Chapter 165 Dumbledore’s discovery

A strange hissing sound floated outside, and the strange sound gradually became clearer, echoing hoarsely and horribly outside the auditorium. The candles floating in the air couldn't help but tremble. Everyone felt that the voice seemed to come from the depths of hell, like the devil's whisper, tugging at your heartstrings and making you tremble all over.

"The snake is out there." Roger reminded Snape, putting on his protective glasses.

Harry was very nervous on the duel stage, his face was pale and he was sweating profusely. The ghostly voice was so real now that he could hear every word the other person said: "I'm so hungry, I want to eat. Kill! Kill them, and I'll be full!"

Everyone had expressions of horror and confusion on their faces. What on earth was out there? Why is this weird sound so familiar?

Soon, someone pointed at Harry. He used this pronunciation method to control the black snake just now.

Colin told everyone that the one who attacked him was a big green snake. The monster just looked at Colin and turned him to stone. If the principal hadn't happened to come down, he would have been eaten by a big snake.

Now the big snake is wandering outside the auditorium, and Harry just said the snake language. Everyone looked at him in unison.

"It's you, the big snake you summoned!" Justin shouted hysterically. He was from a Muggle family and would definitely be attacked by the big snake.

He ran out in fear, but was caught by Snape.

"Professor, it's Harry Potter, he's the one who opened the Chamber of Secrets!" Justin cried and accused Harry. The others looked at him warily and backed away slowly.

Harry stood there, looking helplessly at the others. He swore that it really wasn't him and he didn't do anything. Just now I just told the snake not to hurt Justin.

No matter what he thought, the surrounding slowly turned into a vacuum zone. Even Lockhart behind him was frightened and ran behind Snape for safety.

"That snake is proof. He...he can talk to snakes," one student shouted. "Everyone saw it."

Hermione wanted to give Harry some justice, but there was someone faster than her. Patil, the belle of Gryffindor, stood up bravely: "How can you slander Harry! How can he open the Chamber of Secrets when he has been here all the time?"

Patil's sister Padma also chimed in: "It's not strange to be able to talk to snakes. Many wizards in Bharat can control snakes. Muggles in India don't even need to speak. They can make snakes dance by just blowing their flutes." "

Everyone hesitated after hearing Sister Patil's words. There is some truth in what they said. Being able to speak Parseltongue does not mean that you have opened the secret room.

"Roger, do you want to expose it?" Daphne asked quietly, "It's not a snake out there, it's a basilisk. They are two different things."

Rogge shook his head: "No, the top priority now is to ensure safety."

Not long after Weasley left, the basilisk came out. This timing is too coincidental. Rogge suspected that the basilisk outside was Ron's revenge.

But is he crazy? The basilisk doesn't care if the opponent is pure blood or not, it will kill you if you look at it. It's just the principal. Isn't he not in school again?

"But he can speak Parseltongue, and he has the blood of Slytherin." A pure-blood wizard from Hufflepuff shouted, "Harry is the heir of Slytherin!"

Doubt and fear enveloped everyone again, and everyone stared at Harry in fear. Malfoy stood aside and sulked. Rogge had clearly said that he did not have Slytherin blood.

"Everyone, put on protective glasses immediately." Snape ordered sternly.

He himself was confused as to why Harry was a Parseltongue. Lily is a Muggle-born wizard, and the damn Potters have never heard of marrying into the Gaunt family.

"What's going on?" Snape's mood was very complicated, and all kinds of possibilities were passing through his mind.

Under Snape's scolding, everyone hurriedly took out their protective glasses and fastened them tightly on their faces. But at times like this, someone always slips up. Because they forgot their protective glasses.

"I didn't bring one!" screamed a freshman.

"Roger, are there more?" another girl asked eagerly.

"No." Rogge shook his head. The principal and professor had warned him many times, how could he forget it.

"Then, what should I do..." The freshman cried sadly. Even though the classmates had glasses, they were unable to do anything.

Some people were so anxious that they burst into tears, while others felt a little lucky. But among these people, there is definitely no Lockhart.

He had specially dressed up for tonight's duel, had his hair styled, and changed his clothes. The style of the protective glasses was too abrupt, so he threw them in the office. He originally thought that the basilisk was just a school legend. After all, he had never heard of it when he was studying at Hogwarts. However, when the basilisk really appeared outside, he was so frightened that his legs weakened.

Lockhart smiled stiffly and kept hypnotizing himself: The basilisk is outside the auditorium, but it will be gone soon!

When he saw Snape handing over his glasses to the little wizard, he felt relieved: the basilisk shouldn't be that scary.

"People without glasses, can't you close your eyes?" Snape shouted loudly to quiet the restless students.

"You don't have to be afraid! Don't forget, we have Professor Lockhart here!" Snape looked at Lockhart maliciously, and pretended to be pleased and praised: "Gilderoy is the solver of problems and the nemesis of evil. . He is still your Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. Now, it is time for him to show his strength."

"But... this, this, I..." Lockhart stammered, his face turning pale. Everyone looked at him expectantly.

"Professor, please destroy that monster!" A girl begged with tears in her eyes.

