Chapter 51: Heading to the Chamber of Secrets to Harvest
The next morning.
Hogwarts was plunged into chaos once again.
When Morrin walked into the Great Hall, he found Harryand Ron sitting there, their faces pale. Professor McGonagall's voice echoed throughout the school via a magical amplifier:
"All exams are cancelled."
If Hermione had been awake, she surely would have shouted, "Oh, no!"
The students now were not cheering, but whispering in fear.
"All students are to return to their dormitories immediately. All teachers are to assemble in the staff room."
"Something has happened." Morrin set down his black coffee.
He did not return to the Slytherin dungeon; instead, taking advantage of the chaos, he followed silently behind the teachers to the staff room.
He cast a highly advanced Disillusionment Charm on himself and stood quietly in the corner.
The teachers were all there: Professor McGonagall, Snape, Flitwick, and Sprout.
And there was also Lockhart, who was deathly pale and trying to sneak away.
"A kidnapping has occurred." Professor McGonagall's voice trembled. "The heir left a message. Right below the last one."
"What does it say?" Professor Sprout covered her mouth.
"Her skeleton will lie in the Chamber of Secrets forever."
"Who is it?" Snape asked, his voice unusually calm.
"Ginny Weasley."
At that moment, Morrin clearly saw the shadows in the corner twist. It was a slight fluctuation of magic caused by his reaction to hearing this expected yet cruel name.
Although it was inevitable for the plot, but...
"A little girl." Morrin gripped his black ironwood wandtightly. "Tom, you truly have no bottom line."
"We must do something!" Professor McGonagall said desperately. "But we don't even know where the Chamber of Secrets is, or what kind of monster is inside!"
"I have a way!"
Snape suddenly spoke up. In that instant, a vicious light flickered in his black eyes as he looked at Lockhart, who was cowering by the door.
"Do we not have a 'Defense Master' here? Professor Lockhart."
Snape sneered as he approached Lockhart:
"Didn't you say last night that you had long known where the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets was, and that if it were you, you would have already taken care of that monster?"
"I... well... I just..." Lockhart's face turned green with fear.
"It is decided." Professor McGonagall also looked coldly at Lockhart. "Since you have a way, you will be the one to deal with that monster tonight. We will support you from behind."
"O-okay! I'll go prepare right away!"
Lockhart rushed out of the staff room like a frightened rabbit, clearly intending to return to his office to pack his bags and run.
The teachers also dispersed, preparing to evacuate the students.
The staff room was empty.
Morrin dispelled the Disillusionment Charm and emerged from the shadows.
He walked to the window and looked at the gloomy sky outside.
"Alright, the stage is set."
Morrin took out a bottle of golden potion—the [MandrakeReviving Potion (Special Edition)] he had prepared.
"Harry and Ron will go find Lockhart, then discover the true face of that fraud, and finally jump into the Chamber of Secrets together."
"And I..."
Morrin put the potion away and turned to walk towards the second-floor girls' bathroom.
"...I should go to the finish line and wait to harvest."
He didn't need to find Lockhart.
Because he already knew the entrance.
[Task Update: Chamber of Secrets Endgame]
[Objective: Kill/Subdue the Basilisk]
[Objective: Destroy the diary]
[Objective: Ensure Harry Potter survives (he is the only Parseltongue key)]
Morrin's figure disappeared at the end of the corridor, leaving behind only the crisp echo of his black ironwood wand tapping on the ground, like the countdown of the Grim Reaper.
On the second floor,
in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.
It was dark and damp as always, with faucets still dripping. Myrtle was floating above the innermost toilet, weeping and complaining about someone throwing a book at her.
"Good evening, Myrtle."
A calm voice interrupted her weeping.
Moen White leaned against the faucet engraved with a small snake, holding a pocket watch in his hand, checking the time by the faint moonlight.
"It's you?" Myrtle floated over, took off her glasses, and wiped away her tears. "That scary Slytherin boy. Are you here to mock me?"
"I am here to wait for someone." Morrin put away his pocket watch. "And to see the place where you died. Fifty years ago, those yellow eyes took your life right here, didn't they?"
Myrtle shivered, her body becoming even more transparent. "Don't mention that! That was a nightmare! Those huge, terrifying eyes..."
