Chapter 618: Hermione's Discovery
Chapter 618: Hermione's Discovery
Effective! After the yellow powder exploded, realgar filled the air, covering a large area. The huge black snake summoned by the spell "Summon Snake" became agitated and instinctively wanted to slither away from the area covered by the realgar powder.
Undoubtedly, the belief that snakes detest realgar is correct, but it is unknown if this tactic will work on the Serpent of Slytherin! Although the Serpent of Slytherin is a type of snake, it is nonetheless an incredibly dangerous dark creature. No one would dare to treat it as an ordinary serpent, or they would undoubtedly lose their lives.
Albert gently waved his wand, turning the snake hiding in the corner into a puff of smoke, before walking over to the table and picking up the metal box. He stored away the remaining snake-repelling pellets made from realgar powder.
Oh right, next time remember to add something extra, preferably something that will sting the Serpent's eyes shut. If that can be achieved, then the threat of its gaze can be eliminated.
That's a good idea, make a note of it.
After closing his notebook, Albert closed his eyes. The fireplace in the Room of Requirement vanished, and suddenly, numerous windows appeared around the room, letting in sunlight that instantly dispelled the gloom and sinister atmosphere.
Albert immediately opened all the windows and used magic to sweep away the realgar powder from the room.
Realgar is poisonous, and it would be terribly unlucky to accidentally poison himself.
Standing by the window, Albert removed the Jelly-Brain Jinx from his head, took a deep breath, and gazed at the students playing and laughing in the sunshine in the courtyard below. He couldn't help but sigh, "Humans are truly forgetful creatures."
It seemed like they had already forgotten about the recent attack, even though it had happened not long ago.
One could only imagine the looks on their faces when another attack occurred.
That would undoubtedly be interesting! His plan was gradually coming together.
The day of closing the Chamber of Secrets and releasing Tom Riddle was drawing near.
An owl flew into the Room of Requirement through the window and landed on the desk beside it, dropping a thick letter onto the table.
It looked around, saw that Albert had no food to offer, and tiredly hooted before flapping its wings and flying away.
"How pragmatic."
Albert picked up the envelope and saw that the letter was from Louise; it was written in English, and one had to admit that the pretty French girl's English was improving.
Albert didn't hurry to open the letter. Instead, he tucked it into his pocket, tidied the room carefully, and then left.
As he turned the corner, Albert almost bumped into a rushing Hermione. Seeing Albert, Miss Granger seemed to relax a little.
"There you are, I've been looking for you," Hermione said, grabbing Albert's hand before he could say anything and pulling him into a secluded classroom.
"I know, I know it all now. I know how that ugly giant snake has been hiding itself," Hermione said, her whole body trembling, whether from excitement or nervousness was unclear.
"What did you find out?" Albert asked directly.
"Pipes, there are many pipes in the school, and they crisscross everywhere. The Serpent of Slytherin must be using them to move quickly throughout the school, which is why everyone..."
At this point, Hermione's voice trailed off as she noticed Albert shushing her. He raised his finger to his lips and gestured towards the corridor outside the classroom, where Nearly Headless Nick had just walked through the wall. The ghost looked surprised to see them and greeted them with a smile, "Sorry, I hope I'm not interrupting your date."
"We're not..." Hermione's face turned bright red at the misunderstanding, as if she wanted to refute the ghost, but Albert cut her off.
"What's the matter?"
Albert narrowed his eyes at the ghost, "You heard everything, didn't you?"
"I wasn't eavesdropping, it was an accident," Nearly Headless Nick said, after being stared at by Albert for a few minutes, he conceded, "Alright, I may have overheard you talking about the Chamber of Secrets."
"It's just a hypothesis!"
Albert explained to Nick, "We believe that the monster in the Chamber of Slytherin is some kind of giant snake, possibly a Serpent King that can live for a thousand years."
"You're saying there's a giant snake roaming the castle?" Nick exclaimed, his eyes widening in disbelief. "But I've been at this school for so long, and I've never come across this so-called Serpent King. If it's as big as you say, it's impossible that it hasn't been spotted. I'm sorry, I don't mean to doubt you, but..."
"It's just a theory," Albert calmly reminded him. "It's best not to let others know, as it could cause panic. After all, no one wants to think there's a giant snake lurking nearby."
"Does Dumbledore know?" Nick asked. "He asked us to keep an eye out for anything unusual in the castle."
"I believe Headmaster Dumbledore has his suspicions as well," Albert replied, sharing his analysis. "He's probably just missing the connection between the culprit and the location of the Chamber."
"A snake that has lived for a thousand years sounds absurd," Nick mused. "But if that's what's lurking in the Chamber of Slytherin, it makes sense." With that, the ghost drifted away, muttering to himself.
"Your lack of discretion is alarming," Albert remarked to Hermione after Nick had left. "This kind of carelessness could get you into serious trouble one day."
"Do you really think Dumbledore knows?" Hermione asked again. This wasn't the first time she had heard Albert suggest this.
"You can always go to him directly," Albert suggested. "Or share your suspicions with Harry and let him approach the headmaster. Though I doubt the latter will happen, as I don't think Harry has the courage to come clean about his secrets."
"Secrets?" Hermione asked, her brow furrowed.
"The truth," Albert clarified. "Yes, the truth. Harry is unlikely to want to share his secrets with others, and even I have things I'd rather keep to myself."
Changing the subject, Hermione asked, "So, where do you think the Chamber is?"
"Underground!" Albert replied without hesitation. "The Slytherins like to burrow underground; remember, their common room is located there."
Hermione thought Albert's description of the Slytherins as "burrowers" was quite apt.
"As for the pipes you mentioned, I had also guessed as much," Albert continued. "But the question is, where is the entrance to this network of pipes? You should be aware that Fred and George know about many secret passages in the castle, and if there were multiple access points, they would have surely discovered them by now. So, there must only be one entrance, and it must be extremely well-hidden. It likely requires Parseltongue to open, which is why it hasn't been accessed in fifty years. Of course, these are just my speculations, but I imagine it wouldn't be difficult for the headmaster to come to the same conclusions."
"I'm going to find Harry," Hermione said, and hurried off.
As Albert walked out of the classroom, he watched her leave and muttered, "I'm really not cut out for all this scheming and plotting. With the advantage of knowing the general plot, it's still incredibly difficult to steer events in the direction I want."
He shook his head, wondering how Dumbledore was managing to orchestrate his chosen savior's path. "The difference in experience is vast," he admitted to himself. "Even with my system, I'm no match for Dumbledore."
He wondered when Hermione would find the entrance to the Chamber and whether she could do it at all—a question he had never doubted. As for finding the heir of Slytherin, he suspected that even Dumbledore might struggle to identify her without a stroke of luck.
Who would associate the heir of Slytherin with Ginny Weasley?
Unless Ginny herself revealed it, but that was unlikely. She was already terrified; why would she share her secret with anyone else?
It was only human nature to want to protect oneself.
"I've grown complacent," Albert admitted to himself. "I need to pick up the pace a little." With that, he turned toward the Gryffindor common room and soon disappeared from view at the end of the corridor.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
