It was true that Hagrid had once been sent to Azkaban over the Chamber of Secrets.
The Ministry of Magic had even closed the case on that basis.
There had simply been too little evidence pointing to Hagrid himself, which was why he had been able to regain his freedom.
But as a result, Hagrid had lost the chance to graduate from Hogwarts officially and could now only work as a groundskeeper.
"I didn't expect it to be Hagrid. I've met him before, and he seemed like a nice person."
Tao Yu spoke casually to the Horcrux.
"I remember him a little. He is a nice person, but he likes raising strange beasts. Maybe that was what caused the trouble. It wasn't his fault."
The Horcrux's reply was rather cunning, too. It didn't take the opportunity to badmouth Hagrid, which only made it sound more genuine.
The Horcrux then continued.
"But the Chamber has been opened, and that is a real problem. Someone seems to have died last time—a young wizard—and Halloween is almost here. Maybe the heir of the Chamber will strike again... And we don't even know what's inside the Chamber..."
"A Basilisk."
Tao Yu said it not only to the Horcrux, but also to Professor McGonagall.
"A Basilisk?"
Professor McGonagall frowned in surprise, but quickly caught on and asked Tao Yu,
"Are you saying the monster in the Chamber that's been killing people is a Basilisk?"
"I have a spell of my own creation that can interpret all kinds of languages. Earlier, I picked up a hostile voice speaking Parseltongue. Among magical serpents, the Basilisk is the only one that fits."
Tao Yu raised his wand and played the audio he had captured earlier again. Everyone heard the low, hissing voice.
"Is that why you realized something