Just then, a flurry of noisy footsteps came from outside the corridor.
The door was pushed open.
Harry and Ron rushed in, escorting a deathly pale Gilderoy Lockhart. Lockhart's wand had already been confiscated by Harry; he now looked like a prisoner about to head to the execution ground, his legs still shaking.
"Morrin?!" Harry looked surprised at the figure standing by the sink. "Why are you here?"
"I told you, I am waiting for someone."
Morrin straightened up, his gaze sweeping over the disheveled trio.
"It seems you have successfully exposed the true face of this 'Legendary Wizard'?" Morrin looked at Lockhart, a mocking smile curling on his lips. "I assume his excuse now is that he actually doesn't know how to do anything, and that everything in those books was done by others?"
"How did you know?" Ron's eyes widened.
"Business intuition." Morrin said calmly. "Someone who only knows how to flaunt a smile and sell hair potion usually doesn't have time to fight werewolves."
"Alright, don't waste time." Morrin pointed to the faucet. "Harry, open it using Parseltongue."
Harry nodded and walked to the sink. He stared at the small snake engraving, imagining it was a living snake.
"Open."
A hissing sound came from his mouth.
The next second, the faucet emitted a dazzling white light and began to spin rapidly. Then, the entire sink slowly separated, revealing a very large pipe that led into bottomless darkness.
"I... I won't go, will I?" Lockhart tried to back away. "Since the entrance has been found, you guys can just..."
"Go down."
Ron jabbed Lockhart's back hard with his wand.
"You go first."
Lockhart's face was deathly pale as he was forced to the mouth of the pipe by Ron. He closed his eyes, kicked his legs, and slid down.
"We're going too." Harry glanced at Morrin and jumped down as well.
Ron followed closely behind.
Morrin stood at the mouth of the pipe and glanced at the pipe wall below, which was full of slime and grime.
He frowned.
"As the heir of Slytherin, to actually use this kind of sewer as a secret passage—Salazar's taste is truly worrying."
Morrin waved his black ironwood wand.
"Scourgify."
"Friction reduction."
After doing all this, he elegantly adjusted the hem of his trench coat and jumped down like he was taking a slide.
...
The dark slide lasted for a long time.
Finally, the ground appeared ahead.
"Thump, thump."
Lockhart, Harry, and Ron fell onto a pile of rat bones one after another, letting out cries of pain.
And Morrin.
The moment before landing, the wand in his hand tapped lightly against the pipe wall.
[Alchemy: Gravity Reversal].
He landed lightly on the ground like a feather, not even kicking up a speck of dust.
"Where is this?" Harry climbed up and lit his wand. "Lumos."
This was a dark stone tunnel, with the ground full of small animal skeletons.
"Over there." Harry pointed ahead. "Is that... snake skin?"
Not far away, a huge, bright green snake skin lay on the ground, a full twenty feet long.
"My God..." Ron swallowed hard. "How big must this monster be?"
Lockhart looked at the snake skin, his knees weak, almost kneeling on the ground.
But at this very moment, a flash of madness suddenly crossed his eyes.
Harry and Ron were looking at the snake skin with their backs to him. Ron's hand was hanging at his side, holding his wand.
It was his own wand, not the broken one Ron had.
Lockhart lunged at Ron.
"Give it to me!"
Although he was a fool, as an adult Wizard, he still had physical strength.
He snatched back his wand and quickly retreated, his face once again wearing that disgusting, triumphant smile.
Chapter 52 Tom Riddle.
"You are still too young, children!" Lockhart laughed. "Now, this is the end! I will peel off your skin and take it back, claiming it is the skin of the Basilisk!"
"I am going to cast a Memory Charm on you both, making you go insane. I will tell everyone that you were scared silly after seeing the monster!"
He raised his wand and aimed it at Harry and Ron.
"Farewell!" "Obliviate!"
Harry and Ron widened their eyes in terror, completely unable to react in time.
However, the white light they expected did not hit them.
Moen White, standing in the shadows, just watched this scene quietly, without even lifting a hand.
Because he knew the plot.
Wait... something is wrong!
Morrin's pupils constricted sharply.
In the original story, Lockhart snatched Ron's broken wand, so the spell backfired.
But now! Because Morrin had not helped Ron fix his wandearlier, Ron was carrying Harry's spare wand today.
