After listening to Lockhart's report, Dumbledore nodded.

"In fact, I noticed it when I was there," Dumbledore said. "Despite the assailants being careful, I smelled a faint earthy smell at the scene. I can say with certainty that it was a snake. ."

Lockhart was shocked. I was still thinking about how to reveal more without doubt, but you revealed the mystery directly?

Thinking of this, Lockhart made a quiet joke:

"Snakes? If that's the case, then the motives of the attackers' improvised attack on Mrs Norris could be explained - from jaguars and Sen's, to domestic cats and cauliflower snakes, to Gryffindor and Slater Lin, I have never seen cats and snakes not fighting when they meet.

When I was traveling in Tibet, people there told me that the Easterners call this situation "the dragon and the tiger."

Dumbledore also smiled: "It's just that the power gap is too big this time... Look at this."

While speaking, the principal took something out of his sleeve.

Lockhart looked closely and found that it was an amber scale, and the scales

The texture on it is very blurry.

According to the usual proportions, the snake might be taller than this room when it stands upright, and since the color of the scales is not bright enough and the lines are not clear enough, it will soon shed its skin. ' Dumbledore added.

Lockhart couldn't help but gave Dumbledore 32 likes in his heart - this is the boss!

The reason why Little Tom chose to show his cards a while before the final exam was probably because he found that the basilisk was about to shed its skin, so he held back and did not do anything.

"Then what are you waiting for?" Lockhart took the time to offer advice, "Snakes have the worst vision, the most inflexible body, and the slowest perception before molting. I suggest setting up an investigation team immediately to take advantage of the Now smoke the pipe with vinegar, wine and sulphur to get the snake out and kill it."

But Dumbledore sighed.

"That's why I came to you, Gilderoy... Can you keep it a secret? It's important."

The day after Halloween was Sunday, and when Lockhart had a club party, the students did ask about yesterday.

"It's really bad, there is no clue at all." Lockhart said to them, Mang Yu can judge that it is a very powerful black magic, and it can't be done by students, and we can't get any conclusions. "

Cedric frowned: "But no matter who opened the secret room and got what, that person must avoid the sight of all teachers and students in the school. If Mr. Filch can be sure that no one has entered the castle during this time. , Then you just need to find someone who doesn't have an alibi... Oh, sorry, Potter, I'm not talking about you, I know you're going to the death anniversary party."

Harry didn't think so: "It's all right, Diggory.

But as soon as the words were said, Harry immediately thought of something.

"You know I went to the death anniversary party? How many people know about this?" he asked in surprise.

"A lot of people... no, it's not accurate to say it's a person, almost headless Nick trumpeted that he had a 'VIP' at his party, the fat monk has already told us about it, and I guess the other ghosts know it too . "Cedric told the truth.

After Harry listened, there was a smile on his face that he didn't know whether it was relief or happiness.

"Yeah, that's great," he muttered softly.

After the three of them came out of the death party last night, Harry heard the voice that no one else could hear again, and was drawn to the scene where Mrs Norris was attacked, and successfully misunderstood himself.

Because this fact was too weird, Harry didn't tell anyone but two friends about it, and "the secret room was opened" made a few people keep their mouths shut, even if they didn't discuss it, they chose to hide it from the outside world .

According to Hermione's analysis, someone must have secretly opened the secret room when the whole school held the Easter banquet, just like Quirrell let the troll in last year, so the attacker was probably not present.

As for the attacker's target, Hermione had the same analysis as Professor McGonagall. She also believes that the attacker's target should have been someone who was also not in the auditorium in the first place, and would likely be Harry.

"So, the attacker knew early on that we were going to the death party." Hermione said to Harry solemnly.

Harry was sad because he only remembered talking about it in the Gryffindor common room with a few friends and teammates who got along just fine.

If Slytherin's heir was in Gryffindor, Harry would feel betrayed, and his life was threatened, but second.

As Lupin later put it, Harry, like his father James, "will always raise trust in friends to a higher level than life"

Harry was relieved to hear Cedric admit that "it's been reported all over the place", because since even Hufflepuff in the hole had heard about it, then Slytherin at the bottom of the lake had heard about it. And Ravenclaw in the tower can naturally also inquire, that's why I say this.

