Farce

Katrina heard a noise coming from the door and looked up in confusion at Albert and Isobel, who were hurrying back to the Room of Requirement, wondering what the two of them were doing.

Albert ignored Katrina and took out a piece of parchment from his robe pocket, unfolding it to confirm Ginny Weasley's exact location.

If the Basilisk is released from the Chamber of Secrets, Ginny Weasley will definitely be near Basilisk.

However, things didn't go as Albert had expected. Ginny Weasley was in the Gryffindor Common Room, not wandering around Hogwarts Castle.

So, it was just a farce? Albert breathed a sigh of relief. After all, the Detection Orb was still just an experiment, so it wouldn't be surprising if something went wrong.

Isobel stared at the ink dots and footprints on the map in Albert's hand, lost in thought.

Then she saw Albert pull out another, more detailed map— the Marauder's Map she had seen before. Albert spread out the Marauder's Map and carefully examined the corridors around the Room of Requirement, but found no trace of any creature.

The absence of footprints does not mean there are no living things around.

At least, as far as Albert knows, but it seems that animals without names won't work; those spiders, rats, and cockroaches without names can't be displayed on the Marauder's Map.

Only pets like Filch's cat, or other students with named pets, will appear on the Marauder's Map.

Albert wasn't sure if the Basilisk even had a name of its own.

However, one thing is certain: Voldemort's diary cannot be displayed on the map. In some ways, Tom's state is worse than that of a ghost, or even the most lowly wandering spirit.

Albert didn't know if the Basilisk had a name, but seeing Ginny Weasley in the Common Room was enough to confirm that it was just a false alarm.

But why did the Detection Orb react just now? Albert turned his gaze back to the Detection Orb; its reaction had completely disappeared after entering the Room of Requirement.

"So it really was a misunderstanding?"

It's said that Peeping Mirror has a detection range of one mile in radius, while Pocket Sneakoscope shouldn't have such a wide range. The Detection Orb in his hand is purely a replica of Peeping Mirror; its range certainly isn't one mile, but it should be more than enough to cover the castle. So, that explains the situation just now? Hmm, if that's the case, then it makes sense.

Although Albert felt this was just wishful thinking, he couldn't find any other reasonable explanation at the moment.

In short, the fact that Ginny Weasley wasn't out and about did put his mind at ease.

Of course, there are other possibilities. Perhaps the Hogwarts Castle has a complex network of pipes, and the Basilisk was just moving around in one of them, appearing very close to Albert, and was simply spotted by the Detection Orb.

The entrance to the Chamber of Secrets is not only in the second-floor washroom.

Frankly, that's unlikely.

Otherwise, Tom wouldn't have been able to control Ginny Weasley to enter Chamber of Secrets through the Girls' Washroom entrance on the second floor, where Moaning Myrtle often frequented. To enter, one would have to specifically choose a time when Myrtle wasn't there.

"Are you alright?" Isobel asked worriedly.

"It's nothing." Albert shook his head and said, "It was probably a false alarm. This thing really does need improvement."

"What are you doing?" Katrina asked, looking at the two people huddled together whispering.

"It's nothing, let's go back first." Albert took a deep breath, took Isobel's soft hand, and instructed, "Also, it's best not to wander around."

With that, Albert and Isobel left the Room of Requirement. The Detection Orb began to heat up again, and finally cracked in the middle, completely breaking down.

Albert was speechless.

He began to understand why he hadn't received Skill Panel recognition after creating this thing.

"We need to deal with the Basilisk problem as soon as possible."

Albert envied those who were ignorant; sometimes ignorance is bliss.

"Indeed, it was all Tom's fault."

As soon as I returned to the Common Room, Kenneth Toller rushed over to ask me about the amulet.

"I've already made the sample, don't sell this." Albert took out the bracelet and handed it to Kenneth. Kenneth took a look at it from head to toe. It was a bit out of place for Europe, but if you liked it, you would think that it was actually quite well made.

"Wearing it will reflect Dark Curse, somewhat like Wandless Magic. It should also have a repelling effect on ordinary Dark Creatures, but don't expect it to be very strong. And..." Albert lowered his voice, "I don't think it will work on monsters in the Chamber of Secrets."

"No, if it can achieve the effect you described, this thing is already quite remarkable." Kenneth Toller looked very excited and couldn't wait to test the amulet's effects.

"Can I have someone test it?"

"Yes, but the price can't be lower than 10 Galleon, otherwise we'll definitely lose money." After giving Kenneth Toller some hints, Albert began to look around for Ginny Weasley's location.

Ron's sister was in the corner of the Common Room, doing something to herself.

Albert sat in the empty seat next to Ginny, looked at the red-haired girl who had been startled by him, and asked gently, "Are you alright?"

As he spoke, he took out a piece of chocolate and placed it in front of Ginny, saying to the hesitant girl, "Have something sweet, it will make you feel better."

"Thanks."

Ginny's hands trembled slightly as she took the chocolate, unwrapped it, put it in her mouth, and said thank you again.

"If you have frequent nightmares, go see Madam Pomfrey and get some medicine to drink that will make you feel better." Albert's tone was calm, his gaze falling on the blank diary on the table before quickly shifting away.

In an open space, Kenneth Toller was looking for someone to test the bracelet's ability to deflect Dark Curse, which immediately caught the attention of the students in the Common Room.

Kenneth quickly became the focus of attention for countless people.

"Look at Kenneth's smug face."

Fred, George, and Lee Jordan walked over to Albert, somewhat disdainful of Kenneth's methods; they were old news to them.

"Are you alright, Ginny? You don't look too good."

Percy says you have nightmares often.

"I'm fine." Ginny hurriedly closed her notebook. Albert, with his sharp eyes, noticed that the first page had Tom Riddle written in blurry ink.

"How many do you think he can sell?" George asked curiously.

"This thing is very expensive, I doubt we'll sell many."

"Actually, this thing would probably be worth more if it could be sold outside," Albert suddenly said. "After all, most of the students are quite poor."

"Aren't you afraid he'll copy me?" George suddenly asked. "That guy has Dark History."

"Don't worry, even if he manages to find someone to successfully copy it, it will probably just be a low-quality product."

Albert didn't care about that at all. The bracelet was a collection of his knowledge, covering many fields. Alchemy was not such a simple thing. The more he communicated with Nicolas Flamel, the more he agreed with this.

When Kenneth finished his performance and came to find Albert, he ordered two amulets from him, each costing 15 Galleon.

"That's easy money. But will anyone actually be willing to pay for it?"

Ron, who overheard their conversation, murmured to himself.

George looked at the speechless Ron, patted her on the shoulder, and said, "That's the power of knowledge."

"Albert is really amazing." Hermione had just witnessed the effect of the Dark Curse being reflected, couldn't help but exclaim, "But is this thing really effective against the monsters in the Chamber of Secrets?"

"I ordered one too," Harry suddenly said.

"Harry, why did you buy this?" Hermione asked, puzzled.

"Next time, if I clash with Malfoy, can't I use the amulet to deflect his Dark Curse and then seize the opportunity to teach him a lesson?" Harry thought he was very prescient.