This was a perfectly intact wand!
Harry had two, because Morrin had given him one for practice earlier.
"Damn it!"
Morrin reacted instantly.
The butterfly effect.
Because of his intervention, Ron did not use the broken wand, and Lockhart had grabbed a good wand!
If this Memory Charm connected, the savior would truly become an idiot!
[Dragon Might] — Burst!
[Half-Giant Speed] — Activate!
In the 0.01 seconds after the spell beam was fired.
Morrin's figure disappeared from where he stood like a ghost.
Boom!
A dazzling white light hit the tunnel wall.
It did not hit Harry.
Instead, it was blocked by a black iron wall that rose out of thin air.
That was Morrin.
At the critical moment, he rushed in front of Harry. He didn't use a magic shield as there was no time to chant, but instead, he directly swung that indestructible black ironwood wand and, just like playing baseball, swatted the beam of the Obliviate away!
"What?!" Lockhart was stunned.
Is he still human? Blocking a spell with bare hands?
The swatted spell beam hit the ceiling, blasting away a large patch of rock. Huge boulders came crashing down with a roar.
"It's collapsing!" Ron shouted.
"Get out of the way!" Morrin kicked Harry and Ron toward a safe area.
But he himself did not dodge.
Facing the tons of rock crashing down from above, Morrinsnorted coldly and thrust his left hand upward.
[Alchemy Ultimate · Gate of Truth] — Material Solidification · Support.
Golden alchemical radiance erupted from his palm.
Those falling rocks, the moment they touched the golden light, strangely stopped and fused in mid-air, then transformed into a huge stone pillar, like one from an ancient Greek temple, steadily propping up the crumbling tunnel ceiling.
The dust settled.
Lockhart stood on the other side of the stone pillar, looking at the boy who was holding up the sky with one hand, completely scared out of his wits.
"You... you are a monster..." Lockhart was so scared he dropped his wand.
Morrin brushed the dust off his hands, walked out from under the stone pillar, and approached Lockhart step by step.
"Professor Lockhart." Morrin's voice was terrifyingly calm. "I originally intended to let you make a dignified exit. But you shouldn't have, you absolutely shouldn't have, touched my 'assets'."
Morrin picked up Lockhart's wand from the ground and walked up to him.
"Since you like Memory Charm so much..."
Morrin pressed the wand against Lockhart's forehead.
[Memory Scalpel (Purple · From Lockhart himself)] — Activate.
"...then you should just forget everything completely."
"Obliviate."
A soft white light flashed by.
Lockhart's eyes instantly became unfocused; the shrewd look that was there before vanished, replaced by an infant-like innocence and confusion.
"Who are you?" Lockhart asked with a silly smile, "Do I live here?"
"Yes." Morrin threw the wand on the ground, "You are a happy prince living in the sewer. Someone will come to pick you up later."
Morrin turned around and looked at the shaken Harry and Ron.
"Ron, you stay here and watch him." Morrin ordered, "Don't let him run around, and don't let him get hit by falling rocks."
"Harry, come with me."
Morrin looked into the darkness deep within the tunnel, his wand tapping gently on the ground.
"The Basilisk is waiting for us."
"And... Tom Riddle."
Harry swallowed, gripped his wand tightly, and followed in Morrin's footsteps.
He looked at Morrin's upright back, and a sudden, inexplicable sense of security welled up in his heart.
With this Slytherin devil here, it seemed that even that millennial monster... was not so scary anymore.
Deep in the Chamber of Secrets.
Passing through that long, dark tunnel, Morrin and Harrystood before a huge stone wall. Carved on the wall were two intertwined stone snakes, their eyes inlaid with huge emeralds, flickering with an eerie light in the darkness.
"We've arrived."
Morrin adjusted his tie, which hadn't even been messed up during the slide, and looked up to examine this door, which was full of Slytherin's personal bad taste.
[Ding!]
[Core node detected: Chamber of Secrets]
[Check-in successful!]
[Reward obtained: Draw count + 3]
[Passive trait obtained: Parseltongue Comprehension (Although you cannot speak it, you can understand what snakes are cursing about)]
"Better than nothing." Morrin evaluated in his heart. Now he held 4 draw chances; although not many, at a critical moment, he might be able to bet on turning a bicycle into a motorcycle.
