Chapter 66: Dumbledore's Heir?
Chapter 66: Dumbledore’s Heir?
When the Golden Trio emerged from the Hospital Wing, their faces were beaming with joy. Just moments ago, Dumbledore had awarded each of them two hundred points for their outstanding courage and presented them with the school's special contribution award.
Of course, some points had to be deducted—past infractions were forgiven, but today's actions required some penalties. Each member of the Golden Trio lost twenty points for leaving the castle against the rules, Ron lost an additional fifty points for his inappropriate behavior towards Professor Lockhart, and he was also given a month of detention.
Even so, they had managed to earn a total of four hundred and ninety points for their house in one go.
This virtually guaranteed that Gryffindor would win the House Cup.
"I think it was worth it!" Ron said, not minding the month of detention at all.
If they could also win the Quidditch Cup, this year would be perfect... Harry thought greedily, but there was still a chance!
At the end of their conversation, Harry had a private talk with Dumbledore. During this confidential discussion, he mustered the courage to ask the question that had been bothering him for a long time: whether he had been sorted into the wrong house. After all, the Sorting Hat had strongly hinted that he would achieve great things in Slytherin.
Dumbledore's words put his mind at ease. Pointing to the Gryffindor sword on the table, he said, "Only a true Gryffindor could have pulled it out of the hat."
He also explained why Harry could speak Parseltongue. According to the Headmaster, Voldemort had transferred part of his abilities to Harry on the night he tried to kill him.
This left Harry speechless.
"Living according to your own will is more meaningful than dwelling on an unchangeable past", Dumbledore told him.
...
The sky was completely dark, but the shadow that had hung over Hogwarts for two months had finally lifted.
Ron suddenly spoke up, "What did Professor Hup mean by what he said about Gryffindor and Slytherin?"
Harry, reflecting on his actions that night, replied, "I think it might be about the traits each house values. Like how Gryffindor values courage, and Slytherin values cool-headedness and self-control."
"I almost forgot Professor Hup is a Slytherin", Ron muttered under his breath.
Hermione remained silent, recalling her first private Runic Script class where Professor Hup had shown a particular interest in the Sorting Hat. He had said, "Perhaps I should find a chance to introduce myself to it again?"
The young witch felt that the professor was just looking for an excuse to put the Sorting Hat back on...
When they returned to the common room, the three of them huddled in a corner and shared their information in detail. Hermione's revelation was the most shocking: the three professors had been standing by the entire time.
"How could they do that?" Ron said indignantly, remembering how close he had come to dying.
"With them there, we were never in any real danger", Hermione reasoned.
"I just want to know why we had to fight the Basilisk while they watched!" Ron was still fuming.
"Maybe Dumbledore wanted to test us. Remember last year?" Harry said thoughtfully. "Voldemort didn't die. Dumbledore told me that Voldemort would return one day."
"Could it be that Dumbledore wants to train us as his heirs to fight the Dark Lord?" Ron said, his face glowing with excitement. "Dumbledore isn't getting any younger. I mean, it's about time he started thinking about this, right?"
Being Dumbledore’s heir sounded far more perfect than being the Heir of Slytherin.
The three of them couldn’t help but breathe a little faster.
Chamber.
Dumbledore, Snape, Felix, and Professor Mcgonagall stood beside the Basilisk’s corpse. It was Professor Mcgonagall’s first time there, and she couldn’t help but take in the surroundings.
"It's like a dark and terrifying nest", she whispered.
Felix touched the Basilisk's eye with his finger—most of it had been destroyed by Fawkes, and the black blood had contaminated much of the snake's face. It took him a great deal of effort to gather a small amount of clean material.
He was particularly interested in the Basilisk's "gaze of death" ability, which was also the reason he was wary of it—though he had many ways to avoid looking directly at it.
However, he was curious about what would happen if Dumbledore and the Basilisk looked at each other.
Would Dumbledore be killed by the Basilisk's gaze? When Felix saw the vast, almost terrifying Magic source of the Headmaster, he began to doubt.
In front of a wizard of this caliber, would the Basilisk's "death stare" really be effective?
Just like himself, he could easily withstand one or two Stunning Spells.
Felix analyzed Dumbledore's strength while gathering various materials from the Basilisk's body. Professor Snape was doing the same.
He accepted everything—venom, fangs, blood, and scales.
On the other side, Dumbledore was having a low conversation with Professor Mcgonagall.
"Albus, I think we should publicize this, so the outside world can see that we've resolved the Chamber's problem. We don't want them spreading rumors", Professor Mcgonagall said, still upset over the previous reports.
"Minerva, I don't disagree, but we need to wait a few days..."
"Why?"
"Lucius Malfoy has been very active on the school board recently. He seems to think this is a good opportunity to remove me from the school", Dumbledore said nonchalantly.
"How dare he!" Professor Mcgonagall shouted in anger.
"From what I understand, Lucius has threatened several board members. He may challenge me within the next few days..."
"Dumbledore, what should we do?"
"Just wait." Dumbledore's gaze seemed to pierce through the ceiling of the Chamber, looking at a distant landscape.
Felix and Snape, after a series of verbal exchanges, had tentatively agreed on a plan to divide the Basilisk's materials.
He also found Lockhart's wand, which he cleaned several times with the "Aqua Eructo" spell. Apart from the lingering strong odor, it looked as good as new.
Hopefully, Lockhart wouldn't mind.
They then moved the Basilisk's body to an abandoned classroom and secured the door with magic—once the school announced the news, they would dissect the Basilisk.
When Felix returned to his office, he realized it was almost nine o'clock.
Hogwarts was still under curfew, and the corridors were mostly empty, but it wouldn't be long before the usual bustle returned.
Sitting on the sofa, Felix continued to think about the Chamber.
The Chamber had been found, and the Basilisk was dead, but the castle still had a Heir of Slytherin.
Or more specifically, a young wizard under the control of Voldemort's Horcrux.
How could he expose this person?
If things got out of hand, even if nothing else, the two-month closure of Hogwarts for a thorough inspection was unacceptable.
As Felix was contemplating his strategy, there was a sudden, urgent knock on the door.
He opened it to find a young wizard who surprised him—Draco Malfoy.
Strangely, Malfoy's face was very pale, and a fine layer of sweat clung to his nose. In his hand, he tightly clutched a long, deep green striped scarf. At the other end of the scarf, about two meters away, was a plain black book.
It was clear that Malfoy was trying his best to keep his distance from the object.
"Please come in, Mr. Malfoy", Felix said. His intuition told him that this night would be very productive.
(End of Chapter)
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