Snape was already surprised by the fact that Harry was Parseltongue, and he was even more surprised to see Vincent grabbing the snake by the neck.
"Smack—" The black snake's tail was lashed hard against the corner of the gilded stage.
It stretched its entire body straight, as if it were measuring something.
"Release it!" Lockhart exclaimed, his face filled with fear. "When I was adventuring in Southeast Asia, I heard from the locals that snakes—"
"If the snake stretches out its body, it means it's measuring whether it can swallow you whole," Vincent, pulling the black snake closer.
Justin and Neville quickly stepped back.
"It can't actually move."
They both shook their little heads like rattles.
Vincent raised his right hand and slammed the snake's tail hard against the corner again.
"You—" Snape's eyelids twitched wildly.
After two "snap" sounds, the black snake was no longer as active as it had been at the beginning.
Its mouth wasn't very open, and its taut body was trembling.
"Professor Snape, what were you trying to say?"
"No!" Snape said, his face expressionless.
Vincent smacked the snake's tail again and again.
As the smashing continued, the students gradually became numb.
Luna, her large eyes unblinking, whispered to Ginny, "Is Wayne a snake hunter?"
Ginny stiffly turned her neck and stared blankly at her. "Probably, I'm not really sure."
"Then he must have faced even more terrifying snakes."
Why are you so sure?
"I don't know." Luna's eyes sparkled with a peculiar light. "I just feel that's how it should be."
Ginny was speechless.
The more familiar she became with this quirky little girl, the less she could keep up with her thought process.
Hermione, who was not far away, looked over at them.
Vincent did indeed encounter a far more terrifying snake, a Basilisk that could fill an entire stairwell.
In comparison, this black snake was utterly intimidating.
Snake Hunter... that's actually a pretty good song.
After hitting it about ten times, Vincent stopped.
Because the snake's head was drooping, it looked like it was on the verge of death.
"Crisis averted." He tossed the black snake onto the stage, where it landed right at Draco's feet.
"Wayne— " Draco glared at him through gritted teeth.
"You're welcome," Vincent replied with a meaningful smile.
"That's... that's great!" Lockhart jumped off the stage in a panic.
"That's enough for today." He strode towards the Great Hall door.
The students all gave him disdainful looks as they bid him farewell.
He lacked real skills, and his luck was unpredictable.
If it weren't for a snake hunter, Justin might have...
Wait, Harry Parseltongue!
A student with the true Slytherin talent was assigned to Gryffindor?
If Salazar knew, he'd probably turn in his grave like some Muggle scientist.
Vincent listened to the students' whispers and couldn't help but feel relieved that the Chamber of Secrets incident was still being kept under wraps.
If you were to connect the two, Harry would only get caught in a vortex of doubt until he catches the one possessed by Voldemort.
He met Snape's complex, dark eyes, then turned and quietly left.
That person will definitely seize such a good opportunity to shift the blame.
Maybe tonight, on this lively evening.
Fred and George, Cedric and Rolf all seemed to sense something and followed him.
Hermione was with them the first time, was already discussing arrangements as they walked.
To deal with Basilisk, you must first avoid looking directly into its eyes.
Secondly, these large, highly defensive creatures are easier to deal with in confined spaces.
Finally, there's the scale, which has extremely high magic resistance and can withstand Orichalcum Bullet.
Dark lenses can barely block its vision if one is not careful, and the Transfiguration performed by six people together can also narrow the range of movement.
But to cause any real harm, only the weapon in the Headmaster's Office would suffice.
Vincent stood in front of the gargoyle stone beast and recited a long string of commands.
He was right when the other four arrived.
"Isn't Mithril the same as silver iron?" Fred walked into the separated stone wall.
"They're different," Hermione explained to them, giving them a simple explanation of the differences.
According to Vincent's notebook, the silver iron forged by the Goblin is fundamentally different from the Mithril produced by Alchemy.
"Each has its own advantages and disadvantages in terms of form, but if you want to cause substantial damage to the Basilisk, you need to use one with higher hardness."
Vincent nodded slightly to her, then reached past Fred and gently knocked on the Headmaster's Office door.
"Professor Dumbledore, are you there?"
Cedric looked at Hermione with a particularly strange expression. "Ever since you started learning Alchemy, I've noticed you're almost turning into another Vincent Wayne."
"Me too." George pounded on the door twice.
She looked at Rolf, and after receiving a nod, she squinted her eyes.
If I learned it from my notes, how could it be different?
"Professor, I'm coming in." Vincent turned the handle, pushed the door open, and went inside.
It was pitch black inside, with only a small candle burning.
He glanced at Fawkes's empty perch. "The professor must have gone out."
Hermione lit her wand. "Infiltrate the Headmaster's Office and take the precious Sword of Gryffindor..."
"What's wrong?" Fred pursed his lips at her. "As long as we return the sword before Professor Dumbledore comes back, we haven't been here at all."
Vincent walked up to the shelf and greeted the Sorting Hat, "Mr. Hat, can you keep our secret?"
The Sorting Hat grinned widely. "Of course not."
Its hat pointed behind his head.
He turned to look at the portraits of the snoring headmaster and said, "Mr. Hat, you've been kidnapped."
"Oh—please don't hurt me!"
"I promise," Vincent, putting on the Sorting Hat, "You will come back safe and sound."
The portrait of Phineas Black twitched its eyelids.
After a moment's thought, Hermione followed him out of the Headmaster's Office.
The remaining four stared at each other blankly, then followed suit and left.
"Mr. Hat, do you know about Chamber of Secrets?"
"Huh? Even you don't know the exact location?"
The Sorting Hat spoke volumes in Vincent's mind.
Throughout Hogwarts' nearly thousand-year history, the Chamber of Secrets has been opened once every hundred years or so.
But until that incident fifty years ago, no Muggle-born student had ever died.
"Moaning Myrtle Elizabeth Warren?" The Sorting Hat's voice rang out in realization:
"No wonder this poor girl doesn't remember how she died; it was all because of Salazar's baby Basilisk— "
"Baby Basilisk?"
Vincent suddenly stopped, and Hermione nearly bumped into him from behind.
"Mr. Hat, what happened next?"
His expression gradually relaxed.
The Sorting Hat says that Slytherin originally raised a group of "Basilisk babies," but for various reasons, only one of them ever survived.