Chapter 601: Shanah's Doubt
Chapter 601: Shanah's Doubt
At last, the much-anticipated Christmas break had arrived. Students eagerly dragged their suitcases out of the castle, rushing to board the Hogwarts Express and return home to spend the holidays with their families.
Lee Jordan walked alongside Albert, shaking his head as he watched the Weasley brothers in the distance shouting tedious remarks at Harry, such as "Make way for the Heir of Slytherin, the most evil wizard has arrived..."
"I just don't get it," Lee said.
"They're probably trying to cheer Harry up with their antics, and at the same time, riling up the folks from Slytherin," Albert replied, gesturing towards a group of Slytherin students not far away, their faces grim. Especially that blond Malfoy kid, his face was so gloomy, it looked like it was about to drip.
"Makes sense," Lee Jordan teased in a loud enough voice for them to hear. "Just thinking that the Savior, Potter, is the Heir of Slytherin and a Gryffindor student is quite amusing."
For most Slytherins, the idea of Potter being their heir was an embarrassment.
If Slytherin found out, he would probably jump out of his grave.
"Hey, you two, come help us with these suitcases!" Lee Jordan called out to Fred and George, who were goofing around. Then he turned to Albert and said, "They haven't changed their tune at all. They're just parroting what you said."
For example: rushing to the Chamber of Secrets to have tea with a fanged servant.
Who are you planning to target next?
Even the garlic that George used to pretend to ward off Harry's attack was leftover from the last time they made garlic crosses.
"You have hands, don't you?" George rolled his eyes but still helped with the suitcases, along with Fred.
"We might not need the help, but the ladies here do," Albert said casually.
"It's heavy," Fred and George grunted as they lifted the girls' suitcases onto the carriage.
"Don't you have wands?" Lee Jordan teased after climbing into the carriage.
"You..."
Fred and George realized they had been tricked, but they didn't seem angry. As they bid farewell, they smiled and reminded Albert to bring back some Italian specialties.
"I think the specialty of Italy is Casu Marzu cheese," Albert said with a strange expression.
"What's wrong with that kind of cheese?" Lee Jordan felt that the cheese Albert mentioned might be problematic.
"Nothing," Albert replied.
"I think I've heard of it," Shanah frowned, but she quickly dropped the subject as she had more important things on her mind. "When do you think they'll catch the Heir of Slytherin?" she asked, as a Muggle-born witch, she was very concerned about this issue.
"And you still don't think Harry Potter is the Heir of Slytherin?" Shanah reserved her opinion on this matter. After all, Potter's ability to speak Parseltongue was highly suspicious.
However, after noticing the expressions on the faces of the others in the carriage, she turned to Albert, who was in a similar situation as her, "Maybe Harry Potter knows something. After all, he can speak Parseltongue."
"If they can't catch the culprit, we'll probably have to wait for Colin Creevey to recover and identify the attacker," Lee Jordan changed the subject.
"There's something I've always found strange," Shanah said suddenly.
"What is it?" Angelina asked.
"I'm not sure if Mandrake root is a rare magical plant, but even if you can't buy a strong restorative potion made from it on the market, you should be able to buy some Mandrake root. Dumbledore could have asked Professor Snape to make the potion," Shanah didn't understand the school's, or rather Dumbledore's, reasoning. Only a cat and an unlucky kid named Colin Creevey had been petrified, and she believed that even buying the ingredients for the restorative potion wouldn't cost more than a few Galleons.
The carriage fell into an even longer silence as Shanah's words struck a chord with the others. They all felt a bit lost because what she said was true.
Finally, they turned to Albert for an explanation.
Noticing the expectant gazes of the three people in the carriage, Albert organized his thoughts and said, "I suppose it's because even if Colin Creevey is unpetrified, it won't make a difference!"
"It won't make a difference?" Lee Jordan was surprised at Albert's statement.
Albert glared at Lee Jordan, motioning for him to be quiet before continuing, "Headmaster Dumbledore is one of the wisest wizards in the world. He must have his suspicions about the attacks. If we can't find the Chamber of Secrets and destroy the monster within, then revealing the truth will be pointless. It will only cause unnecessary panic in the school and may even lead to its closure."
"But..."
"I don't think you want the school to be closed, do you?" Albert interrupted. "I'm sure Headmaster Dumbledore will be able to find the culprit soon. You should have faith in his abilities. At this point, we don't have any other options."
After a brief silence, everyone agreed with Albert's words.
"Until then, what we need to do is protect ourselves," Albert said to Shanah. "Well, you can carry a mirror with you. Every time you turn a corner, use the mirror to check first. Also, try to stay with a group and avoid being alone."
"Telling them won't make a difference."
As they boarded the Hogwarts Express, Albert said to Lee Jordan, "Not everyone can stay calm like us. I dare say that if you go around spreading this information, everyone will know what the monster in the Chamber of Secrets is within a day, and then we'll just be waiting for the Ministry of Magic to come and shut down Hogwarts!"
"Do you think the Headmaster can really resolve this crisis?"
Ever since Shanah brought up that topic in the carriage, they had all become aware of certain issues.
From the books he had read, Albert knew that looking directly into the eyes of a Basilisk would result in instant death.
Whether the records were incorrect or there was some other issue, there was no doubt that Headmaster Dumbledore was putting his students in danger.
"Don't worry, we'll definitely find the Chamber of Secrets, and Harry Potter is the key to that," Albert reassured them. "Well, I'll be going now."
"What were you guys talking about? Where's Albert?"
As Lee Jordan prepared to enter the carriage, Shanah and Angelina noticed that Albert was missing.
"He's probably gone to find his girlfriend!" Lee Jordan shrugged and was about to step into the carriage when the girls shooed him out.
"That's enough!"
Lee Jordan grumbled as he watched the carriage door close in front of him.
Now he had to find another carriage.
As he passed by one of the carriages, he saw Albert chatting and laughing with a pretty girl.
"What a fair-weather friend," Lee Jordan muttered. As he continued his search for a carriage, he wondered if he should get a girlfriend too.
It was really uncomfortable to be force-fed dog food all the time.
However, this thought was quickly dispelled as Lee Jordan ran into a few members of the Duelling Club who were playing Wizarding Chess. He eagerly joined them, playing and chatting about Wizarding Chess.
(End of Chapter)
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