"Professor, may I ask, except for the three of us last night, who was not in the auditorium last night? He is most likely the attacker." Hermione asked Lockhart.

right in front of you. Lockhart swept Ginny Weasley from the corner of his eye and thought.

Although the little girl was controlled by Voldemort and forgot her memory, she should have noticed something strange at this time, especially when she found that her hands were covered with unknown magic paint.

Lockhart knew everything, but couldn't say

Unable to do anything, Old Deng asked Lockhart to divulge as little information as possible to the three saviors "on the premise of ensuring the safety of the children".

"They have to learn to find things by themselves, reason by themselves, and finally find the right answer. Although there are likely to be many detours in the middle, detours are also very important. We can't help them with everything." Dumbledore said. .

Chapter 68 Pseudo-o Marauder Map

Because of Dumbledore's special instructions, Lockhart had to pretend to be "I don't know anything" in front of the little wizard.

If in the Muggle world, if the police also made such a statement after the accident, I am afraid that from the criminal police to the local police chief will probably be forced to resign. After all, under the modern criminal investigation, the so-called perfect crime has long ceased to exist, you If there is no clue of Yiren, it can only show that he is incompetent.

Harry and Hermione didn't doubt Lockhart's words, and the other little wizards didn't seem to take it too seriously.

Despite its vile nature, in the final analysis, only one cat was petrified from the beginning to the end of the attack, so it was still easy for everyone to talk about it, not even as good as the Quidditch game that just ended that morning. care.

Roger Davis and the others took a small test, and with the Parkin pincer tactics they just completed, they pressed the Hufflepuff Chasers to double-team and pushed them into uncharted territory.

Previously, almost all of Hufflepuff's tactical training was based on the traditional Eagle Head offensive tactics of the Eagle Academy, so the Pokov decoy technique they carefully practiced was almost useless, and the backward pass was still young. Skills also make mistakes in the face of pressing, and it is natural to be defeated in the end.

Although Cedric finally caught the Snitch, Ravenclaw had a 190-point lead at the time, so it was still unable to reverse the defeat.

It is worth mentioning that although Hufflepuff lost, their Seeker Cedric captured Ravenclaw's Qiu Zhang with an excellent performance, and for a time Eagle Academy "won the game". But lost the woman" was passed as a joke.

Although Lockhart feels that it seems a little bit of a 13- or 14-year-old little wizard to start a relationship

Not good, but he couldn't say anything about it, given the wizarding world's tradition of forging relationships during school days.

Especially when someone told Lockhart that the magical world in Russia is the same as the Muggle world, as long as the only child can get married, Lockhart's expression becomes more exciting.

"Kodos Dorez actually allows students to get married at school? The wicked Russians actually attack minors!"

Lockhart desperately criticized every aspect of Russia with the self-consciousness of a former excellent civil servant of the Great Empire. Whether it's the Soviet Union, which disintegrated in Harry's school year, or Russia today, its existence is a sin in their eyes.

Of course, he also deliberately ignored one point? That is, people also think that the corrupt country where gays are everywhere is not normal. Not to mention anything else, it is Dumbledore and Grindelwald, their great love is probably beyond the understanding of the "Slavic barbarians".

In any case, this Quidditch match that just ended has become the best topic of chat in the Lockhart club with elements such as "sports", "excitement", and "gender lace".

The petrification of Filch's cat is nothing if you take into account the game between Gryffindor and Slytherin next week. Even for some students, Mrs. Norris' petrification might be what they expected.

Except for Harry's trio who were still worried and Ginny Weasley's face pale, the rest of the students only raised some interest in the "Secret Room", and it seemed that they should live or not, and they had not changed at all.

It seems that it is still difficult for everyone to be more vigilant.

Lockhart wasn't sure whether Old Deng's hope that the savior would take the initiative and actively seek answers in the secret room was in vain, but he could see from Hermione's eyes that she had not given up her determination to investigate to the end.

