Veratia, Be Careful of That Magical Margus

Harry's heart skipped a beat.

His intuition told him that he should answer this question carefully, otherwise...

I don't know if it's just my imagination, but I always feel like if Veratia gets angry, the consequences will be more serious than for Hermione.

Professor Rackham had a suppressed laugh on his face, as if he was enjoying the show, while Professor Rackham was quickly giving Harry meaningful glances, trying to make Harry understand the importance of the matter.

"Oh, I broke it." Harry answered quickly and truthfully, "Back at the Leaky Cauldron, she said she didn't like bitter things and preferred sweet ones, so I broke off a piece of chocolate for her, and then I put the rest in my wallet and forgot about it."

"Then why did you suddenly remember it again?" Veratia asked, her eyes narrowed, her tone extremely dangerous.

"Hermione brought Ron his medicine, but Ron didn't know how to take it, so he chewed it." Harry didn't know why he was explaining, but his intuition told him he had to explain properly. "The pills are meant to be swallowed with water. If you chew them, they'll be very bitter. I remembered I had a piece of chocolate, the Pabbie said was very sweet."

"After Ron ate it, he found it very bitter, and you'll know what happened next..."

"Oh, I see." Veratia awkwardly turned her face away. "Sorry, Harry, I'm just a portrait. I've been in this godforsaken place for far too long, so I sometimes overreact..."

At the same time, she was secretly determined to succeed.

Ah, foolish Gale...

They took my Angel Feather, almost causing me to lose the most important material!

I can't even imagine what would have happened if, because of the lack of something like this, I had been stuck in Slytherin's Study, and Pabbie had gotten there first...

You just wait here in Nurmengard! I'm going to teach you a lesson!

"I understand," Harry nodded in agreement. "If I were to stay in this... well, a place where even Fawkes wouldn't come in to poop for a hundred years, I'd probably go crazy— Fawkes is Professor Dumbledore's Phoenix."

"Yes." Veratia's dangerous gaze vanished, and she turned to smile gently. "Harry, you're always so understanding."

Harry scratched his head happily after being praised by Veratia, ignoring the strange look in Veratia's expression earlier.

The three professors exchanged glances and all sighed inwardly.

Poor Harry, because of her...

"Yeah, I think I'm pretty understanding too—" Harry said, "But I'm still a little worried about what's going on with Pabbie. Why does she say bitter chocolate is sweet?"

A silence fell over the Map Chamber.

Veratia thought for a moment, then looked up and said, "Perhaps it's a problem with the magical Margus —I remember the book emphasized that trying to use Animagus to become Magical Creatures would cause unknown consequences... I think it's definitely not as simple as not being able to revert to her original form; she must be hiding something from you."

"Hidden?" Harry asked, puzzled. "Hidden what?"

"I don't know," Veratia said succinctly. "I can't judge her condition without seeing her in person."

"Fine." Harry had no choice but to accept it.

He suddenly remembered the cold voice on the way to the Map Chamber, and asked again, "Oh, right, there's one more thing."

"Go ahead," Veratia nodded.

"Lately, I keep hearing cold sounds," Harry said after a moment's thought. "They seem to be coming from inside the walls, and from the ceiling... the sound seems to travel through the walls..."

"Walking through walls?" Veratia was stunned. "Could it be a ghost? Generally speaking, only ghosts could do that, right?"

Harry quickly denied it, saying, "No, it's not a ghost. I heard that voice in Professor Lockhart's office earlier, but Professor Lockhart didn't hear it..."

Not a ghost?

Veratia frowned and asked, "Could it be that he really didn't hear us?"

"Impossible!" Harry quickly denied. "That sound was so loud, I don't believe Professor Lockhart couldn't hear it..."

He suddenly remembered Filch's cat and said, "Oh right, I heard that sound last semester too, and after that, I found out that Filch's cat had been petrified."

A silence fell over the Map Chamber.

"Harry," Headmaster Fitzgerald began, "You mean you can hear that sound, but the others with you can't, right?"

"Yes, Professor," Harry nodded.

"In that case, why don't you tell me what you heard?" Headmaster Fitzgerald said.

Harry frowned, recalling the scene, and said, "I heard that voice saying... something about killing, craving blood, Purification the school..."

"Purification the school?!" Veratia immediately realized what she was seeing. She exclaimed in astonishment, "Harry, that voice... could it be a monster Slytherin has raised?"

"A monster raised by Slytherin?" the professors and Harry asked together.

Harry felt that the "monster" Veratia mentioned sounded familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen it before.

Hearing their questions, Veratia explained, "Harry, do you remember when we went to Slytherin's Study, we found a letter left behind by Slytherin himself on the desk—if I remember correctly, the last paragraph was..."

"Next, I will put that creature into a state of slumber until someone who shares my views Awakening it—that chosen offspring will reverse the sins committed by others unintentionally. Those who are not worthy will only tarnish my legacy, while my offspring will bear the heavy responsibility of Purification Hogwarts."

After he finished speaking, the Chamber of Secrets fell silent once again.

Professor Rackham said, "The problem is, what exactly are the creatures left behind by Slytherin? Slytherin existed a thousand years ago. Generally speaking, very few creatures can live for a thousand years, right?"

"Harry," Headmaster Fitzgerald said again, seemingly having guessed, "Think carefully back to the sound you heard, and try to imitate it..."

Harry tried to recall that cold voice, closing his eyes and attempting to imitate it.

"[Parseltongue] I'll kill you, I crave slaughter... I want to Purification the school..." he hissed, like a venomous snake.

