Chapter 91: The Second Attack (Seeking Subscription)
Looking at the camera placed on the table, Aisen stepped forward and picked it up to examine it, only to find a faint smell of burning coming from it, clearly indicating it had melted.
Even if it had taken some photos, it would definitely be impossible to recover them now.
"He only enrolled this year and has always greatly admired Harry Potter, so he always carries a camera with him, wanting to take pictures with Harry. But he didn't expect--" Seeing Aisen's actions, Professor McGonagallcontinued to explain.
"I think I certainly haven't missed anything--right!" A highly recognizable voice suddenly came, and Professor Lockhart entered the Charm class classroom wearing pajamas.
After entering the Charm class classroom, Professor Lockhart was startled by the number of Professors in the classroom, but then he still showed his signature smile, "Are you having a party? Calling me was definitely the right choice!"
Putting the damaged camera back on the table, Aisensilently stepped back and sat next to Professor Flitwick, quietly giving the stage to Professor Lockhart.
"Hey, Professor Snape, what's the theme of the party tonight? I think it must be very interesting, and I can't wait to know--" Professor Lockhart focused his attention on Snape, and directly and casually went over and sat beside him.
"If the content of this party is exciting enough, I will definitely write it in my new book, so you can experience why I am so famous..." Aisen looked at the chattering Professor Lockhart with a bewildered expression, and sincerely felt a sense of heartfelt admiration.
"Alright, Professor Lockhart!" Professor Dumbledoreinterrupted Professor Lockhart's performance with a serious expression, "The second attack happened, just half an hour ago.
But unlike Mrs. Norris being petrified, this time the victim was a first-year student--Colin Creevey. I think I must remind you, the Chamber of Secrets has been opened! Hogwarts is facing a crisis!"
After Professor Dumbledore finished his rather oppressive words, all the Professors became serious. Even Professor Lockhart restrained his signature smile.
"Fifty years ago, the Chamber of Secrets was opened once, and a Muggle-born student, Myrtle Warren, lost her life because of it. Now, she still remains in the school as a ghost, as a member of Hogwarts. As everyone knows, she is Moaning Myrtle.
However, since then, the Chamber of Secrets has been closed and has never been opened for so many years, until now--" Professor McGonagall recounted the history of the Chamber of Secrets being opened in the past.
"Then that means the attack is over--" Professor Lockharteagerly jumped to a conclusion, and seeing everyone staring at him, he didn't feel uncomfortable at all, "I mean, one student has already been attacked, Colin Creevey, right, he is also a Muggle-born Witch. I have dealt with many similar cases, and they are very regular, does this mean the Chamber of Secrets is about to be closed? Isn't it?"
"But Colin Creevey was only petrified, not killed! Professor Lockhart!" Snape glared at Professor Lockhartand said.
"Since the Chamber of Secrets was opened fifty years ago, where is the Chamber of Secrets? Can't we just close it again?" Aisen appropriately raised some questions.
"Unfortunately, Professor Aisen, Salazar Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets can perhaps only be opened by his heir. So we all don't know where the Chamber of Secretsis, nor how to open it!" Professor Dumbledore gave this explanation.
"Slytherin's heir, that must be from Slytherin House. I mean, Salazar Slytherin's philosophy was to select students from Witch families, so the one he considered the heir to the Chamber of Secrets should not be from Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, or Hufflepuff." Professor Lockharttimely offered his opinion. Unexpectedly, this speculation was reasonable. However, he didn't see Snape looking at him with a cold sneer.
"A very insightful idea, but without evidence, we cannot suspect any Witch." A glint of light flashed in Professor Dumbledore's eyes through his half-moon spectacles, but then he shook his head.
"Is it possible that a certain student is being controlled by someone to do all this? I know some Black magic can do that." Although Aisen couldn't directly mention the diary, he subtly hinted at it.
"Are you saying--the Imperius Curse? I know, that's one of the three Unforgivable Curses, very evil! Witches can break free from its influence with a strong will. But I have to say, Little Wizards can't do it!" Professor Lockhartstarted showing off his knowledge again.
"That's one line of thought, but Hogwarts has powerful magic protection, no Dark Wizard would dare come in and curse students." Professor McGonagall couldn't help but loudly retort, looking very angry after hearing Professor Lockhart's words.
"Alright, I think we need to arrange the work now." Professor Dumbledore made the final decision.
Under Professor Dumbledore's arrangement, Professor McGonagall would be responsible for instructing the Prefects of each grade to increase patrols throughout the entire Castle, especially for first and second-year Little Wizards, strictly prohibiting them from going to secluded places, and even requiring them to move in groups for classes.
As for the Professors, in addition to their daily classes, they were to conduct another thorough search of Hogwarts Castle.
Early Sunday morning, after practicing Charm and Transfiguration as usual, Aisen went to the Library on the second floor. In addition to continuing his research on the sneakoscope, he also dedicated some effort to healing Charms and healing potions.
Previously, he had entrusted Hagrid to collect some magical animal hairs, especially Unicorn hair. The purpose was to make some progress in healing items.
Although Aisen had no problem casting healing Charms, if he could create magical items with healing effects, it would also be a good thing for him.
Moreover, Aisen's goal was not just simple healing magical items, but magical items with powerful healing effects. How powerful? Powerful enough to dispel curses, neutralize curses, and even heal and counteract the damage of the Unforgivable Curses.
It might sound absurd and unlikely. But Aisen believed that as his magic continued to grow stronger, all this was achievable. Besides, the magic in this world is inherently subjective, so things are not so absolute.
After leaving the Library, Aisen unexpectedly saw Harry's figure. Judging from his walking posture, the bones in his arm must have healed.
Aisen didn't call out to him, watching as he grabbed the brass doorknob of a door, pushed it open, and walked in--that was Moaning Myrtle's territory.
With God's Perspective activated, he could see that besides Harry who had just entered, there were already two figures inside.
A cauldron was propped on a flushing toilet, with flames crackling beneath it. Herbs were being put into the cauldron one by one by Hermione, clearly brewing a potion.
"Polyjuice Potion!" Aisen said with emotion, shook his head, and left.
Time flew by, and it was noon.
"Professor Aisen! Colin was attacked--" As soon as Aisensat down, Harry came over and whispered.
"Professor Dumbledore told me. Now, Hogwarts has become a bit dangerous, so don't run around when there's nothing to do!" Aisen nodded, then gave the other a meaningful look.
"Also, Dobby told me that the Chamber of Secrets was opened before--"
"Yes, Professor McGonagall said so too. So you mean, you can hear sounds--that snake is the monster in the Chamber of Secrets? That snake attacked Colin?" Aisensaid thoughtfully.
"But a snake certainly isn't the heir of the Chamber of Secrets, right?" Ron offered his opinion.
"You think the heir of the Chamber of Secrets controlled that snake and attacked Colin?" Aisen stuffed a piece of cake into his mouth, looked at Ron, then gave Harry a meaningful glance, "But I want to remind you, only Parseltongue can control a Basilisk!"
"But Harry isn't a Slytherin!" Ron was stunned for a moment, then mumbled.
"So what do you plan to do?" After shrugging his shoulders, Aisen looked at Harry.
"We plan to use some potion to turn into someone else and go to Malfoy to trick him into talking and ask him if he knows about the heir of the Chamber of Secrets." After hesitating, Harry still told Aisen their plan.
"Alright, I hope your plan goes smoothly!" Aisen didn't stop their actions. After all, this kind of thing wasn't dangerous.
Chapter 92: The Impact of the Attack (Seeking Subscription)
Monday morning, more than a day had passed since Colin Creevey was attacked. After a period of fermentation, the news that Colin was attacked and lay like a stone in the infirmary had spread throughout the school.
Immediately, the atmosphere of the entire school changed.
Previously, the attack on Mrs. Norris had only made everyone feel a little uneasy, but now the attack on Colinhad made everyone suspicious.
Rumors were flying everywhere: the Heir of the Chamber of Secrets wanted to kill all Muggle-born Witches, a terrifying monster would destroy Hogwarts, and so on.
In this tense atmosphere, Little Wizards in the first and second years would always move around in groups of three or five, fearing that they would be attacked by an unknown monster if they were alone.
But it's not surprising. If there was no danger, why would Professor arrange Prefects to patrol everywhere regularly? Therefore, the anxiety of the Little Wizardswas inevitable.
This morning, the Trio argued in the Gryffindor Common Room.
"Harry, I think it's necessary to let Professor Dumbledoreknow that you are Parseltongue!"
"You can't tell anyone that, Harry!" Ron objected.
"But Colin has been attacked, this matter is too serious!" Hermione looked at him angrily.
