Chapter 205: Stirring People’s Hearts

After placing the petrified Nick, when Loren, Hermione and Ron returned to the lounge, they saw Harry already sitting by the window. The other little wizards stayed far away, for fear that they would be petrified by Harry if they got too close.

The three of them rushed to sit next to him. Seeing that he looked a little dazed, Hermione slowed down and said, "Harry, did Principal Dumbledore say something?"

Harry suddenly woke up. He scratched his hair and hesitated on what to say: "At first, Professor McGonagall asked me to wait outside the door. She went in first and scolded Principal Dumbledore."

"Huh?" Hermione and Ron's faces were full of surprise.

"Ha!" Loren's face was full of gloating, and he even regretted not witnessing that scene with his own eyes.

"Then what?"

"Then..." Harry recounted what happened behind the principal's office, about Fawkes in Nirvana, and about what he saw in the pensieve about the Chamber of Secrets incident 50 years ago. For some secret little thought, he concealed his conversation with the Sorting Hat.

Harry recalled what he saw in the Pensieve, "Do you remember what Rolf told us? Hagrid had his wand broken and was expelled from school because of the Chamber of Secrets incident 50 years ago."

Ron shouted restlessly: "Didn't we talk about it? Although Hagrid likes those big furry guys, he definitely didn't release the basilisk."

"Listen to me." Harry stared at Ron, "Myrtle was the victim of the Chamber of Secrets 50 years ago, but she had no idea what kind of monster she was killed by. She is about to be in Hogwarts. During the suspension of classes, a student named Tom Riddle discovered the Acromantula that Hagrid had raised, and the Ministry of Magic quickly got the news and expelled Hagrid and the Acromantula from the school."

Harry licked his lips, paused and continued: "Professor Dumbledore believed that the case was closed too quickly and the evidence was not sufficient, so he protected Hagrid despite everyone's pressure. However, I note in my memory To some weird places.”

"What's weird?" Hermione asked.

Harry looked around and lowered his voice: "Dumbledore's attitude towards that Tom Riddle was very strange. He didn't believe Riddle and seemed to be on guard against him. I have never seen Dumbledore like that. You know, he is always smiling and kind."

From the moment the name Tom Riddle was mentioned, Ron lowered his head and thought about something. He suddenly said: "Tom Riddle..., he is a student of Slytherin. I have seen this name before, last time When I was in detention, Filch made me wipe the trophy in the trophy room that Riddle had received fifty years ago for his special contribution to the school."

"So, he is a good student. Then why would Principal Dumbledore guard against a good student?" Hermione was confused.

"Listen to me," Loren, who had been listening for a long time, said, attracting the attention of several people, "You all believe that Hagrid has nothing to do with the secret room incident fifty years ago, right?"

Although there was some hesitation, several people nodded and agreed to this statement.

"Hypothesis, just a hypothesis. If Hagrid and Principal Dumbledore are good people, then-" Loren guided the thoughts of several people.

"Tom Riddle is a bad guy!" Harry figured it out in an instant. He slammed the table and fluently revealed a series of inferences, "He is framing Hagrid. Professor Dumbledore may have seen through his plan, but Riddle was always on guard against Professor Dumbledore to prevent him from finding evidence."

Ron added: "That's right! So he was the one who exposed Hagrid's keeping of Acromantulas and quickly passed the news to the Ministry of Magic."

"In that case, he was probably the one who released the basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets. In order to prevent Hogwarts from being shut down and to continue hiding himself, he pushed Hagrid out as a scapegoat." Hermione's little face Somewhat pale.

Yes, it is like that.

Loren nodded with satisfaction, he was a perfect guide NPC.

"But, he graduated fifty years ago, and there is no faculty member in the school named Tom Riddle. Who opened the Chamber of Secrets this time?" Harry asked in confusion.

"Perhaps he passed down the location of the secret room and the method of opening it," Hermione waved her fist. "What we have to do now is to find the guy named Tom Riddle."

"He is from Slytherin House. Malfoy may have clues about him."

"The Polyjuice Potion is almost finished."

As the news of the murders of Justin and Nearly Headless Nick spread, the young wizards at Hogwarts once again became panicked, even more panicked than the previous two times.

