Hermione: Meow Meow Meow?

After the two left, Loren knocked on the door of the washroom stall, suppressing a laugh as he called out, "They're gone, come out. We're going to the Hospital Wing to see Madam Pomfrey."

"Go away! No!" Hermione's voice was soft and delicate, like a kitten's fierce yet endearing tone, perhaps because her throat and vocal cords were also affected by the Polyjuice Potion.

Loren said in a low voice, "Come on, or when Moaning Myrtle comes back, this door won't be able to stop her."

Hermione fell silent, then thought for a moment. Moaning Myrtle could watch the male Prefect bathe for days on end; if she really saw her like this, she would surely be ridiculed.

Her voice softened, trembling with tears. "You, you promise you won't laugh at me."

Loren's lips curled up. No, he couldn't guarantee even a little bit. Just hearing her voice made him want to laugh, and he wanted to see more.

He took a deep breath, trying to control his expression, and said seriously, "Polyjuice Potion is a rather complex Potions. It's normal for some problems to arise during its use. I'm a semi-pharmalist, and I've read many related cases, so I certainly won't laugh."

Hermione was unaware that the people outside were already looking forward to Catgirl. She thought that Loren was really focused on the Potions problem, which made her feel much more at ease. After hesitating for a moment, she pushed open the door to the private room.

Looking up, I met Loren's bright, expectant eyes.

The Catgirl, about eleven or twelve years old, was small, with a round face and eyes. Soft Cat Hair covered her entire body, making her look very pettable. Her eyes had turned round and yellow, and her triangular ears drooped, tinged with a shy pink. Her tail peeked out from under her robe, dragging limply on the floor.

"That's a Cat Hair!" Hermione cried out pitifully. "Miriam, Millicent must have a cat! But, but Polyjuice Potion isn't for animal Transfiguration!"

Loren's fingers, dangling from his sleeves, twitched restlessly, each one screaming: Cute! I want to touch them!

He suppressed the urge to make a joke; if he said anything sarcastic now, he would definitely get a beating from Hermione in her Cat Form.

"There have been cases of Polyjuice Potion mistakenly using animal hair before, it's not a big problem," Loren reassured softly. He had indeed looked up relevant cases beforehand.

Hermione looked up, her round eyes sparkling like stars, gazing at him expectantly. "You'll recover soon, won't you?"

"No," Loren's words were cruel, "It will actually prolong the Transfiguration time of the Polyjuice Potion, and even with the intervention of Healer, it will take almost a month to recover."

Hermione stared wide-eyed in disbelief, her three pairs of playful whiskers trembling as if she were about to burst into tears.

"But that's a case from many years ago. Madam Pomfrey might have another way." Loren naturally reached out and touched Hermione's forehead, as if it were just a casual gesture of comfort, unless he scratched it with his fingers.

It's indeed soft and warm, with a fantastic feel!

Hermione, however, was still reeling from the shock and didn't notice. She stood there, dazed, as Loren led her out of the washroom and towards the Hospital Wing.

The Hospital Wing was on the Second Floor, and they knew the way well, so they arrived quickly.

Loren stepped forward and knocked on the door. "Madam Pomfrey, Madam Pomfrey!"

Strangely, the door to the Hospital Wing wasn't closed tightly, but rather ajar. Loren opened it with a light knock.

The creaking of the loose-leaf pages echoed in the quiet space, particularly noticeable.

Loren turned and exchanged a glance with Hermione, both of them looking puzzled. Madam Pomfrey was a meticulous and responsible Healer; she couldn't possibly have forgotten to close the door.

Loren took Hermione's fluffy paw and stepped into the Hospital Wing, moving cautiously inside.

The room was a mess; several white sheets were scattered haphazardly on the floor, and bottles and jars of medicine were knocked over. The patient who should have been lying in the bed was gone, and most importantly, the Healer in white coat was lying unconscious on the floor, looking disheveled.

The two quickly surrounded her. "Madam Pomfrey! Madam Pomfrey!"

"Damn it, why is it so hard to find the Slytherin House Common Room?"

"I thought it would be easy to find, but who knew the passageways below were like a maze!"

It took Harry and Ron a while to get back to the Gryffindor Tower to retrieve the Invisibility Cloak. Once inside the basement, they ran quickly through the maze-like passageways, trying to find the entrance to the Slytherin Common Room as soon as possible.