"But, if it gets out that Harry is Parseltongue, everyone will think he's the Heir of Slytherin, and then the killer will hide and no one will find him. I mean, we all know Harry isn't the one who opened the Chamber of Secrets, but others won't think so!" Ron's reasoning was very clear.
Harry on the side hesitated. Because he clearly remembered that if he hadn't strongly requested it during the Sorting Ceremony at the beginning of the year, he would definitely have been sorted into Slytherin. Did this - mean something?
"It's okay, hasn't Harry already told Professor Aisen? We'll brew the Polyjuice Potion according to the plan and ask Malfoy to make it clear." Finally, Ron interrupted the argument.
In the new week, Professors of various subjects, in addition to teaching students knowledge, also served as psychological counselors, trying every means to soothe the emotions of the Little Wizards.
There was no other way, the Little Wizards were too sensitive. Aisen had already discovered several times that some students would always whisper privately, mysteriously exchanging some amulets, exorcism items, and things to protect themselves.
In fact, this practice quickly became popular throughout the school. For this, Fred and George even made a fortune. Even Neville bought a pointed amethyst and a stinky large onion. As a result, Neville was told by other Gryffindor students that he was a pure-blood Witch and would not be attacked.
All sorts of strange and bizarre things were carried by the Little Wizards, and that peculiar smell was truly unbearable for Aisen. Even when giving lessons to the Little Wizards in the Astronomy Tower with the windows open, Aisen couldn't help but want to cast a Bubblehead Charm on himself.
For this, Aisen had to apply the Calming Charm he had researched onto crystal balls and distribute them to the Professors of various subjects, asking them to place the crystal balls in the classrooms.
This way, when students entered the classroom for lessons, the Calming Charm in the crystal ball would be triggered, to some extent dispelling the negative emotions in the students' hearts and allowing them to calm down and study.
As for the effect, Aisen felt that it could basically be described as immediate. Professors no longer had to repeatedly emphasize things in class, and the attention of those Little Wizards had become much more focused.
The Professors collectively believed that if the test scores of the Little Wizards increased significantly, the credit must belong to Aisen.
However, for a period of time afterward, Aisen felt like he had shot himself in the foot. Because, after experiencing the effect of the crystal balls in the classrooms, the Little Wizards gradually abandoned amulets and various other strange and bizarre items.
This was not a big deal; for the Professors, it was a good thing they were happy to see. But for Aisen, the troublesome things had just begun.
The Little Wizards felt that the effect of the crystal balls placed in the classrooms was too good and wanted to place them in their own dormitories. After learning that the crystal balls were Aisen's work, they came "admiringly" to Aisen seeking help.
"Professor Aisen, could you help me modify this crystal ball?" As Aisen came out of the Library, a voice sounded in his ear.
"Percy? You need this thing too?" The moment the voice sounded, Aisen had already seen the person's appearance in God's Perspective. However, what Aisencouldn't understand was that Percy was a GryffindorPrefect, so why would he need it to soothe his emotions?
"No, it's Ginny, she's been very down lately." Percy's face showed worry, "I think the item the Professor made can help Ginny."
Hearing Percy say this, Aisen understood what was going on.
"Didn't you go to the hospital wing to take a look?" Aisentook the crystal ball from Percy's hand and asked along with his words.
Aisen knew why Ginny was feeling down; if nothing unexpected happened, it should be Voldemort's diary causing trouble. Aisen felt that the modified crystal ball should be somewhat useful for Ginny, but it was probably only treating the symptoms, not the root cause.
While thinking, his hands didn't slow down. Aisen took out his wand and pointed it at the crystal ball. A light flashed out of thin air, drilling into the crystal ball and continuously flowing. Traces flashed by, seemingly forming various magical runes, and finally, the light shone brightly before receding.
"We went, but maybe she was just frightened!" Percysaid, taking back the crystal ball Aisen returned to him, "Thank you, Professor Aisen!"
"If you have any problems, you can come find me!" The conversation between the two ended here. However, for Aisen, the troublesome things were not over.
Seeing that many Little Wizards were coming to him for help, he simply took three days to make another batch of crystal balls with a calming effect and had the Prefects of each house take them back to the Common Rooms and distribute them to the Little Wizards, asking them to place them in their respective dormitories.
In fact, although Aisen felt that making calming crystal balls was troublesome, it was not a big deal. However, what made Aisen feel a headache was that this action brought him a lot of prestige.
This made Aisen, a seemingly ordinary Professor, quite popular at Hogwarts.
In the following week, every time Aisen walked in the corridors or ate in the Great Hall, he could hear some discussions about him among the Little Wizards.
Those Little Wizards were all refreshed, praising how good the effect of the crystal balls was, and so on. This made Aisen feel like he had miscalculated.
Fortunately, after some time, the Little Wizards became accustomed to it and no longer paid attention to the matter. Perhaps because the effect of the calming crystal balls was good, after the Professors finished their lessons in class, they deliberately increased the amount of homework assigned, causing the energetic Little Wizardsto complain endlessly.
For a time, the entire school was filled with complaints, and the Little Wizards had no time to pay attention to the attacks anymore. Thus, a strange scene appeared at the school; the ripples caused by the second attack unexpectedly showed a tendency to subside.
Chapter 93: A Gift for Hagrid (Seeking Subscriptions)
Time came to December, and in the second week, Professor McGonagall, as usual, had the Prefects from each House collect the list of students staying at Hogwarts Castle for Christmas.
Since they needed to use Polyjuice Potion to transform into others to find out the truth from Malfoy, Harry, Ron, and Hermione, after learning that Malfoy would be staying at Hogwarts, felt that Malfoy's suspiciousness greatly increased.
The Trio all signed the list for staying at Hogwarts, planning to proceed with their original plan.
During this time, Aisen encountered a bottleneck in the production of the enhanced sneakoscope.
The inspiration gained from the Scarpin's Revelatory Charm allowed Aisen to successfully understand all the Charms needed for the sneakoscope's production, and he also figured out the additional function to be added – it could detect the names of suspicious people and report them.
However, how to perfectly integrate this function with the original function without causing conflicts between the Charms was the problem Aisen needed to solve next.
In other words, for Aisen, the production of the enhanced sneakoscope was temporarily stuck at this step.
Clearly, Aisen overestimated his abilities. After unexpectedly creating the Observation Mirror, a magical item, he thought he could quickly create a more powerful sneakoscope.
As a result, reality made Aisen understand that his golden finger couldn't help him level up his Alchemyskills, and he wasn't really that amazing.
Early on Tuesday morning, after Aisen came out of Hogwarts Castle, he found that a thick layer of frost had formed on the grass outside the Castle.
Unknowingly, the weather had already turned cold.
In fact, ever since entering the Wizarding World, Aisenhad become less sensitive to weather changes. Because Witchs could cast magic, which to some extent could indeed resist the might of nature.
Just like in extremely cold environments, for Muggles, if they didn't take some warming measures, they would definitely freeze to death. But for Witchs, even wandering in Antarctica, they would only need to cast a Warming Charm on themselves and it wouldn't have much effect.
Getting lost in the desert was a disaster for Muggles. Similarly, for Witchs, it basically had no effect. Because Witchs could Apparition away. Even if some Witchs couldn't perform Apparition, they could duplicate or enlarge the food they carried with them, and they could even summon drinkable water with Aguamenti.
It's clear that Witchs' survival ability is quite strong to some extent.
Walking all the way to Hagrid's Hut, Aisen knocked on the door and was then welcomed in by Hagrid.
"Hagrid, your food is pretty good!" Upon entering Hagrid's Hut, Aisen saw a roaring fire burning in the fireplace, with a whole skinned chicken roasting on a spit beside it, automatically turning. The aroma had already filled the entire room.
Hagrid, as usual, had his thick, bushy hair and beard completely tangled together and was pouring himself a drink. However, his movements paused when he heard Aisen's words.
"I didn't mean to eat him, but my roosters keep getting attacked, quite a few have died," Hagrid said, his tone full of confusion. "I looked around the chicken coop, but I didn't find any wild beasts."
Then, Hagrid stepped forward, tore off a chicken leg, and handed it to Aisen.
"Maybe he was killed by Little Witchs!" Aisen said meaningfully as he took the chicken leg.
"Impossible, how could Little Witchs kill my rooster?" Hagrid directly shook his head upon hearing Aisen's words, indicating it was absolutely impossible.
"You can cast a Charm around the chicken coop to protect it, and then there won't be any problems," Aisensuggested, taking large bites of the chicken leg, offering an effective solution.
"That's right, but I need to ask Headmaster Dumbledorefor permission. If he allows it, I'll do it!" Hagrid brought Aisen a glass of pumpkin juice.
A few minutes later, Aisen explained his purpose.
