The School Governors Are Here to Stir Up Trouble / The Chamber Entrance Has an Extra Mechanism

Harry:...

So, given the Acromantula's habit of readily killing its own kind, just how naive must Hagrid be to develop genuine love for this creature?

Aragog is clearly a heartless seed-sower; it has been clapping with Mosag for the sake of the tribe for fifty years, and it has continued to do so until now, even after it went blind, it has not said it would stop this great cause of mating.

Among these densely packed spiders, there are probably many of its sons and many of its grandsons, and many of its grandsons might even be older than its sons.

Add to that the incestuous relationships, and the clan relations are a messier ball of yarn than anything else in Crookshanks!

And most importantly... what's with eating it right after using it?!

Good heavens, after fifty years of marriage, not only did you induce ovulation, but you also stabbed her in the back during a difficult childbirth, and then you practically ate her alive. This is absolutely a prime example of someone who talks the talk but walks the walk!

Given the gregarious nature of the Acromantula, Harry could never consider them partners; they would only be his unconditionally obedient subordinates.

"Alright, I'll take this egg with me for now. I'll tell you what to do after I've dealt with things in the castle."

After giving him a brief instruction, Harry treated and detoxified the three Fantastic Beasts that had fought alongside him, then used Shrinking Charm to shrink them, along with the spider egg, and stuffed them into his pocket.

Norberta and Zouwu were injured unexpectedly, so Harry can't open the Chamber tonight or for the foreseeable future, but he's not too upset.

This trip to the Forbidden Forest gave him access to the vital power of the Acromantula!

Once the dust settles on the Chamber incident, these cold-blooded spiders will definitely come in very handy.

For example...

Taking them to the tribe of the Centaur would be quite an interesting sight!

Chapter 153 The School Governor are just here to cause trouble.

On the first floor of Hogwarts Castle, Harry encountered two people at the door of the janitor's hut.

He recognized one of them; it was Lucius, whom he had met earlier. The other was a complete stranger, but his identity should be easy to guess.

He's just like Lucius, the patriarch of some Pure-blood Family, and perhaps also holds the position of a School Governor.

Harry, however, couldn't be bothered with them. He'd just had a fierce fight with the Acromantula, and all he wanted to do was wash up and go to bed...

"Granger, it's one thing for you to not greet the School Governor, but to also violate school rules by wandering the corridors late at night, don't you need to explain where you were before?"

But just because Harry doesn't want to cause trouble doesn't mean others won't come looking for him.

"I've been with Hagrid all day. Weren't you in Hagrid's Hut too? Why ask when you already know the answer?" Harry responded to Lucius's pointless accusations with undisguised disdain. "As for violating school rules... I'm Mr. Filch's assistant, the night watchman at Hogwarts. The curfew doesn't apply to me, and that was approved by Headmaster Dumbledore."

"But Dumbledore is no longer the headmaster, so those privileges of yours will be taken back accordingly."

Another stranger raised his hand and summoned a suitcase from the doorman's hut, then tossed it contemptuously in front of Harry.

"What do you mean?"

Harry's expression changed, because this was the suitcase he had brought with him when he started school.

"As I just said, all your privileges are being revoked at this moment. You are now just an ordinary student." The stranger looked down at Harry. "Given Filch's incident, his office will naturally be sealed off. As a student, you should go back to your dormitory and sleep!"

"I think Mr. Greengrass's opinion is very pertinent," Lucius quickly chimed in, seeing his companion speak up. "Granger, nowadays the curfew at Hogwarts is personally overseen by us parents. You'd better go back to sleep and mind your own business, so as not to put us in a difficult position."

"Okay, then I'll go back and rest now, alright?" Harry said expressionlessly, picking up his suitcase and turning to leave.

Normally, he wouldn't even give these two so-called School Governor a second glance. If it were last year when he was thinking of dropping out, he would have just unleashed a curse on them.

But things are different now. Lucius, along with a group of the Pure-blood Family patriarchs, has taken over the management of Hogwarts and will inevitably use extremely strict methods to discipline the students. Therefore, it is best not to cause any trouble now, lest he give them any opportunity to make trouble.

If I were to accidentally get locked up or threatened with expulsion, it would definitely delay my progress in finding the truth.

"Wait a minute!" Harry was about to leave when the man named Greengrass suddenly grabbed him by the back of his robe. "You're back so late, who knows if you've been to places you shouldn't have, or brought back anything dangerous from Hagrid? So I'm going to search you now!"