As a fan of Lockhart, she firmly believes that Lockhart can do anything, "You are a third-class recipient of the Order of Merlin, so you can do it!"

"You are also an honorary member of the Anti-Dark Arts Alliance!" another fan added.

"You have defeated so many dark creatures, vampires, ghouls, trolls, werewolves, snowmen..."

Fans, every word you say to me is completely forcing your "brother" to die. They really made me cry to death.

Lockhart forced a smile, but felt miserable inside. He stole those stories from real heroes. Except for the Forgetting Curse, he couldn't use any other spells.

However, in the face of the enthusiastic expectations of fans, he could not say no in any case. Because this will reveal your true self, and the persona you have built for many years will be completely torn apart. In Rogge's words, he was in danger of the house collapsing.

"Professor, will Ron be in danger if he doesn't have glasses?" Harry looked at Snape anxiously, knowing that he couldn't count on Lockhart.

Snape had no expression or words in response to Harry's request for help.

Harry couldn't help but feel worried. The basilisk was outside. Has no one discovered it? Anyone who has seen it has already...

Harry didn't dare to think any more, he looked at the door in fear. Has Principal Dumbledore been killed by the basilisk before he comes? And Professor McGonagall, Hagrid...

He suddenly thought of many people, as if they were dying before his eyes. Harry seemed to see the basilisk opening its bloody mouth and swallowing them whole.

Snape looked at Lockhart and continued to praise sincerely: "I remember you said that the reason why the monster was not caught is because this matter was not handed over to you. Now that the monster is outside, we should let it go. Let you fix it.”

Snape did not give Lockhart a chance to refute, and continued: "Now everyone is looking forward to you to deal with the monster. I think it is your unshirkable responsibility as the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

"And you?"

"Me?" Snape shook his head and said regretfully: "I'm just a Potions teacher who lives in a dungeon, has no fun, and has an eccentric personality. Apart from knowing how to stir a cauldron with a wand, I know nothing else."

Snape returned what Lockhart had said sarcastically to him intact, and even "considerately" helped him solve his worries.

"As your assistant, I can still help a little bit, such as taking care of the students."

"Well, then!" Lockhart backed down. Even if the basilisk was really outside, it would be impossible to guard all the exits.

He made a mental plan, quietly went out to avoid the basilisk, and then sneaked back into the office. Hogwarts is too dangerous and I can't stay there for another day. As long as you stay out of sight, you can get rid of even the slightest infamy.

Having an idea, Lockhart smiled at everyone, picked up his wand and left through the side door like a true warrior.

"He won't be killed, right?" Hermione pulled Rogge, looking at Lockhart's figure and feeling tragic.

"He is not such a stupid person..."

Lockhart leaves the Great Hall and sees a giant snake shadow on the ceiling. He swallowed, it was the legendary basilisk.

He tiptoed away, not daring to make any sound. Suddenly, a golden-red bird that looked like a blazing fire flew from the other side of the corridor.

Lockhart didn't know where the bird came from, but a bird that seemed to be on fire was just as scary. When he came to see Dumbledore for the summer, Fawkes was as old as a turkey losing its feathers.

It's completely different now. Fox turned into a monster in his eyes, with a sharp mouth and two claws, and eyes as red and bright as two burning furnaces.

It made a clear cry, which scared Lockhart so much that he closed his eyes and fell to the ground with his head in his arms. Fox didn't come for him. He didn't even look at him and went straight to the basilisk.

It had just passed into nirvana not long ago, and its strength had not yet fully recovered. Relying on its flexible movement, it found the right opportunity to peck the basilisk's eyes hard.

hiss!

The miserable screams echoed in the corridor, and everyone's hearts couldn't help but tremble. Daphne held Rogge's arm, clutched the amethyst pendant on her chest and kept chanting.

The basilisk had one of its eyes pecked out by Fox and screamed repeatedly. It shook its head and ran away in a hurry. Fox followed closely behind and gave chase.

The two figures soon disappeared at the end of the corridor, and the surroundings returned to deathly silence. Lockhart was still lying on the ground shivering, muttering to himself: "Can't see me, can't see me..."

"Run...ran?" Lockhart made sure that the two monsters were gone, then he stood up shakily, holding on to the wall.

Hogwarts is too dangerous and you must leave immediately no matter what. He looked towards the corridor behind him, where the firebird and the basilisk had fought. There, lying a bloody eyeball.

"Birds can't talk." Lockhart gritted his teeth and picked up the pecked out eyeball and put it in his hand.

He cleared his throat and straightened his clothes. After thinking about what to say, he knocked on the door of the auditorium: "Snape, open the door. The basilisk has been seriously injured by me and escaped."

"Basilisk?" Most of the little wizards were confused.

Didn't Colin say it was a big green snake that could petrify people? Why did he become a basilisk again?

Snape opened the door and Lockhart rushed in. He couldn't wait to show off his trophy: "These are the eyes of the basilisk! I have driven it away. It's a pity that it escaped too fast, otherwise I would have killed it and hung its head on the wall of my office as a decoration." Taste."

