Chapter 37: The Golden Trio's Investigation
Chapter 37: The Golden Trio's Investigation
After class, Harry, Ron, and Hermione walked out of the classroom, discussing the information they had just obtained from Professor Binns.
"I always knew Salazar Slytherin was a twisted old lunatic", Ron said with disgust.
Hermione was still piecing together the information: "Professor Binns mentioned the monster in the Chamber, but no one knows what it is. However, Harry, we have a lead."
She gave Harry a meaningful look.
Harry understood her hint and quickly glanced around, then whispered, "You mean my Parseltongue..."
Ron also looked at them with a frightened expression.
"Exactly!"
The three squeezed through the crowded corridor and soon arrived at the scene of the attack.
The scene had changed considerably since that night. The water had been drained, the petrified cat was no longer hanging on the torch bracket, and the message "The Chamber has been opened" had been erased.
However, there was an empty chair leaning against the wall.
"Filch has been standing guard here", Ron whispered. "He's been in a terrible mood lately, often deducting points for things like being too loud or smiling too much."
"But that doesn't concern us. We just need to check the scene for any overlooked clues", Hermione said.
The three quickly got to work. Harry got down on the ground, his glasses almost touching the floor, and soon he found burn marks. Hermione also noticed a spectacular sight of spiders fleeing the castle in a line.
"What does that mean?" Harry asked, puzzled.
Ron kept his distance from the spiders, looking terrified: "It means a lot—like the spiders fear that monster."
Hermione methodically pieced together the clues: "So, the attacker is a snake, known for its ability to petrify and being the natural enemy of spiders. This clue brings us very close to the truth!"
The young witch said excitedly, "Give me a week, maybe two, and I'll find the information. Ron, seriously, why are you shaking so much?"
Ron then recounted how, as a child, the twins used shoddy magic to give his teddy bear extra legs, making her giggle.
Ron, annoyed, said, "If you had that experience, you wouldn't find it funny. Imagine holding your teddy bear and calling its name, only for it to suddenly sprout many legs..."
"The water on the floor is gone", Harry suddenly said.
"It's probably been cleaned up by Filch. That's his job", Ron replied without hesitation.
"But where did the water come from?" Harry had a hunch it might be a clue.
"Ah! I've got it", Hermione exclaimed.
"What is it?"
"I think of something—a possible witness. She's right next door and might have seen the entire attack."
Following her gaze, the two boys looked at the sign for the girls' bathroom and swallowed hard.
...
After dinner, they left the castle and followed the path to Hagrid's hut.
On the way, they continued to debate the events of the day.
"Personally, I think we shouldn't have gone to the girls' bathroom. Moaning Myrtle and that place are a nightmare! And we got caught by Percy", Ron grumbled.
"But we learned that she died fifty years ago after seeing a pair of large, terrifying yellow eyes. That suggests it was a snake's eyes."
Hermione, ignoring Ron's mumbled "not necessarily", continued, "Your information is useful. We also learned about Tom Riddle, who received the school's special award fifty years ago. It might not be a coincidence!"
Harry's eyes widened, "You mean, Tom ended the previous Heir of the Chamber."
"Exactly."
The three knocked on Hagrid's door, and he warmly welcomed the young wizards inside.
Ron's face showed surprise, "Hagrid, your place is clean."
Indeed, the three looked around, and Hagrid's hut was visibly cleaner. The black floor had been transformed into a dark brown one.
"Oh, you noticed that", Hagrid said casually. "Professor Hep visited me last time and tidied up before leaving. It was easy for him, just a wave of his wand."
"Professor Hep?" Hermione asked, surprised.
"Yes, Professor Hep. Dumbledore recommended him. He needed some advice on Magical Creatures, and I'm an expert in that area, though he's quite knowledgeable in some obscure fields, yes, very knowledgeable."