The professors in the castle began to escort students to class in separate classes, standing guard all night, trying their best to protect the safety of the students. Even George and Fred couldn't find opportunities for night excursions.

The little wizards also have their own methods. During this time, without telling the professor, everyone exchanged amulets, amulets, amulets, and other devices to protect themselves. This practice quickly became popular in schools.

Neville was holding a pointed amethyst in his fingers and was stuffing a big, smelly green onion into the bottom of the four-poster bed. There was also a rotting salamander tail hanging above his bed.

Harry's bed was very close to him, and he felt that his nose and brain were being attacked by some evil black magic." "Oh, Neville, do you want to turn yourself into Quirrell?"

Neville wrinkled his nose and felt a little disgusted with these things: "Harry, I believe you. I'm not guarding you. It's just that I'm afraid of being petrified. I can't lie down in the school infirmary. I'm going to St. Mungo's Nursing Home during Christmas vacation. Visiting my parents.”

Ron and Seamus smiled when they heard this. They climbed onto Neville's bed and put their arms around his shoulders: "You don't have to worry at all. You are a pureblood. The heir of Slytherin will not attack you."

Neville was still uneasy: "But they tried to attack Filch in the first place. As you know, I'm almost a squib."

"Hey! Neville, you are different. You are not the Neville you used to be." Loren fell on the bed and looked at Bloody Mary's mirror. "Remember? You can beat Crabbe. You can defeat Crabbe." The giant snake is used as a whip, and everyone recognizes you as the champion of Gryffindor."

Speaking of this, Seamus became jealous: "Yes, I am the only one in the whole dormitory who is not a warrior, ah——"

Seamus was rolling around on Neville's bed, crawling, roaring, squirming...

It looks scary.

Under their comfort, Neville's heart gradually calmed down and he threw the mess out of bed. Including Onion Head, Salamander Tail, and Seamus who was so jealous that he was beyond recognition.

On Friday, the notice for the fourth duel club event was posted, and out of the desire for self-preservation, the little wizards gathered in front of the notice board.

"The teaching teachers are actually Professor McGonagall and Professor Sprout, and Lockhart's name is not on it!" Lee Jordan, who squeezed into the front row, read out the announcement loudly, "This event will introduce to everyone A classmate shows how magic plants are used in a duel..."

Ron couldn't hide the excitement on his face: "Great, the principal and Professor McGonagall must have seen through Lockhart's true face, and we don't have to endure disgusting real-life dramas anymore!"

After the elves in Cornwall made a big fuss in the Defense Against the Dark Arts class, Lockhart stopped practicing with physical objects in class and turned the Defense Against the Dark Arts class into a live-action drama about Lockhart's wonderful adventures, which disgusted the little wizards. .

Harry has played a variety of bizarre characters, including a Romanian villager, a Himalayan snow monster, a vegetarian vampire and a reformed werewolf...

"Professor McGonagall will also appear. Will she use Animagus?" Neville asked.

"Professor McGonagall did not use Animagus when demonstrating the application of transfiguration in duels. Maybe Animagus is not a magic suitable for duels." The little wizard on the side guessed.

"By the way, how are you preparing for the exams of your Animagus teaching class? Professor McGonagall said that the exams will be held after returning to school during the Christmas vacation." The little wizard asked Neville.

Neville was not very confident: "I don't know, I still don't understand a lot of the content..."

In the corner of the lounge, Hermione and Loren looked at each other and sighed helplessly.

Hermione put down the notebook in her hand and said in a soft, coquettish voice, "I really want to participate in the Duel Club activities too!"

Loren patted her shoulder and comforted her: "Harry can't participate in the event, just to take care of his emotions. There will be more in the future, and we will definitely be able to participate next time..."

"Oh~"

On the day when the Duel Club held its fourth event, almost all the little wizards crowded into the auditorium an hour in advance to get a good seat in the front row to watch the battle.

Harry and Ron took the opportunity to sneak out of the castle and went to Hagrid to ask for clues about the Chamber of Secrets incident.

Loren and Hermione stayed in Myrtle's bathroom, guarding the Polyjuice Potion. Loren felt a little bored and planned to go back to the dormitory to get some snacks to pass the time.

