"The bow is dry and weak!"

After reading the password and entering his office, Lockhart snapped his fingers again and lit the magic lamp in the office, making it appear in the hall.

The new custom-made light fixtures worked so well that Lockhart imported them from the Muggle side, sent them to Wizeac in Diagon Alley to be enchanted, and finally shipped to Hogwarts.

Although Dumbledore came here to find out what happened just now, after seeing the luxurious furnishings in Lockhart's office, he couldn't help but comment.

"Exquisite house, Gilderoy, you seem to have taken good care of yourself.

Lockhart stretched out his wand and pulled over for Dumbledore a heavy mahogany chair covered in velvet.

"A good working environment can greatly improve the mood index of migrant workers, principal, this is also for work efficiency." Lockhart said boldly, "Need help?"

"Just have this chair, thank you."

Dumbledore sat down at Lockhart's desk and began to examine the cat carefully. Lockhart moved another chair for Professor McGonagall, and after she thanked her, she sat down and checked the cat's condition with Dumbledore.

Snape lost interest after a few glances at the cat - it was clearly a petrifying spell that could be restored with only Mandela herbal water, not a big deal at all.

But what he's thinking about now is how to use it.

His eyes quickly turned to Harry Potter, with a half-smile expression that made Harry's heart tremble.

In Harry's opinion, Snape must have planned to use this opportunity to find a way to expel him from Hogwarts, which is why he showed such a happy smile.

But he really had wronged Snape - Snape was clearly thinking of how to use this "attack" to ask Dumbledore to quickly catch the murderer, and to intimidate Harry to keep him in Gryffindor. In many lounges, don't run around for nothing.

Filch said little other than sobbing and accusing Harry, while Lockhart brewed elderflower juice for everyone in the room as he pondered how to deal with it.

Under the circumstance that all parties had their own thoughts, the office was quiet for a while.

In the end, it was Dumbledore who broke the silence.

"It's not dead, Filch."

Filch's eyes were as if he knew that his cancer was still alive: "It's not dead? Then why is it so stiff, as if it's frozen?"

"Because it was petrified, but how exactly it became like this, I don't know," Dumbledore said.

"Ask him!" Filch shouted, pointing at Harry.

"It's impossible for a student to do this." Dumbledore flatly rejected Filch's guess, "It requires a high level of black magic to perform."

Obviously, despite Filch's still hysterical vent, it was obvious that Harry couldn't cast such a petrification spell, and everyone in the room had this common sense.

But the point is...who actually did it. How is it done.

Although Snape knew who the initiator was, he couldn't say it openly in front of everyone, because Old Deng's plan was to let the savior learn to destroy Voldemort's Horcrux by himself. Talk to Dumbledore in private.

But this did not prevent him from protecting Harry in his own way, but it was a little unacceptable.

"Headmaster, I think it's very odd that Potter and his friends are there -

Harry was startled, he knew there was absolutely nothing good about Snape's words: "We've been at Sir Nicholas' death party before, and there are hundreds of ghosts to prove we were there before..."

Udan, you chose not to eat dinner and went directly to the corridor on the third floor? Snape demanded sharply, "I don't think you'll be satisfied with the food at the death anniversary party. "

Recalling the rotten and moldy "food" at the death anniversary party, Harry was still in a state of nervousness, and he was still nauseous.

"...I'm sleepy and want to go to bed early."

Harry immediately lied and concealed the fact that he heard the voice shouting "kill you" before going up to the third floor to see what happened.

However, he is really not suitable for lying, not to mention Snape and Dumbledore, even Filch, a squib, can see how unnatural he is when he lies.

Snape laughed.

"Headmaster, I'm not saying they did this, but I think they must have found something and hid it from us. I suggest that he should be disqualified from Quidditch until he knows all about himself. until you tell me," he suggested.

As soon as this was said, Professor McGonagall quit before Harry could protest.

Because you can't get points for taking classes and doing good deeds, the only major project in Gryffindor House that can get points is Quidditch. Not to mention that Professor McGonagall is a Quidditch fan, even for the Academy Cup, she will Can't let the only Seeker on the team be just that.

She immediately argued with reason, saying that Harry had done nothing wrong and that there was no reason to disqualify him as a player.

Her divine assist made Harry overjoyed, but it made Snape feel bitter in his heart.

