Stirring Hearts and Minds

After settling the petrified Nearly Headless Nick, Loren, Hermione, and Ron returned to the common room to find Harry already seated by the window. The other young wizards kept their distance, afraid that getting too close would turn Harry to stone.

The three of them rushed over and sat down next to him. Seeing that he seemed a little dazed, Hermione slowed her pace and asked, "Harry, did Headmaster Dumbledore say something?"

Harry snapped out of his daze, scratched his head, and hesitated for a moment before saying, "At first, Professor McGonagall made me wait outside the door, and she went in first and gave Headmaster Dumbledore a piece of her mind."

"Huh?" Hermione and Ron's faces were full of surprise.

"Ha!" Loren's face was full of schadenfreude, and he even felt a little regretful for not having witnessed that scene.

"Then what?"

"Then..." Harry began to recount what happened behind the Headmaster's office, about Fawkes at Nirvana, about what he saw in the Pensieve about the Chamber of Secrets incident 50 years ago. For some secret reason, he concealed his conversation with the Sorting Hat.

Harry recalled the vision he had seen in the Pensieve, "Remember what Rolf told us? Hagrid was expelled from school because of the Chamber of Secrets incident 50 years ago when his wand was broken."

Ron started chattering restlessly. "Didn't we talk about it? Hagrid may like those big, furry guys, but he certainly didn't release the Basilisk."

"Let me finish." Harry's eyes were fixed on Ron. "Moaning Myrtle was a victim of the Chamber of Secrets 50 years ago, but she had no idea what monster killed her. When Hogwarts was about to close for investigation, a student named Tom Riddle discovered Hagrid's Acromantula. The Ministry of Magic quickly got the news and expelled Hagrid and the Acromantula from the school."

Harry licked his lips, paused, and continued, "Professor Dumbledore thought the case was closed too quickly and that the evidence was insufficient, so he protected Hagrid despite everyone's pressure. However, I noticed something strange in my memory."

"What strange place?" Hermione asked.

Harry glanced around and lowered his voice. "Dumbledore's attitude toward that Tom Riddle is strange. He doesn't trust Riddle at all and seems to be wary of him. I've never seen Dumbledore like that before. You know, he's always all smiles and friendly."

From the moment Tom Riddle's name was mentioned, Ron lowered his head as if recalling something. He suddenly said, "Tom Riddle... he was a Slytherin student. I've seen that name before. Last time I was put in solitary confinement, Filch made me wipe the trophies in the Prefects' bathroom as punishment. Riddle received Special Contribution Award to the school fifty years ago."

"So, he's a good student. Then why would Headmaster Dumbledore be wary of a good student?" Hermione wondered.

"Listen to me," Loren, who had been listening for a while, spoke up, drawing everyone's attention. "You all believe that Hagrid had nothing to do with the Chamber of Secrets mystery from fifty years ago, right?"

Although somewhat hesitant, the group nodded in agreement.

"Assuming, just assuming. If Hagrid and Headmaster Dumbledore are good people, then—" Loren guided their thoughts.

"Tom Riddle is a bad guy!" Harry realized instantly. He slammed his hand on the table and fluently rattled off a series of deductions. "He's framing Hagrid. Professor Dumbledore may have seen through his scheme, but Riddle has always been wary of Professor Dumbledore, preventing him from finding any evidence."

Ron added, "That's right! So he exposed Hagrid's keeping of the Acromantula and quickly relayed the information to the Ministry of Magic."

"So, it's very likely that he released the Basilisk from the Chamber of Secrets of Secrets. To prevent Hogwarts from being shut down and to continue hiding himself, he used Hagrid as a scapegoat." Hermione's face was a little pale.

Yes, that's it.

Loren nodded in satisfaction; he was a perfect guiding NPC.

"But he graduated fifty years ago, and there's no faculty or staff member at the school named Tom Riddle. So who opened the Chamber of Secrets this time?" Harry asked, somewhat bewildered.

"Perhaps he passed down the location of the Chamber of Secrets and how to open Chamber of Secrets," Hermione said, pumping her fist. "What we need to do now is find that guy named Tom Riddle."

"He's from Slytherin House. Malfoy might have a lead on him."

"The Polyjuice Potion is almost finished."