"Hagrid, I told you last time that I needed your help collecting some magical creature hair—" Aisen felt a little embarrassed mentioning this.
After all, magical creature hair is considered a rare resource in the Wizarding World. Only Hagrid had such a good rapport with magical creatures that he could easily collect the hair of various magical creatures.
"Oh, yes, I almost forgot, I've collected quite a bit." Hagridshowed a look of sudden realization, then got up, walked to a corner, pulled out a bag, and handed it to Aisen.
"It's all Unicorn hair inside, I think it should be enough for you!"
"Thank you, Hagrid, you've helped me a lot!" After taking the bag and looking inside, seeing clumps of hair rolled together, Aisen immediately showed a surprised expression.
The amount of Unicorn hair Hagrid had collected during this time exceeded Aisen's expectations. He figured he wouldn't have to worry about experiments for a long time to come.
"Oh, right, Hagrid, I've also prepared a gift for you."
"Really? What kind of gift?" A smile appeared on Hagrid's face.
"Hmm, wait for me for a moment, I'll be right back!" Looking at the smile on Hagrid's face, Aisen glanced at Fang, who was lying nearby, and a mischievous smile played on his lips.
Leaving Hagrid's Hut, Aisen cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself, followed by Apparition Without A Trace. He disappeared from the spot without anyone noticing.
A few minutes later, when Aisen reappeared, he was holding a black and white puppy in his arms.
"How about it, Hagrid, do you like him?" Entering Hagrid's Hut again, Aisen handed the puppy to Hagrid.
Perhaps it was just a feeling, but Aisen felt a strong contrast seeing Hagrid carefully take the puppy. It was hard to imagine that a Giant with Giant blood could be so gentle when handling animal young.
"Thank you, Professor Aisen, I really love him, look—how cute he is—" Hagrid said, his eyes fixed on the puppy.
"As long as you like him!" Aisen smiled.
After leaving Hagrid's Hut, Aisen couldn't help but laugh when he thought of a certain scene. Hagrid's pet, Fang, was a Neapolitan Mastiff, but the gift he had just given Hagrid was a husky puppy.
He wondered what kind of experience he would bring to Hagrid when he grew up!
Upon returning to his office, Aisen took the Unicorn hair out of the bag and began the first step in making the healing tool: preliminary impregnation of the Unicorn hair with his own magic.
Unicorns are very pure magical creatures. Their blood can sustain a dying person but will also bring a curse. Similarly, their hair possesses powerful magic, which Aisen believed was very compatible with healing tools. Therefore, it was used to create healing tools.
Moreover, to better apply magic to it, Aisen had to start impregnating it with his own magic from the beginning.
An hour later, the Unicorn hair in Aisen's hand, under the impregnation of magic, was already emitting a faint silver glow. Then, Aisen carefully put it away.
The process of impregnating with magic cannot be completed in a short time; it requires prolonged casting to thoroughly change some of its properties.
However, since Aisen intended to research and create magical items for healing, he naturally needed to gain a deep understanding of healing Charms and other methods.
Therefore, when practicing Charms, in addition to researching healing Charms, he also specifically went to the hospital wing to consult with Madam Pomfrey.
Chapter 94 Duelling Club (Please subscribe)
On Thursday afternoon, after continuing to complete the magic immersion work on the Unicorn hair, Aisen came to the school hospital on the second floor.
After learning that while treating the Little Wizards, the hospital discovered not only injuries caused by magicattacks but also bites, poisoning, stings, etc., from various magical creatures, Aisen's eyes were truly opened.
However, the more he learned, the more Aisen felt a headache, because simple healing spells were not omnipotent; they needed to be used in conjunction with various Potions to cure some strange injuries.
Regarding this, Aisen couldn't help but exclaim, no wonder the Witch hospitals in the Harry Potter world have a specialized profession called Healers.
Of course, Aisen didn't need to deeply study various healing methods; he just needed to understand some knowledge to assist himself in completing the production of healing items.
After leaving the school hospital, Aisen activated God's Perspective and found the Trio in the Second floor girls' lavatory. The Trio were still brewing the Potion; judging from their slightly relaxed expressions, the Polyjuice Potion should be close to success.
However, mentioning the Polyjuice Potion again, Aisencouldn't help but ponder its Transfiguration principle. How to put it? Previously, Aisen hadn't paid attention to the Polyjuice Potion and didn't take it to heart.
But after thinking carefully now, he realized that Polyjuice Potion is also a very buggy Potion. Its Transfigurationability reminded Aisen of an ability called Metamorphmagus.
Undoubtedly, this ability is very powerful and allows one to change their appearance at will. At first glance, you'll find this is simply the Witch version of Mystique.
And with the ability to change one's appearance at will, it is truly too easy to hide oneself in the Wizarding World. Moreover, it's not just about hiding oneself; even for intelligence gathering, Metamorphmagus is the most powerful kind.
Just look at the Trio's actions; as long as they can brew the Polyjuice Potion - this Potion with a rough version of the Metamorphmagus ability - they dare to directly and openly trick information out of Malfoy.
From this, it can be seen how strong the practicality of this Potion, or rather, this ability, is.
Of course, Aisen didn't need to dwell on it. Some time ago, in order to learn and master Apparition Without A Trace, he had a deep understanding and study of human Transfiguration under the guidance of several Professors.
Nowadays, although he cannot change his appearance like a Metamorphmagus, Aisen believes that if he continues to study, his Transfiguration level will definitely improve further, and then human Transfiguration will be completely mastered naturally.
A week later, Aisen had completed the preliminary magicimmersion work on the Unicorn hair. Next, Aisen would begin the formal production.
However, when Aisen went to the Great Hall for dinner in the afternoon, he found many Little Wizards crowding around the notice board, chattering and discussing something, with excited expressions on everyone's faces.
Activating God's Perspective, Aisen saw a piece of parchment nailed to the notice board, which stated that the school was going to open a Duelling Club.
The Trio squeezed through the crowd around the notice board, passed through the entrance hall to the Great Hall, and saw Aisen sitting at the dining table.
"Professor Aisen, the school is going to open a Duelling Club, that's amazing!" Ron said excitedly.
"They finally thought of opening a Duelling Club, they should have done it sooner!" Seamus, sitting at the other end of the table, heard Ron's words and started speaking while taking large bites of a bread roll, "Well, I mean, if the Duelling Club had opened earlier, maybe Colinwouldn't be lying in the hospital."
"The parchment didn't say which Professor will teach us, Professor Aisen, do you know?" Hermione, holding a pastry tart in her hand, turned her head and looked over.
"I just found out about this myself and don't know which Professor will teach you!" Holding a glass of juice, Aisenwinked at Hermione, "So, which Professor do you hope will teach you?"
"Well, some people say Professor Flitwick was a Duelling champion when he was young, so it would be great if he taught us." Hermione said, secretly glancing at Aisen, and seeing that he was still smiling, she continued in a low voice, "If Professor Aisen could teach us, that would be fine too!"
Duelling Club! Hearing this term, Aisen couldn't help but sigh. Back when he was still a complete rookie, he had planned to join the Duelling Club after it opened at Hogwarts to train his practical combat ability.
He wondered if he could effectively get trained after actually participating.
Collecting his thoughts, seeing that Hermione was still looking at him, Aisen couldn't help but smile, "Which Professor will teach you, I think you'll know later, maybe it will give you a surprise!"
"Harry, are you going to attend the Duelling Clubmeeting tonight?" Ron saw that Harry hadn't spoken and asked directly.
"Oh, of course I'm going, you know, our Defense Against the Dark Arts Class—" Harry nodded, and halfway through speaking, he glanced at Hermione beside him and suddenly paused, "Uh, I mean, we need to learn something truly useful in the Duelling Club."
Subsequently, within just one hour, the news of the Duelling Club opening spread throughout Hogwarts. All the Little Wizards, upon hearing about this school initiative, instantly jumped up with joy.
There was no other way; although Aisen had made many crystal balls with emotional soothing effects, and they had almost covered the entire Hogwarts, the attacks happening at Hogwarts could not be completely ignored by the Little Wizards.
Therefore, the Little Wizards were very interested in the Duelling Club, which could improve their practical combat ability. However, speaking of which, the reason for the Little Wizards' reaction was actually also the fault of Hogwarts' Defense Against the Dark Arts Class.
After all, the Professors for this class over the years haven't lasted long, resulting in a lot of inconsistency. Especially Professor Lockhart, who applied this year, is simply indescribable.
Therefore, the news that the Duelling Club was going to open became the hot topic throughout Hogwarts in a very short time.
After dinner, when the Little Wizards left the Great Hall, they were still constantly discussing the Duelling Club. Some even spread the word that Professor Dumbledorewould appear at the Duelling Club, not only to show them what high-level combat was like but also to teach them some of his signature moves.
