https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-295-Hogwarts-Traditions-A-Restless-Halloween/13007935/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-297-The-Legend-of-the-Chamber-of-Secrets/13007937/
Chapter 296: The Lost Diary
Chapter 296: The Lost Diary
The following day, Filch was still nowhere to be found in the castle.
During dinner, Colin specifically sought out Harry to inquire about the events that transpired in Lockhart's office the previous day.
"You mustn't tell anyone else, Professor Dumbledore doesn't want too many people to know about this," Harry whispered.
Colin glanced around and lowered his voice, "Filch was turned to stone by some advanced Dark Magic."
"Can't Madam Pomfrey cure him?" Colin asked.
Harry shook his head, "No, Madam Pomfrey has tried several potions on him, even soaking him in a barrel of potion, but to no avail. However..."
Harry hesitated for a moment before continuing, "Lockhart claimed he had a solution and mentioned a place called Vaga... something, I can't quite recall the name.
Anyway, he encountered a similar situation there and resolved it using various protective charms."
"I think he's just boasting," Ron interjected.
"Remember when he said the same thing on the third floor, but the names were completely different?" Ron added.
"It's just a different name, you can't say that," Hermione countered. "What if he encountered it twice?"
"Hermione, do you still believe his stories?" Ron asked, frowning in disapproval. "He couldn't even handle a house-elf."
"Speaking of Ron..." Colin quickly changed the subject as he noticed the tension between the two.
"Did you find your pet?"
"Oh, you mean Binky?" Ron pulled the plump rat from his pocket.
"Guess what, he didn't even run outside. He was hiding under the cabinet in the common room, but he seemed a bit listless, probably because he hadn't eaten in a while."
"No worries, I have some rat vitalizer here," Colin said, taking out a small bottle filled with red potion and handing it to Ron.
"Thanks, Colin," Ron said, taking it happily.
Colin had given him a bottle of rat vitalizer last year, which proved to be very useful. Every time Binky drank it, he became more energetic. However, the quantity was limited, and the bottle from last year had long been used up, so Ron felt awkward about asking Colin for more.
"Don't mention it, I should be thanking you for satisfying my curiosity," Colin said, waving his hand dismissively. "It's just a bottle of rat vitalizer, no big deal. Feel free to come to me when you need more."
He then turned to Harry.
"Potter..."
"Just call me Harry."
"Okay, Harry," Colin asked, "Have you heard any strange voices lately?"
"Strange voices? What do you mean..." Harry asked.
Colin explained, "I mean whispers that only you can hear, but others can't."
Harry scratched his head, trying to recall...
"No," he replied.
"I only heard the letters speaking when I was replying to Lockhart's letters.
But Lockhart heard them too, and he said it was a special way of replying that saved reading time, and many of his fans were using it."
"That's obviously not a special whisper..." Colin said.
Colin nodded, indicating that Harry probably hadn't heard the Basilisk's voice.
However, the petrification problem that even Dumbledore couldn't solve was most likely connected to the Basilisk.
Combined with the unexplained disappearance of the diary, Colin felt overwhelmed by all these issues.
He still couldn't figure out how the diary went missing.
Colin considered Ron's pet rat, Binky, also known as Peter Pettigrew... but this seemed unlikely.
Peter was currently just a rat pretending to be a pet, and Ron didn't even know that he had the Horcrux diary, so it was natural for him not to be aware of it.
Taking a step back, even if Peter knew about it... But the Shape-Shifting Lizard Hide Bag containing the box was always with Kyle, almost never leaving his sight. Even when he slept at night, Raton was by his side, keeping watch.
A rat sneaking in unnoticed and stealing something, without leaving any traces? It's not that Kyle looks down on Peter, but if he had this ability, he wouldn't be pretending to be a pet rat and hiding at the Weasley's for over a decade.
He also considered the possibility of a Time Turner... But the Department of Mysteries has already rejected their application twice, and even Dumbledore couldn't borrow one, let alone himself.
And why would he go back in time specifically to steal his own things... And who released the Basilisk that petrified Filch, was it him or Riddle? Kyle's mind was filled with questions.
On the other side, in Harry's eyes, Kyle suddenly became silent, sitting there motionless as if deep in thought.
If it weren't for the occasional changes in his expression and the unconscious slicing of his steak with his cutlery, Harry would have thought Kyle had been petrified too.
Ron was about to reach out and nudge Kyle, but Hermione stopped him.
"Ron, Kyle is thinking about something, don't disturb him," Hermione said.
"Alright," Ron replied, unconcerned. He casually placed his hand on the table and grabbed two more chicken legs.
About ten minutes later, Kyle finally snapped out of his thoughts, sighed in relief, and rubbed his forehead.
He decided to give up.
"What were you thinking about just now?" Harry asked curiously.
"I was thinking about what kind of Dark Magic could have done that to Filch," Kyle replied casually.
Harry became interested, "Did you figure it out?"
"I don't know much about Dark Magic," Kyle shrugged, "A Petrification Charm could do it, but obviously, it's no challenge for Dumbledore."
"Oh..." Harry looked a bit disappointed.
"By the way, how did you guys end up on the third floor?"
Kyle took a bite of his steak, which was almost cut into minced meat, and suddenly asked, "Were you planning to go straight to the Gryffindor Tower? I thought you'd go to the Great Hall to get some food before heading back."
"We went there because we heard the Mandrake crying," Harry sighed, "While we were in the dungeon, we unintentionally said something that it overheard, and we wanted to catch up and explain."
"And then we ran into the petrified Filch and that damn cat."
Ron touched the faint wound on his face and said angrily, "After we left the dungeon, that cat followed us all the way to the third floor. It accused us of being the ones who petrified Filch, and it scratched my face.
I should have used my wand then and..."
"Ron, we can't do that," Harry said seriously, "Running into the petrified Filch is troublesome enough. If we had injured Mrs. Norris, it would have been even harder to explain."
"I know..." Ron muttered, "But why do these things happen to us? That cat's scratch really hurt!"
"You're right," Harry said, touching his arm, which also had a few faint bloodstains.
Fortunately, Harry and Hermione were luckier, only getting scratched on their arms.
In Professor Lockhart's office, Madam Pomfrey applied some potion, and the bleeding stopped immediately.
When they woke up this morning, the wounds had almost healed, and they estimated that they would be completely healed by tomorrow.
(End of Chapter)
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