Ambushed

As the damp chill began to blanket Hogwarts' grounds and seep into the ancient stone walls, October drew to a close.

Although Headmaster Dumbledore had subtly advised students to avoid the damp lavatory areas at night, especially when alone, under the guise of "preventing seasonal flu," colds inevitably spread among staff and students, leaving Madam Pomfrey's infirmary overflowing.

However, after Lin Du impassively announced, "Those absent from practical training due to colds will have a make-up exam on the weekend, with no change in standards," the previously sickly students seemed to have been collectively cured, with most of their cold symptoms miraculously and rapidly recovering.

After all, a stuffy nose and headache seemed much more bearable compared to facing Professor Lin Du's "ingenious" practical challenges.

Fortunately, no serious incidents had occurred within the castle during these two weeks.

No students were injured, no terrorist attacks, and even Peeves had been considerably more well-behaved.

This superficial calm allowed Lin Du's vigilance regarding the Chamber of Secrets to relax slightly.

Perhaps the "Heir" was just bluffing? Was the Basilisk still firmly imprisoned in some unknown corner?

And so, amidst a slightly eerie but generally stable atmosphere, Halloween arrived.

The atmosphere at the Halloween feast was as lively as ever.

The Great Hall was adorned with giant jack-o'-lanterns, and flocks of bats circled the enchanted ceiling.

This year, Dumbledore had uniquely invited a skeleton band. They played cheerful yet slightly eerie tunes on bone instruments. Their empty eye sockets flickered with a faint blue light, and their skeletons clicked rhythmically as they performed a comical and unforgettable dance.

The young wizards chattered excitedly, devouring a variety of terrifyingly shaped but incredibly delicious holiday specialties.

Lin Du sat at the staff table, a chocolate cake shaped like a miniature coffin before him. He leisurely cut through the "coffin lid" with his dessert knife, his gaze occasionally sweeping over the four house tables below.

On the Gryffindor side, the Weasley twins seemed to be showing off their latest "Puking Pastilles" to those around them, eliciting gasps and laughter.

At the Hufflepuff table, Cedric Diggory was gently conversing with his classmates, seemingly having recovered from the setback of the last practical training.

Slytherin maintained a certain reserved boisterousness, while Ravenclaw students were discussing in small groups the musical composition of the skeleton band or the magical principles behind the pumpkin carvings.

Everything appeared normal, filled with festive joy.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione, however, were not as happy.

They had just escaped a rather unique event – Nearly Headless Nick's 500th-anniversary deathday party.

They had seen the ghosts' moldy cheese and giant tombstone-gray cake, and enjoyed a performance by the Headless Hunt.

Ron stared at a plate of bubbling "gravy," his face looking worse than the Bloody Baron beside him.

"I swear," Ron said, rubbing his arms as soon as they left the dungeons, "I think Peeves is much friendlier now. At least he doesn't make you eat things that look like they were dug up from a grave."

Hermione, though her lips were a pale purple from the cold, tried to reason, "Nick will be grateful we attended; it's very important to him..."

Before she could finish, Harry, walking at the front, suddenly stopped, sniffing the air intently.

"What's that smell?" he whispered.

A strange odor hung in the air, like wet mud mixed with something rotten and fishy.

They turned the next corner suspiciously, and then, the three of them froze as if struck by the Petrificus Totalus spell simultaneously.

Not far ahead, the torchlight flickered, illuminating the corridor.

Filch's cat, Mrs. Norris, her tail sticking straight up like a stick, was stiffly hanging from a torch sconce, resembling the ugliest decoration on a Christmas tree.

Her eyes were wide with terror.

On the wall below her, a line of text glowed with an ominous green light, as if written in some kind of luminous slime:

The Chamber of Secrets has been opened.

Enemies of the Heir, beware.

The air seemed to freeze.

Hermione gasped, covering her mouth tightly.

Ron's mouth was open wide enough to fit a Chocolate Frog.

Harry felt a chill rush from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head, more uncomfortable than being cold at the deathday party.

The Chamber... Slytherin's Chamber... they had speculated, even asked Professor Lin Du... and it was real? It had actually been opened? The Heir... who was it?

Before they could recover from their shock, hurried footsteps echoed from the end of the corridor, approaching rapidly.

They turned in alarm, seeing a dark figure appear at the end of the corridor almost instantly and approach quickly – it was Professor Lin Du!

He was alone, his robes billowing behind him from his rapid movement, his usual calm expression replaced by a rare solemnity.

He didn't even glance at the huddled trio. His sharp black eyes immediately locked onto the stiff Mrs. Norris and the glowing green text on the wall, his gaze turning icy in an instant.

Lin Du's sudden appearance was like a block of ice shattering the already frozen air, leaving Harry and the other two even more flustered.

"Professor?" Hermione whispered subconsciously, her voice trembling.

Lin Du raised a hand, signaling them to be quiet.

He knelt directly on one knee, his right hand gripping his wand, and gently tapped the tip of the wand on the stone floor directly beneath Mrs. Norris.

"Tap—"

A clear yet strange tapping sound echoed, followed by an invisible magical ripple, like ripples on water, rapidly spreading out from the point where the wand struck!

Harry, Ron, and Hermione felt a faint vibration beneath their feet, as if something was moving through the stone at an extreme speed, surging in all directions.

"Tap—tap—"

Two more extremely short taps, and the invisible ripple instantly intensified, like a small-scale seismic wave, rapidly sweeping through this third-floor corridor and continuing without pause towards the deeper, more distant parts of the castle!

At the same time, in the Great Hall on the first floor.

The atmosphere of the banquet remained lively, with the Weird Sisters' band reaching a boisterous crescendo.

However, Dumbledore, seated at the staff table, paused slightly with his silver fork, his blue eyes behind his half-moon spectacles instantly lifting, looking sharply towards the ceiling.

Immediately after, Professor McGonagall beside him frowned sharply, and Professor Flitwick nearly slid off his high chair.

Several senior professors sensed it almost simultaneously—a powerful and unfamiliar probing magical fluctuation was sweeping across the entire Hogwarts castle with astonishing speed and range!

Such a blatant, unhidden magical probe was extremely rare at Hogwarts!

Snape's body tensed instantly beneath his black robes. His sinister gaze swept across the staff table, and he immediately noticed Lin Du's empty seat, his eyes becoming unfathomably deep.

Can't find the book by its title, maybe try searching for the author? Perhaps the name was changed!