After more than ten minutes, there was still no result. They had never expected to encounter this problem and almost thought that today's operation was going to fail.

The two men clung to the wall, panting in frustration.

"I can't believe we failed for this reason." A sense of frustration rose in Harry's heart.

Ron looked around. "If only we could wait for a Slytherin, we could follow him into the Slytherin Common Room."

"Goyle has been taken down by us, and Malfoy is probably in the lounge. Are we just hoping for Crabbe, who's still nowhere to be seen?"

"Sigh, without Loren and Hermione, we can't get anything done."

Suddenly, abrupt footsteps echoed in the quiet underground passage.

Harry and Ron exchanged a glance, Ron quickly donned the Invisibility Cloak. Harry instinctively wanted to hide in the Invisibility Cloak as well, but then realized he was now Goyle of Slytherin, so he straightened his chest and stood there confidently.

At this point, only Slytherin members would be in the basement. Harry was secretly pleased. "If it's Crabbe, we'll ask him where the common room is. Goyle's a fool, it's normal that he can't remember the common room."

If it were Malfoy, that would be even better...

The footsteps grew closer, and when the man emerged from the shadows, Harry gasped in surprise. "Percy! What are you doing here!"

Percy looked strange, initially panicked, but quickly calmed down and retorted forcefully as if offended, "That's none of your business!"

"You must be Goyle," Percy said haughtily, adopting the air of Prefect. "Go back to your own dorm. It's not safe to wander around in the dark hallways lately."

"You're just wandering around aimlessly!"

"I'm a Prefect; nothing will attack me."

Harry looked at him suspiciously, paused, and tentatively said, "I... I forgot where the lounge is... and, and the password."

Percy squinted at "Goyle" in front of him, his penetrating gaze giving Harry a sense of pressure.

Yes, it's highly suspicious that a second-year wizard doesn't know where the lounge is.

Harry prayed that Goyle's usual foolish image would be so convincing that Percy wouldn't notice anything amiss.

A moment later, Percy turned and pointed to the corridor behind. "Go that way, and watch out for the snake pattern on the torch stands. The direction the snake's head points is the direction of the Slytherin Common Room— "

Harry was about to thank him when Percy looked at him and continued, "Today's password is, Glory."

That look made Harry almost think the Polyjuice Potion had failed. Harry braced himself, endured Percy's scrutinizing gaze, hurriedly thanked him, and ran away in a panic.

After turning several corners and confirming that Percy was no longer in sight, Ron excitedly ripped off his Invisibility Cloak and jumped up and down a few times. "He even knows the Slytherin password! He even knows the Slytherin password!"

Harry, confused, asked, "Isn't this something the Prefect should know?"

"Of course not, Harry," Ron said with a broad smile, proud of his brother. "Percy is definitely investigating the Heir of Slytherin, and may have even sneaked into the Slytherin Common Room!"

Harry was equally pleased, because it meant Percy didn't suspect him. "Let's go, we need to hurry."

The entrance to the Slytherin Common Room was hidden in the stone wall, and they would never have found it if it weren't for the snake heads on the two torches facing each other.

After giving the command, the stone door slowly opened, and "Goyle" and the invisible Ron strode in.

Slytherin Common Room was a long, narrow, low basement with rough stone walls and ceiling, and round, green-glowing lamps hanging from the ceiling by chains.

Beneath an intricately carved fireplace in front of them, a crackling fire illuminated Malfoy, who sat in the surrounding ornate chairs.

Malfoy was holding a large newspaper and flipping through it. It was dated yesterday, and the top of the page read— the Daily Prophet.

Harry glanced at the poster and saw a photo of two men shaking hands, both smiling broadly. The man on the left was Lucius Malfoy, and the man on the right was Cornelius Fudge, the Minister for Magic whom he had met earlier that day.

It says on it:

Malfoy helps the Ministry of Magic again

Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge met with the renowned philanthropist and gentleman... (a long list of titles) Lucius Malfoy. The Malfoy family will contribute funds to the Ministry of Magic's winter allowance for staff, Aurors equipment subsidies... and several other urgently needed funds for the Ministry of Magic ...

The Malfoy family will host a dinner for several Ministry of Magic officials during the Christmas holidays to discuss issues such as the long-term development of the England Wizarding World...

Damn it!

Lucius Malfoy is a member of the Board of Governors, and it must be him who colluded with that Cornelius Fudge to arrest Hagrid without any evidence.

