Guiding

"Sit down."

Lin Du waved his hand, and three armchairs silently slid behind Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

His gaze swept over the three of them, finally resting on Hermione, who had kept her head down, her scarf tightly wrapped around half of her face.

"So," he said, placing his hands together on the desk, his tone calm, "who can tell me what happened to Miss Granger?"

The office was silent--

Harry fidgeted nervously, Ron stared at the tips of his shoes as if trying to burn a hole through them, and Hermione buried her face even deeper.

Lin Du's gaze flickered between them, noticing a suspicious silver powder on the hem of Ron's robe—the unique sheen of ground African Tree Snake Skin.

Combined with Hermione's unnatural attempt to conceal herself and the guilty looks on all three of their faces...

"It seems," he leaned back in his chair, "you successfully brewed the Polyjuice Potion, but encountered some trouble when taking it?"

"How did you--!" Ron looked up abruptly, his face a mask of horror.

Lin Du didn't explain. He simply tapped his wand, and the scarf on Hermione's face loosened slightly, revealing thick, ginger-colored cat fur underneath.

In fact, the success of this "accident" was largely due to the weeks of chaos at Hogwarts.

Last Wednesday night, when the air in the underground classroom was filled not only with the strange smell of potion ingredients but also with the lingering stench of dungbombs, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were holding their breath behind a suit of armor in a corner.

"He's gone!" Ron whispered, watching Professor Snape's black robes billow as he quickly disappeared around the stairwell. "Merlin's beard, even a doxy couldn't stand this smell!"

This was the third time this week Professor Snape had left his office early.

The pervasive stench festered in the poorly ventilated underground corridor, unbearable even for the most potion-obsessed Head of House.

Harry's heart pounded in his chest.

They had observed for a full week, confirming Snape's departure pattern—once the dungbomb stench reached a certain critical point, he would leave in less than half an hour.

"Bubble-Head Charm!"

Hermione decisively waved her wand, and three transparent bubbles immediately enveloped their heads, blocking out the nauseating stench of dungbombs.

She looked around the gloomy underground corridor nervously, her voice muffled through the bubbles: "I'll say it again, if Professor Snape catches us, we'll be confined until the end of the school year!"

"We've already come this far!" Ron said in a muffled voice. Though his face was pale, he pushed the oak door with a forced bravery. "We can't go back empty-handed, can we?"

Unexpectedly, the lock clicked open—

Clearly, Snape hadn't anticipated anyone daring to sneak into his private office while he might return at any moment.

The three of them quickly slipped inside.

Using the faint light from their wands, they soon found their target on a display shelf—

The roll of shimmering African Tree Snake Skin lay casually next to several glass vials, as if it were just an ordinary potion ingredient.

Hermione quickly took the snake skin and tucked it into her robes. The three of them immediately exited the office, gently closed the door, and fled quickly down the dark corridor.

The entire process was unbelievably smooth.

Lin Du watched the three nervous students with amusement, tapping his fingertips on the desk:

"So, can you first tell me why you went to such lengths to brew the Polyjuice Potion?"

If you like this book, remember to add it to your bookshelf to avoid losing it next time.

The three exchanged flustered glances.

Harry took a deep breath and mustered the courage to look directly at Lin Du: "Professor, are you the Heir of Slytherin?"

Lin Du paused, his teacup halfway to his lips: "What?"

"That night Mrs. Norris was attacked, you showed up too quickly!" Ron added eagerly, "As if you knew what was going to happen!"

Lin Du slowly put down his teacup, a look of realization dawning on his face: "So that's why you've been following me around lately?"

"And you weren't surprised that Harry is a Parselmouth..." Hermione added softly.

"Merlin's beard... what are these kids thinking these days?" Lin Du rubbed his temples, a mix of amusement and exasperation on his face.

"If I were the Heir, do you think you three would still be standing here unharmed? You three little detectives who are always lurking outside my office would have been the first to be petrified."

"But you appeared at such a coincidental time that night!" Harry insisted.

"In fact," Lin Du continued calmly, "as the Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, it is my duty to remain vigilant against the aura of Dark Magic and unusual occurrences."

Harry opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to retort, but Lin Du continued:

"As for Harry being a Parselmouth, Miss Granger, do you remember when you came to me asking about 'hearing voices no one else could hear'?"

Hermione's eyes widened slightly: "You mean when I asked you..."

"For an experienced adult," Lin Du said gently, "the thoughts of you young ones are almost written all over your faces."

At this moment, he lightly tapped his wand. A soft golden light flashed, and the cat fur and cat ears on Hermione's face rapidly shrunk until they were barely visible.

"This is only a temporary reversal. A potent counter-curse requires more complex preparation to avoid causing permanent damage to your hair follicles."

Lin Du put away his wand, the corner of his lips curling up.

Hermione touched her face, which had returned to normal, with a sigh of relief. She mumbled, "I followed the steps in Moste Potente Potions exactly... Who knew Parsnip had a cat!"

"You worked so hard for nothing, and you got the most important thing wrong? That's just too..."

Ron couldn't help but chuckle, earning a fierce glare from Hermione.

The three looked at each other, the tension easing slightly.

Lin Du retracted his wand, his tone turning serious:

"So, can you tell me now, who were you trying to get information from by going to all the trouble of brewing Polyjuice Potion?"

Harry froze, but it was Hermione who finally spoke, "We suspect Malfoy knows about the Chamber of Secrets..."

"So, who did you turn into? Crabbe? Goyle?" Lin Du raised an eyebrow.

"How did you know..." Ron's mouth gaped in surprise.

"Isn't it obvious?" Lin Du chuckled lightly. "So, did you get anything?"

The three shook their heads dejectedly.

"Malfoy doesn't know anything," Harry said, deflated. "He was just bragging."

"It seems your Polyjuice Potion was indeed a wasted effort," Lin Du said, looking at their crestfallen faces. "However..."

He paused deliberately, waiting for all three to look up before continuing:

"Since you're so fixated on the Chamber of Secrets, why not shift your focus back to the founder of the Chamber—Salazar Slytherin himself?"