Chapter 318 Tension

“All students must be in their house’s common room by 6pm and no student is allowed to leave after this time.

You will be escorted by a professor every time you go to class, and you are not allowed to wander alone in the castle until the professor arrives.

Quidditch training and matches have been postponed, and no activities will be held in the evening..."

All the students sat at the long dining table in the auditorium, listening to Professor McGonagall in silence.

Professor McGonagall was really scared.

Before the holidays, the Ministry of Magic paid close attention to the situation at Hogwarts.

After the attack on Muggle Studies Professor Charity Bubbaji, some people even proposed to temporarily close Hogwarts and make every effort to find the Chamber of Secrets.

Although the proposal was later rejected by more people, as the number of attacks increased, the idea was raised again in the days before Christmas.

And that time, significantly fewer people voted no.

The reason why the Ministry of Magic is so quiet is not only because of Dumbledore, but also because the students were not harmed.

But this luck cannot last forever.

The current calm is only temporary. The previous attacks are like stacked explosive barrels that may explode at any time.

In the dark, some people are already ready to make a move.

Professor McGonagall can be sure that once a student is attacked, or the number of attacks increases to a certain number, they will take advantage of the situation and detonate all the explosive barrels.

No one knows what will happen then.

In addition, Professor McGonagall didn't want to see any students get hurt.

Now is the most critical time.

The mandrake is about to mature, and when the petrified people or ghosts wake up, they can learn about the secret chamber and the monsters from their mouths.

I believe that the successor of the secret room must also know this. In order to protect himself and hide those secrets, he will either stop here or become even crazier.

And the petrified dwarf proved that that person did not choose the former...

Professor McGonagall took a deep breath, and the expression on her face was more serious than ever.

Although all the people attacked so far have been petrified, this does not mean that the monster in the secret room will only petrify others.

After all, fifty years ago, when the Chamber of Secrets was first opened, some students died without knowing why.

This kind of thing must not happen a second time.

She looked at everyone and said in a suffocated voice: "I hope each of you can abide by the regulations, even for your own life safety!

Anyone who violates the rules will have all house points deducted and the house will be directly disqualified from participating in Quidditch competitions. "

"In addition, I urge anyone who thinks they know something to come forward.

Now every clue, no matter how trivial, has the potential to help us identify the criminal behind these attacks. "

After Professor McGonagall finished speaking, she hurriedly left.

As soon as she left, there was a burst of chatter in the auditorium.

All house points were deducted and he was disqualified from participating in Quidditch. There had never been such a severe punishment before.

"Fortunately, Professor McGonagall only postponed the Quidditch match..." Harry said somewhat thankfully.

"You..." Ron hesitated and glanced at Fred and George.

How could the two of them not guess what he was thinking.

"We won't be discovered, even for Quidditch," Fred said.

"That's true." George smiled and said: "Don't think about catching bad guys and becoming heroes like last year. That's not what you should do."

"We don't want to be heroes!" Ron said, scratching his neck.

Next to them, Harry and Hermione were both eating with their heads down and saying nothing.

At the Hufflepuff table, Kyle also remained silent.

Everyone was discussing who the successor was, and every time they named a name, Kyle would observe that person's expression.

But everyone looked normal, the only odd one being Lockhart.

He was quiet, not boasting about the cards he received or bragging about his countless accomplishments.

He who attaches great importance to image the most doesn't even have to style his hair. With his messy blond hair, he drinks glass after glass of wine. He looks completely different from his high-spirited appearance at noon.

Half an hour later, dinner time was over.

Professor McGonagall re-entered the auditorium, along with the other three deans.

Professor Sprout came over and sent the Hufflepuff students back to the common room.

"Unless you go to class, you must stay here and you are not allowed to go anywhere."

She did a head count and didn't leave until everyone was through the barrel door.

"Doesn't Professor Lockhart already know who the successor is?"

As soon as Professor Sprout left, someone couldn't wait to say: "Why can't professors just arrest that person!"

"Don't you understand yet?" Someone said disdainfully: "He is just bragging. In fact, he knows nothing and doesn't know anything, just like he showed in the Duel Club."

"Nonsense!" someone retorted, "You've all read his books...just think of the amazing things he did."

"He just said he did it."

…

The people in the common room were soon divided into two groups, arguing over Lockhart.

Kyle, Connor, and Cedric didn't participate in the pointless argument. They walked around the crowd and sat on a few sofas in the corner.

"Kyle, did you find anything?" Cedric asked.

"No." Kyle shook his head.

"That person is so well hidden." Kangna sighed. "Every time an attack happens, no one sees it. It's like it happens out of thin air... Could it be that the monster in the secret room is someone who can roam around in the castle at will?" A walking ghost?”

"Ghosts can't petrify others, they just look scary." Cedric looked at Kyle again, "Where did you find the golden chain you had before?"

"A... very hidden place." Kyle hesitated for a moment, but still did not reveal the secret room.

It was not that he had not thought of telling Professor Dumbledore the location of the secret room and the news about Riddle.

In fact, he had this idea when the diary disappeared mysteriously and attacks occurred frequently, but he never made up his mind.

Maybe it's because he can't bear to part with the basilisk... Kyle always subconsciously avoids this idea.

Thinking about it now, he always felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't put his finger on it... After all, the basilisk was indeed valuable. It could be piled up into a mountain in galleons, so it was normal to be reluctant to part with it.

Kyle rubbed his forehead, feeling inexplicably irritable.

"Speaking of clues, Kyle, do you remember that thing you gave me for Christmas?" At this time, Cedric suddenly stood up and trotted to the dormitory.

"wait for me a while."

After about a minute, he came back with a stack of parchment in his hand.