A flash of silver light, and an abandoned corridor came into Evans's view.
Hundreds of years ago, this had been a shortcut to the Gryffindor common room. But ever since a certain incident a century ago that completely destroyed one corner of the corridor, this shortcut had been abandoned. You could only enter from the Gryffindor tower side but couldn't exit from the other end.
After being destroyed, this abandoned corridor had somehow become faintly connected to the castle's protective magic. Since it wasn't particularly important anyway, no one had bothered to restore it.
After being collapsed for hundreds of years, this former shortcut had gradually become a place where young wizards would secretly meet or do things that violated school rules.
But now, a rigid figure brought a mysterious and sinister atmosphere to this corridor.
It was a boy who didn't look very old, holding up a camera with a book and several pieces of parchment scattered beside him. It appeared he'd hastily noticed something, turned to take a photograph, but encountered something during this process and was petrified here.
"The student who first discovered this child was a fourth-year," Professor McGonagall said, looking at the petrified child with barely concealed anger in her eyes. "As for the specific time of the incident, since this corridor's so remote, we can't confirm it. But it should've been after dinner."
"I asked several of his classmates, and they all said Colin ate dinner with them, returned to the common room, and only then disappeared."
Listening to Professor McGonagall's account, Evans crouched down and carefully examined the boy holding the camera.
Opening the camera's back cover, a pungent smell rushed into his nostrils. The camera's internal structure was almost completely burnt out, but Evans wasn't surprised at all.
If this was truly the basilisk's doing, an ordinary magical camera couldn't possibly resist the basilisk's gaze. The fact that this boy was only petrified rather than dead on the spot proved the camera's quality was decent. At least it held out until after the boy made eye contact with the basilisk before being destroyed.
Otherwise, if the camera had failed instantly and the child had peered around for another look, they'd probably only be seeing a corpse right now.
After examining the child's expression and posture, Evans turned his attention to the book and papers on the ground.
Picking up the book and flipping through it casually, this was a Muggle psychology book about how to properly communicate with idols and how to earn forgiveness if disliked by others.
After briefly reading the book's contents, Evans focused on the papers on the ground.
These were several drafts, and upon closer inspection, the papers contained lines of apology written in somewhat childish handwriting.
After patiently reading through the letter, Evans sighed softly.
He remembered Harry mentioning in casual conversation that a new student had been bothering him, causing him some distress. It seemed this young wizard was that student.
However, he appeared to have recognised his mistakes.
Based on the letter's content, this child had planned to arrange a meeting with Harry in the coming days to apologise for his previous behaviour and try to truly become friends with Harry.
Unfortunately, before he could finish writing his letter, this happened.
Standing up and gently placing the letter back in the petrified boy's hand, Evans turned around.
Analysing these details couldn't provide much help in finding the basilisk.
At this time, professors were gradually arriving. Professor Flitwick's office was closest, so he arrived fastest. The other professors would need to wait a bit longer.
Looking at Colin frozen in place, Evans spoke softly:
"If we can't tear down the school, the best approach is to quickly find the so-called heir and the location of the Chamber. Try to locate that basilisk."
"Otherwise, if it keeps hiding in the shadows, such incidents could happen again at any time."
Also taking a deep look at Colin, Dumbledore remained silent for a long moment before slowly saying:
"Minerva, take Colin to Poppy first. Filius, please explain the situation to the professors who arrive later." After making arrangements, Dumbledore looked at Evans.
"Come with me."
Following him to a quiet corner, Dumbledore observed the surroundings and spoke softly:
"When the Chamber was last opened, the Ministry received a report and expelled a student who was attending school." Dumbledore paused. "It was Hagrid."
"Hagrid? Impossible." Evans firmly denied it. "He couldn't possibly raise a basilisk. With his personality, if he'd raised a basilisk, he'd be a corpse by now."
Hagrid had no wariness toward those dangerous magical creatures. Frankly speaking, it was already a miracle he'd lived this long. Moreover, during his school years, he couldn't possibly have known basilisk habits. If he'd accidentally raised a basilisk, only one scenario would've occurred:
One morning, Hagrid woke up, planning to change the water and food for his basilisk that had just shed its skin and gained magical power in its eyes. He'd pick up what he considered his little friend, gently make eye contact with it...
And die on the spot, leaving behind a rigid corpse.
"I also think it's impossible, which is why I secretly repaired his wand and allowed him to become gamekeeper." Taking a deep look in the direction Professor McGonagall had left, Dumbledore said softly: "But the Ministry doesn't think so. In their records, Hagrid's the one who opened the Chamber."
"Last time, with Mrs Norris's incident, since no students were harmed, the Ministry didn't get involved. But this time, they'll definitely interfere, and very quickly."
"That's quite troublesome." Evans frowned slightly. If they didn't find the real culprit behind this incident, the Ministry would definitely throw Hagrid into Azkaban first, waiting until the real perpetrator struck again before possibly releasing him.
Moreover, the Ministry might not release him at all for the sake of saving face, instead claiming Hagrid was the culprit's accomplice or something similar.
He was too familiar with what those people would do. The entire British Ministry of Magic was filled with corrupt bureaucracy. If the British Ministry wasn't as difficult to deal with as Egypt's had been, he'd definitely purge the British Ministry from top to bottom.
Unfortunately, British wizards lived too comfortably. Unlike Egypt, where under that Deputy Minister's tyranny, he could easily rally a team.
Overthrowing the British Ministry would require long-term planning.
Temporarily abandoning the idea of overthrowing the Ministry, Evans asked:
"Do you have any solutions?"
After pondering for a moment, Dumbledore shook his head.
"If the Ministry insists on taking Hagrid away, they'll definitely try to impeach me first. Impeaching me requires the Board of Governors' consent. During this time, I should still be able to serve as headmaster."
"We need to find a way to resolve this incident during this period."