"Open it, Harry." Morrin signaled.
Harry swallowed, stared at those emerald eyes, and hissed: "Open."
The two stone snakes separated, the stone wall split from the middle and slowly slid to the sides.
The two walked in.
This was a huge stone chamber that seemed to stretch on forever. Dim green light shone through high stone pillars, and on both sides stood pillars carved with coiled, tangled snakes, leading all the way to the end of the room.
And at the end, there was a huge statue, pressed against the pitch-black wall behind it.
It was a statue of a Wizard who looked decrepit, with a monkey-like face and sparse long beard.
Salazar Slytherin.
"I have to say," Morrin walked on the damp floor, his wandtapping out hollow echoes, "As a student of Slytherin, I feel sorry for the founder's aesthetic. Carving himself so large, and with a monkey face at that, is a display of extreme narcissism and a lack of artistic cultivation."
Harry was in no mood to listen to Morrin's art critique.
He saw the small figure lying motionless on the cold floor at the foot of the statue.
"Ginny!"
Harry dropped his wand and rushed over, kneeling beside Ginny.
"Ginny! Don't die! Please, don't die!"
Ginny's face was as white as marble, and her body was as cold as an ice cube, but this just proved she was still alive—only her life force was extremely weak.
"She won't wake up."
A soft voice came from the shadows.
Harry turned his head sharply.
A tall, dark-haired boy was leaning against a stone pillar watching them. His outline was somewhat blurry, with a strange halo around his edges, just like looking at things through a layer of heat haze.
Tom Riddle.
Chapter 53: Tom's "Stage Name," Lord Voldemort
"Tom? Tom Riddle?" Harry recognized him. "How did you... How are you here?"
"It is a long story." Riddle walked over slowly, not looking at Harry, but instead turning his gaze toward Morrin, who was standing not far away. "I think this friend from Slytherin should be able to guess who I am."
Morrin leaned on his cane, watching this ghost from fifty years ago quietly.
[Scan Target]: Tom Marvolo Riddle (Memory/HorcruxProjection)
[Status]: Materialization Progress 90% (Draining Ginny Weasley's life force)
[Danger Level]: High (Possesses advanced Dark Artsknowledge)
"Good evening, senior Riddle." Morrin nodded slightly, his tone as if he had encountered an acquaintance at a social banquet. "Or should I address you as—that wordplay enthusiast who rearranged his own name?"
The smile on Riddle's face stiffened for a moment.
"You know a lot." Riddle said softly. "Harry showed you the diary, didn't he? I can feel it; you have touched me. There is a power on you... a power that I find both repulsive and desirable."
"Likewise," Morrin said indifferently. "I am also very interested in your soul-slicing technique."
"Save Ginny!" Harry interrupted their conversation. "We have to take her away! There's a Basilisk here!"
"I won't let you leave." Riddle said with a smile. "You see, Harry. The reason Ginny has become like this is because she opened her heart to me. She fed her soul to me, bit by bit. Now, as soon as she is dead, I will be able to fully revive."
"As for the Basilisk..." Riddle turned to look at the huge statue. "It only obeys my commands."
"Who are you?" Harry finally realized something was wrong. "Are you a ghost?"
"I am a memory." Riddle said. "A memory preserved in a diary for fifty years."
He picked up the wand Harry had just dropped on the ground.
"Now, I am going to tell you a secret."
Riddle waved his wand and wrote his full name in the air: Tom Marvolo Riddle
Then he waved his wand, and the letters rearranged: I am Lord Voldemort
"Look." Riddle said in a low voice. "I knew one day I would become the greatest Wizard. How could I possibly spend my whole life using the name of that filthy Muggle father?"
Harry's eyes widened in horror: "You are... Lord Voldemort?"
Riddle looked at Harry triumphantly, waiting for the other's fear.
But he discovered that the boy named Morrin was not only unafraid, but instead revealed a look... as if he were looking at a terminal patient with middle-school syndrome.
"This is your secret?"
Morrin sighed and shook his head.
"Giving yourself a stage name in an attempt to escape the inferiority of your background. This is a very common technique in commercial branding. For example, many third-rate singers will give themselves a catchy pseudonym."
"You!" Riddle's expression became ferocious.
