Section 200

Harry felt his scalp tingling. He would rather attend another Deathday dinner than endure such stares.

Ron glanced at Lockhart and saw the golden wavy hair, and couldn't help curling his lips.

Hermione's attention was on Dumbledore. When she saw Mrs. Norris being placed on the desk, she took a deep breath.

Harry and Ron subconsciously stood up straight and looked at each other with Hermione. They could see the tension in each other's eyes.

Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall were both bent over, examining very carefully.

Looking at their serious expressions, Harry and the other two felt not only nervous, but also deeply uneasy.

Especially Lockhart was still gossiping, which made Harry feel a little irritated from his uneasiness.

"The magic that tortured this cat is probably a Transfiguration Torture Curse. I actually know how to remove the curse, but the interval is too long, so I can't save it. What a pity..."

Hearing Lockhart "knows how to remove the curse", Filch raised his head, a glimmer of hope in his eyes, but after hearing the restrictions, he cried even more sadly.

Hearing Filch's cry, Harry sighed softly and felt a little sympathy for the gatekeeper.

But he sympathized more with himself. If Filch's slander was accepted, this would be his last night at Hogwarts.

...

Just when Harry was absent and Lockhart was nagging, the door suddenly knocked.

Snape and Flitwick walked into the room, and Dumbledore stood up and asked, "How is it?"

"Nothing was found." Flitwick shook his head, "I used magic to detect it, and found no traces."

Snape also shook his head, and the corner of his eye fell on Harry.

Seeing Harry shrinking his neck and looking uneasy, his eyes were more gloating.

He walked straight behind Harry and looked at Mrs. Norris lying on the desk from a distance.

Harry shivered, feeling a little cold on his back, and his uneasiness in his heart became stronger.

Dumbledore walked up to Filch and said gently: "Fortunately... Filch, Mrs. Norris was only petrified, not dead."

"This petrification magic is very powerful, probably a very advanced black magic... Some traces are untraceable... At least for second-year students..."

He paused for a moment, "At least Harry and the others can't do this."

"What's so strange about it!" Lockhart suddenly realized, "It's petrification! It's exactly the same as my guess."

Ron widened his eyes and looked at the spirited Lockhart, muttering in his mouth: "How can he be so confident."

If it were usual, Hermione would definitely refute it, but what happened tonight was more serious, so she didn't have much time to refute it.

While Filch breathed a sigh of relief, he continued to doubt Harry and even said that he was a Squib.

When Harry confronted Filch and claimed that he "didn't know what a Squib was", Snape, who was standing at the end, smiled, a natural, heartfelt and happy smile.

"I think Mr. Pott has a point. He just happened to... that's all!" Snape said sinisterly, dragging out the tail tone with great pleasure.

"He happened to discover Filch's secret a week ago, and happened to appear in that corridor before others... and happened to not attend the Halloween dinner..."

Hermione and Ron were sweating more and more as they listened, and explained with Harry that they had attended the Deathday dinner.

"Professor McGonagall, do you know about this?" Snape asked, "They don't seem to have learned their lesson, just like last year's Halloween dinner..."

Professor McGonagall shook her head slightly, couldn't help but sigh, and couldn't help but think of Vizet who had just made a report.

Harry seemed to have thought of something, and said quickly: "Vizet and the others can prove... that we really went to the Deathday dinner!"

"Vizet..." Snape narrowed his eyes and his voice became much lower, "In that case, what about the end of the dinner?"

"Why didn't you come back? Maybe you can... catch a few candies that fell from the sky... fill your stomach a little."

"We're not hungry!" Ron's voice was loud, as if he was shouting.

Unfortunately, the protest in his stomach was even louder, and the gurgling sound drowned out the sound of his words.

"Hehe..." Snape smiled coldly, "So you're not hungry... Then you should go back to the common room, right?"

"As far as I know... From the basement to Gryffindor Tower, you don't have to go through that corridor..."

Ron muttered, "How can he know more than we do?"

Snape's face twitched, as if he remembered something bad, "Headmaster, it's obvious that Pott has concealed a lot of things."

"Even if we put aside the matter of the Deathday dinner, he can't explain clearly... why he appeared in that corridor."

Hearing this, Professor McGonagall frowned and interrupted abruptly: "Principal Dumbledore said that Harry and others can't perform such dark magic."