His inner activity is probably like this - old McGonagall, what the **** have you misunderstood? What the hell, I am protecting Harry from running around!

And what's wrong with concentrating on studying for a while? Going out to play that useless ball every day, look at the homework he wrote... What kind of virtue has his homework become? He didn't do well in Potions, and it could be said that I didn't teach well, but did he do well in Transfiguration?

Lily, forgive me, I really can't handle your son.

Dumbledore saw Snape's purpose, but he also didn't want to overprotect Harry

"As long as it's not proven criminal, it's innocent, disqualification is too much. As for Argus, don't be too sad, we'll be able to get it back as Pomona's mandrake matures. , Severus has never missed a recipe for such a potion."

His persuasion calmed Filch again, but it also made Snape even more annoyed.

He gestured to Dumbledore with his eyes - don't forget what I said, as long as there is a problem, I will use my own method to solve the problem.

And Dumbledore's eyes quickly answered him - what he said was "student"

Take action after being attacked, now it's just a cat.

After understanding Dumbledore's meaning, Snape's face became more and more ugly, and Harry mistakenly thought he was annoyed at not being able to fire himself - the misunderstanding between them deepened.

"Then... let's do it for today, Harry, you can leave. Severus, you stay... oh no, I almost forgot, this is Gilderoy's office, let's go to the headmaster's office." Dumbledore said to Snape.

Lockhart held the teapot, looking a little disappointed: "The elderflower dew is ready, why don't you have a cup before leaving?"

"No, thank you, I'm afraid I won't be able to sleep at night after drinking it." Dumbledore declined

"It's great, I want to have a drink. The weather has been bad recently, and I'm worried that I will catch a cold." Professor McGonagall said.

P.So the first order is 6k+, according to the agreement, 3 chapters will be added today and _(: 3Jz)_

, want to wear me out

Chapter 66 The Terrible Speculation

After Dumbledore took Snape and Flitwick comforted Filch out, only Professor McGonagall and Lockhart were left in the office.

Professor McGonagall was full of complaints while drinking the elderberry dew tea brought by Lockhart.

"Gidro, Albus, what are they hiding from us? I can feel it, and they don't seem to be surprised by this attack." She asked irritably.

"Maybe it's just because of the Mandela herbal water." Lockhart prevaricates

Professor McGonagall stared at him: "So, what did you discover just now? Everyone here seems to have discovered something, but I'm the only old woman who was kept secret by you."

Lockhart shrugged: "I didn't find much. I believe the principal and the others can find it too."

"But you shouldn't hide your power from me. That's a student of my college. I have the right to know what happened."

"You should ask the principal."

"If I could have asked, I would have asked." Professor McGonagall said sharply. "It is because I have done similar things countless times, so I don't want to waste my time. As long as Dumbledore doesn't want to tell you, then you No matter how you ask, you can't hear it."

Lockhart began to have a headache: "Dear Professor McGonagall, the principal has not explained it to me, and I only heard about the last time the secret room was opened... Of course, I don't know the reason for his secrecy. "

"But you did find something, didn't you?" Professor McGonagall asked, staring at him.

"…some obvious traces, and good reasoning."

"Then why are you covering it? Imitating the principal." Professor McGonagall frowned.

brows, a very dissatisfied look.

"Well, if you insist... some things aren't hard to speculate."

Curse it, I'm listening. "

Seeing that Professor McGonagall insisted, Lockhart could only selectively reveal some things, which he could explain anyway.

"First, the magic text was left too abruptly. Regardless of whether the "secret room" was opened or not, the attackers shouldn't show their existence in such a big way. A sneak attack is a better choice.

Second, the cat's whereabouts have always been elusive. It can be said that except for Mr. Filch, no one in the castle can find out its whereabouts, and it is impossible to ambush it in advance, so I don't think the attacker started The goal is it.

Third, the attackers chose Halloween night, apparently premeditated, knowing that the vast majority of people were in the auditorium at this time.

If the above three points are true, I think the attacker should have another purpose, but just happened to encounter the cat in the process of moving, so he petrified it. At the same time, in order to cover up something, the attackers specially hung it up and left magic words. "

Professor McGonagall's eyes widened when she heard the words - obviously these things were not something she could simply think of.

