https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-37-The-Golden-Trio-s-Investigation/13456579/
Chapter 36: Accidental Discovery
Chapter 36: Accidental Discovery
The next day, Felix arrived at the corridor where the attack had occurred the previous night. It wasn't surprising to encounter Filch there.
The corridor had clearly been cleaned, with all the puddles of water gone. A lone chair leaned against the wall where the message "The Chamber has been opened" was written.
At that moment, Filch was facing away from Felix, scrubbing the wall with a cleaning agent, but to no avail.
"Mr. Filch."
Filch turned around, his eyes bulging and his face flushed. He was muttering to himself, but upon seeing Felix, he managed a polite greeting. "Professor Hep."
"I came to examine the scene; perhaps I can find some clues that were left behind."
Felix didn't have much interaction with Filch during his school days. Back then, Filch didn't have Mrs. Norris to assist him, and Felix's exceptional Disillusionment Charm made him immune to Filch's threats.
Filch stepped aside, standing awkwardly to one side. He had just revealed his Squib identity yesterday, and today, facing this brilliant professor, he didn't want to stay a second longer.
"Um, I'll be leaving now, Professor. I have some things to attend to..."
"You go ahead", Felix replied. "Oh, right." He waved his wand, and the writing on the wall faded.
"Huh?"
Filch was taken aback, quickly moving closer to the wall to inspect the faint letters. "It seems to be a form of coercive magic, but not a permanent adhesion charm." Felix tapped his wand on the wall, and the writing disappeared completely.
"Th-thank you." Filch's face turned red, and he hurriedly left, forgetting his cleaning supplies.
Felix began to search the area and soon found a clue.
He crouched down, tapping his left hand ring with his wand, and a large magnifying glass appeared in his hand.
Felix carefully examined the ground, noticing a burn mark.
"What is this? How did it appear?"
Felix looked up and saw the girls' bathroom directly across from him. Without hesitation, he pushed open the brass handle and stepped inside.
It was a dark and damp place, with stains on the walls and puddles on the floor. The tiles on the row of sinks were chipped, and the only light came from a few blackened candles.
Felix forced himself to ignore the discomfort and scanned the area.
Suddenly, a voice came from the farthest stall. "Who's there?" A sullen ghost emerged, her pearl-colored glasses covering most of her face.
She looked at Felix and clearly recognized the professor.
The ghost was stunned, glancing back to confirm that this was indeed her domain, the girls' bathroom...
"P-professor?"
"Hello, Moaning Myrtle." Felix's voice was calm. He was here to investigate, and he had a legitimate reason, yes, that was it.
Moaning Myrtle stared at him for a few seconds, then let out a scream and flew back into the toilet, the sound of splashing water echoing through the room.
Felix: "..." Really? I just wanted to ask you a few questions, and I'm even holding back my embarrassment.
Felix said, "Moaning Myrtle, I know you're in there. Did you see the attack that happened yesterday?"
"No! I saw nothing!" Moaning Myrtle shouted from the stall.
Then, he heard footsteps approaching from nearby, and his heart raced. He quickly cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself and hurried out of the bathroom, narrowly avoiding a red-haired girl.
Being discovered by a ghost wasn't the issue, but if a student saw him...
His reputation would be ruined.
Over the next few days, during his free periods, Felix worked with several other professors to search the entire castle, but they found nothing.
One day in the Great Hall, Felix was eating lunch while still pondering the matter.
"The root of it all is the Dark Lord's Horcrux, but knowing this seems to be of little use... I don't know who the Heir is, where the Chamber is, or where the Horcrux is hidden."
"Chamber, Slytherin, Heir, petrification... these are clearly the key terms. But how do they connect?"
Felix felt that he was very close to the truth, yet it was still shrouded in a layer of mist.
"Slytherin... snake?"
He strained to recall, trying to uncover the long-dormant memories. He seemed to see something: "Harry" battling a Basilisk. But the memory was quite hazy, and he wasn't sure if he had mixed it up. He remembered that "Harry" also seemed to have single-handedly defeated a horde of Dementors.
How could that be? Even an average adult Wizard couldn't do that!
And why would Dementors attack the school?
But Felix quickly reminded himself that in the world of magic, anything was possible. Especially with a "protagonist" around.
"So, it's likely true that a Basilisk caused Mrs. Norris's petrification." Felix followed this hypothesis to its logical conclusion.
But he encountered another problem.
What kind of snake has the power of petrification?
The only one Felix could think of was the Medusa, but that magical creature was extinct.
"It's not impossible that Slytherin performed a bloodline graft... from his surviving notes, he had a deep understanding of magical bloodlines."
By the time he finished lunch, he still hadn't figured it out. But he soon had a new idea: to gather all the rumors about the Chamber over the years and sift through them one by one.
Perhaps the truth was hidden in the rumors.
...
Three days later, Felix stood opposite a tapestry of "Troll-Banishing Barnabas" on the eighth floor of the castle, watching a silver door slowly appear with a peculiar expression.
So, this is it?
After a brief hesitation, he lightly tapped his chest, wrist, and ankle with his wand. A flash of light passed over each spot, and then he stepped inside.
It was a massive storage room for junk, with piles of discarded items: broken quills, old books, damaged scrying mirrors... he even saw a Golden Snitch with half a wing missing.
He cautiously walked around, but found no clues.
"A hidden room?" He found it hard to believe that the proud Slytherin would place the Chamber here.
"But this room is quite hidden. Its magic must be fascinating; I'll have to study it another day." Felix stepped out of the room, glancing back at the silver door, which had quietly vanished.
Elsewhere—
The Golden Trio was also working hard to uncover the secrets of the Chamber, with the "effort" mainly coming from Hermione Granger.
After days of fruitless research and a two-week wait for the next available copy of "Hogwarts, A History", the Gryffindor witch finally raised her hand in History of Magic class, benefiting everyone by obtaining valuable information about the Chamber.
Poor Professor Binns had no choice but to deviate from his lesson plan and, under the eager gazes of the class, began to speak about "myths and legends", which greatly annoyed him. After this interruption, his usually slow, dry voice sped up, making his class even more soporific.
The once-energetic young wizards slumped again, their faces quickly becoming blank and dazed.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
