Quietly Shifting Plot

He collapsed to his knees, gasping for breath, feeling his entire body trembling hysterically.

Inside the Room of Requirement, Jon Hart clutched the web of his right hand in pain, trying to ease the searing agony in his palm.

Though he was in pain, he was safe for the moment...

But Jon knew full well that this was far from over.

The Basilisk had been driven back, but a string of problems followed.

First of all, the plot had undergone enormous changes:

According to the original story, after Ginny Weasley discarded Tom Riddle's diary, Hogwarts would enjoy several months of peace—until the day of the Gryffindor-Hufflepuff Quidditch match, when Hermione Granger and Penelope Crivat were attacked.

But now, the fourth attack had begun ahead of schedule, and its victim was actually Percy Weasley! This was already vastly different from the original story.

This time, who had opened the Chamber of Secrets again... Ginny Weasley? Or Harry Potter, who had newly obtained the diary? Or someone else?

Jon felt the confidence he had once possessed vanish completely.

He could not help but sigh. In the end, he had been too careless... thinking that knowing a little of the original plot meant he could do whatever he wanted.

And what terrible timing—he had made only one mistake all semester, returning late to the dormitory, and happened to run into the Basilisk during this attack... If he had not made a whole series of preparations beforehand, he would have been one of the victims now.

That coincidence left Jon feeling like a mute man swallowing bitter medicine.

More importantly, if he did not think of something, he was in trouble now!

The most important thing was to return to the Hufflepuff common room as quickly as possible, no matter what; otherwise, if someone discovered late at night that he was not in the dormitory, would he not become the prime suspect in the attack?

Getting back to the common room would be difficult as well, because he did not know many secret passages in Hogwarts. The only route he knew would definitely pass through the scene of the attack; a first-year student had no reason to be there.

Turning into Sergei Pavlov was not reliable either. Though it was agile, it might not be able to avoid being discovered by powerful wizards such as Dumbledore, Snape, and McGonagall; an unfamiliar Eastern European face appearing in the castle would only arouse even more suspicion.

What a troublesome situation...

The only way, it seemed, was to turn himself into someone who could move freely around the castle!

Professor Severus Snape had also appeared in the corridor between Hogwarts Castle and Ravenclaw Tower.

His gaze remained cold and unfathomable, but now it held an added trace of gravity.

He seemed to have been drawn here by the commotion as well.

"What happened?" he asked loudly.

In the corridor, he saw a "stone statue" lying on the ground, along with two Gryffindor boys. One was kneeling on the ground and crying, while the other stood beside him.

"Potter? Weasley?"

When Harry Potter saw Snape, a look of disgust involuntarily crossed his face. "There's been another attack..."

"I can see that. I do not need you to instruct me!" Snape said coldly. "Now then, why are you here? And why are you once again the first to discover an attack?"

"I..." Harry Potter was left speechless.

Fortunately, a clamor of footsteps sounded from behind them as a large crowd of teachers and students gathered around.

Albus Dumbledore walked at the front. "What happened, Severus?"

"Another victim has appeared!" Snape instinctively lowered his voice. "A Gryffindor..."

"Weasley..." Professor McGonagall staggered over, her face filled with shock. "That's impossible..."

Everyone understood what she meant: according to the rumors, Slytherin's monster only attacked Muggle-born students or Squibs; yet Percy Weasley was also a Pure-blood wizard, and his grades had always placed him among the best sixth-year students.

"It wasn't just one attack, Albus, Minerva..." Professor Filius Flitwick's voice came from Ravenclaw Tower.

He and Madam Pomfrey were carrying a tall girl with long hair between them, looking rather comical.

"Miss Crivat was attacked too, at the Eagle-shaped Bronze Door Knocker atop the tower... She seems to have turned to stone as well!" Professor Flitwick said sorrowfully and angrily.

Several older Ravenclaw students followed behind him, carrying a wooden door. The stiff eagle beak could be seen on it.

"And... the door knocker left behind by Lady Ravenclaw, which has endured for a thousand years and symbolized Ravenclaw wisdom, has also turned into stone!"

Everyone immediately understood why the normally easygoing Professor Flitwick was so furious.

"Is that so?" Professor Dumbledore frowned and carefully examined the stiffened bodies of Percy Weasley and Penelope Crivat.

"Could it be understood this way..." Professor Snape said slowly, his expression extremely grave. "The attacker's original target should have been Miss Crivat. She and the eagle door knocker were attacked together... But it did not expect Mr. Weasley to appear here. It engaged Mr. Weasley in a fierce battle, and in the end Mr. Weasley was also attacked, but the attacker was wounded as well!"

Looking at the bloodstains on the ground and Percy Weasley's wand, many people nodded.

Yet Dumbledore's expression remained grave. He sniffed the air deeply, as though he had caught some strange scent, then examined the bloodstains on the ground.

"Severus, please go and bring Sylvanus and Hagrid here!" he said seriously.

"Yes, Headmaster!"

Snape departed at Dumbledore's command, but the moment he stepped out of the corridor, he ran into a student.

"Stop!"

At Snape's command, the older Hufflepuff student stopped walking.

"What happened, Professor Snape... What was that sound just now?" he asked between ragged breaths.

Snape recognized him. It was Gabriel Truman, the Hufflepuff Prefect.

"Another attack, Mr. Truman!" he said coldly. "You should return to the Hufflepuff common room and warn the students there not to run outside."

"Understood, Professor!" Truman nodded, then turned and left.

Snape hurried toward the Forbidden Forest... but halfway there, he suddenly realized something was wrong:

In Potions class, Gabriel Truman had always addressed him as "Sir," never "Professor"...