Walking out of the bathroom and onto the stairs, he met Lockhart at the corner of the stairs.

"Hey Loren!"

After seeing Loren, Lockhart's gloomy face burst into a bright smile, "Look what I found? You didn't go to the duel club activities. It seems that you also think that the duel club is not exciting enough without me, right? ?”

He has always had a good impression of this little wizard since he first entered school, and now his good impression is even stronger.

Loren complained silently in his heart, don't you know if it's attractive... Except for a few of us, all the little wizards in the school should be participating in club activities.

"Hello, Professor Lockhart." Loren nodded, dealt with it and wanted to leave as soon as possible.

Lockhart caught him: "A smart and discerning little wizard should be rewarded. I want to show you something more exciting - yes, that's right, the manuscript of my new book."

Upon hearing the manuscript of the new book, Loren remembered what Lockhart had mentioned about Grandpa Bates, suppressed the thought of rejecting it, and allowed Lockhart to lead him to the office.

Along the way, Lockhart kept complaining about his exclusion from school professors and unfair treatment by Dumbledore:

"I just mentioned that I was sure to find out the location of the secret room, and Sprout kept asking me. In fact, what I meant was that I had done a similar decryption expedition in the snowy mountains of the Himalayas. I wanted to find a hidden place. Oriental Magic Academy, you know, it’s easy for me.”

"Also, I said that I was sure to find out the monster in the secret room, and Professor Flitwick kept asking me. They didn't understand what I meant at all. What I meant was that if I find the secret room, I can easily identify it based on the traces in the secret room. Deducing what the monster in the secret room is..."

"You know, I don't mind, but I'm looking forward to fighting against monsters. But there are too many little wizards in the school, and little wizards like you are too weak. If I fight with monsters in the castle, Many of you will be injured..."

Lockhart kept mumbling, and Loren remained silent. During the conversation, the two of them entered the office and sat in front of the desk.

The desks and chairs in the office are still the same as they were before. There is a huge floor-to-ceiling mirror standing next to the desk, and there is a strange smell of shampoo in the air. Portraits and photos of Lockhart were placed everywhere on the walls and bookshelves, and they all wore bright smiles.

"There are so many little wizards in the school, and I just want to share with you the joy of writing my new book. Although there are still some places that need to be revised, I believe you can learn a lot of useful things from it." Lockhart sat opposite Loren , handed over a stack of manuscript paper. His face was filled with excitement and an eager smile, and his desire to show off was almost written on his face. It seemed like an extraordinary honor to read the manuscript to others in advance.

Loren didn't want to read these self-praising contents, he just wanted to know the part about werewolves: "Professor Lockhart..."

He was quickly interrupted. The blows and pressure in recent days made Lockhart eager to show off his grand blueprint. He couldn't restrain his excitement, and explained with a red face and dancing:

"Over the Christmas holidays, I'm going to visit another best-selling author, Rita Skeeter. Have you heard of her? She's a master of a different kind of writing that's more provocative than I am. I'm going to convince her to join in on the agitation. The Muggle threat theory in people's minds, the horrifying werewolf army, and the Muggle King's conspiracy..."

"With the real information about Muggle werewolves, many people will be willing to believe my argument. Maybe I can use this matter to enter politics and enter the Ministry of Magic. If it works well, I can even become the Minister of Magic in a few years! Lockhart trembled with excitement.

Loren was silent. According to Lockhart's approach, Grandpa Bates's information would be exposed, and he would never have peace for the rest of his life.

Although he wanted to deal with Lockhart now, that would leave traces and lead to trouble. What we should do now is to stabilize him first, as long as he gets involved in the basilisk thing...

He raised his head and looked at Lockhart, with a strange light in his eyes. Loren said softly: "Professor Lockhart, did you know that Principal Dumbledore plans to search the Chamber of Secrets during the Christmas vacation to catch the monster in the Chamber of Secrets? "

Lockhart hesitated: "Yes, really? They didn't tell me."

"Yes, I think Professor you can also participate in it. Maybe you can add another exciting adventure to your book." Loren's voice was very soft, but every word was passed into Lockhart's mind.