"'Lord Voldemort.'" Morrin tapped the letters in the air with his cane. "The name is not bad; it's quite intimidating. But in essence, you are just a pathetic wretch who refuses to acknowledge your half-blood status and has developed an antisocial personality because of a lack of love in your childhood."
"Shut up!"
Riddle was enraged. He had spent fifty years in the diaryand had never seen such a sharp-tongued brat.
"How dare you speak to the heir of Slytherin in such a tone!"
"heir?" Morrin sneered. "If you really were the heir, you shouldn't be hiding in a diary, sucking the blood of a little girl. A true Slytherin rules everything with power and authority, not like a parasite."
"Enough!"
Riddle shrieked: "I will show you what true power is! What the legacy of Slytherin truly is!"
He turned to face the statue, opened his mouth, and let out a terrifying hiss: "Speak to me, Slytherin—the greatest of the four founders of Hogwarts."
Rumble— The huge, monkey-like face of the statue moved.
Its mouth opened, revealing a pitch-black abyss. A foul wind blew out from the hole. The monster that had been sleeping for a thousand years had awakened.
"Harry, close your eyes!" Morrin roared. Harry immediately squeezed his eyes shut and turned his back to the statue.
"Hiss—hiss—" The sound of huge scales rubbing against the ground. A behemoth slid out from the statue's mouth and landed heavily on the floor, shaking the entire Chamber of Secrets. The Basilisk.
Over fifty feet long, its body covered in shimmering green scales, those huge yellow eyes could instantly kill any creature that met its gaze.
"Kill that boy!" Riddle pointed at Harry. "As for that arrogant Slytherin... leave him to me; I want to torture him myself!"
The Basilisk obeyed the command, raised its massive head, and lunged at Harry. Harry stumbled, trying to escape, but with his eyes closed, he couldn't run fast at all.
"Hiss—" The Basilisk opened its blood-red maw, its two fangs longer than scimitars. Just as it was about to bite Harry— Boom! A thunderous sound like a war drum.
Morrin White stepped forward, blocking the path in front of Harry. He did not close his eyes.
He held a huge silver mirror, its back engraved with runes, blocking his front. It was the same type he had given Hermione, just a larger version.
[Gate of Truth]—Material Reinforcement. The mirror surface instantly became harder than diamond.
"Clang!" The Basilisk's head slammed hard into the mirror, making Morrin's arm numb and shattering the stone floor beneath his feet. But he did not take a single step back.
"Look at me!" Morrin suddenly roared at the Basilisk. He did not look into the Basilisk's eyes—that would be suicide—but instead locked onto the Basilisk's position through the reflection in the mirror.
[Dragon Might (Blue, Growth Type)]—Extreme Overclocking! [Half-Giant Bloodline]—Boiling! [Magical Creature Affinity (Purple)]—Reverse Suppression!
A visible dark red ripple erupted from Morrin's body! Behind him, the air seemed to twist into a ferocious Norwegian Ridgeback, roaring a challenge at that serpent.
"ROAR—!!!" The Basilisk's movements stalled. As the King of Serpents, it had never been challenged in terms of biological hierarchy. But the aura radiating from this tiny human before it actually made it feel a hint of... dread?
That was the aura of a dragon. It was the look of a sky sovereign looking down upon a ground-crawling worm.
"Just a larger earthworm." Morrin threw away the slightly deformed mirror, gripped his black ironwood wand with one hand, and pointed the tip at the Basilisk's massive head.
"Want to eat the savior?" The golden light in Morrin's eyes flared intensely: "First, ask whether my 'investment' agrees!"
Chapter 54: The Thousand-Year Fang, the Phoenix's Elegy, and Violent Dismantling
Deep within the Chamber of Secrets, life and death hung by a thread.
The Basilisk's bloody maw lunged forward with a gust of stench, its two scimitar-like fangs dripping with lethal venom.
Morrin did not retreat.
The black ironwood wand in his hand wasn't meant for parrying; that would be too passive.
He was here to attack.
At the moment the Basilisk bit down, Morrin exerted sudden force through his feet, causing the stone floor to shatter instantly.
"Rise!"
[Gate of Truth (Gold)] — Terrain Reconstruction.
