... I want a place to hide... I want a place to hide...
After saying it three times, a beautiful mahogany door appeared in front of Harry. He opened it and walked in, finding himself in a room the size of an auditorium.
The room was covered with dust, bottles, hats, chests, chairs, books, weapons, broomsticks... it seemed that everything you could think of could be found in that pile of rubbish.
Harry fanned his nose with his hand. The place looked like a garbage dump, the kind that had been used for thousands of years. He walked around the room several times until he found the old, blistered cupboard, on top of which was a pockmarked statue of a wizard with dirty, old curly hair-he was wearing nothing on his head.
"As expected…"
Harry slapped his forehead gloomily, regretting once again that he had not struck first.
However, if it wasn't necessary, who would be willing to come to such a place to play?
Looking at the dirty surroundings in disgust, Harry's eyes suddenly lit up.
Books…so many books…
Starlight flashed in his eyes. He controlled the urge to rush forward and subconsciously wanted to take out his wand to " clean it up ", only to realize that he had left it with Lan Ying.
Flicking his fingers, he used a dust-removing technique, and the mountain of books in front of him became clean.
Grinning, Harry pounced on them and flipped through them. Most of them were books on Dark Magic, Potion Concoction, and Soulology, as well as some advanced books on Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Astrology. Harry's eyes narrowed into slits as he smiled, and he quickly put all the books back into his bracelet, looking happy and content.
After rummaging around and putting away all the books that were mixed in with the other things, Harry clapped his hands and looked at the room that was several times more chaotic than before. After thinking about it, he waved his hand and moved the things back to their original places. Other than the lack of books, he could not see any other changes, so he left proudly.
When he returned to the dormitory, he couldn't help but show off.
(Ying, I've earned a lot this time. There are many books there that can't be bought outside.)）
(You didn't find it?)
(Well, it's all my fault. I didn't take it to heart at that time. Ying, help me out with something…)
――――――――――――――――――
The incident with the Cornish elf did not happen in the Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Perhaps it was because he was injured before the class started, but Lockhart realized that this position was indeed a bit dangerous. He subconsciously stayed away from all the situations he could not handle.
During class, he read the book he had written in large chunks and sometimes even performed some dramatic parts. He had wanted to ask Harry for help, but Harry was very uncooperative. He was always a beat late at the critical moment, so he could not show how good he was. After a few lessons, Seamus became the performer.
"... well said, Seamus, very alike..."
Lockhart rose to his feet when the bell rang at the end of the performance."Homework, write a poem about my victory over werewolves! The best ones would receive autographed copies of Magical Me.”
He shook his golden hair and walked out of the door happily. The students who stayed behind looked at his back with dissatisfaction and began to complain.
"What exactly does he teach?"
"I can't believe Dumbledore gave him such an important lesson!”
"Harry taught better than him..."
Seamus rubbed his aching shoulder and grimaced." You guys are fine. Just sit and watch the show. I still have to act as a werewolf, a vampire, a snowman…I even have to be careful not to make too big a move to avoid hurting that guy. Merlin, I've never hoped that the curse of this class is real as much as I do now.”
None of the girls spoke up for their idol. To be honest, Lockhart's performance was disappointing.
Hermione sighed deeply." Neville, I have to apologize again for last time-you were right, that guy was a liar.”
Neville was lying on his desk, frowning in distress."Oh, never mind, I'm just worried about whether we'll be held back this year.”
"That depends on who wrote the exam papers.”said Ron scornfully."If it's a test on someone's interests and hobbies, it'll be easy to pass in a few days.”
"Harry," said Hermione sternly,"we can't go on like this, Defense Against the Dark Arts is a very important subject, and you can't pass the O. with just poetry.”
"Yeah, I think so too." Harry closed the book on his lap and stretched.”
Hermione clenched her fists." You can't think like that. How are you going to keep up with your studies if you delay a year? We'll have to do it ourselves, Harry, you'll help us, won't you?”
"Uh…of course…"
She couldn't be thinking of getting the D.A out early, right?
Hermione's eyes sparkled."We could start a society and teach ourselves Defense Against the Dark Arts, Harry, you could be our teacher.”
"I'm only a second year..." said Harry weakly, noticing that the students around him were growing excited.
Hermione smiled slyly."But your grades have always been excellent, as everyone can see. You must have mastered the second-year homework, I suppose? Otherwise, how could someone who had always been hardworking be in the mood to read "A Trickster's Bag for Prank" in class?”
" You're right. I've indeed learned a part of it myself," Harry admitted honestly and put the book into his backpack." But, you need to apply to form a club, and the time, venue, content of the club activities... A lot of things have to be planned in advance.”
"I'll do that," said Hermione confidently."I'll go to Professor McGonagall and tell her we're going to organize some revision sessions, spells or something. It'll be more lively and effective if we all study together. She'll be sure to agree.”
Seamus said,"Say yes, Harry, my dad'll kill me if I flunk.”
" I don't know much..." Harry was a little embarrassed.
" It's okay." Seamus waved his hand." I'm satisfied as long as I'm at your level.”
Neville said,"Yeah-think about how dangerous it would be to have a big monster hiding in the school! If Lockhart keeps teaching us like this, we're going to be snacks for monsters.”
"Alright then." Harry looked at their expectant eyes and said helplessly," We're just studying together. Don't mention teaching or not.”
——
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