Subsequently, the matter became more and more exaggerated as it spread. As the first Duelling Clubmeeting approached, there was already a saying that all the Professors at Hogwarts would participate in the Duelling Club.
Of course, after hearing this rumor, Aisen suddenly felt a headache, feeling that those Little Wizards were really capable of stirring things up. An uncertain piece of news could be spread so ridiculously.
At eight o'clock in the evening, all the teachers and students of the school arrived at the Great Hall one after another.
The four long dining tables originally placed in the center of the Great Hall had disappeared, revealing a spacious area.
In the center of the area, a gilded stage appeared, its edges connected by wooden steps, and it was illuminated by hundreds of floating candles, making the center of the stage particularly conspicuous.
The ceiling had also been enchanted, becoming completely dark. The atmosphere of the entire Great Hallbecame slightly more solemn.
Hundreds of people crowded into the Great Hall, making it seem a bit cramped, but they didn't care about that. Everyone held their wands, as if ready to show off their skills, chattering and talking excitedly.
When the Trio hurried back to the Great Hall again, Aisenalso arrived at the scene.
Originally, Aisen had God's Perspective and could clearly see all of this from his dormitory. But if he wasn't present at such an event, how could he experience the sense of participation? Therefore, Aisen also came to the Great Hall.
Chapter 95: Lockhart's Embarrassment (Seeking Subscriptions)
"The duel is about to begin, I wonder which Professor will come!" Harry said, seeing hundreds of Little Wizardsaround him gathered in the Great Hall, his blood immediately surging.
"That's right, everyone seems to be particularly curious about duelling!" Seeing that almost everyone hadn't missed this gathering, Ron stated a very obvious conclusion.
The Trio weaved through the crowd, finally reaching the gathering area for the Gryffindor Little Wizards, standing together with Seamus, Dean, and Neville.
"Hi, you're here, there are so many people today!" Seamuswaved and greeted Harry, then sighed with emotion.
"Yeah—" Harry nodded, but before he could say anything more, he suddenly noticed that the entire Great Hall had fallen silent for a moment, and then the clamor grew even more enthusiastic.
The Little Wizards turned their heads and saw ProfessorGilderoy Lockhart, dressed in a magnificent magenta robe, striding into the Great Hall. Following behind him was Professor Snape, dressed in black robes.
Lockhart wore his signature smile, while Snape's face remained drawn. The two entered one after another, letting all the Little Wizards anticipate what would happen next, and so, they all sighed deeply.
"Who said Professor Dumbledore would come to the Duelling Club!" A grinding voice came from the crowd, hitting many Little Wizards where it hurt.
Seeing this scene, Harry and the others instantly showed expressions of despair. Like most Little Wizards, he never expected that the two most annoying Professors would be teaching them duelling.
"Is this the surprise Professor Aisen was talking about?" After a moment of Stunned for a moment, Ron couldn't help but look at Hermione. He found that Hermione's face only showed some disappointment, with no other expression.
Lockhart strode through the crowd and walked up the wooden steps to the central stage. Whether it was because Lockhart was wearing a purple robe, or because of his signature smile, everyone saw that Lockhartbecame the center of the entire stage.
And Snape, standing motionlessly to the side, looked like a mere foil.
"Alright, quiet down, and gather around—" Lockhartwaved to everyone, signaling the Little Wizards to be quiet. "Professor Dumbledore allowed me to start the Duelling Club so that I could fully train you, so that one day you can have the means to protect yourselves when facing unexpected situations—of course, I have used countless methods to protect myself, if you want to know, you can find it in my books!"
Looking at Lockhart's shameless act of promoting his own works, Aisen suddenly felt a sense of awe. Seriously, if Witch Weekly could create a Thickest Skin Award, Aisen felt that Lockhart could win it from the first year until the year he passed away.
Looking at the Little Wizards around him, everyone had an unsurprised look, clearly immune to Lockhart's rhetoric.
After boasting about himself, Lockhart took the opportunity to pull Snape next to him and introduce him.
"Of course, I must introduce you to my assistant—Professor Snape. He knows a thing or two about duelling and has generously agreed to assist me in giving a small demonstration during class. Don't worry, I mean, I will return your Transfiguration Professor to you completely!"
Watching Professor Snape's upper lip curl, Aisencontinued to watch Lockhart's performance with interest.
Lockhart and Snape faced each other, bowed, and then each raised their wands horizontally across their chests. Clearly, Lockhart's movements were both impeccable and full of ceremony.
Giving people the feeling that he really had some skill.
However, Aisen couldn't bear to watch what was about to happen next. Because if there were no surprises, Lockhartwould not only crash and burn, but he would completely wreck the vehicle.
After Lockhart shouted "One, two, three" and the duel began, he and Snape cast Charms at each other. As a result, in front of almost the entire school's teachers and students, Lockhart was hit by Snape's Disarming Charm, flew off the stage, hit the wall, and slid to the ground.
Aisen raised his eyebrows, not knowing what to say. However, he noticed that the moment Lockhart was knocked back, the entire Great Hall was silent for a moment, and then began to whisper.
Seeing their Head of House show off his skills, the Slytherin students cheered and even applauded.
For Aisen, if it were someone else, after such a huge embarrassment, they would definitely give up the stage. But Lockhart taught everyone a lesson, showing them what it means to say, "As long as I'm not embarrassed, the one who is embarrassed is someone else."
With the help of a few Little Wizards, Lockhart shakily walked onto the stage again, without the slightest embarrassment or discouragement, instead looking at the audience with a smile, "Alright, everyone saw it, right! This is the correct application of the Disarming Charm, I just had Professor Snape give a correct demonstration of the Disarming Charm—"
Lockhart said here and looked at Snape, "However, don't blame me for saying this, your Disarming Charm just now had a very obvious intention, if I wanted to stop you, it wouldn't take much effort. You know, to broaden their horizons, I let them see what happens when they are hit by the Disarming Charm..."
Lockhart was rambling, trying to justify himself, but he didn't see that Snape's face had completely darkened. He stared intently at Lockhart, the killing intent in his eyes completely undisguised.
Immediately, Lockhart changed the subject, directly ending the explanation and demonstration of Witch duelling, and then pulled a dozen Little Wizards onto the stage, dividing them into pairs, and letting them directly start duelling using the Disarming Charm and only the Disarming Charm.
Seeing this scene, Aisen noticed that many Little Wizardswere confused by Lockhart's arrangement. Because the Little Wizards hadn't learned the Disarming Charm yet—oh, no, if Lockhart and Snape's demonstration just now counted as teaching, then the Little Wizards had indeed learned the Disarming Charm.
But it must be said that Lockhart clearly overestimated the Little Wizards' casting level.
Under Snape's intentional or unintentional arrangement, the Gryffindor Little Wizards, including the Trio, all came onto the stage to face off against the Slytherins.
But after neither side could cast the Disarming Charm no matter how they chanted the spell, a full-blown brawl immediately began to unfold. Harry and Malfoy's group was relatively good, at least both sides could still cast some minor hexes that were very popular among students, such as the "Furnunculus" and "Tarantallegra."
But the other Little Wizards were something else. Aisennoticed that Neville and Justin tried for a long time without casting a single spell, and then shoved each other with their fists, after which both fell to the ground.
Even worse was the duel between Hermione and a Slytherin girl, Millisent Bulstrode. Their wands had long since been lost somewhere, and their figures were intertwined.
Since Millisent was much larger than Hermione, Hermione was clearly at a disadvantage in their duel. She was held by the head by Millisent, looking very comical.
"Oh dear, oh dear." Lockhart flitted between the Little Wizards, watching the results of the duels, but had no way to stop the Little Wizards.
Seeing that the stage was about to descend into complete chaos, Aisen couldn't help but rub his forehead, secretly taking out his wand and subtly waving it forcefully.
Immediately, an invisible wind whistled by, flying into the stage and smoothly entering between Hermione and Millisent, separating the two with a forceful but not rough strength.
Then the wind continued to travel, passing through the Little Wizards who were wrestling with each other, separating them one by one. Then, the wind completely dissipated.
Due to the crowdedness of the crowd, coupled with everyone's attention being on the stage, Aisen's subtle movements were not noticed.
"Miss Fawcett squeezed hard, the blood will stop immediately!" Seeing the Little Wizards separate, Lockhart just breathed a sigh of relief when he was startled by the miserable state of some people.
Chapter 96 Embarrassing Performance
Seeing the Duelling Club turn out this way, Aisen couldn't help but inwardly grumble, "Can a Duelling Club of this caliber really improve practical combat skills?"