"I remember now," Veratia said with a sudden realization. "You're Parseltongue, Harry —remember, Ominis Gaunt once suspected you had Gaunt family blood because you spoke Parseltongue outside Slytherin's Study."

"Yes, Slytherin himself is a Parseltongue," Headmaster Fitzgerald said. "So the truth is clear—the voice you spoke was Parseltongue voice... and as far as I know, there are no Parseltongue ghosts at Hogwarts, so... this voice, if I'm not mistaken, came from a snake-like creature, perhaps the 'creature' mentioned in the letter."

"As far as I know," Professor Rackham said, "There is a type of snake whose natural lifespan is about nine hundred years—and it is clear that falling into a deep sleep can make them live even longer."

"You mean, the Basilisk?!" Professor Rackham asked, frowning. "That's terrible. Looking into the eyes of Basilisk can kill you—and that unfortunate cat you mentioned was probably Basilisk by it... As far as I know, if you see the Basilisk 'Basilisk eyes indirectly, such as through a mirror or its reflection in water, it won't kill you, but it will severely petrify you."

"That's it!" Harry slapped his hand. "I know! Colin Creevey was petrified by the Basilisk —he was holding a camera when he was petrified, probably trying to take a picture of it... He looked at the Basilisk Basilisk the camera's aperture, not directly into its eyes, so he was only petrified, not killed..."

"This is truly wonderful news," he said with a smile. "I've been searching for traces of the Basilisk for months, and I was even considering taking the advice to go to Greece to look for Basilisk, but I never imagined that there would be Basilisk right here in Hogwarts Castle..."

"Harry," Veratia said seriously, "This is not a good thing. The Basilisk is a Level 5X magical creature. I hope you will not be careless and must be careful. Also, do you remember what Slytherin said? 'His offspring will shoulder the heavy responsibility.' This means that the sudden appearance of the Basilisk is due to the manipulation of Slytherin's descendants. In other words, you may be facing not only the Basilisk, but also the Slytherin Basilisk who are controlling it."

"Yes, Veratia." Harry nodded quickly. "After I go out, I'll ask Miss Farley, the Slytherin Prefect, if there are any people with the surname Gaunt in Slytherin House now."

Miss Farley?

Veratia wrote down the name.

"It's not just people with the surname Gaunt; we also need to investigate those whose mothers come from the Gaunt family," Veratia said softly. "Even if the mother's surname Gaunt, Parseltongue can still be passed on to the child."

"I've got it, Veratia," Harry said.

"But..."

Veratia hesitated for a moment, then said again, "I still suggest you seek Dumbledore's help. After all, he's over a hundred years old and has been at Hogwarts for so many years. He should know the castle very well... Even if he doesn't know the location of the Basilisk, he can still keep you out of danger when you subdue Basilisk."

Harry wanted to refuse, but seeing Veratia's concerned eyes and thinking about the danger the school was facing, he swallowed his words.

"Good."

"But you have a good memory," Harry said again. "It's been a hundred years, and you still remember that letter we saw in Slytherin Study."

"My memory has always been very good, Harry," Veratia said gently.

"Alright, now that we know the truth, I think I should head back," Harry said to Veratia. "Time is of the essence; I should inform Professor Dumbledore immediately and tell him about the danger facing the school."

"Um."

Watching Harry leave the Map Chamber, Professor Rackham suddenly said, "Miss Grindelwald, why... did you conceal the truth?"

"What fact?" Veratia asked.

"We all know you're not a real portrait, but a spirit form—and you can return to Slytherin's Study at any time... You probably know that note by heart, right?"

The chubby Professor Rackham adjusted his hat, looking as if he had already seen through everything.

"Nobody likes a smart egg, Charles," Headmaster Fitzgerald's sarcasm was as sharp as ever.

Professor Rackham's chubby face twitched a couple of times as he was being criticized. He wanted to retort, but he held back.

He was good at verbal sparring, but not so good at debating with Headmaster Fitzgerald —because Headmaster Fitzgerald would teach him a lesson with his fists. "Eloquence is silver, silence is golden."

"Oh, it's best if only I know this." Veratia chuckled softly. "Sharing pain only makes both of us suffer; while sharing joy makes both of us happy. I'd rather share joy with Harry than let him suffer with me—I'd rather Harry be happy when he's with me than share my depression."

"Have you considered what will happen when Harry gathers all the materials and rescues you from the study, and the portrait in the Map Chamber disappears?" Professor Rackham asked. "How will you explain that then?"

Veratia fell silent.

"It's alright," she said. "I have a way."

"You'd better be," Professor Rackham said. "Don't let that bespectacled boy's soft-spoken manner fool you; he's got a lot of ideas in his head."

"Don't worry, Professor Rackham," Veratia said softly. "Thank you."

Professor Rackham waved his hand dismissively.

"And that magical Margus," Professor Rackham added, "I think she should be your rival. Good heavens, the three of us have watched you and Harry grow up. You two are like our own children. I don't want you to be poached by that magical Margus."

"Yes, the Map Chamber can't withstand another destruction by you," Professor Rackham said with lingering fear. "You've already destroyed the Luke Wood family's castle, and now the Map Chamber is the only place I can stay."

"It's not a bad thing to show weakness to men appropriately, Veratia," Headmaster Fitzgerald commented sharply. "I'm not speaking to you as a professor, but as someone who's been there, to impart some experience—some women are good at showing weakness, using men's sympathy and guilt to win their hearts... But you don't seem to be good at showing weakness. You always appear in front of Harry with the strongest image, which is not good, not good at all."

(Sorry, there was a power outage from 10 AM to 4 PM today. It's been Blizzard in Heilongjiang recently...)

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