"Whatever." Harry scoffed, taking off his robe and tossing it at his feet. "Want to search me? Pick it up yourself."

"You wretched brat... pick up your robes!" Greengrass was instantly enraged when Harry actually tried to bend down to him.

As a member of a noble, Pure-blood Family, how could he possibly bow and scrape before a mere twelve-year-old child?!

However, Harry saw the School Governor's behavior as nothing more than impotent rage, and no matter how fiercely he berated Harry simply ignored him.

"I think... Hagrid may be reckless, but he's still the gamekeeper at Hogwarts; he shouldn't entrust anything dangerous to Granger." Lucius quickly stepped in to smooth things over. "Alright, you can pick up your clothes now..."

"Goodbye."

Harry had no interest in Lucius's smooth talk; he picked up his suitcase and left as soon as Lucius began to speak.

As for the robe, let them search if they want; there's nothing inside anyway.

Harry knew from the start that Lucius's arrival at Hogwarts Castle was no good, so he had already carefully hidden the Fantastic Beasts and spider eggs in his pocket before he returned to the valet's hut.

Harry transformed into Golden Eagle using his Animagus, carrying a wand and robes as he flew in through the Seventh Floor window. He then quietly placed Norberta and the other companions, who couldn't be exposed to the light, in the Room of Requirement's suitcase. Only after doing all this did Harry return to the janitor's hut.

Even though he was prepared, he was still thoroughly disgusted by Lucius and that Greengrass.

He realized that Greengrass and the Malfoy family were in cahoots; they were clearly targeting him and didn't want him to successfully resolve the incident.

This must have been Lucius's scheme, since if it dragged on for a month, Hagrid would have to be sent to Azkaban; and if it dragged on any longer, Dumbledore would never be able to return.

The School Governor, including Lucius, who came from the Pure-blood Family, never intended to find the murderer from the beginning; they were simply there to cause trouble!

In their view, the Heir of Slytherin would never lay a hand on them, who were Pure-blood and of Slytherin origin, so they had nothing to fear.

They, including the entire Slytherin, are absolutely safe. The more incidents occur within the school, the greater the blame Dumbledore will bear. Therefore, they don't care about the students' lives.

"Tch, a bunch of bastards."

Muttering curses as he passed through the Bronze Door Knocker, Harry's appearance in the dormitory startled Anthony Goldstein, Terry Boot, and others who had been chatting. The room fell silent.

Harry didn't have many friends at Eagle House, and because he had always lived in the janitor's hut, he was particularly distant from his roommates, such as Anthony. Now, unexpectedly living under the same roof, it was only natural that they would feel awkward with each other.

This was partly Lucius's plan, and he was quite successful at it. At least Harry would never reveal the secret in his suitcase to his so-called roommates!

Moreover, the presence of these few guys would indirectly restrict Harry's nighttime activities... Of course, Lucius was just assuming this.

"Go to sleep."

They weren't particularly close to begin with, and now that Harry was in a state of distress, he naturally paid even less attention to his roommates. He lay on the bed fully clothed, and soon his even breathing could be heard.

"Hmm, let's go to sleep too..."

"Good night..."

Harry's calls seemed to have a special magic; after hearing only a few calls, Anthony and the others started yawning, and their eyelids began to grow heavier and heavier.

Before long, the entire dormitory was filled with snoring.

Lucius could never have predicted that Harry would possess such a mysterious and undetectable ability to hypnotize others, so he wanted to use his roommates to hinder Harry's actions...

That's just wishful thinking!

Chapter 154 The entrance to the Chamber has an additional mechanism.

The next morning, while Harry's roommates were still snoring away, he was already up early.

Harry glanced around the entire dormitory and silently shook his head.

The beds in Hogwarts dormitories are indeed very comfortable, but Harry still prefers to sleep in the lockers of the janitor's hut... at least with Filch, he doesn't have to hide many things from him.

Today, Harry also has something very important to do. He needs to go to the abandoned bathroom on the third floor to see if he can open the Chamber using Parseltongue.

In addition, he needs to find allies among the Hogwarts students besides Hermione.

Lucius was a schemer. Although arrogant, he was also intelligent. While having people keep a close eye on him, he would never relax his surveillance of Hermione.

Therefore, Harry had to choose reliable helpers to continue some important tasks while he and Hermione were being watched... such as cultivating the Mandrake he had hidden.

As for who to help him, Harry's first thought was Luna Lovegood.

But she alone is definitely not enough, because Luna Lovegood absolutely cannot take care of Mandrake.