With a low shout, the once-level stone slabs surged like waves, instantly transforming into three sharp stone spikes that stabbed fiercely into the Basilisk's lower jaw in a triangular formation!
*Bang!*
A massive sound of impact.
Although the Basilisk had thick skin and tough flesh, the sudden "Earth Spikes" still struck its jaw with agonizing pain, throwing its attack off course. The massive serpent head grazed Morrin's body and slammed into a nearby stone pillar.
The stone pillar collapsed with a crash, sending rubble flying everywhere.
"Hiss—!!!"
The Basilisk roared in fury, swinging its massive tail like a whip in a horizontal sweep.
"Harry! Get back!" Morrin roared, leaping backward onto another intact stone pillar.
Just then, an ethereal and sacred music echoed from the dome of the Chamber of Secrets.
A burst of flame-like red light pierced through the darkness.
Fawkes, Dumbledore's Phoenix, flew in carrying the Sorting Hat.
"That damned bird!" Riddle shrieked. "Kill it!"
Fawkes dove down, heading straight for the Basilisk's eyes.
The Basilisk thrashed its head wildly, trying to snap at the Phoenix, but Fawkes was too agile. Its golden beak pecked out both of the Basilisk's eyes with vicious precision.
Black blood splattered.
The Basilisk writhed in agony, its tail thrashing the ground so violently that the entire Chamber of Secrets shook.
"Nicely done, big bird," Morrin said from the top of the stone pillar, watching the scene. "Now it's a fair fight."
To Morrin, the Basilisk—now blinded and its instant-death gaze neutralized—was merely a pile of mobile, high-value protein and Alchemy materials.
"Kill him! You can still smell him even if you're blind!" Riddle ordered frantically.
Relying on its sense of smell and hearing, the Basilisklocked onto Morrin's position once more. It lunged at the stone pillar with its jaws wide open in a frenzy.
"Hmph."
Morrin gave a cold snort. He didn't use his wand again.
Stowing his wand, he slammed his palms together.
[Half-Giant Bloodline (Red)] — Full Power.
[Gate of Truth (Gold)] — Material Hardening.
He didn't dodge.
Under Harry's terrified gaze, Morrin actually jumped straight off the pillar and landed right on the Basilisk's massive head!
He straddled the Basilisk's neck like he was riding a dragon, his legs gripping the slippery scales tightly.
Gripping a spike on the Basilisk's head with his left hand, he balled his right hand into a fist, which was now coated in a golden, metallic luster reinforced by Alchemy.
"Get—down!"
*Boom!*
This punch, carrying the monstrous strength of a Half-Giant and the enhancement of Alchemy, slammed ruthlessly onto the crown of the Basilisk's head.
The Basilisk let out a shrill wail of agony. It felt as if its head had been struck by a meteorite.
Its massive body plummeted uncontrollably, crashing heavily onto the floor and smashing a large crater.
But he wasn't finished.
Morrin didn't stop.
Like a violent demolition worker, he rained punch after punch onto the Basilisk's head. Every strike was accompanied by the sound of shattering bone and splattering black blood.
"This is for Madam Norris!"
*Bang!*
"This is for Hermione!"
*Bang!*
"This is for my lost break time!"
*Bang!*
Harry watched, dumbfounded.
Was... was this Alchemy? Wasn't this just a straight-up beating?
Riddle was also stunned. His proud Slytherin monster was being sat upon and pummeled?
"Use your fangs! You idiot! Bite him!" Riddle screamed in exasperation.
The Basilisk thrashed wildly in its intense pain, trying to shake Morrin off.
Its long tail coiled around, attempting to strangle Morrin.
Morrin's gaze turned cold.
He pulled out the copy of advanced potion-making from his robes; the book was thick and hard enough.
He shoved the book into the Basilisk's wide-open maw, wedging it between the upper and lower jaws so it couldn't close its mouth or bite down.
Then, Morrin jumped down.
He walked over to the Basilisk's longest fang.
"Lend me a light."
Morrin grabbed the fang and snapped it with a powerful twist.
*Crack!*
The venomous fang, a full foot long, was snapped off by his raw strength.
Black venom dripped onto the ground, making a sizzling, corrosive sound.
"No—!!!" Riddle shrieked.
Holding the dripping fang, Morrin turned to look at Harry, who was standing nearby, paralyzed with shock.
