The other professors arrived in short order.
"What in the world happened here?" Minerva McGonagall asked Albus Dumbledore, her expression a mix of concern and confusion.
"I shall explain presently." Albus Dumbledore raised his voice, addressing the assembled students. "Heads of houses, escort your students back to their dormitories! No one is to leave their common rooms without express permission from a professor!"
The students, who had been watching with morbid curiosity, quickly dispersed at his command.
As Harry Potter turned to leave, Albus Dumbledore stopped him. "Harry, a word, if you please."
Draco Malfoy, who had only taken a few steps, also turned back, ever eager to be in the thick of things.
Albus Dumbledore, for the moment, ignored him, turning his gaze instead to Tom Riddle, who stood with Cassandra Vole at his side. The boy was, predictably, giving his apprentice yet another private lesson.
Tom Riddle, feeling Albus Dumbledore's eyes on him, bristled inwardly. What is it now? "Is there a problem, Headmaster?"
Albus Dumbledore sighed, a sound of weary patience. "Your little Death Eaters nearly killed Argus Filch, it seems."
Tom Riddle waved a dismissive hand. "But they did not succeed, did they? Surely you do not require my involvement in such a trivial matter?" Although, I suppose I do have a vested interest in protecting my own.
Draco Malfoy, quick to deflect blame, piped up, "Professor, it was Filch who attacked Scar… Harry, first." It was, in fact, the truth, a fact Filch could hardly deny.
Harry Potter, emboldened, added his own account. "That's right! He even threatened to kill me!"
Tom Riddle narrowed his eyes, his emerald gaze hardening as he focused on Filch. "Oh? So he started it." Under the Dark Lord's scrutiny, Filch trembled, his eyes wide with terror, clinging even more desperately to Albus Dumbledore's robes.
"Ahem… Alright, alright, we can discuss the intricacies of this later. The immediate concern is to identify the culprit who attacked Mrs. Norris." Albus Dumbledore, with subtle protectiveness, attempted to steer the conversation away from Filch's actions.
Tom Riddle understood Albus Dumbledore's intentions but made his own priorities clear. He simply wanted to ensure Harry and his cohorts were absolved of any wrongdoing.
"Filch, get up now." Albus Dumbledore gently helped the still-dazed caretaker to his feet. "Mrs. Norris is not dead, merely petrified."
Filch seized Albus Dumbledore's hand, his eyes pleading. "Really?!"
"Indeed." Albus Dumbledore offered a reassuring smile.
Gilderoy Lockhart, who had been hovering nearby, felt a sudden, almost irresistible urge to insert himself into the situation, to bask in the spotlight. But then he remembered the last time he had attempted to showcase his talents – the Whomping Willow incident, the desperate search for a cure – and wisely decided to remain silent.
Albus Dumbledore turned to Severus Snape. "Severus, would you be so kind?"
Severus Snape offered a curt nod. "The potion to reverse petrification requires mature Mandrakes."
Professor Sprout added, "The Mandrakes at the school are not yet fully mature."
Albus Dumbledore shook his head. "We can wait. Mrs. Norris is not in immediate danger."
Minerva McGonagall, her brow furrowed in concern, was still staring at the blood-written message on the wall. "The Chamber of Secrets… Could it be the one Salazar Slytherin left behind?"
Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy, their curiosity piqued, edged closer to Professor Flitwick. "Professor, what is this 'Chamber of Secrets left by Salazar Slytherin'?" Harry Potter asked.
Professor Flitwick paused, then decided there was no harm in sharing the tale. "In the early days of Hogwarts, Salazar Slytherin and the other three founders clashed over the criteria for student admission. Salazar Slytherin believed that only those of pure-blood should be admitted, as only they, in his opinion, were capable of mastering magic."
He sighed. "Ultimately, he failed to convince the others and departed Hogwarts. But legend has it that Salazar Slytherin constructed a secret chamber within the castle, the so-called Chamber of Secrets. It is said that he sealed it before his departure, decreeing that only his true heir could open it…"
Harry Potter's curiosity deepened. "And what happens when the Chamber of Secrets is opened?"
Draco Malfoy, who had been listening with rapt attention, leaned in, determined not to miss a single detail.
"The opening of the Chamber of Secrets will unleash a terrible horror, one that will be used to purge all non-pure-blood wizards from the school."
Draco Malfoy visibly relaxed. "Then I have nothing to worry about. My family has been pure-blood for generations."
Harry Potter rolled his eyes. "Oh, come off it, Malfoy. If your family was truly as pure as you claim, you'd be a drooling imbecile by now."
"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?" Draco Malfoy, sensing Harry Potter's seriousness, frowned.
Harry Potter launched into an explanation of inbreeding and its consequences. There were so few pure-blood families left in the wizarding world that, if they intermarried exclusively to maintain their bloodline, widespread inbreeding would inevitably occur over time. The very fact that Draco Malfoy wasn't mentally deficient proved that his ancestors must have, at some point, intermarried with Muggles.
Draco Malfoy stared, dumbfounded.
"It seems the wisdom of Muggles should not be underestimated," Professor Flitwick mused, then attempted to reassure the two boys. "But do not fret. The school has been searched thoroughly, many times, without ever finding the Chamber of Secrets. Perhaps it is merely a myth."
While Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy pondered the implications of the Chamber of Secrets, Albus Dumbledore and the other professors continued to debate the identity of the attacker.
"If this Chamber of Secrets refers to Salazar Slytherin's, then this heir must be…"
"The heir of Slytherin."
All eyes turned to Tom Riddle, and an awkward silence descended. Although they had worked together for a year, and their relationship had improved considerably, with occasional jokes exchanged, no one could deny the underlying tension. The prospect of facing Tom Riddle in open conflict was a daunting one.
"I did not Petrify that cat. Believe it or not." Tom Riddle was too weary to offer a more elaborate explanation to these people.
"Ahem… of course, we believe you."
"Although you do seem to have the requisite abilities…"
"Yes, yes, I know what you're thinking…" Tom Riddle knew that, aside from Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape, the others would have a difficult time resisting his Legilimency, should he choose to employ it.
"Alright, alright, it couldn't have been Tom. If it were him, Mrs. Norris would not still be alive." Albus Dumbledore, who understood Tom Riddle better than most, intervened. "Besides, given Tom Riddle's personality, he likely would not be interested in such a petty stunt. After all, even if we were to attack him together, we might not be a match for him."
A fair point.
The professors nodded in agreement. Albus Dumbledore's assessment did carry a ring of truth.
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