It seems that Harry Potter's seventh installment was dubbed "Hermione Granger and Her Two Useless Men" by some for a reason.

"Professor Lockhart, how much do you know about the Slytherin Chamber of Secrets?" Hermione began to ask.

Seeing her question, the rest of the dueling top students also focused their attention on Lockhart, showing a very interested look.

Lockhart sighed in his heart—Old Deng wouldn't let him talk about the key content, but he had to show that he was very familiar with it, and it was really hard to hurt him.

"There are many rumors about Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets, since I was in school, and I know only part of it. If you want to hear me, I will tell you, but I can't guarantee it must be true. of."

Lockhart deliberately put on a "I know a lot of things, but you have to ask me to tell" attitude, and successfully grabbed the students' attention.

"Go ahead, professor." The students pricked up their ears.

Lockhart started his own statement only after he had sold out enough: "I can't guarantee that this secret room must exist, but I can't guarantee that it does not exist, because there are still many secrets in Hogwarts, and this Secret is just one of them

Whenever we refer to the history of Hogwarts, those who are rich in literature will use all kinds of fancy words to describe it, such as "great", "honorable", and "epic" and so on. But it must be mentioned that the four founders may have been more embarrassed than they thought when they established the school.

At that time, wizards all over the world were being rejected and persecuted by the Muggle religious community. Although the witch hunt only caught some wizards who were not skilled in their studies or had no family heritage, it was still a huge loss to the wizarding world. The four founders had to find a quiet, remote area to build the castle. "

As he spoke, he cast a spell on his carpet.

"Map spread!" he shouted.

The top students looked under their feet subconsciously, and saw a sudden change on the wool carpet in Lockhart's office—the wool that had been dyed green, red, and gold changed its color, and the pattern also changed. From a camel in a desert oasis to a map.

Without much observation, they quickly recognized that this was a topographic map of Hogwarts Castle and its surroundings.

Under the display of Lockhart Saobao, this map also has many bells and whistles such as forecasting the weather, timing, and reserving fires, communications, etc. It is a pity that the biggest function of the Marauder map - the name positioning system, is not.

No way, because this map is essentially the result of Lockhart's failed attempt to make a Marauder map.

It wasn't until he really started to get started that Lockhart realized how difficult it was, even beyond his ability.

Although Hogwarts is under the spell of non-mapping, Lockhart, as a professor, has the authority to invoke a portion of the school's authority to draw the map—as long as it is not brought to the school.

It is precisely because of this confidence that Lockhart has the confidence to make a Marauder map.

But unfortunately, this Marauder's map not only requires a lot of spells, but it also contains a database of all current students and graduates in the school.

Lockhart wasn't sure if the Lupin had borrowed it from the House Scoreboard, or if the Blakes had invoked the school as trustees, or if they had entered it from the Sorting Hat as Gryffindors, but In short, without this, Lockhart can't make it display names.

So in the end, Lockhart could only ask Lucius Malfoy to smuggle a magic flying carpet from the Middle East, transform it into a map, and throw it in his office. In an emergency, Lockhart can even sit on this flying carpet

Barrel run.

Although it may not be very practical, it is not a big problem to restrain these children.

"Look, everyone, this is our school," Lockhart said, pointing to the feet of the students.

P.S.k, the debt is paid off.

Chapter 69 Limited Disclosure

Pointing to the panoramic map he had drawn, Lockhart continued to speak.

"As you can see, the terrain of Hogwarts is surrounded by mountains and rivers, and the only way to enter is to cross the Black Lake by boat, or enter through the viaduct.

If Muggles attack, everyone only needs to blow up the bridge to 7 Muggles, and they can only try to attack by crossing the lake by boat, and then they will be attacked by those who have signed a contract with the founder in the Black Lake. Mermaids and giant squid are dragged into the water.

The stairs, ubiquitous secret passages and hidden rooms in the school activities were also originally designed to prevent the attack of the Muggle army, and wizards can choose to fly on a broom and enter from the tower... Of course, now Muggles also have Way to fly, we won't mention that.

So I wouldn't be surprised if Slytherin, one of the founders, had a secret room somewhere in the castle. Or, I'd be more surprised if he didn't leave the back room.

