A Fierce Bout of Analysis (2)

A few minutes later, Albert appeared near the Hunting Cabin. Hagrid, who was pouring food from the pot into Fang's bowl, heard the approaching footsteps, looked up in the direction of the sound, smiled and greeted Albert, inviting him in for tea.

"Hagrid, do you know what happened in the castle last night?" Albert asked bluntly.

"What is it?" Hagrid picked up the large teapot, poured Albert a cup of amber tea, and then brought over a large plate of his own baked Rock Cake and placed them in front of Albert.

"Filch's cat has been petrified?" Albert looked up and carefully observed the changes in Hagrid's expression.

"Who did it?" Hagrid asked, raising an eyebrow.

"The Heir of Slytherin." Albert put down his teacup and stared at Hagrid. "That fellow also left a note on the wall: The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Beware of those who oppose the heir."

Hagrid was stunned by what he heard, and his expression became somewhat complicated, as if he was recalling some unpleasant past events.

"Hagrid, how much do you know about the Chamber of Secrets?" Albert picked up his teacup, took a small sip, and stared at Hagrid with sharp eyes, reminding him, "Don't be so quick to deny it. Your expression tells me that you know about it."

Hagrid fell silent, absentmindedly picking up a piece of Rock Cake and crunching it in his mouth, seemingly unwilling to discuss the matter.

"The Heir of Slytherin will unleash the monster from the Chamber of Secrets of Secrets to attack Muggle-born wizard in the school." Albert continued, seeing that Hagrid was unwilling to speak. "Filch's cat was merely a sacrifice used by the Heir of Slytherin. Next, other Muggle-born wizard will certainly be attacked, and I could very well be next."

In fact, Albert wasn't lying, because last night he found two rewarding new missions on his Task Panel: "The Heir of Slytherin in Desperate Survival has targeted you for an attack," and "An attack from a monster in Chamber of Secrets will threaten your life." He successfully escaped a deadly attack.

Reward: 10,000 experience points, 2 Skill Points.

Wrong decision

The Heir of Slytherin doesn't seem to intend to let you off the hook. In that case, make him understand that targeting you is the most foolish decision he's ever made. Use any means necessary to find the Heir of Slytherin and make him pay for his stupidity.

Reward: 10,000 experience points, and gain a specified skill.

A specific skill.

This is the most valuable mission reward Albert has ever encountered; he had been trying to earn the Special Contribution Award specifically for this mission reward.

This means he can directly control the creation of the Philosopher's Stone through this reward, or skip the tedious process to master the Animagus... There is a great deal of room for maneuver.

"We must find that damned Slytherin Heir as soon as possible and end this farce," Albert said righteously, as if he were enveloped in a holy light.

"Well, about fifty years ago, the Chamber of Secrets was opened. At that time, Hogwarts was attacked several times, and the school almost closed down because of it," Hagrid said hoarsely. "The professors thoroughly searched the entire castle, but still couldn't find the so-called Chamber of Secrets."

"Hagrid, how old are you?" Albert suddenly asked.

"Sixty-four? What's wrong?" Hagrid didn't understand why Albert was suddenly asking about his age.

"I remember you were expelled from school, right?" Albert squinted and continued to press.

Hagrid's expression turned grim, clearly realizing why Albert had asked him about his age.

"It wasn't me, it really wasn't me, and it wasn't Aragog. It didn't kill anyone, Aragog didn't kill anyone." Hagrid was a little agitated, and his tone rose a few decibels. "Back then, they said Aragog was the so-called monster in the Chamber of Secrets, and they even fired me because of it."

"Of course I know it wasn't you." Albert softened his tone, trying to calm Hagrid's agitated emotions. "The Acromantula can't petrify Filch's cat."

"But you don't know, back then, no one was willing to believe me except Dumbledore." Hagrid's eyes were a little red, as if he had suffered a great injustice.

"Tell me what you know!" Albert said, trying to calm Hagrid down while coaxing him into talking about his situation. "Don't refuse Hagrid. If this isn't resolved soon, you'll be in trouble too."

Hagrid was a little confused, clearly not understanding why Albert said he would be in trouble.

"That cat was just a sign. The monster from the Chamber of Secrets is still roaming the castle and will surely continue to attack the Muggle-born wizard." Albert looked into Hagrid's eyes and reminded him, "If people can't find the murderer, who do you think they will suspect first?"

"But Dumbledore ..."

"I know Dumbledore won't suspect you, but that won't help," Albert coldly pointed out. "If the attacks continue, the Ministry of Magic will find a scapegoat, and you will certainly be suspected, even thrown into Azkaban. Then the Ministry of Magic will be able to tell everyone else that they've caught the killer."

Hagrid was stunned after hearing Albert's words.