"I said, only Expelliarmus—" Seeing the miserable state of the Young Wizards, Lockhart had to shout again, his tone filled with resentment.
Lockhart smoothed his slightly disheveled hair and scanned the audience, but to Aisen's surprise, his eyes lit up when he saw him.
"Now—I'll demonstrate to you again how to properly use Expelliarmus to defeat an enemy."
Aisen immediately had a bad feeling.
"Professor Aisen—your Astronomy Professor, please come up and assist me!"
This—this is just ridiculous. Aisen looked at Lockhart, who was pointing at him, with a bewildered expression. At the same time, many Young Wizards around also turned their attention to him.
Actually, joining the Duelling Club wasn't a problem for Aisen. He had planned to do so earlier anyway. But dueling Lockhart in public was something Aisen had never considered.
After all, such an act would expose some of his strength, which Aisen preferred to avoid if possible. But if he didn't expose his strength, would he just let Lockhart defeat him? Aisen obviously didn't want to accept that outcome either.
For a moment, Aisen found himself in a dilemma.
"Professor Aisen—you can do it!" Hermione, who had already left the stage, came to Aisen's side and cheered him on.
"Thanks!" Coming back to his senses, Aisen sighed helplessly, nodded at Hermione, and then slowly walked onto the stage.
At this moment, Aisen had made his decision.
"Don't worry, Professor Aisen, I won't hurt you. This is just a very simple demonstration!" Lockhart resumed his signature smiling demeanor.
Seeing Lockhart's words, Aisen was speechless. Although he had previously thought Lockhart was a fraud, he hadn't intended to deliberately target him or expose him. After all, his time as Professor of Dark Artswouldn't last long; he'd be exposed and gone eventually.
But he never expected Lockhart to be so stubborn. Being taught a lesson by Snape wasn't enough; he had to provoke Aisen as well. Aisen was truly impressed by this thought process.
After Aisen came onto the stage, the Young Wizards below all focused their gaze on the two of them. Of course, more eyes were on him. After all, they were very much looking forward to seeing how Professor Aisen, the Astronomy Professor, would perform.
Pulling out their wands, they both bowed simultaneously with Lockhart, then each walked back seven steps, turned around, and raised their wands.
"Alright, everyone, look, holding your wand like ProfessorAisen is a perfect dueling stance. Next, I will count to three, and then we will cast the first Charm." Lockhartexplained with a smile, seemingly already seeing his moment of victory, winking at the audience as he spoke.
The Young Wizards below the stage also held their breath at this moment.
"One, two—"
"Do you think Professor Aisen will be defeated by Lockhart?" Seamus's voice, in the Gryffindor Young Wizard gathering area, revealed a strong interest.
"Impossible, Professor Aisen will definitely defeat Lockhart!" Ron immediately retorted. He had been saved several times by Professor Aisen with a playing card; his skill must be much stronger than that fraud Lockhart.
Harry nodded in agreement beside him. As someone who had witnessed Professor Aisen casting magic, although he wasn't sure of his true skill level, Harry felt he was at least stronger than Lockhart.
"This—" Hermione was about to say how amazing Professor Aisen was, but she was stunned by a scene unfolding on the stage.
"Three!"
As soon as Lockhart finished shouting the three numbers, he immediately raised his wand at Aisen and loudly chanted, "Expelliarmus!" At the same time, Aisen also pointed his wand at Lockhart and shouted, "Expelliarmus!"
And then—and then the two stood silently on the stage posing. The scene froze for a moment. And the Young Wizards below were bewildered.
Because they saw the two Professors shout "Expelliarmus" but no Charm was cast. The two looked as if they were gesturing in the air, appearing utterly comical.
Holding his wand, Aisen felt truly awkward for a moment. With his strength, not to mention other casting methods, just his overall physical fitness, which had increased to five times that of an ordinary person, was enough for him to react before Lockhart cast his Charm and then hit and send him flying with any random Charm.
But the reason he only shouted and didn't cast a Charmwas originally to feign an unstable casting level, to "miserably" take a hit from Lockhart's Expelliarmus, and then "difficultly" defeat him.
This way, he could both hide his strength and thwart Lockhart's plan to show off his abilities.
However, what Aisen didn't expect was that the plan failed from the start. He didn't expect Lockhart's skill to be so poor. He had intended to wait for the opponent's Expelliarmus to strike, but he didn't expect the opponent to fail to cast the Charm.
At this point, an extremely awkward scene unfolded on stage: both pointed their wands at each other, both shouted, but nothing happened.
"Ha, perfectly synchronized, perfectly demonstrated Expelliarmus moves! See, in a duel between me and Professor Aisen, the movements must be this standard. And, we have great chemistry; we know the consequences of Expelliarmus hitting the opponent, so we won't hurt each other!" Just as Aisen was feeling awkward, Lockhart smiled, then spread his hands and began to explain to the Young Wizards below.
Amazing! Amazing!
At this moment, Aisen finally realized that Lockhart's ability was still very strong. He could casually smooth over such an awkward situation. Whether people would believe such an excuse was one thing, but the fact that he could actually say it truly impressed Aisen.
However, this outcome... neither winning nor losing, it seemed to quite suit Aisen's intentions.
So, after a sheepish smile, Aisen quickly walked off the stage. He didn't pay much attention to Snape, who had a peculiar expression nearby.
In fact, Snape couldn't figure out what Aisen was doing. Last Halloween, when the school was invaded by a Troll, he could infer from the chains wrapped around the Trollthat Aisen's skill was not low.
But what he couldn't understand was why Aisen's performance was just like that fraud Lockhart's.
When Aisen arrived at the Gryffindor Young Wizard gathering area, he saw the Trio, along with Seamus, Neville, and others, looking at him with bewildered expressions.
Especially the Trio, they had spent more time with Aisenand usually knew from certain things that Aisen's strength was very high.
At the very least, Aisen had used advanced Transfiguration techniques and profound Charms like the Undetectable Extension Charm in front of them. So why couldn't he even cast Expelliarmus this time?
"Professor Aisen, how could you—" Ron was the first to recover, pointing at Aisen's wand with a puzzled expression! Could the playing card he gave him be fake?
"Hidden!" Aisen didn't care about their surprised expressions, then leaned in and whispered.
"So that's how it is, I understand!" Remembering Aisen's instructions to them last time, the Trio suddenly looked enlightened.
"What—" Neville, who was wondering what was going on, was suddenly interrupted by a voice.
"Please, one pair volunteer—Longbottom and Finch-Fletchley, how about you?" Lockhart's booming voice echoed through the Great Hall, immediately making Neville the center of attention in Gryffindor.
Instantly, the Young Wizards' attention shifted back to Lockhart. Perhaps because he had drawn with Aisen(chuckle), Lockhart seemed much more confident.
Lockhart slightly adjusted his somewhat damaged purple robes, then pointed to Neville Longbottom and Justin Finch-Fletchley below the stage, motioning for them to come up.
Chapter 97: Harry Exposed
"What do you think, Professor Snape?" Lockhart looked at Snape beside him after speaking. "I think we can leave the stage to them!"
"A good suggestion, but I think we should change the group," Snape glided lightly across the stage, a strange look on his face. "Lombaton will cause powerful destruction even using the simplest Charm. If they come up, we'll have to put Fenrir's bones in a matchbox and send them to the infirmary!"
Aisen noticed that Neville's face suddenly turned red. Clearly, Snape's comment made Neville feel ashamed.
"How about Malfoy and Potter as a group?" Snape's lips curved slightly, then he stared at Lockhart, seemingly asking for his opinion.
"Wonderful, let's do that!" Lockhart was a little afraid of Snape and decisively agreed to his suggestion.
Under the gaze of his friends, Harry walked onto the stage with a depressed look.
"Alright, Harry, when Malfoy points his wand at you, you can do this!" Lockhart put an arm around Harry, then performed a demonstration.
Lockhart was seen raising his wand, waving it left and right, seemingly wanting to show off his quick and flashy wand movements, but accidentally dropped his wand on the ground.
"Uh—" A few drops of cold sweat appeared on Aisen's forehead.
Looking at Lockhart's flashy movements, Aisen suddenly felt a bit fortunate. Fortunately, he didn't do that when dueling Lockhart just now. Otherwise, facing an opponent who threw his own wand on the ground, Aisen wouldn't have known how to continue acting.
"Oops—my wand is a bit too excited!" Lockhart ignored all negative pressure and directly picked up his wand.
On the other side, Snape seemed to have said something to Malfoy, after which Malfoy came opposite Harry, looking at him with a sneer. It seemed Malfoy had been looking forward to personally teaching Harry a lesson for a long time.
"Professor, could you demonstrate that method of blocking Charms again?" Harry asked Lockhart nervously. But clearly, Harry's question was basically pointless.
