Harry's heart skipped a beat.
His intuition told him that he should answer this question carefully, otherwise...
It might be a misconception, but he felt that if Vivi got angry, the consequences would be more severe than Hermione's.
Professor Luke Wood had a stifled laugh, looking on with a 'loving the drama' expression, while Professor Lachham was urgently signaling to Harry, trying to convey the importance of the situation.
"Oh, it's broken off." Harry replied quickly, truthfully, "Earlier at the Broken Cauldron Bar, she said she didn't like bitter things and preferred sweet ones, so I broke off a piece of chocolate for her and left the rest in my wallet, forgetting to eat it."
"Then why did you suddenly think of it again?" Vivi squinted her eyes as she asked, her tone dangerous.
"Hermione was giving Ron medicine, Ron didn't know how to take it, so he chewed the medicine." Harry didn't know why he felt compelled to explain, but his intuition told him he had to explain properly, "The pill was meant to be swallowed with water, if chewed it would be bitter, and then I remembered there was a piece of chocolate, Pabi said it was very sweet chocolate."
"But Ron felt it was very bitter after eating it, and you know what happened next..."
"Oh, so that's what happened." Vivi awkwardly turned her face away, "Sorry, Harry, I'm just a painting, staying here for so long, sometimes I tend to overreact..."
At the same time, she was secretly plotting in her heart.
Ha, foolish Gael...
Took away my Angel's Feather, causing me to nearly miss the most crucial material!
I can't even imagine, if due to the lack of such an item, I were to remain trapped in Slytherin's study, allowing Pabi to steal the advantage...
Just wait patiently at Nimongard! I'll definitely teach you a good lesson!
"Understood," Harry nodded in agreement, "If I were stuck in this... eh, even Fox wouldn't come here to poop, for a hundred years, I'd probably go crazy — Fox is Professor Dumbledore's Phoenix."
"Yes indeed." Vivi put away the dangerous look in her eyes and turned around with a smile, "Harry, you're always so understanding."
Praised by Vivi, Harry happily scratched his head, ignoring the oddity in Vivi's expression just now.
The three professors exchanged glances, all sighing silently.
Poor Harry, being played by her...
"Right, I think I'm quite empathetic too—" Harry said, "But I'm still a bit worried, what's really up with Pabi, why say it's sweet chocolate when it's really bitter?"
Silence fell over the Map Secret Room.
Vivi thought carefully for a moment, then raised her head and said, "Maybe it's a problem with the Magic Mage— I remember the books emphasized that trying to use Animagus to transform into magical creatures could lead to unknown consequences... I think it's definitely not as simple as not being able to revert to form, there's surely something she's hiding from you."
"Hiding?" Harry asked, puzzled, "Hiding what?"
"I don't know." Vivi said succinctly, "Without seeing her myself, I can't determine her state."
"Alright then." Harry could only accept this fact.
He suddenly remembered the ominous voice on the road to the Map Secret Room and asked again, "Oh, there's one more thing."
"Go ahead." Vivi nodded.
"Recently, I've been hearing a cold voice." Harry recalled for a moment before continuing, "It seems to be coming from the walls, and the ceiling... that voice seems to be traversing through the walls..."
"Traversing through the walls?" Vivi was stunned, "Could it be a ghost? Generally speaking, only ghosts can do that, right?"
Harry quickly denied, "No, it's not a ghost. Earlier in Professor Lockhart's office, I heard this voice, but Professor Lockhart didn't hear it..."
Not a ghost?
Vivi frowned and asked, "Could it be he really didn't hear it?"
"Impossible!" Harry quickly denied, "The voice was loud, I don't believe Professor Lockhart couldn't hear it..."
He suddenly thought of Fitch's cat, and said, "By the way, I heard that kind of voice last semester too, and afterwards, I found Fitch's cat petrified."
Silence fell over the Map Secret Room.
"Harry." Principal Fitzgerald asked, "You mean, you can hear that sound, but the others with you cannot, right?"
"Yes, Principal." Harry nodded and said.
"Since that's the case, why not tell us what you've heard?" Principal Fitzgerald said.
Harry crinkled his face, recalled the situation, and said, "I heard that voice say... about slaughter, thirst for blood, purifying the school..."
"Purifying the school?!" Vivi immediately connected the dots, she exclaimed, "Harry, that voice... could it be Slytherin's creature?"
"Slytherin's creature?" The professors and Harry all asked together.
Harry felt Vivi's mention of "creature" was familiar, but couldn't recall where he'd seen it before.
Upon hearing their query, Vivi explained, "Harry, do you remember? When we went to Slytherin's study, we found letters left by Slytherin himself on the desk— If I recall correctly, the content of the last part was..."
"Next, I will let the creature enter a sleeping state, until someone with my shared views awakens it— that chosen offspring will reverse the misdeeds committed by others inadvertently, those unworthy will only tarnish my legacy, and my offspring will bear the burden of purifying Hogwarts."