Lockhart looked regretful, feeling sorry for not killing the basilisk: "Oh, it's all my fault. If my spell was faster, you wouldn't have to worry about it in the future."

"But don't worry, I already know roughly where the secret room is."

"Really?"

"Believe me, believe your Professor Gilderoy Lockhart! Thanks to my heroic spell, that ugly basilisk was driven away."

"Wow, you are such a hero, Professor Lockhart."

…

Snape's face couldn't help but twitch. He was not deaf, he could hear Fawkes's cry. How shameless does one have to be to do something like this?

"Professor, what was that bird song just now?" Rogge looked at Lockhart with a smile, curious about how he would explain it.

"Oh, that's the bird disrupting spell I invented. It can summon birds to distract it." Lockhart said nonsense confidently, "This is my newly invented spell. I have never used it before, so you are not here." I saw it in my book..."

"Okay, I shouldn't have asked him more!" Rogge shook his head, and Lockhart had jumped on the stage, taking the trophies and starting to compile a story.

Lockhart has been having a very difficult time these past few months, and the little wizard has been unable to act with him in class. Colleagues also ignored his story. Now I'm fine, I drove away the basilisk and blinded one of its eyes. The physical evidence is here, who can doubt himself?

He has already thought of a title for his next book: "Me, the Savior and the Basilisk." He also wants to have an exclusive interview with Rita to increase the popularity of the new book before it is released.

"Teacher, are we together?" Rogge noticed that Snape was leaving and asked quickly.

"Let's go." Snape shook his head. Since there are clues, we should find the location of the secret room instead of talking about it here.

He led several people to search along the blood stain outside the door, and finally stopped in front of the bathroom on the second floor. The blood trail stopped there.

"It got into the sewer." At this moment, Dumbledore appeared with Fawkes.

"Professor, has it grown up?" Harry looked at the phoenix with joy. The last time he saw it, it was still an ugly little bird.

"Yeah, it's much more beautiful now." Dumbledore gently stroked the phoenix's golden and red feathers, "Thanks to Fawkes, it did us a big favor."

Everyone is envious of Dumbledore for having such a magical pet, and it is said that the men in the Dumbledore family have a phoenix as their guardian.

"If Fox hadn't seen it with his own eyes, it would be hard to imagine that the huge thing could get into such a narrow passage."

"Didn't Professor Lockhart defeat the basilisk?" Hermione muttered, knowing that this possibility was very slim.

It's just that I worshiped Lockhart as an idol at first, but now that I see his true appearance, it's really hard to believe it. Hermione saw Dumbledore's half-smiling expression, and her idol Lockhart was completely shattered.

Harry finally understood why he heard the basilisk's voice from the wall. Turns out it had been moving through the pipes.

"Fox hurt it very badly. I don't think it will act rashly for the time being." Dumbledore already had a guess in his mind and knew that Tom was back.

"Professor, now that you have found the entrance, why don't you just go inside and investigate?"

"This is not the real location of the Chamber of Secrets. The basilisk was very cunning and deliberately escaped from here to make us think that the Chamber of Secrets was here. But it was also stupid and exposed how it moved around the school." Dumbledore looked up. ceiling.

Fifty years ago, in the same bathroom, Myrtle died there inexplicably. For years, he had been searching for the entrance to the Slytherin Chamber of Secrets.

The Basilisk's actions today completely exposed the entrance to the secret room: the unused girls' bathroom on the third floor.

Previously, many headmasters believed that the Chamber of Secrets was in Slytherin House, or hidden in the Black Lake. No one thought that Salazar would build the entrance to the secret chamber in the public area of ​​the castle.

Dumbledore understood Salazar's thoughts, "He has always wanted to eliminate Muggle-born wizards. His thoughts are preserved in the Sorting Hat, and the Sorting Ceremony has destined that Slytherin will not have those target wizards."

Once the basilisk is released, Slytherin is the safest place. The wizards in the other three colleges are all targets of the basilisk. "

Due to the deaths that had occurred in the bathroom on the third floor, the former principal secretly cast magic there, causing people to subconsciously avoid it. Now, as long as you keep an eye on the bathroom on the third floor, you can find out who opened the secret room and released the basilisk.

"Albus, there is something I need to discuss with you." Snape stared at Harry and whispered.

"Come to my office, Severus." Dumbledore nodded.

"I need to know more about Harry," Snape said straight to the point.

Dumbledore pondered for a moment: "Did you find any problem?"

"He used Parseltongue to protect the Hufflepuff students at the Duel Club tonight." Snape said this, his voice trembling with excitement, "Albus, he is a Parseltongue!"

The last Parseltongue was Voldemort, the guy who killed Lily. Snape didn't understand why Harry had the ability to speak Parseltongue like Voldemort.

"It seems that our little wizard is very brave. His behavior of protecting his classmates deserves extra points." Dumbledore laughed, but Snape stared at him closely.

"You know why? Right?" Snape had a premonition of something and looked ugly.

"Well, I only discovered this situation recently." Dumbledore stood up and fiddled with the strange silver instruments on the table. "Things may be very troublesome."

He tapped it lightly with his wand, and the instrument immediately started humming.