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Chapter 42
After that, the school was peaceful for a period of time. Everyone seemed to have forgotten about the poor cat, as if nothing had happened. However, when Harry and the others asked Hagrid about the dead rooster, they still couldn't get the truth out of him.
They still had their doubts. If the basilisk really existed, did it live in the secret chamber? The words on the wall seemed to be ignored by everyone else.
But Hermione didn't ignore them. She asked Professor Binns about the Chamber of Secrets during History of Magic, and Professor Binns looked at her unhappily.
As an old-fashioned ghost, Binns didn't like myths and legends. He liked facts—real, reliable facts—but he wasn't even good at teaching those. His dry, low, monotonous voice, like an old vacuum cleaner, soon sent the entire class drifting into drowsiness. They would occasionally wake up, write down a name or date, then fall back into half-sleep.
However, today's class was probably the most serious lesson he had ever given in his teaching career. Unable to resist the students' unusually strong interest, he told them the legend of the Chamber of Secrets.
"Is the basilisk the monster inside the Chamber?" Hermione continued to ask, but before Professor Binns could answer, she muttered to herself, "Slytherin's symbol is a snake.
The possibility is too high." Then she sat down and immersed herself in thought, whispering from time to time.
"I really regret telling you this ridiculous story," Professor Binns scolded when the students began talking among themselves, ignoring him completely. He coughed loudly, which finally brought their attention back.
In less than five minutes, the class had drifted back into drowsiness.
After class, the three of them immediately went over what they had learned.
"I knew Salazar Slytherin was a twisted old lunatic," Ron said to Harry and Hermione, "but I didn't know he was the one who came up with all that pure-blood nonsense.
Even if he gave me money, I wouldn't go to his school. Honestly, if the Sorting Hat had tried to put me in Slytherin, I would've taken the train home on the spot."
Hermione nodded reluctantly, although deep down she still hated judging people based on their House.
As for Harry, his feelings were even more complicated. The Sorting Hat had seriously considered placing him in Slytherin. He remembered the small voice whispering in his ear, as clearly as if it were yesterday:
"You will be very successful, you know. It is all hidden in your mind. Slytherin will help you on your way to greatness, no doubt about that."
If Slytherin represented evil, did that mean something evil existed in him as well?
The three went to the corridor where the attack had taken place, hoping to find clues. As they searched, they wandered near the girls' bathroom. They were just about to ask Moaning Myrtle about Halloween when Percy, Ron's brother, found them and chased them away—after deducting five points, though he had no authority to do so.
That night in the common room, Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat as far away from Percy as possible.
Ron was still irritated. He kept spilling ink while trying to do homework, and when he absentmindedly took out his wand to clean the parchment, he accidentally set it on fire. Furious, he slammed his copy of Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2 shut. To Harry's surprise, Hermione also snapped her book closed.
"Who do you think is the Heir of Slytherin?" Ron asked as he fiddled with his broken wand.
"I don't know," Harry said.
"Me neither," Hermione said. She feared Ron would say the one name she didn't want to hear, but she still shook her head.
"I am Salazar Slytherin," Ron said in a dramatic whisper. He glanced around to make sure no one was listening. "I will definitely find an excellent successor—someone pure-blooded. I would gladly deal with Muggles and Muggle-born wizards."
"You mean Draco?" Harry blurted out.
Neither of them noticed Hermione purse her lips.
"Who else could it be?" Ron whispered even lower. "As much as we hate to admit it, he's really good at magic. I bet some sixth- and seventh-years aren't as good as him." Ron took a breath, remembering the scene in Hagrid's hut the year before. "You can't seriously imagine Crabbe and Goyle as the Heirs of the Chamber, can you?"
Harry couldn't help laughing. Those two truly weren't heir material. If Salazar knew his successor was that hopeless, the basilisk's first targets wouldn't be Muggle-borns—it would be those two idiots.
"And think about the rumors," Ron continued. "People say he used a curse to torture a Muggle once, and his wand was confiscated."
Harry thought back to his own experience. He still felt a chill remembering the day he almost fell into the Vanishing Cabinet and ended up in knockturn alley .
Everything he had overheard about Lucius suggested black magic dealings. And their confrontation in Flourish and Blotts had only made the Malfoys and Weasleys even more hostile to each other. Emotionally or logically, Harry was on the Weasleys' side.
"But these are all guesses," Hermione mumbled. She was reluctant to defend Draco, but she herself wasn't sure what to believe. "What you said makes sense—he is suspicious. But we don't have any evidence."
"Yeah, we can't just walk up to him, point a finger, and go, 'Hey Draco, did you open the Chamber of Secrets?' That would be stupid. And if he answered, he'd be even more stupid." Ron shrugged.
"Maybe I have a way," Hermione whispered, glancing at Percy to make sure he wasn't listening. "But it won't be easy. And it's dangerous. Very dangerous. We'd have to break at least fifty school rules."
"In another month or so," Ron said impatiently, "if you're willing to tell us, you'll tell us, right?"
"We can become someone he's familiar with and ask him directly," Hermione said.
"You're joking," Harry and Ron said together, staring at her.
"I'm not." Hermione shook her head. "As annoying as Snape is, his class information is useful. A few weeks ago, he mentioned a potion—Polyjuice Potion."
"What's that?" Harry and Ron asked in unison.
"It can turn you into someone else," Hermione said slowly. "But only for a limited time. After that, you'll change back."
Then she realized Harry and Ron were staring at her silently.
Hermione suddenly remembered that Crabbe and Goyle were only Malfoy's lackeys in name. He didn't actually spend much time with them. They weren't close at all. So who else could they become?
Pancy.
Ron and Harry certainly weren't becoming girls—not even for a short time.
Hermione felt her stomach twist. She had dug herself into a hole.
"Hermione, the safety of the entire school depends on you," Ron said solemnly.
Harry nodded heavily.
"But the recipe is hard to get," Hermione said, trying to find an excuse. "Snape said it's in a book called Moste Potente Potions. It has to be in the Restricted Section."
And there was only one way to borrow a book from the Restricted Section: a teacher's signature.
"I have a good candidate in mind," Harry said.
"Me too," Ron said with a grin.
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