Chapter 58 Rumors are rising

He must have done it! screamed Filch, turning his face to Harry.

It's impossible for a second year student to do that, said Dumbledore firmly. It would require extremely high Dark Arts.

But Filch didn't seem to agree, he still insisted that this was a good thing Harry did.

Snape on the side even added fuel to the fire by questioning Harry's whereabouts, trying to get him to quit the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

For a while, the scene was a little chaotic.

Innocent until proven guilty, Severus. Dumbledore was obviously still as firm as ever.

Snape looked very annoyed. , Filch is naturally the same.

My cat is petrified! he screamed, eyeballs bulging outward. I want to see someone get some punishment!

We can cure it, Filch, said Dumbledore patiently. Mrs. Sprout has got some mandrakes recently. Once they're big enough, I have a cure that will make Lori Mrs. Si is back from the dead.

I'll make it, interposed Lockhart, I must have made it a hundred times, I could make a mandrake resurrection potion while I was dreaming—

I think it's better to leave it to McGlane than— Snape squinted, and only half-spoken, but anyone with a discerning eye could hear what he meant.

In the end, it was Dumbledore who told Harry and the others to go back first.

The three of Harry naturally wished they could leave earlier. They walked as fast as they could, almost running.

Once upstairs in Lockhart's office, they entered an empty classroom and closed the door softly. Harry squinted at the faces of his two friends in the darkness.

You say, should I tell them about the voice I heard? He hesitated.

Hermione was still wondering what the Chamber of Secrets was, and Ron stood aside, dazed. For a while, no one answered what he meant by this sentence.

For several days, the students talked about nothing but the attack on Mrs. Norris - something Filch kept in mind at all times.

He often paced up and down the spot where Lady Norris was killed, as if thinking that his attacker would come again. Harry saw him scrubbing the writing on the wall with Mrs. Skoll's All Purpose Miracle Stain Remover, but it seemed to be in vain, the writing still gleaming so brightly on the stone wall.

And if Filch wasn't patrolling the crime scene, he would have been staring at two red eyes, secretly hiding in the corridor, and then suddenly pounced on the unsuspecting students, and tried every means to find excuses to put them in confinement, for example, they Panting too loudly, or hippie smiling face and other reasons.

As for Ginny, she seemed very disturbed by what had happened to Mrs Norris. According to Ron, she had always been very fond of cats.

Ron would comfort his precious sister from time to time, but occasionally he would stare at the air in a daze.

Judging from his friendship with Harry, his current state must have been noticed by Harry long ago. But recently Harry has been worrying about other things too!

Among other things, just the fact that someone wanted to run away when they saw him was enough to give him a headache for a while.

One day, Hermione came out from between the bookshelves. She seemed very annoyed, but was finally willing to talk to them, probably because Maca hadn't been in the library these days.

Several copies of 'Hogwarts, A History' have been borrowed, she said, sitting down next to Harry and Ron. The registration line is two weeks away. Ugh I wish I hadn't left mine at home, but there's no room for Lockhart's thick volume in the trunk.

Why do you want to see it? Harry asked suspiciously.

For the same reason that others want to see it,

said Hermione, look up the legend about the Chamber of Secrets.

What's the Chamber of Secrets? Harry asked immediately.

That's the problem, I can't remember, Hermione said quietly, biting her lip, glancing seemingly unintentionally into the back corner of the library, and I can't find this story anywhere else—

Hermione, let me see your composition. Ron looked at his watch and said anxiously.

No! Hermione glared at Ron suddenly.

Seeing that she seemed to be in a bad mood again, Ron pursed his lips, but his eyes also glanced at that corner.

It has almost become Maca's exclusive seat there, but since the petrification incident, he has never been seen again.

After a while, the class bell rang.

Ron and Hermione walked in silence all the way to History of Magic class. On the way, Harry looked at them both suspiciously several times - he finally realized that something was wrong.

I said, why don't you ask Maca? It seems that I haven't chatted with him for a while. Harry thought this idea should be good, after all, Maca has a very good position in the hearts of the trio.

no no!