Apparently what Hermione said when she was confronted with the magical Flame Gate in her first year was very true - not everyone in the wizarding world was capable of logic.

"Then why did you leave that text?" she asked.

Lockhart continued his pretense—he dressed himself as if he had discovered this after careful reasoning.

"When I was checking just now, I found that the cat's posture was a little strange - from the way it was fried, it should have been attacked and discovered the attacker at the same time, which means that the cat was petrified. should reflect it perfectly

The state at the moment of the attack. If the cat was standing when it was attacked, it should have been staring at the ground.

So I have a vague guess - that the attacker thought that if the cat was left in place, its posture would definitely reveal something, so he deliberately left magic words, pretending that he was hanging the cat for "demonstration". public."

"Staring at the ground?" Professor McGonagall was a little confused. "Could it be that some bug on the ground can turn it to petrified?"

"I don't think so. The ground was full of water at the time. Even if there were such bugs, it probably wouldn't like that kind of environment."

"It's all water..." Professor McGonagall thought for a while, and suddenly realized: "That is to say, the cat was the attacker who was found in the reflection of the water, and the attacker was behind it at the time!"

Lockhart shook his head: "I'm afraid it's not behind, but above its head."

"Top of the head?"

"Yes, because light can only travel in a straight line, it is impossible for a person to see behind him through the reflection when washing his hands by the river. Similarly, when the cat found the attacker, the attacker was probably already on top of its head. already."

"Light...?"

Professor McGonagall looked a little confused. Physics was a brand new concept for the old professor: "You said overhead... Could the attacker be a gecko, crawling on the ceiling?"

Very close, at least all reptiles. Lockhart said heartily.

Professor McGonagall's confusion didn't last long, because she suddenly thought of something more terrifying.

"Wait, Gilderoy, is there such a possibility - the attacker originally planned to attack Harry Potter and his party, but accidentally bumped into the cat on the way, so..."

Lockhart nodded immediately: "It's very possible! Because the other students were in the auditorium at the time, and only Mr. Potter and the others were going to the death anniversary party, so the attackers only ran to the necessary place after knowing that Mr. Potter and the others would be singled out. On the way, I want to go to ambush."

Professor McGonagall looked a little annoyed: "It seems that maybe I should really consider Professor Snape's suggestion and confine Mr. Potter in the common room."

And the common rooms in Ryffindor are not necessarily safe. ' said Lockhart regretfully.

Professor McGonagall heard something in his words and quickly asked, "What do you mean?

■

"It's nothing, I mean... There might not be many people who knew in advance that Mr. Potter was going to the death party, and it's very likely that they only revealed it to people in Gryffindor," Lockhart reminded.

Professor McGonagall's face changed suddenly: "You mean, the attacker may be someone from Gryffindor?"

"Not necessarily. Maybe someone has spread this word, and the little lions have always been unable to keep any secrets."

Although Lockhart was well-intentioned, this statement made Professor McGonagall feel a little harsh, because lions, like her, are cats.

"I'll look into this," she told Lockhart. "I hope you don't look at my students with tinted glasses."

"Colored glasses?" Lockhart raised his eyebrows. "Then you have to go to Professor Snape and have him make all the color-changing inks on the contact lenses transparent."

"You know what I mean." Professor McGonagall was inadvertently talking to him.

Lockhart yawned when Professor McGonagall was gone.

Although he is a little tired now and wants to brush his teeth and go to bed early, today is Saturday,

The student's homework hasn't been corrected yet, and he's going to Hogsmeade tomorrow, so he can only work overtime for himself.

Since neither Dumbledore nor Snape drank, Lockhart put a few drops of the brain-boosting agent in the elderflower juice and began to correct the homework.

After a while, Dumbledore's voice rang out of thin air in his office.

Gilderoy, if you haven't slept yet, please come to my office, mouth

make you know

Well, still can't sleep.

Chapter Sixty-Seven Relief Harry

As a professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, after the cat was attacked at Hogwarts, Lockhart took up this responsibility no matter what, and he was mentally prepared for it.

In Dumbledore, Lockhart showed the proper ability - he repeated what he had just said to Professor McGonagall.

"...To sum up, I personally recommend that all the pipes at Hogwarts be checked, because the murderer is likely to use the pipes to move."