Chapter 79: The True Heir of Slytherin
Chapter 79: The True Heir of Slytherin
The scene around Sherlock shifted once again, revealing Hagrid being led away by Aurors from the Ministry of Magic.
He also saw Headmaster Dippet telling the Daily Prophet reporter, "The Chamber of Secrets is just a legend, and the student's death was merely an accident."
Another scene showed the Wizengamot, with the Chief Warlock announcing young Hagrid's guilt and revoking his status as a wizard, ordering the Aurors to break his wand on the spot!
After a flurry of images, a new scene appeared.
This time, it was a rainy night.
The location was in front of a dilapidated shack in a rundown town.
Young Dumbledore stood outside the shack, holding a black umbrella. The raindrops from the sky hit the umbrella, creating a dull "thud, thud, thud."
Sherlock and Dumbledore were unaffected by the rain; the large drops passed right through them. To them, this entire world was nothing but a mirage.
Standing beside young Dumbledore, they could see inside the shack.
The shack had no door, and the wind carried the rain inside. Hagrid, wrapped in a tattered blanket, shivered with cold as he sobbed uncontrollably, looking at young Dumbledore.
"I didn't do it, Professor! I didn't kill that girl. It really wasn't Aragog, it wasn't us, it wasn't us who did it!"
He huddled in the leaking shack, looking like a homeless puppy.
Young Dumbledore's face showed clear sympathy as he asked, "What about your family?"
"Mom... Mom abandoned Dad a long time ago. Dad didn't make it through this year; he died of illness. I buried him in the forest. At least he didn't see me get expelled..."
Seeing Hagrid in this state, young Dumbledore's expression grew resolute, and he spoke with utmost seriousness.
"You must tell me the truth, Hagrid. What was the creature you were keeping at Hogwarts?"
Hagrid's body trembled, his eyes filled with struggle and hesitation.
He was afraid. At this point, he didn't fully trust Dumbledore, and he feared that exposing Aragog would lead to his death.
"You must trust me, Hagrid!" Dumbledore's voice was firm. "I can help you, but I need to know everything."
Hagrid's final resistance crumbled. As Dumbledore said, he had to trust him. Otherwise, not only would he starve, but Aragog might lose control and hurt someone!
"It's a giant eight-eyed spider! Aragog is a giant eight-eyed spider!"
With Dumbledore's extensive knowledge, he knew exactly what this creature was.
"Where is it now?"
Hagrid sniffled and called out, "Aragog! Come out! Aragog!"
In the dark, rainy night, a massive spider emerged from the rain, approaching Dumbledore.
Its body was as large as Hagrid's, with eight enormous eyes, and it could speak human language.
"I have never harmed anyone. Hagrid treats me as a friend. I never harmed humans in the past, I won't now, and I won't in the future!"
Dumbledore examined the wound on Aragog's large abdomen and recognized it as the one he had inflicted with a spell at Hogwarts.
Aragog's appearance confirmed that Hagrid's words were true.
He was not the one who opened the Chamber of Secrets. While Aragog, as an eight-eyed spider, was a highly dangerous magical creature,
But it was impossible for it to kill a person directly without harming the human body.
This did not match the cause of death for the deceased girl at all.
In the rainy night, the young Dumbledore drew out his wand.
As Hagrid's face was filled with terror and the eight-eyed spider Aragog braced for an attack, Dumbledore cast a water-repelling charm on the drenched Hagrid.
"Come with me, Hagrid. I'll help you find a place to settle down."
The young Dumbledore extended his hand to Hagrid, who trembled as he looked at him. Then, slowly, Hagrid reached out and took his hand.
The scene froze again.
A series of brief images flashed by quickly. The young Dumbledore brought Hagrid back to Hogwarts, and despite the opposition of almost all the professors and the silence of Headmaster Dippet, he managed to secure Hagrid's position as the gamekeeper of Hogwarts.
Finally, the world began to shatter, and Sherlock abruptly stood up, taking two steps backward.
He found himself back in the headmaster's office at Hogwarts. Dumbledore had already returned to his chair and was sipping his still warm black tea.
"So, Hagrid is not the problem. The issue lies with the student who reported him, the male prefect named Tom?"
Sherlock sat back down across from Dumbledore, frowning as he asked.
Dumbledore put down his teacup and revealed Tom's identity to Sherlock.
"That student's full name is Tom Riddle, and he is also the future Voldemort."
Sherlock's pupils constricted, and he froze in shock.
He still remembered what Voldemort looked like: a noseless old monster. If you said he was a goblin from Journey to the West, people might even believe it!
Who could have imagined that the handsome and composed boy would one day become such a grotesque figure?
"So, the Heir of Slytherin is him!"
"I traced Tom's lineage. His father was indeed an ordinary Muggle, but his maternal grandfather was a descendant of the Slytherin family. Therefore, he does have the blood of Salazar Slytherin in his veins."
Dumbledore's expression was grave.
"At first, I only suspected him. But once he started threatening the safety of the Wizarding World, I conducted a thorough investigation and discovered that the person who opened the Chamber of Secrets back then was Tom. The same applies now. The Heir of Slytherin might not be the only one, but the only person who knows the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets is Tom."
Sherlock muttered to himself, following Dumbledore's information.
"But Tom himself wouldn't be at Hogwarts, so something must be acting on his behalf, opening the Chamber of Secrets."
He fixed his gaze on Dumbledore.
"It's still that old book! That old book is something he left behind, which is why you initially suspected that Lucius Malfoy sent it to Hogwarts. Because among the Death Eaters still outside, he was the closest to the Dark Lord!"
Dumbledore folded his hands on the desk and said solemnly.
"But even Malfoy doesn't know who has the old book now."
(End of Chapter)
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