Harry didn't expect that Hermione and Ron would deny this bad idea in unison for the first time.

Hmm...what's the matter? Harry couldn't help but be puzzled.

It's okay. No, nothing...

Hermione and Ron glanced at each other. Although they didn't know what the other was thinking, they were undoubtedly related to Maca.

In the end, the three of them came to the classroom of the History of Magic class in silence.

History of Magic lessons were as dull as ever.

Professor Binns, the only ghost teacher at Hogwarts, came across the blackboard to the podium, opened his notes, and read in a dry, low, monotonous voice, the constant hum was like an old computer. vacuum cleaner.

The whole class was groggy, occasionally catching themselves up, copying down a name or a date, and falling back into a half-sleep.

But when he had been talking for half an hour, something that had never happened before in class happened—Hermione raised her hand.

Professor Binns looked up suddenly, looking very surprised.

You are--

I'm Granger, Professor. I wonder if you can tell us what happened to the Chamber of Secrets. Hermione said in a clear voice.

The word secret room is obviously a hot topic recently, and most of the students feel a little bit of fear about it. Hermione suddenly brought up this topic in class, as if pouring cold water on all the drowsy classmates, everyone sat up straight.

Professor Binns blinked when he heard this.

My course is History of Magic, he said in his dry, breathless voice. I study facts, Miss Granger, not myths and legends.

He cleared his throat, lowered his head again and hummed: In October of that year, a special group of magicians from Sardinia—

But Hermione raised her hand again.

I would like to ask, sir, legends are based on facts, don't they?

In desperation, Professor Binns had no choice but to speak slowly.

Well... yeah, I guess, you could say that. He looked at Hermione hard, as if he'd never looked at a student properly before.

However, the legend you mentioned is a very sensational, even ridiculous story...

In fact, Hogwarts was founded about a thousand years ago, and the founders were the four greatest wizards and wizards at that time. Four houses are named after them: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin.

For the first few years, the founders worked harmoniously together, looking for young people who showed signs of magic and bringing them to the castle to be nurtured.

However, as time went by, differences gradually developed between them.

The rift between Slytherin and the others grew wider. He believed that Hogwarts should be more selective in recruiting students, and that magical education should be limited to purely magical families.

He was reluctant to accept Muggle-born children, considering them unreliable.

Some days later, Slytherin and Gryffindor had a violent argument over this issue, and Slytherin left the school.

That's what reliable historical sources tell us, said Professor Binns, pursing his lips, looking like a wrinkled old turtle—translucent, too.

...but these pure facts were overshadowed by a quaint legend about the Chamber of Secrets, he said, that the story said that Slytherin had built a secret chamber in the castle, and that the other founders knew nothing about it. .”

According to the legend, Slytherin sealed the Chamber of Secrets so that no one could open it until his true heir came to the school. Only that heir could open the Chamber of Secrets, release its horrors, and let it cleanse the school , to eliminate all those who are not worthy of learning magic.

This story is told here, even if it is over. The whole class was silent, and everyone stared at Professor Binns, hoping that he could continue speaking.

But as a historian of magic who is obsessed with facts, such myths and legends are obviously meaningless to him.

No matter how much the students urged him, he just didn't want to continue telling these stories that even he didn't believe.

Soon, get out of class is over.

The three were pushed aside by the crowd, when Harry's admirer, Colin Creevey, walked past them and greeted Harry excitedly.

Hello, Colin, Harry replied casually.

Harry...Harry, one of the boys in our class has been saying you're— Colin was too small, however, to stop the flow of people pushing him into the Great Hall.

They heard him scream Goodbye, Harry! and were completely swept away by the crowd.

What did the boy in his class say about you? Hermione asked puzzled. I guess I'm the Heir of Slytherin, I suppose, said Harry, his heart sinking a little more as he suddenly remembered the way Justin Fenriery scurried away from him at lunch .

Ron looked at Harry with a hesitant expression.