As news of Justin's and the Nearly Headless Nick's deaths spread, the young wizards at Hogwarts were once again gripped by fear, even more so than the previous two times.

The Castle professors began taking turns escorting students to class and standing guard all night, doing their utmost to ensure the students' safety. Even George and Fred couldn't find an opportunity to go out at night anymore.

The young wizards had their own ways of doing things. During this time, they secretly exchanged Protective Charm, exorcism items, and other protective toys, keeping it a secret from the professor. This practice quickly became popular throughout the school.

Neville, clutching a sharp amethyst in his fingers, was stuffing a stinking, large green onion into the base of his four-poster bed, where a rotting salamander tail hung at the head of the bed.

Harry's bed was very close to his, and he felt as if his nose and brain were being attacked by some kind of evil Dark Arts. "Oh, Neville, do you want to turn yourself into Quirrell?"

Neville wrinkled his nose, also somewhat disgusted by these things. "Harry, I trust you. I'm not being wary of you. It's just that I'm afraid of being petrified. I can't lie in the Hospital Wing. I'm going to St Mungo's Sanatorium to visit my mom and dad during the Christmas holidays."

Ron and Seamus chuckled at his words, climbed onto Neville's bed, and hooked their arms around his shoulders. "You don't need to worry at all. You're Pure-blood; the Heir of Slytherin won't attack you."

Neville was still uneasy. "But they tried to target Filch from the very beginning, and you know, I was practically a Muggle-born."

"Hey! Neville, you're different now. You're not the Neville you used to be." Loren lay on the bed, admiring himself in the Bloody Mary's Mirror. "Remember? You could beat Crabbe, you could wield the Giant Serpent like a whip, and everyone recognized you as Champion of Gryffindor."

Speaking of this, Seamus became envious. "Yes, I'm the only one in the whole dorm who isn't Champion, ah—"

Seamus rolled, crawled, howled, and wriggled on Neville's bed...

It looks scary.

With their comforting words, Neville gradually calmed down and threw all sorts of things off the bed, including Onion Head, Newt Tail, and Seamus, who was visibly jealous.

On Friday, the announcement for the fourth Duel Club event was posted, and the bulletin board was crowded with young wizards eager to protect themselves.

"The instructors are Professor McGonagall and Professor Sprout! Lockhart's name isn't on the list!" Lee Jordan, who had squeezed to the front row, loudly read out the announcement. "This event will demonstrate to all students how magical plants are used in duels..."

Ron could hardly hide the excitement on his face. "Great! The headmaster and Professor McGonagall must have seen through Lockhart's true colors. We don't have to endure this disgusting live-action play anymore!"

After the Cornish Pixies wreaked havoc in Defense Against the Dark Arts, Lockhart stopped conducting physical exercises in class, turning the Defense Against the Dark Arts into a live-action drama of Lockhart's exciting adventures, much to the disgust of the young wizards.

Harry has played all sorts of bizarre and wonderful roles, from a Romania villager to a Himalayan Yeti, a vegetarian Vampire, and a reformed Werewolf...

"Professor McGonagall will also be playing. Will she use Animagus?" Neville asked.

"Professor McGonagall didn't use Animagus when she demonstrated the application of Transfiguration in duels. Perhaps Animagus isn't a suitable magic for duels," a young wizard nearby speculated.

"By the way, how's your Animagus class exam preparation going? Professor McGonagall said the exams will be held after you return to school for the Christmas holidays," the young wizard asked Neville.

Neville wasn't very confident. "I don't know, there are still many things I don't understand..."

In a corner of the lounge, Hermione and Loren exchanged a glance and sighed helplessly.

Hermione put down her notebook, her voice soft and slightly coquettish. "I really want to participate in the Duel Club activities too!"

Loren patted her shoulder comfortingly, "It's understandable that Harry can't participate; consider it a way of comforting him. There will be other events in the future, and we'll definitely be able to participate next time..."

"Oh~"

On the day of the Duel Club's fourth event, almost all the young wizards arrived an hour early and crowded into the Great Hall to try and get a good spot in the front row.

Harry and Ron took the opportunity to slip out of the Castle and go to Hagrid to ask about clues about the Chamber of Secrets incident.

Loren and Hermione stayed in Myrtle's Bathroom, tending to the Polyjuice Potion. Loren was getting a little bored and decided to go back to his dorm to get some snacks to pass the time.

