The students had all been sent back to their respective common rooms.
Only the first witnesses of the crime scene—Harry and Ron—were invited into Lockhart's office. Along with the two of them, Kyle remained behind as well.
Dumbledore placed his hand on Harry's shoulder. "Harry, I want you to tell me in detail everything you and Ron saw."
Harry took a deep breath, trying to soothe the unease in his heart.
"When we went back to the common room to change clothes just now, we passed through that corridor, but there was nothing there."
"When we came back downstairs, I heard a strange, raspy voice, but Ron said he didn't hear it."
Dumbledore stroked his long, silver beard, deep in thought.
"The voice seemed to be coming from inside the walls. It said things like... rip you... kill you..."
"Then, when we passed that corridor again... we saw that scene."
Ron nodded in agreement. "Harry told me to go back to the Great Hall alone to notify the professors while he stayed there to guard the scene."
Snape's inquisitive gaze swept back and forth over Harry and Ron.
"Did you hear that voice again afterward?" Dumbledore pressed further.
Harry shook his head. "No, Professor."
Dumbledore and Snape, both masters of Legilimency, could tell that Harry was not lying.
"Potter, Weasley, you may return to your common room," Professor McGonagall told them.
"What about my Mrs. Norris!" Filch shrieked.
"The Mandrakes in the greenhouse can break the Petrification on her," Kyle offered a solution. "However, it will still take some time for the Mandrakes to mature."
"I'll brew it," Lockhart cut in immediately. "I must have brewed it a hundred times..."
"You can't even cast a simple Healing Charm without turning it into a Bone-Vanishing Spell," Kyle interrupted ruthlessly. "Better leave it to Professor Snape."
A faint, almost imperceptible smirk played across Snape's lips. Kyle's retort was brilliantly executed and perfectly suited his mood.
Dumbledore didn't have time to pay attention to the embarrassed Lockhart; he kept his head down, lost in silent reflection.
The Chamber of Secrets...
After fifty years, had it appeared once again?
The last time the Chamber was opened, a student died at Hogwarts. How many would fall victim this time?
The intention of the one who opened the Chamber was definitely not as simple as staging a single attack; they must have a much larger scheme.
According to Hogwarts: A History, the Chamber was a secret room built by Salazar Slytherin within the castle.
Slytherin kept a terrible monster inside the Chamber, and only his true Heir could open it and release the beast within.
The monster would then "purge" the school, clearing out all those deemed unworthy to study magic.
"Those unworthy to study magic" referred to Muggle-born wizards.
However, neither Kyle nor Dumbledore believed that Slytherin, as a founder of Hogwarts, would raise such a monster to harm the school's students.
It was more likely that Slytherin's descendants had twisted his original will.
This was because the only verifiable descendant of Slytherin currently known was the famous Second Dark Lord—Tom Riddle.
What exactly is Voldemort trying to do?
Kyle lowered his head in thought, his contemplative expression almost perfectly synchronized with Dumbledore's beside him.
Kyle couldn't fathom Voldemort's intentions at all. After all, a sane person cannot possibly understand the logic of a madman. If one did understand, they wouldn't be far from madness themselves.
As for what the monster in the Chamber was, it wasn't hard to guess; it was highly likely some kind of Dark Arts magical creature.
The difficulty lay in verifying its existence.
Because Mrs. Norris's petrification could have been caused personally by the one who opened the Chamber, or it could have been caused by the monster.
If it were the latter, there were only a few magical creatures in the wizarding world capable of petrifying other living beings.
A Basilisk, a Medusa...
Considering Slytherin's indissoluble bond with snakes, the monster in the Chamber was almost certainly a Basilisk.
An adult Basilisk's gaze is fatal.
However, if it wasn't a direct eye-to-eye look, but rather indirect contact, it would result in petrification rather than death.
The question then was: if it were a Basilisk, where would it be hiding?
After reasoning for a long time, Kyle still couldn't come up with an answer.
The current clues were still too scarce.
After exchanging thoughts with Dumbledore, Kyle left Lockhart's office.
He headed toward the path leading back to the Hufflepuff common room.
Suddenly, at a corner in the corridor, Kyle stopped in his tracks.
"Hannah, Hermione, why are you two still here?"
"We were worried it might be dangerous for you to head back to the common room alone, so we stayed to wait for you," Hannah said in a soft, sweet voice.
Kyle blinked, momentarily stunned.
He really wanted to say that even if he encountered the one who opened the Chamber, if he couldn't defeat them, he could still use a Grand Summoning Jutsu to call upon two "ceiling-tier" powerhouses to join the fight.
So, he truly had nothing to worry about; rather, it was the two of them staying here that was actually dangerous.
However, Kyle wasn't some kind of "Titanium-grade" dense protagonist, so he wasn't about to be a fool and just blurt out his inner thoughts.
"Thank you," Kyle said with a slight smile, looking toward a certain "little beaver." "Let's walk you back first."
On the way to the Gryffindor common room, Hermione couldn't help but ask, "Is the matter of the Chamber of Secrets real, Kyle?"
Seeing that Hannah was also quite curious, Kyle gave them a brief explanation of the Chamber's origins and the theories he and Dumbledore had regarding the lost monster.
"The attacks won't stop at just one. So, until the culprit is caught, you two shouldn't wander around the castle alone. Try to walk in groups as much as possible."
"A Basilisk's gaze can kill instantly. If you really encounter one, remember that."
Hearing Kyle's words of concern, both girls felt a warmth in their hearts.
"Alright, we've reached the Gryffindor common room. I assume Hannah and I don't need to walk you all the way to your bedroom door?"
Hermione gave a playful smile. "Well, that would depend on whether you could even get into the girls' dormitory."
Each house's common room had two doors leading to the boys' and girls' dormitories, respectively.
The girls' dormitory was enchanted to identify the gender of anyone approaching, blocking any boys who intended to intrude at night.
This magic had been personally laid down by one of the Four Founders, Rowena Ravenclaw. With Kyle's current magical level, he was decades away from being able to break it.
After watching Hermione's figure disappear through the passage behind the Fat Lady's portrait, Kyle turned to Hannah.
"I'll take you back through a shortcut."
He stepped onto the railing of the staircase.
A moment later, two figures plummeted rapidly from the eighth floor of Hogwarts Castle.
————
Supporting me on Pa-treon to gain early access to advanced chapters and enjoy expedited updates. Your support is greatly appreciated.
pat-reon .c-om/Dragonhair
(Just remove the hyphen - and space, to access Pa-treon normally.)