Chapter 60
Christmas had temporarily dispelled the unease brought by the Chamber of Secrets.
By January, when spring began, the Black Lake shimmered in a clear turquoise under the bright sunlight. The dark trees of the Forbidden Forest still wore their silver coats, each branch cradling fluffy snowballs. When owls swooped by, they startled flurries of fine snow into the air.
In this atmosphere, Hogwarts students returned cheerfully to school, and the once-quiet castle burst back into vibrant life.
Post-holiday life unfolded more or less as the students had imagined; professor Lucian's assignments were as plentiful as ever, but his classes remained just as engaging.
The Duelling Club he had founded with Professor Snape was now enthusiastically selecting members, bringing fresh excitement to the students.
Just when everyone thought the semester's main activities would be attending classes, studying, and—after classes—taking on the Slytherins, the Chamber of Secrets incident, which had simmered and fermented over the Christmas break, finally erupted in full.
During the holidays, parents had heard about what their children had encountered at school.
They could hardly believe that a monster capable of attacking students existed at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry! And their children had been studying in such a dangerous environment for three whole months!
Amid the parents' outrage and the subtle fueling from certain interested parties, not long after the students returned, they anxiously discovered that the school was undergoing a dramatic change.
First, right after the holidays ended, the gamekeeper Hagrid was personally arrested and taken away by Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge. Even with Headmaster Dumbledore standing right beside him, Hagrid couldn't be protected.
The students watched the dejected Hagrid being escorted out of Hogwarts, bewildered about what was happening, some said he was the culprit behind the Chamber of Secrets attacks and had finally been caught by the Ministry after lying low for so long.
Others said Hagrid had committed some crime in the past that had only now come to light.
Most students didn't have as close a relationship with Hagrid as Harry did. They weren't particularly concerned about what happened to him; instead, they felt relieved, thinking the Chamber of Secrets affair must finally be over.
But what happened next left everyone stunned.
Just five days into term, the ghost Nearly Headless Nick was petrified—this was already the third victim of the Chamber of Secrets attacks after Mrs. Norris and the Professor. Even with Hagrid captured, the incidents hadn't stopped!
Soon after, in the very first week of the new term, Headmaster Dumbledore was forced out of the school under joint pressure from twelve school governors led by Lucius Malfoy!
Because the Chamber's killing incidents had now happened three times in a row—even a professor-level wizard had fallen in one of the attacks—yet Dumbledore had always "kept silent and taken no action." The Board of Governors decided to appoint a more capable successor to stop the killings!
But that was Dumbledore! If even he couldn't stop the Chamber of Secrets killings, who could?
The young wizards' hearts fell into complete chaos.
But before they could think too deeply, on the very afternoon after Dumbledore was taken away, Deputy Headmistress Professor McGonagall issued another difficult decision.
She decided to temporarily close Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!
Harry and the others hadn't even had time to discuss it before they received this thunderbolt of news!
"Harry!"
Hermione waved frantically at Harry from a distance, her voice drowned out by the clamor.
Hogwarts was closing urgently. The special express train to take students home was already on its way. Prefects were carrying out their duties, shouting for everyone to assemble and rounding up scattered students.
"Hermione!" Harry called out amid the chaotic crowd.
"Hogwarts is finished—!" Peeves cackled wildly from atop a suit of armor, kicking a knight's helmet to the ground. The cold metal clanged against the hard floor, sending a chilling sound through the air.
A Ravenclaw girl jumped in fright at the noise; the trunk she was dragging tipped over with a crash, an ink bottle rolling out and tumbling three full circles across the floor, spilling everywhere.
Owl screeches echoed through the air. Some student roughly shoved their owl into its cage. From some corner came a muffled sob.
Harry and Hermione finally met up, their expressions more serious than ever—Harry himself was surprised that he could remain so utterly calm at a moment like this!
His chest burned like fire, yet his mind was exceptionally clear.
"Harry, what do we do? I can't find Cedric!" The girl's usual composure was gone from her face. The peaceful life had overturned completely in just a few short days, leaving her feeling strange and lost.
The sun on the horizon glowed blood-red as it slowly sank below the skyline, the Gryffindor common room had never felt so crowded yet so eerily silent.
Harry's emotions had never been so tangled—depression mixed with the fury of being deceived. Right now, his body surged with determination!
"Lucian! Professor Lucian must know everything! Let's go find him!" In Harry's mind flashed those eyes that always calmly observed everything.
"Harry, Professor Lucian has disappeared!"
"What did you say?" Harry stared at Hermione in disbelief.
"The moment Professor McGonagall announced the closure, I went to his office—he was gone! Everything in his office had vanished, like he'd evaporated into thin air!"
"That's impossible." Harry's eyes widened. Suddenly, he bolted back toward the dormitory like a madman!
"Harry, where are you going—Harry!" Hermione shouted after him, but Harry paid no attention.
He raced into the dormitory, grabbed his Invisibility Cloak, threw it over himself without pause, and was about to leave when he suddenly remembered something Cedric had once said. "Keep your broom in a fixed spot, so when we need it, we can just summon it with Accio."
He'd been doing exactly that ever since.
"Accio, Nimbus!"
Harry chanted the spell and mounted his broom, flying straight out of the common room—his figure streaked at high speed through the castle. Below him, every student looked panicked and dazed—
"Harry Potter!"
Harry suddenly heard someone calling him, he instinctively turned and saw the ghost the Grey Lady waving to him.
"He's in the girls' bathroom right now. Go quietly! You have to stop him!"
Harry didn't need to ask who—she was talking about Lucian! At this moment, he was absolutely certain the Grey Lady meant Professor Lucian!
"Me? Just me alone?"
"Anyone else would only alert him. This is something only you can do—you have the Invisibility Cloak, right? Sneak up behind him and hit him with a Stunning Spell! Hurry! With Headmaster Dumbledore gone from the school, if he releases the basilisk, everyone at Hogwarts will die!"
The Grey Lady's words struck deep into Harry's nerves. He had no time for further thought. He flew swiftly to the second-floor girls' bathroom, pulled the Invisibility Cloak tight around himself.
And in that very instant, he heard an utterly evil voice.
"(Open)"
It was Parseltongue. At this time, in this place, the only one who could speak Parseltongue was; wearing the Invisibility Cloak, Harry cautiously entered the bathroom and saw Professor Lucian standing right in front of the sink's tap.
With his voice, the tap emitted a dazzling white light and began spinning rapidly.
Then the basin itself started to move; Harry watched as the sink slowly sank out of sight, revealing a very thick pipe large enough for a person to crawl through. Then, Lucian stepped in without hesitation.
Harry's whole body went cold. He realized one thing with absolute clarity; The Chamber of Secrets had been opened.
***
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