"Just do as I did just now, Harry!" Lockhart patted Harry's shoulder, then quickly left the stage to him and Malfoy.
After hearing Lockhart's words, Harry looked confused. How? Throw his wand on the ground like he did just now?
"One, two, three, begin!" Lockhart called out for the duel to start.
"Serpensortia!" Malfoy pointed his wand at Harry and loudly cast a Charm. With his movement, a ball of black mist suddenly appeared at the tip of Malfoy's wand, exploding and turning into a long snake that flew towards Harry.
The Little Wizards close to the stage immediately screamed and quickly retreated to create some distance.
"That's simple, Professor Aisen you taught us the Charm of Enlargement and the Shrinking Charm. Harry can easily deal with that snake just by using the Shrinking Charm!" After seeing Malfoy's move, Hermione said to Aisen with a relaxed expression.
"Don't move, Potter—" Looking at Harry's nervous expression, Snape was very happy. He took out his wand, seemingly ready to save Harry's life at the critical moment.
"Let me handle it!" Lockhart felt capable again at this moment. He took out his wand, interrupted Snape's action, and forcefully swung it towards the snake.
Visibly, Harry, who was confronting the snake, showed a look of horror on his face. There was nothing he could do; Harry couldn't be clearer about what kind of person Lockhart was.
If Lockhart said he would help solve something, it would definitely cause even more terrible consequences. This could be seen from when Lockhart treated his arm on the Quidditch pitch, but made his bones disappear instead.
As expected, the scene that followed made Harry's scalp tingle.
Bang—
As Lockhart swung his wand, a loud bang echoed. The snake was hit by the Charm, but it didn't disappear. Instead, it swelled up at an exaggerated speed, turning into a giant python.
Perhaps due to the attack, the giant python suddenly became agitated. It raised its head high, revealing its sharp fangs, and took on an attacking posture.
"Oh dear—" Hermione couldn't help but exclaim from below the stage.
"Don't worry, Harry knows the Shrinking Charm. He just needs to make the snake small again!" Ron didn't look worried at all, clearly full of confidence in Harry.
However, immediately after, Ron and Hermione's expressions changed, and they stared blankly at Harry on the stage.
Harry was seen walking towards the giant python, making a "hissing" sound with his mouth, very similar to the sound a snake makes, but even more terrifying and frightening. It made people feel a shiver down their spine just by hearing it.
"Oh—no—Professor Aisen!" Ron looked disbelieving, then turned his head to look at Aisen, seemingly seeking a solution.
"Harry—how could he be so stupid, he didn't use the Shrinking Charm, but exposed the secret that he is Parseltongue." Hermione's little face was red with anger, and she looked at Aisen as she spoke.
"There's nothing I can do, many people saw it!" Aisenshook his head helplessly. Exposing his Parseltongueability in front of almost the entire school's students and teachers, what could Aisen do!
If it had been exposed in front of Muggles, he could still use Obliviate, but for all the students and teachers at Hogwarts, Aisen truly had no way.
As for why Harry didn't use the Shrinking Charm but directly talked to the snake, Aisen thought it should be an instinctive impulse manifestation of the Parseltonguetalent.
As Harry's "hissing" sound rang out, the giant python rolled and twisted its body, then lay Paralysis on the floor, docile as a pet, no longer showing the ferocity it had just moments ago.
Harry breathed a sigh of relief, then showed a bright smile towards Justin opposite him. As a result, Justin not only didn't thank him but instead shouted angrily, "What kind of trick are you playing!"
Then, with a face full of anger and fear, he turned and left the Great Hall without waiting for Harry to say anything.
For a moment, the entire Great Hall fell almost silent. All the Little Wizards were basically whispering, saying something while pointing fingers at Harry.
Snape stepped forward and waved his wand, and the giant python turned back into a ball of black mist, then disappeared before everyone's eyes. But when looking at Harry, there was surprise in his eyes, as well as other unknown things.
Vaguely, Harry knew what had just happened, but he didn't know what to do.
"Take Harry to my office!" Aisen said to the worried Ron.
...
When Ron and Hermione brought the confused Harry to Aisen's office, it was already close to nine o'clock in the evening.
After entering Aisen's office, Ron and Hermione visibly breathed a sigh of relief, but upon seeing Harry next to them, they immediately showed worried expressions again.
"What—what exactly is going on?" Seeing that everyone's mood was off, Harry had a premonition that something bad had happened. As expected, the two's subsequent words made Harry fall into a dilemma.
Aisen waved his hand, and three playing cards turned into three chairs, signaling the three of them to sit down and talk slowly.
"It's terrible!" Hermione couldn't help but scream.
"Harry, the fact that you are Parseltongue has been exposed!" Ron had to state the fact.
"What?" A trace of fear appeared on Harry's face. Being exposed as Parseltongue in front of the entire school's students and teachers meant that the blame for the previous two attacks would be placed on him.
If everyone treated him as the culprit, wouldn't the real culprit hide even deeper! Thinking of the consequences of exposing his Parseltongue, Harry's face immediately turned pale.
Then, Harry looked at Professor Aisen sitting behind the desk, seemingly to confirm if he had really exposed his Parseltongue.
"Yes, in the Great Hall just now, all of us heard you talking to that giant python," Aisen nodded upon seeing this, then continued, "Well, you were using another language."
Hearing Aisen say this, Harry's heart immediately sank.
Chapter 98: Aftermath
"But, I was trying to save Justin at the time! If I hadn't told that snake not to attack him, Justin would definitely be dead!" Harry desperately tried to find an excuse for himself.
"That's what you meant when you talked to that snake?" Ron looked at Harry in surprise.
"That's right, you were all there at the time—" Harry said eagerly, as if he had found a breakthrough.
"But Professor Aisen was right just now, you used another language, making 'hissing' sounds like a snake, and no one could understand!" Hermione said crossly.
Harry turned to look at Ron.
"That's right, your voice just now was even more terrifying than the sound a snake makes. It sounded chilling, as if you were giving orders to that snake, encouraging it to attack Justin!" Seeing Harry look at him, Ron confirmed Hermione's statement.
"Everyone knows that talking to snakes is Salazar Slytherin's ability, so you exposed your Parseltongueability. Then everyone will think you are the Heir of the Chamber of Secrets. In that case—" Hermione lowered her voice.
"In that case, everyone thinks you caused the attacks!" Ron took over the topic, stating the serious consequence.
"But you know I'm not!" Harry felt very miserable.
"Yes, but it's too hard to prove that!" Ron looked troubled, not knowing what to say either.
Then, the Trio looked at Aisen.
"You should go back first, don't worry, I'll talk to Headmaster Dumbledore!" After a moment of thought, Aisen said to the Trio.
Watching the Trio exchange glances, and then leave with heavy hearts, Aisen began to ponder.
How to put it? Although Harry exposing his Parseltongueability would lead almost all students to believe he was the Heir of the Chamber of Secrets and the culprit behind the attacks.
From the Professors' perspective, however, this was impossible.
Because the attacks were caused by a profound Black Magic, which a second-year Witch like Harry couldn't accomplish. It was Dumbledore's conclusion, and it would never be overturned just because Harry had Parseltongue.
So, even if Dumbledore knew Harry had Parseltongue, what then? Would he really treat him as the Heir of Slytherin?
However, since the secret of Harry's Parseltongue had already been exposed, Aisen felt it was fine to discuss some things with Dumbledore.
Later, Aisen found Dumbledore, and the two talked about the matter for a while.
"Professor Aisen, your sharpness is indeed astonishing, but I have to say your conjecture is very reasonable. The terrifying monster released after the Chamber of Secretswas opened is probably the Basilisk!"
"That point is quite easy to guess. Salazar Slytherin had the talent to talk to snakes, and the symbol of Slytherin is also a snake. So, the terrifying monster released from the opened Chamber of Secrets must be the Basilisk.
Furthermore, who can be considered the Heir of the Chamber of Secrets? A student from Slytherin? No, it should be someone who possesses Parseltongue, just like Salazar Slytherin!"
"So, Professor Aisen, are you suspecting that Harry, who possesses Parseltongue, opened the Chamber of Secrets, released the Basilisk, and controlled it to carry out the attacks?"
"I've been in contact with Harry for quite some time, and I know what kind of qualities he possesses. However, Professor Dumbledore, do you know how Harry's Parseltongue came about? Is he really a descendant of Salazar Slytherin?" Aisen shook his head, guiding the conversation to Harry's Parseltongue talent.
"I'm not sure if that's true, Harry's Parseltongue reminds me of some things, I need a little time to figure it out." Dumbledore's tone was a little heavy after a moment of silence.