Hagrid served a plate of crisp cookies, a jug of Pumpkin Juice, and three cups. He said proudly, "Professor Hep is an excellent wizard. We didn't interact much when we were students, but—" he pointed to a book on the chair, "—look, that's a gift he gave me!"
The three couldn't wait to open the book. Hermione noticed that it was somewhat similar to Muggle comic books, mostly filled with pictures, and each page had a brief description at the bottom.
"Are these all Magical Creatures?" Ron asked curiously. This was completely different from what he had seen as a child.
"No, these are creatures from the Muggle World", Harry said excitedly. "Look, this is a lion, and this is a giraffe—its neck is very long, I've seen one at the zoo. This is a badger, similar to the Hufflepuff symbol, but they're definitely not the same."
Hermione wasn't unfamiliar with these animals. She had read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica, which included a section on animals. But the pictures in Muggle books didn't move.
So Hermione asked, "Did Professor Hep make this book himself?"
Hagrid took a big gulp of Butterbeer and let out a loud burp. "Yes, quite a lot of effort, right? I feel like I owe him one..."
After a long while, the three finally remembered why they had come.
"Chamber? Heir? Monster?" Hagrid's face paled instantly.
"Yes, we found some clues from fifty years ago..." Harry was about to explain their discovery, but Hagrid quickly interrupted him.
"Listen, there is no Chamber, and no monster. It was just an accident!" Hagrid was somewhat agitated, waving his large hands. Then his voice softened, and he mumbled, "It really was an accident. No one expected it to happen, no one..."
After that, the three were ushered out of the hut.
"He's definitely hiding something!" Ron said indignantly.
"We can all see that."
The three returned to the warm common room and had to face reality, starting on their homework.
After a while, Hermione suddenly closed the book, startling the other two.
"Who do you think the Heir could be?" Hermione asked softly, as if talking to herself.
"It must be a Slytherin. I bet it's Malfoy", Ron said quickly.
Harry immediately agreed. "It could be him. Think about it, his family has always been Purebloods, and he has a reason to do it. The most important point is, he's been hit hard recently—Professor Hep put him in detention for insulting Hermione!"
Hermione's breath caught for a moment.
Ron also seemed to find a theoretical basis. "Harry, you're right. It must be him. Maybe the Malfoy family is one of Slytherin's descendants, and they've kept this secret for generations... right, Hermione?"
At that moment, the twins approached from a distance. "I heard you talking about Professor Hep. Did he do something interesting again?"
The twins sat down on either side of Harry and Ron.
"Nothing much", Ron said quickly.
Fred, who was sitting next to Ron, put his arm around his shoulders and winked at the three. "Don't be like that. We can exchange information. We admire Professor Hep a lot."
George, sitting next to Harry, laughed. "Yeah, we really do. We wish we could take him apart and study his brain."
Fred sighed. "George, you make it sound like we have some sinister intentions towards Professor Hep."
"Do we?"
"Of course not."
"We at most—"
"Try to replicate his Magical Automaton." The two finished each other's sentences and said in unison.
Harry thought for a moment. "Alright, this evening we went to Hagrid's hut and saw a magic book Professor Hep gave him."
"About what?"
"Muggle animals, you know, Hagrid is really into them."
"Cool!" The twins looked at each other and said in unison.
Ron said, "Your turn. We agreed to exchange information."
Fred blinked. "Our little Ronnie is getting smarter—"
"—and harder to fool." George chimed in.
"But—since you're our little brother." Fred added, teasingly. He whispered, "We can provide intel. You know, we're big fans of Professor Hep. If you want to know his whereabouts, like setting up a chance encounter or something..."
Ron was surprised. "You're tracking the professor?"
"Don't put it like that. We just got a little help, like, Professor Hep has been going to the Forbidden Forest a lot recently." Fred shrugged, casually dropping a bombshell.
" Forbidden Forest?" Hermione exclaimed.
The three looked at each other.
(End of Chapter)
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