"Catch, Potter!"
Morrin tossed the fang to Harry.
"That diary! It's his core! Destroy it!"
Harry snapped out of it. He caught the fang and looked at the diary lying to the side.
Riddle's expression changed drastically. He lunged desperately at Harry, trying to reclaim the diary.
But Harry was faster.
Raising the fang, he plunged it into the center of the diarywith all his might!
"Aaaaah—!!!"
Riddle let out a shrill, inhuman scream of absolute agony.
His body began to twist and burn. Black ink gushed from a hole in his chest like blood.
"You destroyed me! You destroyed..."
As the diary was pierced, Riddle's figure exploded in golden flames, eventually fading into nothingness.
Simultaneously, the Basilisk—beaten half to death by Morrin—let out a final wail as its master vanished, collapsing completely onto the floor, motionless.
The Chamber of Secrets returned to a deathly silence.
Only Fawkes circled in the air, letting out a cry of victory.
Panting, Harry threw down the fang and looked at the ink-soaked holes in the diary, letting out a long sigh of relief.
"It's over..."
"It's not quite over, Harry."
Morrin walked over to the Basilisk's corpse. He looked a bit disheveled, his trench coat covered in dust and black blood, but his spirit was exceptionally high.
He pulled a specialized skinning knife and several large Alchemy bottles from his pocket.
[Ding!]
[Detected High-Level Legendary Creature: Basilisk(Dead)]
[Perform extraction?]
"Extract," Morrin thought to himself.
[Consuming extraction attempt x 1]
[Extraction successful!]
[Congratulations! You have obtained the trait: Petrifying Mystic Eyes (Purple · Downgraded Version / Paralyzing Gaze)]
[Description]: Your direct gaze will exert immense mental pressure on your opponent; those with weak wills will fall into a brief state of paralysis.
"This is just the appetizer."
Morrin crouched down and began his true "harvest."
"Two intact fangs, market price: five thousand Galleons."
"The snake skin, complete..."
"The snake gall, a holy grail for detoxification."
"And these eyes..."
Morrin dissected the Basilisk with practiced skill, like a chef preparing a Thanksgiving turkey.
Watching this, Harry felt his stomach churn.
Chapter 55: The "Clean" Death of the Basilisk
"Morrin... what are you doing?"
"Recovering costs, Harry," Morrin said without looking up, bottling the Basilisk venom. "This is a once-in-a-millennium trophy. Leaving it here to rot would be a crime against resources."
Just then, a groan came from over there.
Ginny Weasley woke up.
"Harry..." Ginny sat up, looking around blankly. Then she saw the dead Basilisk and Morrin, who was busy "dismembering" it, and was so frightened she almost fainted again.
"Don't faint, Miss Weasley."
Morrin wiped the blood off his hands and stood up.
"Now that you're awake, prepare your lines. You'll need to explain your year of'sleepwalking' to Dumbledore later."
Morrin walked over to Ginny and handed her a bottle of golden potion.
"Drink it. This is high-purity Mandrake Essence; it can repair your damaged soul."
Ginny took the potion with trembling hands and drank it. The hollow feeling of weakness vanished significantly in an instant.
"Thank you... thank you, Morrin," Ginny said, weeping. "I thought I was going to die."
"You indeed almost did," Morrin said flatly. "Remember this feeling. Don't go trusting any talking diaries ever again."
Just then, Fawkes flew over, gesturing for them to grab his tail feathers.
"Are we flying up?" Harry asked.
"I believe so." Morrin stuffed the bottles and jars filled with loot into his pocket, which was enchanted with an Undetectable Extension Charm.
He took one last look at the massive Chamber of Secretsand the statue of Salazar.
"Goodbye, old monkey."
Morrin grabbed Fawkes's feathers.
Three people and one bird flew up through the pipes... A few minutes later, they were in Professor McGonagall's office.
The room was crowded. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Dumbledore who had finally returned, Professor McGonagall, and Snape, who had been waiting there for a long time.
When the three of them, covered in grime, emerged from the fireplace, Molly Weasley let out a scream and rushed forward to embrace Ginny.
The next half hour was spent in emotional reunions and explanations.
Harry placed the diary on the desk and told the story of Riddle.
After hearing it, Dumbledore looked at Morrin with deep, searching eyes.