If there is no mistake in the school history, Salazar Slytherin often held secret gatherings with his chosen people in the castle, and the meeting place was probably in the secret room. As for the rest, you can find them in Hogwarts: A History of the School, so I won't go into that. "

"In other words, there is indeed a secret room." The students understood.

"It can only be said that the probability is very high."

Hermione raised her hand again: "Then, Professor, where do you think the secret room is located?"

Lockhart shrugged regretfully: "I don't know... Originally the school had an old architectural plan, but Hogwarts Castle underwent a large-scale modernization in the 18th century.

The transformation has been carried out many times before, so the drawing is no longer reference. "

"It's changed a lot since the makeover?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, for example, before that, Hogwarts didn't have toilets and bathhouses. If you want to take a bath, you can only go to the lake. As for convenience, everyone can only solve it on the spot, and then use the Vanishing Spell to remove it. Go somewhere else, as for where it will end up on a Muggle head or in a soup pot..."

Seeing the disgusted expressions on the girls' faces, Lockhart quickly changed his tune: "Of course, it's not appropriate to say this now... especially when everyone is about to have dinner. In short, this transformation is completely borrowed from Muggle wisdom. , the then principal invited a famous architectural designer, Henry O Hall, to carry out the renovation, and the Gaunt family was very dissatisfied with this.

—The Ravenclaw freshman Samuel Mason suddenly heard a familiar name: ""It's Hall? I know him, he also restored the Pantheon in Rome, and his portrait still hangs on the walls of my father's company. "

"Thank you for your addition, Sam... It's a pity that after he completed the renovation design and got the gold, the then patriarch of the Gaunt family cast an oblivion spell and took away all the blueprints. We have no way of getting it now. Knowing their whereabouts, as for how the Gaunt family hid the entrance to the secret room, we still don't know today." The little wizards pondered.

Lockhart wasn't sure if they could deduce anything based on the current intelligence, and now it seems that the person closest to the answer should be Harry Potter, because he knows he is a Parseltongue.

However, even if Harry knew that the attacker was a snake and that it was moving through a pipe, he probably would not have been able to find the Slytherin chamber immediately.

Because Hogwarts has too many pipes. Unless it's really going to be a big fight and "block a part and smoke it with sulphur" as Lockhart suggests, think

It is still difficult to find the secret room.

Thinking of this, Lockhart glanced at Harry's side - maybe because of various changes, the headmaster didn't know about his Parseltongue, and if Dumbledore knew about it, I'm afraid he would immediately realize it. Lee is also a Horcrux.

"Then Professor, is there any way we can find this secret room?" Eddie asked again.

"It's not impossible, but it's very troublesome. It needs to be aggressive and follow it little by little... Er, investigation, considering that only one cat has been attacked at present, and it is not irreversible, I think it may be better to wait. The premise is that no one is attacked and killed, but if there are casualties, then I will definitely report to the principal and explain to him the secret I discovered."

"You found a clue?" Hermione asked in disbelief.

"Actually, you only need to think about things like clues to find out." Lockhart winked at her and said, "Think about it, why did the murderer hang up Mrs. Norris, why he had to go to great lengths to write The next line of magic words, you are so smart, you must be able to think of it."

Lockhart didn't say this to Hermione, but to Voldemort, because he knew that Ginny hadn't had any doubts about the diary at this time, and she would definitely write such a thing in the diary.

He wanted to use this method to persuade Voldemort to restrain himself, at least not to kill anyone.

The two Slytherin students were taken aback by Lockhart's remarks, but they held back their expressions well when they heard "big fights are needed."

"We'll go to the dean later and ask him to ask Lockhart. Slytherin's secret room must be discovered by us, Slytherin." One person whispered to his partner.

The companion nodded again and again, deeply agreeing.

"I can't believe that the school has such a dark history." Eddie Camilleche of Ravenclaw said: Qijin Laitlin actually sneaked around the other three houses and made such a big move, don't the people from other houses not do you know? "

Although the number was not large, the two Slytherin students at the scene showed displeased expressions one after another.