https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-295-A-Hogwarts-Tradition-A-Troubled-Halloween/12538430/
Chapter 296: The Missing Diary
Chapter 296: The Missing Diary
The next day, Filch still hadn't reappeared within the castle.
During dinner, Kael intentionally sought out Harry to inquire about what had transpired in Lockhart's office the previous day.
"You mustn't tell anyone else," Harry said, glancing around and lowering his voice. "Professor Dumbledore doesn't want too many people to know about this."
"So, it was indeed a sophisticated Dark spell that turned Filch into stone?" Kael asked.
"Madame Pomfrey couldn't cure him?"
Harry shook his head. "She tried several potions and even immersed him in a barrel of potion, to no avail. However..."
Harry hesitated before continuing, "Lockhart claims he knows how to cure it. He mentioned a place called... Vaga, something like that. I can't quite recall the name. Anyway, he said he'd encountered a similar situation there and helped people using various amulets."
"I think he's bluffing," Ron interjected confidently. "Remember what he said on the third floor? The locations he mentioned were completely different."
"That doesn't mean you can accuse him of lying," Hermione rebutted. "What if he's encountered it twice?"
"Hermione, do you still believe his stories?" Ron frowned in displeasure. "He couldn't even handle a house-elf."
"Speaking of which, Ron..." Kael quickly changed the subject as the two seemed about to argue. "...have you found your pet?"
"Oh, you mean Scabbers. Yes, I found him," Ron said, pulling the fat rat from his pocket. "Guess what? He hadn't even left the common room. He was just hiding under a cabinet, but he seemed a bit lethargic, probably from not eating for a while."
"Don't worry, I have a Rat Tonic for him."
Kael handed Ron a small bottle filled with red potion.
"Thanks, Kael," Ron said happily as he took the bottle.
Kael had given him a bottle of the same tonic last year, and it had been very effective. Scabbers always became energetic after drinking it, although the amount was quite small. Ron had finished the previous bottle long ago and hadn't asked Kael for more since then.
"You're welcome. I should be thanking you instead for satisfying my curiosity," Kael waved his hand dismissively. "It's just a bottle of tonic, no big deal. If you need more, feel free to come to me."
He then turned to Harry.
"Potter..."
"Just call me Harry."
"Okay, Harry. Have you heard any strange voices lately?" Kael asked.
"Strange voices? What do you mean..."
Kael explained, "I mean whispers that only you can hear, but others can't."
Harry scratched his hair, thinking hard for a moment...
"No."
"I only heard those letters talking back to Lockhart when I was helping him reply to them. But Lockhart heard it too, and he said it was a special way of replying to save time, and that many of his admirers use it."
"Obviously, that's not the kind of whispering we're talking about..." Kael nodded.
It seemed that Harry hadn't heard the Basilisk's voice.
However, the petrification issue, which even Dumbledore couldn't solve, was most likely related to the Basilisk.
Coupled with the mysteriously missing diary... Kael felt overwhelmed by all these problems.
He still couldn't figure out how the diary had gone missing.
Kael had considered Ron's rat, Scabbers, who was actually Peter Pettigrew, but the possibility seemed slim.
For a rat to sneak in unnoticed, steal something, and leave without a trace? Kyle didn't think lowly of Peter, but if he truly had such skills, he wouldn't have been hiding as a pet rat in the Weasley household for over a decade.
Another possibility that crossed his mind was the use of a Time-Turner... but the Ministry of Magic had denied their requests 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? Moreover, who had released the Basilisk that petrified Filch, was it him or Riddle?
Kyle's mind was filled with questions.
On the other hand, from Harry and the others' perspective, Kyle had suddenly fallen silent, sitting there motionless, deep in thought.
If it weren't for the occasional changes in his expression and the absent-minded cutting of his steak with his utensils, Harry would have thought Kyle had been petrified as well.
Ron was about to nudge Kyle with his hand, but Hermione stopped him.
"Ron, Kyle is thinking about something. Don't disturb him," Hermione said.
"Alright," Ron said, not minding it. He shifted his hand to the table and grabbed two more chicken legs.
After about ten minutes, Kyle finally snapped out of his thoughts, letting out a long sigh and rubbing his forehead.
He decided to give up.
"What were you thinking about just now?" Harry asked curiously.
"Just wondering what kind of dark magic could have turned Filch into stone," Kyle said casually.
Harry became intrigued, "So, did you figure it out?"
"I don't know much about dark magic," Kyle shrugged. "It could be the Petrification Curse, but that shouldn't be a problem for Dumbledore."
"Oh..." Harry looked a bit disappointed.
"By the way, how did you end up on the third floor earlier?"
Kyle took a bite of his steak, which was almost chopped into mincemeat, and suddenly asked, "Were you planning to head back to the Gryffindor tower directly? I thought you would go to the Great Hall first to get some food before returning."
"We went there because we were chasing after Peeves," Harry sighed. "While we were in the underground classroom, we unintentionally said some things that Peeves overheard, and we wanted to catch up and explain."
"And that's when we stumbled upon the petrified Filch and that damn cat."
Ron rubbed his face where there was a faint scratch, and said angrily, "That cat had been following us ever since we left the underground classroom. When we reached the third floor, it accused us of petrifying Filch and scratched my face.
I say, I should have used my wand on it back then..."
"Ron, we can't do that," Harry said seriously. "Running into the petrified Filch was troublesome enough; if we had also injured Mrs. Norris, we would have had an even harder time explaining ourselves."
"I know..." Ron muttered, "But why do these things always happen to us? That cat really scratched me good!"
"You're right about that," Harry said, rubbing his arm where there were also a few faint bloodstains.
However, he and Hermione were lucky, only getting scratched on their arms.
When they were in Lockhart's office, Madam Pomfrey had applied some potion, stopping the bleeding immediately.
By the next morning, the wounds had mostly healed, and they would likely be completely gone by tomorrow.
...
(End of Chapter)
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