"It seems you have once again appeared in the right place at the right time, Mr. White."
"Simply to maintain campus safety, Principal," Morrinreplied calmly, though his blood-spattered appearance made him look more like a butcher who had just finished a slaughter.
"Regarding the Basilisk..." Dumbledore asked.
"Dead," Morrin answered succinctly. "Physically dead."
Snape's nose twitched; he caught the strong scent of extremely precious Basilisk venom and blood on Morrin. A flash of shock and... jealousy flickered in his eyes.
This kid actually dismantled the entire snake?
"Very well," Dumbledore smiled. "It seems we have not only resolved a great trouble but also reaped a bountiful harvest."
"Lucius Malfoy is outside," Professor McGonagall said suddenly. "He looks very angry."
The door was burst open.
Lucius charged in, fuming with rage, followed by Dobby, the house-elf wrapped in bandages.
"Dumbledore!" Lucius roared. "You're back?! The Board of Governors clearly had—"
"This is thanks to Mr. White's'suggestion'." Dumbledorewaved several letters in his hand. "The other governors heard that Arthur's daughter had been taken and felt that changing Principals at such a time was not a good idea. Furthermore..."
Dumbledore looked at Morrin.
"The White Family seems to have just acquired the assets of three of those governors. They now place great value on Mr. White's opinions."
Lucius snapped his head toward Morrin, his face turning incredibly pale.
He had lost again.
And to a twelve-year-old child, no less.
"This isn't over," Lucius gritted his teeth. "Let's go, Dobby!"
He turned to leave.
"Wait, Mr. Malfoy."
Morrin suddenly called out to him.
"Take this with you."
Morrin took the tattered diary from Harry and shoved it into Lucius's hand.
"This is yours, isn't it? Though it's nothing but scrap paper now, I'm sure you'll want to keep it as a memento."
Lucius took the diary, his hands trembling.
He knew it was all over.
The secret weapon was destroyed, and it had been lost under his watch.
"You will regret this, White," Lucius threatened in a low voice.
"I never have regrets, Malfoy," Morrin smiled, helping him close the door. "Just as I never make a losing deal."
Outside the door, Harry seemed to remember something; he pulled off a smelly sock, stuffed it into the diary, and chased after him... It was the classic scene of freeing Dobby. Morrin didn't interfere because Dobby was a good source of free labor that he could hire later... The term ended.
The Hogwarts Express set off once again.
This time, Harry and Ron sat in Morrin's compartment, enjoying a lavish lunch on Morrin's treat.
"This year has been absolutely crazy," Ron said, chewing on a chicken leg. "But thank you, Morrin. If it weren't for you, Ginny might have..."
"Don't mention it," Morrin said, looking at the scenery flying past the window. "Just remember to pay back the loan for your new wand."
Ron choked.
Harry watched the scene with a smile.
Morrin leaned back against his seat and felt the bottle of purple Basilisk venom in his pocket.
The second school year was over.
Not only had he harvested a large amount of rare materials, but he had also completely suppressed the arrogance of the Pure-blood faction and solidified his position in Slytherin and the entire school.
More importantly, he had verified the power of the [Gate of Truth].
"Next term."
The image of a massive black dog and the terrifying Azkaban prison surfaced in Morrin's mind.
"Dementors."
Morrin licked his lips.
"I've heard those creatures are the banes of souls... I wonder if I can extract a trait related to 'Soul Extraction'?"
The train sped toward London.
Far away in Azkaban, Sirius Black stared at a photo of The Weasley Family in Egypt in the newspaper, the flames of revenge igniting in his eyes.
Inside the Hogwarts Express.
In this Slytherin-exclusive carriage, the atmosphere was heavier than the storm outside.
This solemnity stemmed from a copy of The Daily Prophetthat had just been delivered.
While the front-page headline was still reporting on Lockhart's "amnesia tragedy," in the financial column on the third page, Rita Skeeter (at Morrin's suggestion) had written an in-depth report:
Hogwarts' Rising Star: Unveiling the Prodigy Controlling a Ten-Billion-Dollar Muggle Financial Empire — Moen White.
The article detailed the White Family's industries in the Muggle world: steel, energy, multinational banks... and, most crucially, the fact that there was no record of any wizarding blood in the White Family.