"In addition, if Professor Snape has real evidence, he can bring it out to prove it, instead of relying on vague guesses."

"Besides, Hogwarts Castle is so big, there are so many corridors, they can choose how to get back to Gryffindor."

Harry and the others all looked up, looking at Professor McGonagall, their eyes were full of infinite emotion.

Dumbledore asked, "Do you have any details to add? For example, did you see any strange figures when you went there?"

Hermione and Ron turned their heads, but immediately turned back and began to shake their heads back and forth.

Harry made the same move, "No... Principal Dumbledore."

Seeing the three people's almost identical movements, Dumbledore nodded with a smile, "In that case, you can go back and rest."

Harry and the others all exhaled, feeling like they had survived a disaster.

Filch made a sharp sound, "They left, so what about my Mrs. Norris?"

Dumbledore said slowly, "Recently we have planted a batch of mandrakes. When they mature, we can prepare a potion to remove petrification."

Lockhart raised his hand like a spring and said happily, "Mandra resurrection potion! I know this very well! No one knows resurrection potion better than me!"

Flitwick, Sprout and Professor McGonagall raised their eyebrows. They were a little surprised. They didn't expect Lockhart to know the name of this potion.

Snape's face was gloomy, "It seems that I am the professor of potions... Maybe you are willing to exchange with me?"

"Or contribute your wand? Add it to the crucible? After all, it doesn't seem very obedient... It always falls to the ground easily..."

Chapter 154 Rumors of the Chamber of Secrets

Snape continued coldly: "Do you need me to notify the Daily Prophet for you? By the way, there is one more thing I need help with..."

"I need to clearly mark the name on the crucible to ensure that it must be a crucible... not a curling iron that appears on the fire."

Lockhart's smiling face seemed to be glued, and his raised hand was as stiff as a Spanish ham.

There was a moment of silence that made people laugh.

Dumbledore stroked his beard and wanted to tie a bow on it.

Professor McGonagall, who had a stern face, relaxed, and his pursed lips also curled up a little.

Flitwick looked around and found that the expressions of the magic photos around him were the same, all of which were the same embarrassment and cramped.

He could only lower his head, looking at his toes and shaking his shoulders gently.

Sprout coughed several times before finally calming down.

Hearing Snape's words, Harry puffed up his cheeks and tried not to laugh out loud.

Ron was in a similar state, but he couldn't help it and made a "puff puff" sound.

Snape heard Ron's movement, raised his eyebrows and said; "It seems that Mr. Weasley has something to say..."

Harry and the others didn't dare to stay any longer, and immediately pulled the door handle and ran out, leaving only one sentence: "Professor, good night!"

...

In the office, only Filch was the saddest, and the other professors also realized this.

Sprout said first: "I should go back to the greenhouse and take good care of the mandrakes to ensure that Mrs. Norris recovers as soon as possible."

Professor McGonagall picked up Mrs. Norris, "Filch, I'll take it to see Mrs. Pomfrey."

Filch nodded a little woodenly, "Professor McGonagall... I'll go with you."

Dumbledore nodded to Lockhart, "Professor Lockhart, thank you for your office, we should leave."

Dumbledore, Flitwick and Snape turned a corner and went upstairs from another staircase.

Dumbledore went upstairs and confirmed again: "Didn't you find anything?"

Flitwick nodded, "I tried to collect the sounds there, and I only heard some ordinary movements. I also used the tracking spell, but I didn't find any traces of magic."

Snape added with a cold face: "There is no trace of dark magic either."

"Could it be because of Animagus?" Flitwick speculated with a frown.

"Vizet has engraved a lot of magic on that 'siphon', but no one has ever done this before."

"Based on my understanding of Animagus, Vizet is now at a stage where he can feel abnormalities."

"Usually this abnormality would be the second heartbeat, but it cannot be ruled out that he would hear some unusual noises."

"Why not ask him directly?" Snape raised his eyebrows and said, "He is different from Pott, and he will not hide anything from us."

"That's right." Flitwick laughed, with a bit of relief, "Except for not liking to rest, everything else is too worry-free!"

"In that case... then pick a time tomorrow!" Dumbledore nodded, "Filius, how far has Vizet learned the weather spell?"

Flitwick replied: "The basic principles have been mastered, and the foundation must be laid before we can further influence the weather..."