"Of course," Howl nodded, his nose twitching. He smelled a faint, musky odor here, but he wasn't sure if it came from some untidy Little Wizard.
"Come with me, Filch!"
Those around them consciously made way. Filch shuffled his feet, no longer moving with the swiftness he once had when catching Little Wizards out at night.
Opening the office, light suddenly flared inside, and Lucifer shot out, startled by Dumbledore.
"Oh, Dumbledore... why are you here... ah haha..." Lucifer grabbed a piece of wood and placed it under himself.
Dumbledore, with a gentle smile, observed Lucifer carefully, then surveyed the surroundings, and then saw the open window.
Dumbledore smiled and shook his head, saying nothing.
Professor McGonagall and Snape evidently noticed Lucifer, looking at this strange creature with surprise, then curiously at Howl.
Howl's face was awkward. Seeing Lucifer's attempt to cover up his expression, he already knew what the fellow had just been doing.
Although... they weren't human, not even the same species, and Lucifer was just lucky to find such a compatible friend.
But his posture always made Howl feel a bit perverted.
"Filch, may I see Madam Norris?"
Filch nodded, finally coming to his senses. He placed Madam Norris on the table, then slumped into a chair, sobbing silently.
The others observed Madam Norris; her body was stiff. When Filch had placed her on the table, she had even made a clunking sound.
"She's not dead."
After a while, they reached a conclusion.
"This is petrification, Filch. She's not dead," Professor McGonagall quickly looked at Filch, whose face was streaked with tears: "Really?"
"Really," Dumbledore confirmed, then turned his gaze to Severus.
"A powerful petrification, on the Dark Arts level, Severus, would you like to take a look?"
Snape stood in the shadows nearby, his lips moving slightly: "Mandrake Restorative Draught can help her."
Hearing this, Filch looked at Snape excitedly.
"But!"
His next words plunged Filch into despair.
"The Mandrake had some accidents a few months ago, as we all know," Snape's words were like cold knives cutting into Filch's heart.
"Although someone used some unknown method to quickly restore them to their original state, and they are growing well under Professor Sprout's care, it will still take a long time for them to mature."
Howl waved his hand dismissively, examining Madam Norris with interest.
"Don't worry, I still have some Mandrake roots here. I usually use them to brew 'tea'."
As he spoke, he pulled out a white jar from under the table. He opened it and shook it twice, looking a bit disappointed.
"Hmm... not much left, but it should be enough to concoct the potion."
Snape took the jar Howl handed him, seeing it contained many Mandrake roots or dried stem pieces. Connecting this with the 'tea' Howl had just mentioned, his eyelids twitched.
Wasting good ingredients...
Thinking this, he put away the jar: "For a cat... it should indeed be enough."
Filch let out a heavy sigh of relief, choking back tears as he quickly said: "Thank you... thank you... she's all I have..."
Professor McGonagall led Filch away; his condition was too poor, and he needed good rest.
After the two had left, Dumbledore looked at Howl, seemingly wanting to see if he had anything to say.
Howl twisted his neck and smiled wryly: "Perhaps... this is a provocative warning from someone to me?!"
There were only a few cats at Hogwarts, and he was now in the cursed position of Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor...
"Once that cat revives, can you examine its memories?" As he spoke, his gaze shifted back and forth between Snape and Dumbledore.
"Cannot be done," Snape said curtly, not wanting to explain. He was accustomed to using sarcastic remarks for such simple questions.
But in front of Howl, sarcasm was clearly not a good choice, so he chose silence.
"She is just a cat, a poor, old animal. That indeed cannot be done," Dumbledore said.
"Alright," Howl nodded. He had thought Legilimency could easily see the memories of all living creatures, because Dumbledore had once invaded Nagini's mind.
It seemed Nagini was just special.
"So, what is the Chamber of Secrets?" Howl then asked. He had clearly seen the message on the wall just now.
A cat's misfortune clearly couldn't surprise a group of Little Wizards enough to block the hallway.
So, what captured the children's eager attention was naturally more about that message.
And the term 'Chamber of Secrets' he had only glimpsed in vague, few words in 'Hogwarts, A History'.
Snape's voice appeared, explaining with a slight sneer: "A campus horror legend that children are keen to spread. It seems the person who cast the spell on this cat is quite skilled in Dark Arts, but their character... Heh heh..."
Howl raised an eyebrow: "Students... Dark Arts... It seems someone is ignoring my words."
"Isn't that to be expected...? They are always so foolish..." Snape took the opportunity to secretly Curse some foolish students.
Sometimes, he was truly fed up with those arrogant, foolish people; it was torture!
Dumbledore straightened up: "Alright, for the next few days, we'll search the Castle to see if we can find any traces of Dark Arts."
His clear blue eyes fell on Howl, and he smiled: "Even if it doesn't affect you personally, buzzing mosquitoes are very annoying."
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