"Don't doubt me, Hagrid. Politics is such a dirty thing. Even though they know it won't help, you'll definitely get dragged down with it."

"How could they do this?" he murmured.

"Of course they could do that, otherwise you wouldn't have been fired back then," Albert sneered. "Although I don't know what happened back then, the general situation isn't hard to guess. You, you must have kept the Acromantula in the castle, and when it was discovered, you let it escape, right!"

"But why..."

"Why would you care so much about this?" Albert finished Hagrid's sentence for him. "Don't forget, Hagrid, I'm Muggle-born wizard, and I have a big reputation at school. To the Slytherin Heir, who hates Muggle-born wizard, I'm his most hated guy, a thorn in his side. That was destined from the start. Honestly, if I were him, the first person I'd attack would naturally be me, the one he hates. At the very least, I'd definitely be at the top of the Slytherin Heir's 'purification list.'"

"For my own safety, I definitely have to strike first," Albert said matter-of-factly. His dedication, even going against his initial principle of keeping a low profile, wasn't just about the mission and experience; it was because he couldn't escape it from the start, and sometimes having too much fame can be a burden.

Therefore, Albert plans to trigger as many panel quests as possible, collect as many quests and rewards as possible, and then, with Dumbledore's help, completely erase Tom Riddle's diary.

He will never give up on a specific skill.

For Albert, tens of thousands of experience points or one or two Skill Points are not as important as having a specific skill.

"Alright." Hagrid hesitated for a moment before beginning to recount the events of the past. "It was probably when I was in my third year. Well, that is, about fifty years ago, around this time, there were several terrible Muggle attacks at Hogwarts. At that time, everyone was saying that the Chamber of Secrets had been reopened. Later, people died, and someone accused me, saying that I was the murderer. So everyone regarded me as the murderer and I was expelled from school."

"Who exposed you as the murderer?" Albert pressed.

"It seems to be named Tom," Hagrid finally confirmed. "Tom Riddle, yes, that's the guy."

"I see. That's probably why Tom Riddle received the Special Contribution Award." Albert nodded, noticing Hagrid's puzzled look, and casually explained, "I've seen that name in the Trophy Room on the fourth floor."

"Oh." Perhaps mentioning this name made Hagrid's mood even worse.

"What kind of person is Tom Riddle?" Albert suddenly asked again. "Is he a student at Slytherin?"

"How did you know?" Hagrid, a little curious about how Albert knew.

"Any other clues?" Albert continued. "Do you know of any monsters that can petrify cats?"

"I don't know," Hagrid shook his head. "However, Aragog might know. It seemed terrified of the monsters in the castle and even begged me to let it leave more than once. I asked Aragog many times, but it never told me what the monsters in Slytherin were."

"Hmm, the range has shrunk considerably. There aren't many creatures that can frighten the Acromantula."

"So you know what the monster in the Chamber of Secrets is?" Hagrid couldn't help but ask.

"I don't know, but it's not hard to find out. I just need to look up what the Acromantula's natural enemies are, and I can probably guess what the monster in the Chamber of Secrets is." Albert quickly took notes, and didn't forget to explain to Hagrid when he had a moment.

"You're really amazing."

Hagrid stared at Albert in disbelief, and after a long while, he finally managed to utter this sentence.

"Any other clues?" Albert asked after thinking for a moment. "Who died back then?"

"I don't remember," Hagrid said, trying to recall, then shook his head. "It was a Ravenclaw Muggle girl, I think."

"Where did she die?" Albert continued to ask.

"The good stuff happened in a bathroom," Hagrid said. "What did you find?"

"If it's the natural enemy of the Acromantula, it means the monster is very large. Otherwise, how could it become the natural enemy of those large spiders?" Albert pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses and analyzed, "A monster like that wouldn't be able to roam openly in the corridor."

"You make a good point." Hagrid nodded, thinking that Albert was very capable. If the Hogwarts professors back then had been as capable as Albert, perhaps he wouldn't have been wrongly expelled.

"Hagrid, I'm going back now." Albert finished his tea and walked to the door, then turned back to Hagrid and said, "If anyone asks you about this, don't tell them, especially Harry Potter. They can't keep their mouths shut. Well, if you want to, you can go to Dumbledore and tell him about our conversation today. It might not have much effect, but the headmaster will definitely think about it carefully. I think he should be able to guess what the monster in the Chamber of Secrets of Secrets is. I need to go to the library first."

"You'll catch him, right!"

"Of course, I will find that damned Slytherin Heir and, while I'm at it, clear your name and restore your reputation," Albert and said.

The Task Panel was triggered again as he left Hagrid's Hut.

"Almost there," Albert murmured, gazing at the new task. "However, I really need to be careful this time. I wonder how much I can squeeze out of that diary after I succeed."