As he stepped out of the bathroom and onto the stairs, he encountered Lockhart at the corner of the stairs.

"Hey, Loren!"

Upon seeing Loren, Lockhart's gloomy face broke into a bright smile. "Look what I found out! You didn't participate in the Duel Club activities. It seems you also think the Duel Club isn't exciting enough without me, right?"

From the moment he entered the school until now, he has always had a good impression of this little wizard, and now that good impression has only intensified.

Loren silently complained to himself, "Don't you know whether it's attractive or not... Apart from us few, all the junior wizards in the school should be participating in the club's activities."

"Hello, Professor Lockhart." Loren nodded, trying to get through to him and leave as soon as possible.

Lockhart grabbed him. "A clever and insightful little wizard deserves a reward. I'm going to show you something even more exciting—yes, that's right, the manuscript of my new book."

Upon hearing about the manuscript of the new book, Loren recalled what Lockhart had mentioned about Grandpa Bates, suppressed his urge to refuse, and let Lockhart lead him to the office.

Throughout the journey, Lockhart incessantly complained about the professors' ostracism and Dumbledore's unfair treatment of him:

"I only mentioned that I was confident I could find out the location of the Chamber of Secrets, Sprout kept pressing me for details. What I really meant was that I had done similar puzzle-solving expeditions before, in the snowy mountains of the Himalayas, where I was looking for a hidden Eastern Magic Academy. You know, that was easy for me."

"Also, when I said I was confident I could find the monster in the locked Chamber of Secrets, Professor Flitwick kept pressing me for answers. They didn't understand what I meant at all. What I meant was that if I found the Chamber of Secrets Chamber of Secrets, I could easily deduce what the monster was based on the traces found Chamber of Secrets..."

"You know I don't mind at all; in fact, I'm looking forward to fighting monsters. It's just that there are too many young wizards in the school, and wizards like you are too weak. If I were to fight a monster in the Castle, many of you would get hurt..."

Lockhart kept muttering to himself, while Loren remained silent. As they talked, the two entered the office and sat down at their desks.

The desks and chairs in the office were still the same as before, with a huge floor-length mirror standing next to the desk, and a strange shampoo smell permeating the air. Portraits and photos of Lockhart were displayed everywhere on the walls and bookshelves, all of them wearing bright smiles.

"Of all the young wizards in the school, I only want to share the joy of my newly completed book with you. Although there are still some parts that need revision, I believe you can learn a lot of useful things from it." Lockhart sat opposite Loren and handed over a stack of manuscript papers. His face was beaming with excitement and an eager smile; his desire to show off was practically written all over his face, as if giving someone else a copy of the manuscript beforehand was some extraordinary honor.

Loren didn't want to read the self-aggrandizing content; he only wanted to know the part about Werewolf: "Professor Lockhart..."

He was quickly interrupted. The setbacks and pressure of the past few days made Lockhart eager to present his grand plan. He couldn't contain his excitement, and with a flushed face, he explained with great enthusiasm:

"During the Christmas holidays, I plan to visit another bestselling author, Rita Skeeter. Have you heard of her? She's a master of another writing style, even more captivating than I am. I intend to persuade her to join me in promoting the stirring Muggle threat theory, along with terrifying Werewolf armies and the Muggle king's conspiracy..."

"With real information about Muggle Werewolf, many people will be willing to believe my claims. Perhaps I can use this to enter politics, get into the Ministry of Magic, and if things go well, I might even become Minister for Magic in a few years!" Lockhart trembled with excitement.

Loren remained silent. If Lockhart had done what he did, Grandpa Bates ' information would have been exposed, and he would never have peace for the rest of his life.

Although he wanted to deal with Lockhart now, that would leave a trace and cause trouble. What he needed to do now was to keep him calm and get him involved in the Basilisk affair...

He looked up at Lockhart, a strange light flickering in his eyes. Loren said softly, "Professor Lockhart, do you know that Headmaster Dumbledore plans to search the Chamber of Secrets during the Christmas holidays and capture the monster Chamber of Secrets?"

Lockhart paused for a moment. "Really? They didn't tell me."

"Yes, I think you, Professor, could also be involved. Perhaps another exciting adventure could be added to your book." Loren's voice was soft, but every word entered Lockhart's mind.