She's only a first-grader, and her knowledge of Herbology isn't extensive. Besides, with her wildly imaginative ideas, she might just impulsively kill the seedlings.

So, it seems we really need to look for someone else.

Before the first class in the morning, while all the students were having breakfast in the cafeteria, Harry sneaked up to the abandoned girls' restroom on the third floor when no one was looking.

With outsiders watching now, Hogwarts' nights are definitely more lively than ever before, so if Harry wants to carry out any secret operations, he'd be better off choosing the early morning.

"So... why do I have to go into the Girls' Bathroom several times a year?"

As Harry stepped inside, he couldn't help but feel a faint sadness.

Are all the villains I face psychopaths?

Whether it's Quirrell Voldemort or the current Heir of Slytherin, they all seem to have a penchant for getting things done in the Girls' Bathroom —a rather bizarrely consistent taste indeed.

"Oh, isn't this Harry Granger?"

The mistress of the Girls' Bathroom, the Moaning Myrtle, was sitting on the innermost toilet tank when she saw Harry and floated over in surprise.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Myrtle circled Harry curiously. "Where's your little lover with the same last name? Is it because she can't satisfy you, so you've come to me for a fling? Well, I'm truly honored!"

Myrtle kept getting closer to Harry, just like last time, but when she realized that Harry's expression remained serious, she couldn't help but lose interest.

"Okay, okay, I know you really hate me, right?" Myrtle seemed quite annoyed, and floated away from Harry. "Everyone's like that, I'm used to it..."

"Actually, I don't dislike you. It's just that I have important business to attend to here, so I can't chat with you right now." Harry shook his head slightly and went straight to inspect the sink and faucets in the bathroom.

"Also... I can accept being friends with ghosts, but now that you know about my relationship with Hermione, please don't do anything too outrageous in the future."

Yes, there are some things that Harry has already unilaterally acknowledged in his heart.

He and Hermione already shared so much in the past, and many things had naturally fallen into place. All that was missing now was a final word of confirmation.

So even though Fudge didn't give a one-month limit, Harry didn't intend to drag out the Chamber case for too long.

After all, he wouldn't let this ruin his first Valentine's Day with Hermione.

"Here... Myrtle, did you die here?"

After a careful inspection, Harry found a brass faucet in one of the pools that wouldn't turn any water no matter how hard he tried.

A small snake is carved on the side of the faucet, which is an obvious sign.

"That's right, that's where I died! As soon as I opened the door, I saw a pair of huge, terrifying yellow eyes in the pool, and then I felt like my whole body was being grabbed, and then I died and floated away~"

Myrtle responded with delight, seemingly honored to be able to tell Harry the story of her death.

"Thank you, this should be the place."

With Myrtle's confirmation, Harry had no further doubts and was certain that this was indeed the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets!

"You, saying thank you to me? To an annoying, always-wailing ghost?"

Harry's thank you seemed to deeply move Myrtle. She kept floating around Harry, her small, clear eyes suddenly filling with tears, threatening to burst at any moment.

"Please, please don't cry right now!" Harry was startled and quickly stopped him. "I snuck here, and almost all the School Governor are watching me. If they find out, it'll be hard for me to get back here."

"Is that so?" Harry's words seemed to work; at least Myrtle stopped crying.

After finally dealing with Myrtle, Harry could finally focus on the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets.

"Open!"

After carefully listening to the feedback from the Voice of Magic and confirming that the Basilisk was not crouching under the pool, Harry spoke into the faucet using the Parseltongue.

Because he had practiced with Runespoor and Occamy during the holidays, Harry's Parseltongue was quite fluent, and he had no problem having normal conversations.

But precisely because he had completely mastered the Parseltongue, it brought him another problem: he couldn't distinguish the sounds made by snakes.

The sounds of snakes sounded like concrete language to him, which is why he didn't realize that the first two times he heard that eerie voice, it was from a creature speaking Parseltongue.

Click~

The entrance to the Chamber of Chamber seemed to be able to be opened with just Parseltongue. Suddenly, the faucet in front of Harry began to spin rapidly, and the entire pool trembled and began to sink and disappear, finally revealing a thick water pipe large enough for a person to crawl into.

However, when Harry went to investigate, he found that a transparent, mirror-like light barrier had been placed at the entrance of the water pipe, as if it were some kind of enchantment.

When Harry projected his face onto the barrier, a line of text appeared on it.

'What is the lifelong wish of someone as great as me?'

"A blocking barrier... and it's password-protected?!" Harry narrowed his eyes; he hadn't expected the Chamber's mechanisms to be so complex.