As the words fell, the secret chamber plunged into silence once more.
Professor Luke Wood said, "The question is, what exactly is the creature Slytherin left behind? Slytherin existed a thousand years ago, generally speaking, there are few creatures that can live for a thousand years, right?"
"Harry." Principal Fitzgerald seemed to have a guess. She said again, "Recall carefully the sounds you heard, try to imitate what exactly it was..."
Harry tried hard to remember that icy voice, he closed his eyes, trying to mimic it.
"[Parseltongue] Kill you all, crave slaughter... want to purify the school..." he hissed, like a snake making sound.
"I've got it," Vivi said, suddenly enlightened. "You're speaking Parseltongue, Harry—remember, Omnius Gaunt once suspected you had the bloodline of the Gaunt Clan, just because outside Slytherin's study, you could also use Parseltongue."
"Yes, Slytherin himself was a Parselmouth." Principal Fitzgerald said, "Thus, the truth is revealed—the voice you mentioned was in Parseltongue... as far as I know, there are no ghosts in Hogwarts who can speak Parseltongue, so... this voice, unsurprisingly, came from some sort of snake creature, perhaps the 'creature' mentioned in the letter."
"As far as I know," Professor Luke Wood said, "there's a type of snake creature whose natural lifespan is about nine hundred years—and falling into slumber apparently allows them to live longer."
"Are you saying, a Basilisk?!" Professor Lachham asked with a frown, "That would be terrible, looking into a Basilisk's eyes would make one lose their life—regarding that unfortunate cat you mentioned, it's likely petrified by the Basilisk... from what I understand, if it's not a direct confrontation with the Basilisk's eyes, but seeing them indirectly through a mirror or reflection of water, the viewer doesn't lose their life but is severely petrified."
"That's right!" Harry slammed his palm, "I know, Colin Creevey was petrified by the Basilisk—when he was petrified, he was holding a camera, probably wanting to capture the Basilisk... he looked at the Basilisk through the camera's viewfinder, instead of directly looking into its eyes, so he was only petrified, not killed..."
"This is a good thing." He said with a laugh, "I've been tracking the Basilisk for several months, even considered taking the advice to look for it in Greece, but I never expected there's a Basilisk right here in Hogwarts Castle..."
"Harry." Vivi said seriously, "This isn't a good thing, the Basilisk is a 5X Level Magical Creature, I hope you don't take it lightly, you must respond cautiously—also, do you remember what Slytherin said? 'His offspring will bear the burden,' this indicates the sudden appearance of the Basilisk is due to the control of Slytherin's descendants—which means you are likely facing more than just the Basilisk, but also the Slytherin descendant controlling it."
"Okay, Vivi." Harry nodded hastily, "Once I leave, I will ask Miss Fari, the Class Prefect of Slytherin, whether there are people with the surname Gaunt in the current Slytherin College."
Miss Fari?
Vivi noted the name.
"Not only those with the surname Gaunt, but also those with maternal roots from the Gaunt family must be checked." Vivi said softly, "Even if the mother is surnamed Gaunt, Parseltongue can be passed down to the child."
"I've noted it, Vivi." Harry said.
"However..."
Vivi hesitated for a moment, then said again, "I still suggest you seek Dumbledore's help, after all, he's over a hundred years old now, been in Hogwarts for many years, should know a lot about this castle... even if he doesn't know the location of the Basilisk, he could prevent you from falling into danger when subduing it."
Harry originally wanted to refuse, but seeing Vivi's concerned eyes, and thinking about the current danger the school is facing, he swallowed his words of refusal.
"Alright."
"But your memory is really good," Harry said again, "It's been a hundred years, and you still remember the letter we saw in Slytherin's study."
"My memory has always been good, Harry." Vivi said gently.
"Alright, since we know the real situation, I think I should head back too." Harry said to Vivi, "Time is pressing, I should quickly inform Professor Dumbledore, tell him of the danger the school is facing."
"Hmm."
As he watched Harry leave the Map Secret Room, Professor Lachham suddenly said, "Miss Grindelwald, why did you... hide the truth?"
"What truth?" Vivi asked.
"We all know you're not a true portrait, but rather a soul form—and you can return to Slytherin's study anytime... I suppose you can recite that note backward by heart?"
The chubby Professor Luke Wood adjusted his hat, with a look of having seen through everything long ago.
"No one likes a wiseacre, Charles." Principal Fitzgerald's critique was as sharp as ever.
Prof. Luke Wood's chubby face twitched twice, wanting to retort, but held back.
He was adept at verbal sparring, but not at debating with Principal Fitzgerald—because Principal Fitzgerald would use her fists to teach him the meaning of 'debating is silver, silence is gold.'
"Oh, it's enough for me to know such things myself." Vivi chuckled softly, "Sharing pain only makes two people suffer; while sharing joy, makes two people happy. I'd rather share happiness with Harry than have him share pain with me—I hope Harry is happy with me, rather than depressed with me."
"But have you considered what happens when Harry collects all the materials and saves you from the study, and the portrait in the Map Secret Room vanishes? How will you explain then?" Professor Lachham asked. "By that time, what will you do?"
Vivi was silent.
"It's okay." She said, "I have a way."
"You better have." Professor Luke Wood said, "Don't be fooled by that bespectacled four-eyed kid's gentle appearance; he actually has plenty of ideas."
"Rest assured, Professor Luke Wood." Vivi said softly, "Thank you."
Professor Luke Wood waved nonchalantly.
"Besides that Magic Mage," Professor Lachham added, "I think she should be your rival, goodness, the three of us have watched you and Harry grow up, you two are like our own children, and I'd hate to see that Magic Mage undermine you."
"Exactly, the Map Secret Room can't withstand another round of your destruction." Professor Luke Wood said with lingering fears, "You've already destroyed the Luke Wood family's castle, now this is the only place I can stay."
"Showing vulnerability to men isn't necessarily a bad thing, Vivi." Principal Fitzgerald critiqued sharply, "I'm telling you this not as a teacher, but as someone who's been through it—some women excel at showing weakness, leveraging men's sympathy and guilt, ultimately winning their hearts... and you don't seem to be good at showing weakness; you always appear your strongest in front of Harry, which isn't good, it's not good."
(Sorry, there was a power outage today from ten to four in the afternoon, recently heavy snow in Heilongjiang...)
(Requesting monthly votes)