Chapter 599: Falling on Deaf Ears
Chapter 599: Falling on Deaf Ears
Before the end of the Duel Club, Lee Jordan still hadn't fulfilled his wish of trouncing Lockhart.
The Defense Against the Dark Arts professor seemed to see through Lee Jordan's malicious intentions, and whenever he expressed his desire for guidance, Lockhart would feign deafness and ignore him.
On the way back to the Gryffindor common room, Lee Jordan couldn't stop complaining about this, but no one wanted to listen to his grumbling. Everyone was discussing Harry Potter's Parseltongue ability, and even upon returning to the common room, they would first look around for Harry's figure.
"Is Harry Potter really not the heir of Slytherin?"
Lee Jordan, who had just sat down, started babbling about what had happened at the Duel Club again.
It was understandable that everyone would have such thoughts, as Parseltongue was one of the symbols of Slytherin.
"Shut up!"
Fred stuffed a cookie into Lee Jordan's mouth, trying to get him to be quiet.
"Everyone is just curious," mumbled Lee Jordan through the cookie in his mouth.
The next moment, the guy turned into a canary again.
"Damn these canary creams," Lee Jordan muttered in annoyance. "Don't feed me those things again."
"What do you think?" George directed the question at Albert.
"The heir of Slytherin should be a Parselmouth," Albert analyzed calmly as he sipped his hot cocoa. "Harry Potter's situation has given me an idea."
"What idea?" the trio asked in unison.
"The symbol of Slytherin is a snake, so anything related to the heir of Slytherin is likely to be connected to snakes, and Parseltongue is one of them. Perhaps, opening the Chamber of Secrets might require the use of Parseltongue, and the monster within could also be snake-related. Monsters associated with snakes are quite rare."
"You make a lot of sense," Fred nodded in agreement. As expected of Albert, his intellect was impressive.
"I feel like we're getting closer to the truth," Lee Jordan gave Albert a thumbs-up.
"Do you have any suspects in mind?" George asked suddenly.
"Yes, I do have someone in mind," Albert admitted with a nod. "However, it won't help if we can't find the Chamber of Secrets."
"Who is it?"
The trio was very curious.
"It's a terrifying monster known as a Basilisk," Albert pointed to a book on the bedside table with his finger. "Basilisks are extremely dangerous, but the heir of Slytherin should be able to control it using Parseltongue."
"Oh my!"
The trio turned to the bookmarked page and couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.
"I know what you're thinking, but..." Albert made a shushing gesture, "Remember not to spread this around. The headmaster and professors are probably already investigating this matter. Currently, Harry Potter is quite suspicious, but I still believe he's not the culprit."
"Moreover, once the petrified students recover, they will be able to identify the perpetrator," Albert finished his hot cocoa, then soaked his feet in hot water, reapplied the ointment, and rewrapped the bandages before getting into bed.
However, his roommates were destined to have a sleepless night.
Of course, they believed in Albert's judgment, but even knowing that there was a Basilisk lurking in the castle, they still felt a sense of unease in their hearts.
The three whispered together for a long time, and finally, they remembered that the heir of Slytherin seemed to only attack Muggle-born wizards, which made them breathe a sigh of relief.
All three of them were pure-blood wizards, and Albert, who came from a Muggle family, was obviously in a more dangerous situation. If he could remain calm, they had no reason to fear.
Then, unable to sleep, they started discussing the idea of keeping a rooster in their dormitory for Albert's safety.
What they didn't know was that Albert had already asked the house-elves to take care of several roosters.
...
Ever since Harry Potter had revealed his Parseltongue ability at the Duel Club, his reputation had taken a severe hit.
It was understandable, as Parselmouths throughout history had been notoriously infamous, and almost everyone instinctively avoided him as if he carried some deadly bacteria or would bare his fangs and spew venom with every word he spoke.
"What's wrong with your foot?" Hermione noticed that Albert was walking with a slight limp.
"Someone stepped on it by accident," Albert replied casually, quickly changing the subject. "So, is Harry Potter really a Parselmouth?"
Hermione wasn't too keen on discussing this topic there and then, as they noticed others around them perk up their ears to eavesdrop.
"I'm not suspecting Harry of being the heir of Slytherin," Albert clarified to Hermione. "I'm just wondering if being a Parselmouth is the key to opening the Chamber of Secrets."
Ron, who was playing wizard chess nearby, couldn't help but silently disagree. You're basically suspecting Harry of being the heir then, aren't you? "I don't think you understood me," Albert said to a bewildered Hermione. "Why hasn't anyone found the Chamber of Secrets before?"
Before Hermione could respond, Albert continued, "Because they weren't Parselmouths, so they couldn't find or open it. But Harry might be able to locate and open the Chamber using Parseltongue."
Both Hermione and Ron stared at Albert, dumbfounded, as they processed his words.
"However, if you do find the Chamber, don't go in alone. Make sure to get help from the professors," Albert added as he turned to leave. "I know you guys aren't planning to go home during the Christmas break."
"What does he mean?"
Ron captured Hermione's king with his knight and asked.
"He's probably saying that being a Parselmouth is the key to opening the Chamber," Hermione pondered aloud. "Maybe we should take some action."
In truth, Hermione had her suspicions, but she never expected Harry to be a Parselmouth.
"What do you mean?" Ron asked.
"Try to locate the Chamber's whereabouts," Hermione whispered. "That's probably the hint Albert was giving us earlier!"
"But do you even know where the Chamber is?" Ron asked exasperatedly.
Hogwarts Castle was massive, and who knew how long it would take to find, not to mention the terrifying monster lurking within.
To be honest, Ron had no desire to mess with whatever was inside the Chamber. It was clearly beyond their capabilities to deal with.
Soon after, Harry returned, looking irritable.
He had just had a big argument with Justin Finch-Fletchley, who believed that Harry had instructed the snake to attack him during the Dueling Club.
"There's no point in arguing with him," Hermione said after hearing Harry's complaints. "Justin Finch-Fletchley has already made up his mind that you're the heir of Slytherin. No amount of explanation will change his mind; it will only make things more unpleasant for both of you."
"But..."
"Don't waste your breath," Hermione consoled. "Once the truth comes out, you can make him apologize to you. If he has the courage to do so, that is."
"That doesn't sound like something you'd normally say," Ron remarked, surprised by Hermione's words.
"I learned it from Albert," she admitted, her expression odd. "He never argues with me about Lockhart, either. Whenever I bring up Lockhart, Albert just smiles and doesn't offer his opinion."
In truth, Hermione knew that Albert believed Lockhart's books were fabricated and that Lockhart himself wasn't as great as he claimed to be.
"I think Albert is quite rational," Ron said dryly. Both he and Harry knew of Hermione's admiration for Lockhart, and it had caused friction between them on more than one occasion.
"We should try to get some useful information from Malfoy first, and if that fails, then we can attempt to locate the Chamber of Secrets," Harry suggested. He wasn't fond of the idea of using Parseltongue to find the Chamber, fearing that if someone saw him searching for it, things could get even worse.
(End of Chapter)
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