Harry Seems a Little Off / Investigators Must Avoid Letting Emotions Take Over

They moved quickly because there were many other people following behind them who also wanted to see what was going on, so Harry had to be fast.

He didn't want to end up like last time at Colin Petrochemical, where dozens or even hundreds of feet had completely destroyed the traces before he even had a chance to investigate the site!

"Look, this is it." Hagrid pointed dejectedly at the mess in front of him. "I should have asked Headmaster Dumbledore beforehand and cast a protective spell around the chicken coop."

"How awful..." Hermione frowned instinctively.

The scene before me could only be described as a complete mess. Even though there wasn't a single chicken in sight, the bloodstains and signs of struggle on the ground were enough to tell me of the horrific massacre that had taken place the night before!

Chapter 135 Harry's condition is a bit off.

"Not a single one left. Are they going to cover their tracks... Hagrid, secure the scene. Don't let any onlookers in!"

After briefly surveying the 'crime scene,' Harry put on rubber medical gloves and began to carefully search through the mess.

He hoped he could find some clues among the mess of chicken feathers and bloodstains to help Hagrid catch the real culprit.

"It was definitely man-made!"

Persistence pays off. After carefully examining several small areas, Harry finally found several messy footprints under the scattered chicken feathers!

Judging from the size, it should be an adult's footprint, and the person was probably wearing leather shoes.

It's a pity, if only Colin hadn't gotten into trouble...

As Harry carefully examined the footprints, he felt a deep sense of regret.

If my little fanboy had come along, his camera would have been incredibly useful.

But now, Harry could only wet the paper with water and simply transfer the dust from the footprints onto the paper, barely managing to preserve an outline that could only be used to distinguish the size.

"Why are so many people gathered here? Has something happened?"

Lockhart's annoying voice came from behind the crowd, but Harry had no time to pay attention to him.

"Hmm... is it bone?"

Fortunately, Harry was observant enough to find a small fragment of bone in the mud mixed with blood.

Continuing his search along this fragment, Harry discovered even more bone fragments!

"Found it!"

Finally, from a pile of chicken feathers in the corner, Harry pulled out a small, skinny rooster.

Its neck drooped limply and was very shriveled, as if it had no neck bones.

"Found a clue? Then leave it to me. I'll make it reenact the truth on its own!"

However, just as Harry was about to examine the chicken's corpse more closely, Lockhart somehow bypassed Hagrid and raised his wand at the dead chicken in Harry's hand!

"F**k! Protego!"

Sensing the energy fluctuations emanating from Lockhart's wand, Harry instinctively dropped the chick in his hand, cursed under his breath, and cast the Shield Charm on himself and Hermione.

BOOM!!

The next second, the chick that Harry threw exploded in mid-air, spraying out dark red blood that even splattered onto the faces of many onlookers.

The onlookers who had been watching the spectacle earlier started to clamor and back away, while Harry's anger was instantly ignited!

"Gilderoy Lockhart, you just... destroyed what might have been the only evidence!!"

Incompetent, useless, troublemaker?

No... Harry felt that these words were insufficient to describe what the other party had just done.

That bastard is practically an accomplice to criminals!

"I... well, I just wanted to help out. Who... who knew it would turn out like this? Anyway, I have other things to do, so I'll take my leave now..."

Lockhart seemed to realize that he had truly angered Harry this time, so he quickly put away his wand, intending to slip away as usual.

"Stop right there!" But Harry had already locked onto him with his wand.

He brazenly came to the crime scene to cause trouble and even destroyed the evidence that Harry had worked so hard to find. Whether he is a suspect or not, Harry will never let him get away with it!

"Something's happened... something really bad!"

Just as Lockhart was stammering and the atmosphere was becoming increasingly tense, Professor Flitwick's anxious shouts suddenly came from afar.

"Where are you... never mind, Harry, you'd better come with me now." Professor Flitwick, breathless, rushed to Harry's side and grabbed Harry wrist. "Mr. Filch and his cat, something's happened to them..."

"What?" Harry was startled. "Professor, what you mean by 'something happened' is...?"

"That's right..." Professor Flitwick nodded regretfully, "The incident happened in the third-floor corridor, near that locked-up restroom."

"How could this be..."

Filch and Mrs. Norris were petrified together?

This news was like a bolt from the blue for Harry at this point.

Mrs. Norris was a cat he had spent a year raising, and Filch was his roommate. How could they both get into trouble?!

"Harry, let's go take a look..." Hermione stepped forward and tugged at Harry's outstretched arm, her meaning clear: she wanted him to put his wand away first.

No matter how wrong Lockhart was, he was still a teacher at the school, and Harry's open pointing of his wand at him was bound to cause controversy.

Therefore, it would be better to take this opportunity to back down and check on Filch and the others' condition first.

"You better remember this, this isn't over!"

Seeing Hermione also trying to persuade him, Harry knew this wasn't the time to teach this bastard a lesson, so he could only put away his wand and hurry back to the school building with Flitwick.

"Phew... Granger, he's really scary when he's angry~"

Lockhart showed a hint of relief on his face, then straightened his clothes as usual, turned and left the scene.

However, as he took a step, some small fragments seemed to fly off from the soles of his shoes, but this went unnoticed by those present.

When Harry arrived at the scene with Professor Flitwick, he was met with a sight that horrified him.

Mrs. Norris lay sprawled on the ground, her fur standing on end, her expression one of extreme terror; Filch was right behind her, bent down as if to pick her up, both of them wide-eyed, as if they had seen something terrifying.

There was a large puddle of water around them, so shiny it was like a mirror, and it even reflected the ceiling.