Harry gritted his teeth, clenched his fist, and then let it fall back down.

Draco Malfoy placed the newspaper on his lap, looked up at Goyle, and frowned. "Why are you so late? Didn't I tell you to stay away from Crabbe? Have you two been hanging out together again?"

Harry remembered what Seamus had told him: many of the young wizards in Slytherin had recently felt that Crabbe was acting strangely, and it seemed to be true; even Malfoy and Goyle were distancing themselves from him.

Seeing that "Goyle" was stammering and unable to speak clearly, Malfoy frowned even more.

Harry didn't want to waste time on these things, so he asked hesitantly, "Yes, is there any news about the Chamber of Secrets of Secrets?"

The topic shift was too abrupt, and Malfoy felt uneasy. He looked closely at "Goyle" but couldn't see anything wrong, so he just assumed that Malfoy was being silly again.

He slammed the newspaper onto the small wooden table next to the carved chair. "I'm also surprised that the Daily Prophet hasn't reported on these attacks in two months. It really surprises me."

Malfoy continued thoughtfully, "I suspect Dumbledore wants to cover everything up. If he doesn't stop things from going on, he'll be fired. My father said the school reforms are an attempt to get rid of the Board of Board of Governors, Dumbledore wants to expand his power. First the school, then what? Ha, the Ministry of Magic. Dumbledore wants to be Minister for Magic."

Harry didn't think there was anything wrong with Dumbledore Minister for Magic; after all, he certainly wouldn't frame an innocent person for money.

Harry continued in Goyle's voice, "Who do you think will be the heir?"

Just then, Harry felt a sharp pain in his scar. Guided by some intuition, he turned his head. He saw Crabbe walking out from the direction of the dormitory. Harry felt a fleeting pain in the scar on his forehead.

He walked past them without even glancing at them, heading straight out of the common room. Harry noticed a bulge under his robes, as if he were carrying something.

Malfoy curled his lip and scoffed, "I didn't see him at all during dinner. I thought you were hanging out with him, hiding in some classroom eating something nice, but it turns out he was in the dorm the whole time."

Harry felt the pain subside and breathed a sigh of relief. He thought to himself, "No wonder they couldn't catch Crabbe; he hadn't even had dinner."

Ron was hiding nearby, almost screamed when he saw the lightning bolt-shaped scar on Goyle's head. He quickly grabbed Harry's sleeve and whispered in his ear, "It's time, let's go!"

Harry was startled and hurriedly ran outside, clutching his stomach, shouting, "My stomach hurts! I need to get some medicine for my stomach ache!"

"Get away from Crabbe! Do you hear me!" Malfoy shouted from behind.

Harry and Ron dashed across the Slytherin Common Room, bursting over the stone wall. Harry had completely transformed back into his original form. They watched Crabbe disappear around the corner ahead and simultaneously slowed their pace.

Harry said to the empty space, "My scar suddenly started hurting, it must be related to Voldemort."

Ron emerged from the Invisibility Cloak, looked in the direction Crabbe had disappeared, and said with a headache, "Could there really be a Voldemort hiding in the back of his head too?"

"Never mind, let's follow them and see." Harry said, reaching out to unfold the Invisibility Cloak, covering both of them, and pulling Ron along to chase after them.

Crabbe wasn't fast, at least not as fast as the two running, and Harry and Ron quickly caught up.

Strangely, Crabbe didn't head straight for the basement exit. Instead, he wandered around the corridor on the first basement level and eventually entered an inconspicuous room.

Just as Harry and Ron were debating whether to follow them in, Crabbe came out, with two stiff bodies floating behind him.

Ron immediately covered his mouth and Harry's mouth to stop them from screaming; their eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

It was Colin and Justin who were petrified!

How did they get here?

Are they dead?

Is Crabbe the heir to the Chamber of Secrets?

Countless questions flooded their minds. They exchanged a knowing glance and silently followed. Until they reached a place they knew all too well— Myrtle's Bathroom.

Crabbe stepped into the washroom and came to an ordinary sink. He stretched out his sleeve toward a brass faucet, and a thin black snake emerged from his sleeve, hissing at the faucet. "Turn it on."

The dragon head emitted a dazzling white light and began to spin rapidly. Then, the pool also began to move. They watched as the pool slowly disappeared from sight, revealing a very thick water pipe with an opening large enough for a person to crawl inside.