Chapter 295: A Hogwarts Tradition, A Troubled Halloween
Chapter 295: A Hogwarts Tradition, A Troubled Halloween
As the feast drew to a close, the students reluctantly began to exit the Great Hall, still buzzing with excitement from the evening's entertainment.
The Skeleton Dance troupe had already departed while they were dining, leaving some feeling a bit disappointed.
"That troupe is incredibly exclusive," a young witch remarked within the crowd. "My father told me that even the Ministry of Magic has to wait their turn for an invitation to perform."
"I heard they were invited to perform at the Quidditch World Cup along with the Weird Sisters," another student chimed in. "People said it was the most spectacular opening ceremony in a century."
"I can't believe we got to see them perform here at Hogwarts. Headmaster Dumbledore really pulled out all the stops..."
"Of course, we're talking about Albus Dumbledore here," someone added, awe-struck.
The students chatted excitedly as they made their way out of the Great Hall, heading back to their common rooms. However, before they could even exit the entrance hall, a piercing, hair-raising shriek echoed from the direction of the stairs.
The noise sent shivers down their spines, and the chatter gradually died down.
"What was that?" someone asked, their voice laced with concern.
"That was Mrs. Norris," a student replied, his voice shaking slightly. "I'd know that ungodly screech anywhere."
"Do you think she caught someone breaking the rules again... But we were all in the Great Hall!"
"Maybe a dangerous magical creature escaped from the Forbidden Forest... Something about Mrs. Norris' cry just now seemed off. She sounded just like my cat does when she's startled."
"Let's go take a look..."
Driven by curiosity, the crowd began to move faster, drawn irresistibly towards the source of the sound. With the feast just concluded, they had nothing better to do, and any potential danger was the last thing on their minds.
Just then, another shriek pierced the air, and the students followed the sound up to the third floor.
In an empty corridor, they finally caught sight of Mrs. Norris. She stood atop a statue at the end of the hallway, her back arched and every hair on her body standing on end, resembling a spiky porcupine.
On the wall behind her, some words had been scrawled, glinting faintly in the light of the flickering torches.
The Chamber of Secrets has been opened.
Enemies of the heir, beware.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione stood rigidly in front of the wall, their eyes darting anxiously towards the crowd that had gathered. Harry seemed poised to explain something, but as he began to turn his head, Mrs. Norris let out another bloodcurdling screech.
That settled any confusion about the source of the earlier cries.
"Excuse me... excuse me!" Colin Creevey pushed his way through the crowd, camera in hand. "Harry, I've been looking all over for you! Why weren't you at the feast?"
Harry attempted to respond, but Mrs. Norris was having none of it. Any slight movement from the trio resulted in the cat pouncing and scratching at them viciously. Harry had never encountered such an agile cat; he, Ron, and Hermione all bore long, bloody scratches on their bodies, and for some reason, they couldn't fight back.
"Coming through, coming through..." Kyle pushed his way through the crowd as well.
He had only come out of curiosity, but when he read the words on the wall, his pupils dilated in shock.
The Chamber of Secrets?
How was that possible?
Riddle's diary was still locked in his trunk, and he always kept it with him, so there was no way anyone could have accessed it.
But what about this situation before him?
Kyle's mind was in a whirl, and he didn't even register that Connor was trying to speak to him.
He walked forward instinctively, but Mrs. Norris, usually quite amicable towards Kyle, turned and let out a low growl, baring her sharp claws.
Kyle halted, not daring to take another step forward.
Only when he drew closer did he realize that Mrs. Norris wasn't standing on a statue at all. It was Filch, curled up and frozen in place, his head bowed, which was why they hadn't recognized him at first.
The other students pressed forward as well.
"Enemies of the heir, beware! You're next, mud..." Draco Malfoy trailed off, leaving the last word unspoken, but his meaning was clear.
However, a spark of realization seemed to ignite in his cold eyes, and his usually pallid face flushed with excitement as he directed a malicious smirk at Hermione.
Kyle, standing in the crowd, furrowed his brows, feeling even more confused. If Filch's current state wasn't due to a petrification jinx... then it could only be the work of the Basilisk.
"What's going on here!"
The crowd parted automatically as Dumbledore strode forward, followed by the other professors. In the blink of an eye, he had made his way through the students and reached Filch.
Mrs. Norris finally stopped bristling and jumped down to the ground, quietly standing by Dumbledore's side.
"Now, everyone back to your dormitories!"
Dumbledore addressed the group: "As for you, Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, and Miss Granger, please come with me. I need your assistance with something."
Professor Lockhart hurried forward, eager to help.
"My office is the nearest, Headmaster, just upstairs... and I have extensive knowledge of this kind of dark magic. Back when I was with the Castribe tribe, I helped them with a similar situation. At the time, they..."
"Thank you, Gilderoy, please proceed to your office."
Dumbledore interrupted his babbling, "Would you also kindly notify Madam Pomfrey of the infirmary? I believe she should come and take a look at this."
"Of course, Headmaster."
The crowd parted once more to let them pass.
Professor Lockhart looked delighted and hurried off towards the infirmary, clearly proud to be of assistance.
The other professors followed Dumbledore, leaving instructions for the prefects to escort the students back to their common rooms.
As soon as the professors left, the crowd erupted into chatter, everyone discussing Filch and the so-called Chamber of Secrets.
Draco Malfoy was surrounded by the most students, but he merely smiled smugly without saying a word.
The prefects began gathering students from their respective houses, including Harris.
"Kyle, let's head back..." Connor turned and suddenly realized that Kyle, who had been by her side moments ago, was now nowhere to be seen.
"Cedric, have you seen Kyle?"
"He was just here a moment ago... Hmm, where did he go?"
At that moment, outside the crowd, Kyle, concealed by a Disillusionment Charm, dashed towards the Peeves' bathroom.
The quill in the door crack was still in place.
Pushing the door open, he found the explosive books untouched.
Kyle crouched down to examine the strands of hair beneath the books... their positions hadn't changed either.
"Oh, Kyle, did you come to comfort me?" Peeves sat on the sink, sniffling as she spoke, "That horrible poltergeist, he said I..."
"Sorry, Peeves."
Kyle interrupted her, "Have there been any visitors recently?"
Peeves stopped crying and looked at Kyle suspiciously, "You."
"Aside from me," Kyle continued, "Has anyone else been here?"
"No one comes here except you. Who else would bother with a sad, sobbing, gloomy old Peeves?"
As she spoke, she started crying again.
However, Kyle wasn't in the mood to comfort her at the moment.
After leaving the bathroom, he found an empty classroom and took out the box from his Chameleonic Lizard Skin Bag.
The setup in the entrance room was unchanged.
Kyle retrieved the magical box from under the bed, but as soon as he picked it up, his heart skipped a beat.
The box felt lighter.
"No way... It must be my imagination. No one could have gotten in here."
Kyle took a few deep breaths to calm himself before nervously opening the box.
But inside, there was nothing... The diary that had been inside was gone.
"Wait... I must not be opening it correctly."
Kyle closed the lid and tried again.
After repeating this process five times, Kyle had to admit that the diary was indeed missing, and it had disappeared right under his nose.
Just then, a Billywig flew in unsteadily.
Seeing it, Kyle quickly asked, "Has anyone been here?"
The Billywig hovered in mid-air, its expression mirroring Peeves'.
It let out a soft buzz.
"Only me?"
"Are you sure?"
The Billywig flew up and down, nodding.
Unconvinced, Kyle sought out Scabbers and Norbert, asking them the same question, but their answers were identical.
Scabbers sniffed around the room but couldn't detect the scent of any other human wizard.
(End of Chapter)
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