"I found some information in the Library. A Basilisk can cause fatal damage by looking directly at a victim. Professor McGonagall mentioned last time that the Chamber of Secrets was opened fifty years ago, resulting in the death of Moaning Myrtle. I think she died after looking directly at the Basilisk!
However, in the two attacks that occurred at the school, Mrs. Norris and Colin Creevey were both petrified. I carefully recalled the circumstances at the time. When Mrs. Norris was attacked, there was a puddle of water on the ground. Perhaps, she looked directly into the Basilisk's eyes through the reflection in the water.
And Colin Creevey, if I remember correctly, his camera had already been scorched and melted at the time. This means that perhaps he looked directly into the Basilisk's eyes through the camera."
"You mean, the two attacks were through indirect eye contact with the Basilisk, so the cat and Colin were only petrified?" Dumbledore nodded, looking thoughtful.
"That's right, if the next attack happens and it's not so coincidental, it might really cause casualties!" Aisenstated his conjecture, which made Dumbledore serious.
"Then Harry—"
"I can keep an eye on Harry, but if there's another Parseltongue hidden in the Castle—" Aisen said, shrugging his shoulders.
"Alright, I will inform the portraits and Professors in the Castle to work hard for a while. Most students will go home for the Christmas holidays, and then we can thoroughly inspect the Castle." After a moment of thought, Dumbledore made this decision.
The next day, as if to accompany the uneasy atmosphere that enveloped the entire Hogwarts, the scattered snowflakes that adorned the night turned into a blizzard.
Helplessly, the last Herbology Class of the term was canceled. But Professor Sprout was not idle; she had to cover the Mandrakes with scarves to prevent any mishaps. After all, these were important materials for reviving Mrs. Norris and Colin Creevey.
This day was a very bad day for Harry. Because everyone looked at him strangely, and some, upon seeing him arrive, would instinctively step back and avoid him, as if he would suddenly bare his fangs and swallow them.
Harry wanted to follow Hermione's suggestion and explain the situation to Justin, but he was stopped by some of Justin's Hufflepuff roommates.
Of course, if Ernie Macmillan, Hanna Abbott, and others hadn't looked so pale at the time, perhaps Harry's heart might have felt a little better.
In fact, after a conversation, everyone treated him as an evil Dark Wizard. In the end, Harry didn't get to see Justinand could only leave angrily.
The blizzard outside the Castle, with its gloomy appearance, made the entire school terrifying. But compared to the terrible weather outside, Harry's mood was also particularly low.
"I belong in Gryffindor!" Harry comforted himself like this, but he would always remember that he was originally supposed to be sorted into Slytherin by the Sorting Hat.
But what made Harry even more anxious was that everyone thought he was the Heir of the Chamber of Secrets, but he knew that the culprit behind the attacks was still hiding.
Harry thought that exposing his Parseltongue and being considered the culprit of the attacks by everyone was already the most unlucky thing. But he didn't expect that even wandering around in the corridor because he was sulking, he could encounter something even more unlucky.
Chapter 99: The Third Attack
That's right, the third attack occurred. And as luck would have it, Harry was the first to arrive at the scene of the incident again.
Besides Nearly Headless Nick, there was another victim of the attack, none other than Justin Finch-Fletchley, whom everyone believed Harry wanted dead.
Perhaps, this was the hardship the Savior had to endure. Before Harry could sneak away from the scene, he was discovered by Peeves.
Then, all the Little Wizards knew about the third attack.
Of course, when they saw that the victim was Justin, everyone's expression towards Harry changed. When everyone saw Nearly Headless Nick lying motionless on the ground, especially after he changed from transparent milky white to a body covered in black smoke, they became even more panicked.
The panic caused by the previous two attacks had basically subsided. But Harry revealing his Parseltonguemade everyone uneasy. And the occurrence of the third attack quickly turned this unease into panic.
When Professor Aisen arrived at the scene, Justin and Nearly Headless Nick were already surrounded by teachers and students. The teachers had to start maintaining order.
"Caught red-handed!" Ernie pointed a finger at Harry, who was squeezed into the corner, his face pale, and shouted loudly, "You still say you didn't egg that snake on to attack Justin, you must have known he was a Muggle-born, that's why you were so relentless!"
"Enough, Ernie!" Professor McGonagall sternly stopped Ernie from continuing.
"Oh, Potter, you nasty boy, look at the good job you've done, you've killed a student, and you think it's quite funny—" Peeves floated above everyone's heads, sarcastically mocking Harry in a strange tone.
Looking at Harry's pale face, Hermione and Ron, who had arrived, also looked at him with worried expressions.
"Stop it, Peeves!" Professor McGonagall roared, causing Peeves to quickly retreat and flee.
"Professor Flitwick, Professor Aisen, please take Justin to the hospital!" Following that, Professor McGonagallmade arrangements.
Lifting Justin and secretly casting a Levitation Charm, Professor Aisen and Professor Flitwick easily took Justinto Madam Pomfrey.
Along the way, Professor Aisen's attention remained on Harry. After Professor McGonagall conjured a fan, she had Ernie fan Nearly Headless Nick away. After the Little Wizards were dispersed, Professor McGonagall called Harry aside privately.
"Professor Aisen, did Harry Potter attack him?" Professor Flitwick's face showed a hint of sadness.
"Of course not, Professor Flitwick!" Professor Aisen's tone was firm, "I've discussed this with Professor Dumbledore, and we both believe the culprit couldn't be Harry. I think Harry just happened to stumble upon this!"
The speed at which the news spread exceeded ProfessorAisen's imagination, taking less than half an hour. The entire Hogwarts knew that the attack had occurred again.
Moreover, unlike the previous attacks, this one caused even greater panic. Even the effect of the calming crystal balls Professor Aisen made was significantly reduced.
While having breakfast in the Great Hall, it was evident from the Little Wizards' whispers. Their attention was not on the petrified Justin, but on the petrified Nearly Headless Nick.
Because Nearly Headless Nick was a ghost, someone who had already died. But what kind of method or power could harm someone who was already dead again?
Everyone was discussing it animatedly, with expressions of fear on their faces. As a result, the Little Wizardsalmost scrambled to book seats on the Hogwarts Express.
"Professor Aisen, is Harry alright!" In the office, Hermioneand Ron sat on chairs, looking at Professor Aisen with worried faces, and Ron couldn't help but speak.
"Of course he's alright, you both know Harry isn't the culprit!" Professor Aisen said, "I told Professor Dumbledore about Harry being a Parseltongue, and Dumbledore also believes Harry isn't the culprit!"
Hearing this, both of them were visibly relieved. It seemed they felt that as long as Dumbledore still believed in Harry, things weren't too bad.
"By the way, I must remind you, the terrifying monster released from the Chamber of Secrets should be a Basilisk. The Basilisk is being controlled by the Heir of Slytherin to cause the attacks." Professor Aisen simply stated this directly.
"We already knew that!" Hermione said, a hint of confusion on her face, "I also looked up some information, but a Basilisk doesn't have the ability to petrify!"
"Think about it, the puddle of water on the ground when Mrs. Norris was petrified, the camera in Colin's hand, and the transparent Nearly Headless Nick—" Professor Aisenprompted.
"Professor Aisen means that if you look at the Basiliskindirectly, you won't be killed, but petrified!" Hermione's eyes immediately lit up, staring at Professor Aisen with a look of pleasant surprise.
"Exactly, so to prevent any accidents, I think you need to wear these during this time." Nodding, Professor Aisenhanded over a few pairs of sunglasses.
"But if looking directly at a Basilisk kills you, wearing sunglasses wouldn't block the gaze, would it?" After taking the sunglasses, Hermione quickly spotted the key issue.
"I've cast magic on them; they can sense feedback from magic or curses. If that happens, they will automatically block your vision." In reality, as long as you don't make direct eye contact with the Basilisk, there's no life-threatening danger. But Professor Aisen still prepared some countermeasures in advance.
"Thank you, Professor Aisen!" After putting away the sunglasses, Hermione smiled sweetly.
"Professor means if we wear these, we don't have to fear the Basilisk? That's so cool!" Ron, standing nearby, couldn't wait to put on the sunglasses.
"Right, Hermione, when you were looking up information, you must have found the Basilisk's weakness—" After nodding, Professor Aisen brought up another matter.
"You mean the sound of a rooster crowing?" Hermione's face showed surprise again.
"But Hagrid's roosters were all killed, that must have been done by the Heir of Slytherin!" Ron took off his sunglasses and put them away, standing up from his chair as if he had discovered the truth, "You know, Harry has been with us all along, he didn't have a chance to kill Hagrid's roosters."
"Yes, that's why I told Dumbledore, Harry isn't the culprit!" Professor Aisen affirmed Ron's statement, "However, I think you might find this useful!"