"Harry, let's take them to Madam Pomfrey first."

Dumbledore arrived at that moment, patted Harry on the shoulder lightly, but didn't say much.

He knew the significance of this person and cat to Harry; at this moment, no one had the right to comfort Harry...

Except for Hermione.

"I'm fine..." Harry managed to compose himself as he felt the girl gently pull his hand, though his voice still trembled slightly.

"Headmaster, could you please have someone take Mr. Filch and Mrs. Norris away? I'll visit them later."

Harry felt his mind was in a mess. He didn't want to visit anyone or investigate the case for the time being; he just wanted to find a quiet place to calm down.

Hermione stayed with him throughout this time.

As they walked from the school building to near Hagrid's Hut, neither of them spoke.

"Hermione, have I been behaving terribly lately? Right now, I suddenly feel a bit lost..."

"Harry?"

Looking at Harry in surprise, Hermione discovered that she saw a look of bewilderment in his eyes that she had never seen before!

Hermione found this incredible, because in her memory, Harry had never wavered even when facing Voldemort!

But now, he feels very decadent...

Was the petrification of Filch and Mrs. Norris really such a devastating blow to him?

Rustling~

A soft rustling came from the bushes in the woods, and upon hearing this sound, Harry's previously unfocused gaze instantly sharpened!

"Dobby, come here right now!"

Chapter 136 The most dangerous thing when investigating a case is letting emotions cloud your judgment.

"Sir, Madam... it's been a long time!"

Hearing Harry's shout, Dobby timidly emerged from the bushes and greeted the two of them in a low voice.

"What are you doing here now?" Harry glared coldly at Dobby, a hint of reproach in his voice.

"Dobby... wanted to check on your safety, so I rushed over. Sir, your current condition is really worrying for Dobby..."

Dobby had actually wanted to complain to Harry and ask Harry why he wouldn't listen to him, but after actually seeing Harry, he didn't dare to ask anymore.

In Dobby's view, Harry is not normal right now.

"If you're really worried about me, you should find a way to tell me about your master's plot!" Harry angrily retorted.

"I'm so sorry... sir, Dobby is so sorry." Dobby bowing to Harry, his large ears flapping incessantly. "Dobby knows he's bad, but there are many things... Dobby really can't say! That thing, Dobby also looked into it, but it's no longer in its original place..."

"Dobby, you..." Harry choked up again as he looked at Dobby's battered hands.

Harry discovers that Dobby did help him search for the key item he suspected Lucius had sent to the school, but it had already been moved.

He later learned that Filch had been petrified, which is why he came to check on his and Hermione's safety.

"I'm sorry, Dobby, I shouldn't have snapped at you." Harry shook his head apologetically, but then his mood inexplicably turned somber again.

"Sir, why don't you and Miss go home?" Dobby grabbed Harry's hand, pleading with him. "Staying here is really dangerous. The Chamber has reopened... No, we can't!"

"Wait a minute!" Before Dobby could torture himself for revealing the secret, Harry grabbed his wrist. "Reopened? So the Chamber was indeed opened before. When was it opened? Who opened Chamber last time? Tell me everything you can!"

"Well... sir, all I can say is... history from fifty years ago is about to repeat itself." Dobby's ears drooped. "Last time... well, some people died, some were expelled... they're all in school now! Dobby, sir, Dobby I can say!!"

The House-elf managed to leave Harry a message before shrieking and leaving.

"Someone died, someone was expelled... and they're all still in school, so who could it be?" Hermione repeated the clues Dobby had left behind, but she still felt completely clueless.

"It's Hagrid! I'm going to find him right now!"

However, Harry had already reached a conclusion in an instant and strode straight to Hagrid's Hut!

"Harry ..." Hermione looked at Harry's retreating figure with a face full of worry.

Standing outside the cottage, listening to Harry and Hagrid's increasingly loud voices inside, Hermione knew that Harry had also been disappointed and rebuffed by Hagrid...

"Harry, are you alright?" Hermione asked anxiously as soon as Harry went outside again.

"Let me take you back first..." But Harry shook his head, not wanting to bring up the argument that had taken place in the house.

He was in an extremely bad mood, but he had to figure out how to process these negative emotions on his own and not let Hermione become his dumping ground for bad feelings.

After listening to Dobby's information, Harry was able to easily piece together the fragmented information he had previously gathered.

Although the reason is unclear, Harry knows that Hagrid was expelled fifty years ago; and when he saw Myrtle at the Deathday Party, Peeves also mentioned that Myrtle looked exactly like this fifty years ago, which means that she also died fifty years ago.

Putting these fragmented pieces together, the conclusion is that because the Chamber was opened fifty years ago, Myrtle was killed and Hagrid was expelled.

However, during the conversation just now, even though he presented a lot of evidence, Hagrid kept dodging the question and stubbornly refused to tell the truth about what happened back then!

Harry really couldn't understand... what was Hagrid hiding?!

"Hateful!"

After dropping Hermione off at her dorm, Harry looked around the valet's hut where he was all alone, and finally couldn't hold back his temper any longer, punching the filing cabinet next to him hard.

The punch was extremely powerful; it even dented the metal filing cabinet in the shape of a fist.

Outrageous!

This case is absolutely infuriating, and it's not just Hagrid who's angry, but almost everyone involved in it!

Almost everyone who possessed crucial pieces of evidence was acting on emotion, obstructing Harry's investigation for various reasons.

Ron and Harry parted on bad terms because Ron felt that Harry's investigation into him and Ginny was unreasonable, and that he suspected Ron of being an accomplice.