Hogwarts Back on Track

The next morning at breakfast, Jon was spreading a thick layer of jam over his sausages.

At the staff table, Professor Minerva McGonagall, the current acting Headmistress, suddenly stood up.

"I have several announcements to make," she called loudly, then added, "Good news, of course!"

The students eating breakfast looked at one another. With the terror caused by the monster in the Chamber of Secrets, no one could imagine what good news there could be.

"Our Headmaster, Professor Albus Dumbledore, has returned!" Professor McGonagall said with a smile. "He has already destroyed Slytherin's monster!"

After a brief moment of stunned silence, the crowd erupted into enthusiastic cheers.

"Long live Professor Dumbledore!" the Weasley twins sang at the top of their lungs.

"I knew Slytherin's monster wouldn't stand a chance against Professor Dumbledore!" Ernie Macmillan declared with a confident expression.

"Hannah and Susan should be back soon..." Eloise Midgen said quietly.

"What about Quidditch?" Oliver Wood shouted excitedly. "Will the Quidditch matches resume?"

"That's right, Wood!" Professor McGonagall nodded. "So I hope the Quidditch teams of every House will make the most of their time training. In one week, Gryffindor will face Hufflepuff, while Ravenclaw will face Slytherin!"

"Oh, right, where's Harry?" Dean Thomas, a second-year Gryffindor, asked. "I haven't seen him return to the dormitory since last night..."

"Mr. Potter played a crucial role in defeating Slytherin's monster!" Professor McGonagall said proudly. "He fully demonstrated Gryffindor courage, though he suffered a minor injury in the battle and is now receiving treatment from Madam Pomfrey."

All the Gryffindor students began cheering once more.

Except for Wood, who was frowning miserably... He was probably wondering whether Harry would recover in time for the Hufflepuff-Gryffindor Quidditch match.

Jon Hart silently listened to Professor McGonagall's words.

Neither the Basilisk's defeat nor Dumbledore's return came as a surprise to him.

After he had baited Ginny Weasley, she would naturally assume that the diary was in the Hufflepuff common room. She would then sneak in and try to steal it away, preventing her secret from being exposed.

The Hufflepuff common room appeared completely unguarded, but House-elves had always been watching over it. Their magic was exceptionally powerful, certainly not something a first-year girl could handle. Jon had also "accidentally" told Klyne that the school was in trouble during one of his trips to the Kitchen for snacks, indirectly "reminding" him to watch out for strange people in the castle.

Once Ginny Weasley was captured alive, the teachers could easily follow the clues he had secretly left behind and uncover the truth about the Chamber of Secrets.

Besides, while the Basilisk was terrifying to students, it was not an especially difficult opponent for well-prepared adult wizards... especially not for Hogwarts's teachers, most of whom were far from ordinary adult wizards.

However, Professor McGonagall's words gave him an important piece of information... She had only mentioned the destruction of "Slytherin's monster," never "Slytherin's Heir."

In other words, Tom Riddle's diary had probably not been destroyed.

That raised the question: who had the diary?

First, one wrong answer could be ruled out. It definitely was not with Ginny Weasley.

Could it be with Harry Potter, just like in the original story?

Then who had carried out the attack on Percy and Penelope?

The possibility of it being with Harry Potter seemed rather unlikely!

He did not believe Voldemort could control The Boy Who Lived to open the Chamber of Secrets and launch attacks in broad daylight.

But since the Basilisk had been destroyed and Dumbledore had returned... no matter who possessed the diary, Tom Riddle probably could not run rampant so easily anymore. Moreover, Dumbledore, who was skilled in Legilimency, surely already knew of the diary's existence. Finding it was only a matter of time.

Professor McGonagall continued explaining the changes to the school rules:

For example, the curfew and the ban on clubs had been abolished.

Everyone was also asked to write to the students who had left school as soon as possible, urging them to return and continue their studies.

The rule requiring teachers to accompany students to class and meals had also been removed.

Two wizards arrived before the gates of Hogwarts.

One was a huge, burly giant, while the other was a thin old man.

"Professor... Dumbledore..." Rubeus Hagrid wiped away his tears, crying like an eight-hundred-pound child. "So Slytherin's monster was..."

"A Basilisk. Its gaze is capable of inflicting fatal harm." Dumbledore smiled faintly as he explained, "It is the natural enemy of spiders. You see, spiders have eyes all over their bodies, facing in every direction, and they cannot close them... That is why your friend did not even dare speak its name."

"So... the Heir... was actually Tom... I always thought he was my best friend from my school days..." Hagrid continued to sob. "Harry... how is Harry?"

"Just a minor injury..." Dumbledore continued smiling. "You know, these old bones of mine are getting less reliable by the day. I actually failed to hold onto my wand properly during the battle..."

"Fortunately, Harry was there. At the most dangerous moment, he drew a sword from the Sorting Hat and delivered a fatal blow to that monster!"

The Headmaster stopped speaking. A flash of blue light darted across his half-moon spectacles as he glanced at the uninvited guest who had suddenly appeared before them. "Good morning, Lucius!"

"Good?" Lucius Malfoy fixed Dumbledore with cold eyes. "You actually came back, Dumbledore... The Board of Directors suspended you from your duties, yet you returned to Hogwarts on your own initiative."

"Oh, you see, Lucius," Dumbledore said with a calm smile, "the other eleven members of the Board of Directors contacted me yesterday afternoon... Owls arrived one after another. Such a bother... They told me something strange: some of them seemed to believe that you had threatened them, saying that if they did not agree to suspend me, they would become enemies of the Malfoy family forever."

"What about the attacks?" Lucius Malfoy said viciously. "Did you resolve them?"

"Of course!" Dumbledore waved a hand. "It was the same person as last time, Lucius... Voldemort used his diary to summon a Basilisk, and we have destroyed it."

"Hmph!" Lucius Malfoy frowned, let out a cold snort, and strode away.

There have been quite a few things to deal with during Spring Festival, so the updates may be a little sparse. Please forgive me.

Also, thank you to adgjlouteq, Li Surname Guest, Dark Disciple, Divine Doctor Medicine King Poison Immortal, DeathHonour, startless, zxh1973, Doudou's Pengpeng, and Time-Space Traveler for their donations over the past few days.