As he said this, a strange smile appeared on ProfessorAisen's face. He extended his hand, and a tape recorder appeared in his hand.
"This—" After seeing what was in Professor Aisen's hand, Ron's face instantly turned pale, as if he had suffered a blow, and he opened his mouth but couldn't say anything.
"That's right, Fred and George's work, I'm sure you know!" Professor Aisen said, pressing the button on the tape recorder.
Immediately, the sound of a rooster crowing echoed throughout Professor Aisen's office.
Seeing Ron trembling and Hermione frowning, ProfessorAisen tapped the tape recorder, and the sound instantly disappeared.
"I think, if we carry this with us, we won't have to fear the Basilisk." There was a hint of unexpected surprise in Hermione's tone.
"Fred's crowing tape recorder broke a while ago!" Ronsuddenly showed a look of astonishment.
"The Heir of Slytherin!" Professor Aisen nodded, his expression becoming serious, "So you must be careful, have Fred and George make some more crowing tape recorders, and keep it a secret!"
After giving instructions, the two didn't stay long at Professor Aisen's place before leaving.
When the Christmas holidays arrived, the entire Hogwarts Castle suddenly became empty.
Harry was very happy about this. Because with most students leaving, it meant no one would be hiding from him in the corridors, and no one would be pointing fingers anymore.
Due to the third attack, Dumbledore had to announce a new decision, requiring the teachers to conduct a comprehensive inspection of the entire Hogwarts Castleduring the Christmas holidays.
Chapter 100: Healing Bracelet
Although Aisen also had to stay at Hogwarts this Christmas to cooperate with Dumbledore on his work, for him, who had already perfectly mastered Apparition Without A Trace, going anywhere was just a thought away.
Therefore, Aisen was not particularly resistant to staying at Hogwarts during the holiday.
Christmas dawn had just arrived, and Hogwarts Castlewas already covered with a thick layer of white snow. Due to the "turmoil" at Hogwarts this year, the atmosphere of the entire school had changed.
Of course, Aisen did not take these issues to heart.
During this time, in addition to his daily practice of Charms and Transfiguration, he also continued to further research Alchemy. Today, he could finally attempt the creation of healing items.
In fact, Aisen was not very confident about whether he could succeed in making it, only feeling that some problems he had encountered had been solved, so he could give it a try.
Since it was his first attempt at creating a new magicitem, in addition to using the Unicorn hair that had been infused with magic, Aisen also needed the help of other items.
So early in the morning, Aisen directly Apparated from his dormitory, leaving Hogwarts, planning to purchase some things at a Muggle store.
At seven o'clock in the morning, Aisen returned to Hogwarts Castle and went directly to the Room of Requirement.
Placed before Aisen, besides the somewhat shiny Unicornhair that had been infused, was a transparent glass bracelet.
That's right, the healing item Aisen planned to create this time was intended to be a bracelet-shaped item.
Originally, Aisen had thought that perhaps he could weave the Unicorn hair together and directly weave it into a bracelet-shaped healing item. But considering it was his first attempt and his skill level was still rough, he decided to use the glass bracelet as an aid for creation.
The glass bracelet was placed on the table. Aisensummoned a stream of clear water, then directly used a conversion Charm to convert the properties between the two. Instantly, the bracelet gained the properties of water and became extremely soft.
With a thought, that strand of Unicorn hair infused with magic directly entered the bracelet, transforming into individual Ancient Runes, arranged and inlaid within the bracelet in a unique way.
The Runes within the bracelet were continuously woven by the Unicorn hair. Under Aisen's control, the preliminary work of Rune weaving and inlaying was quickly completed.
Since he had already prepared beforehand, Aisen did not encounter any trouble during the operation. After a few minutes, all the Unicorn hair that Aisen had taken out had transformed into Runes and were embedded in the bracelet.
With a shift in thought, the conversion Charm was activated again, and the properties of the bracelet and water were swapped back. After a vanishing spell cleared away the water, only a glass bracelet shimmering with points of light remained before Aisen.
Within the transparent bracelet, strands of Unicorn hair were transformed into various Rune marks, then inlaid inside, arranged in a mysterious pattern.
The magic-infused hair occasionally shimmered with faint blue light, looking extremely dazzling. After picking up the bracelet, Aisen applied some strengthening and protection magic, such as a strengthening Charm, to it, making it no longer as fragile and easily damaged as ordinary glass.
When Aisen stopped his manual actions, this magic item, which could be called a healing bracelet, was completed. After placing the healing bracelet on his wrist, a smile couldn't help but appear on Aisen's face.
In fact, Aisen's creation of such a healing bracelet was merely an attempt, and he was not confident that he could extract satisfactory properties from it.
For example, a property of complete immunity to hexes, or complete immunity to curses, or even better, a self-healing property would be even more perfect.
But it was clear that the healing bracelet Aisen had currently created only possessed healing ability, and might have some effect on hexes or curses, but it was still far from providing immunity.
Therefore, the creation of this healing bracelet was basically just an attempt for Aisen.
Looking at the healing bracelet on his wrist, the expression on Aisen's face gradually became serious. Although it was just an attempt, a practice creation, he still needed to test its healing effect.
Thinking this, Aisen extended his right hand and pointed at his left arm. A wind blade directly sliced across, instantly opening a large gash on his arm. The moment blood began to seep from the wound, the healing bracelet on his wrist lit up, and the wound began to heal.
When he looked at his arm again, it was smooth and looked as if it had never been injured.
Perhaps this wound was caused by a purely physical attack, so the healing effect looked quite good. Should he try the damage of powerful magic? This thought flashed through Aisen's mind.
After pondering for a moment, Aisen felt he should still try it. After all, only by knowing the scope of the healing bracelet's ability would he not develop blind confidence in it.
Subsequently, Aisen extended his hand and pointed. A stream of fire emerged and quickly condensed and transformed into the shape of a dagger, which gently sliced across his arm.
Instantly, a wound appeared on Aisen's arm. At the same time, a faint glow emerged from the healing bracelet, seemingly activating its healing function.
But Aisen noticed that although the wound did not continue to widen, traces of blood were still constantly seeping out. A powerful cursing force was continuously invading deeper into the wound, seemingly trying to damage his body.
However, a fluorescent glow appeared on the healing bracelet, and wisps of energy entered the wound from it, confining the cursing force within a certain range and preventing it from further damaging his body.
His brow furrowed slightly. With a thought, the vast magic within Aisen circulated a few times, completely expelling the curse. Subsequently, the wound on his arm rapidly healed under the effect of the healing bracelet.
After trying it, Aisen immediately felt a bit conflicted.
From the perspective of the healing bracelet's effect, simple injuries were easily healed by the healing bracelet, but if they carried the power of a curse, the effect of the healing bracelet was greatly reduced.
Although its effect could resist the power of a curse to a certain extent, it could not completely expel it.
One might say this is not a big deal, but in most cases where a Witch gets injured, it's basically not a pure injury. For example, if one were to duel a Dark Wizard, once injured, the injuries are basically caused by Black magic.
And the damage caused by Black magic carries a curse.
In this way, the role that Aisen's healing bracelet could play was not as perfect as he had imagined.
"Alright, this is just a practice piece. I'll improve it later!" After collecting his thoughts, Aisen could only conclude this.
However, as he was leaving the Room of Requirement, Aisen looked at the healing bracelet on his wrist and suddenly felt a bit strange.
Because he suddenly realized that making this magic item with healing effects into the shape of a bracelet did not seem entirely appropriate.
After all, Aisen was a 20-year-old handsome young man. Wearing a bracelet like this did seem a bit strange.
"However, it doesn't seem like a big problem." Shaking his head, Aisen still took off the bracelet and put it away.
However, perhaps it was just a feeling, but as he walked through the Castle corridors, Aisen had a bad premonition. It felt as if something was going to happen on this Christmas Day.
In the evening, when Aisen arrived at the Great Hall, the Christmas feast had already begun.
The Great Hall looked grand and magnificent. Not only were there over a dozen Christmas trees covered in silver frost, but the ceiling was also enchanted, continuously letting warm, dry snowflakes fall.
However, Aisen noticed that the atmosphere of this year's Christmas feast was clearly not as lively as last year. Perhaps this was the impact of the attack incident!
"Professor Aisen, are you staying at the school for the Christmas holiday?" Hagrid asked, gesturing towards Aisen while gulping down eggnog.
"Yes, you know, there was an attack incident at the school." Sitting next to Hagrid, Aisen nodded. "Just right for the holiday, I'll inspect Hogwarts Castle thoroughly."
"Oh, yes, that's right—" Hagrid's face stiffened, and he stopped talking.