The Tense Atmosphere

"All students must be back in their college's common room by 6 p. m., and no student may leave after that time."

Each time you attend class, you will be escorted by a professor, and you are not allowed to wander around the castle alone before the professor arrives.

Quidditch training and matches are postponed; no activities will be held in the evenings...

All the students sat at the long dining table in the Great Hall, listening silently to Professor McGonagall speak.

Professor McGonagall was genuinely frightened.

Even before the holidays began, the Ministry of Magic was closely monitoring the situation at Hogwarts.

After Professor Burbage Charity Bubbaggie, who was Muggle Studies, was attacked, some even suggested temporarily closing Hogwarts to focus all efforts on finding the Chamber of Secrets.

Although the proposal was later rejected by more people, it was brought up again a few days before Christmas as the number of attacks increased.

Moreover, the number of people who voted against it was significantly lower that time.

The Ministry of Magic was so quiet not only because of Dumbledore, but also because no students had been harmed.

But this kind of luck can't last forever.

The current calm is only temporary; the previous attacks are like a powder keg that could explode at any moment.

Secretly, some people had already been itching to make their move.

Professor McGonagall was certain that once a student was attacked, or if the number of attacks increased to a certain point, they would seize the opportunity to detonate all the explosive barrels.

Nobody knows what will happen then.

In addition, Professor McGonagall did not want to see any students get hurt.

This is the most crucial moment.

The Mandrake is about to mature. Once the petrified people or ghosts awaken, we can learn about the Chamber of Secrets and the monster from them.

The inheritor of the Chamber of Secrets must be aware of this as well. To protect himself and conceal those secrets, he either has to stop now or become even more insane.

The petrified dwarf proved that the person did not choose the former...

Professor McGonagall took a deep breath, her expression more serious than ever before.

Although all those attacked so far have been petrified, this does not mean that the monster in the Chamber of Secrets can only petrify others.

After all, fifty years ago, when the Chamber of Secrets was first opened, some students died without explanation.

This must never happen again.

She looked at everyone and said in a somewhat choked voice, "I hope that each of you will abide by the rules, even if it's just for your own safety!"

Anyone who violates the rules will have all of their House Points deducted and their house will be disqualified from participating in Quidditch Match.

"In addition, I urge everyone who thinks they know something to come forward."

Now, every clue, no matter how insignificant, could potentially help us find the criminal who planned these attacks.

After Professor McGonagall finished speaking, she left in a hurry.

As soon as she left, a murmur of discussion arose in the Great Hall.

Losing all of his House Points and being disqualified from Quidditch was a punishment that had never been so severe before.

"Fortunately, Professor McGonagall only postponed the Quidditch Match..." Harry said with some relief.

"You..." Ron hesitated, glancing at Fred and George.

The two of them could easily guess what he was thinking.

"We certainly won't be discovered, even if it's just for Quidditch," Fred said.

"But you," George laughed, "Don't try to be a hero like you did last year. That's not what you should be doing."

"We don't want to be heroes!" Ron said, sticking his neck out.

Beside them, Harry and Hermione were eating with their heads down, not saying a word.

At the Hufflepuff table, Kyle remained silent as well.

Everyone around was discussing who the successor would be, Kyle would observe the expression on each person's face as they mentioned a name.

Everyone else seemed normal, except for Lockhart.

He remained quiet, neither boasting about how many greeting cards he received nor exaggerating the achievements he had mentioned countless times.

He, who was very particular about his image, didn't even bother with his hair, sporting a messy head of blond hair, and kept drinking one glass of wine after another, looking completely different from his spirited self at noon.

Half an hour later, dinner time ended.

Professor McGonagall re-entered the Great Hall, accompanied by the other three deans.

Professor Sprout came over and escorted the Hufflepuff students back to the common room.

"Unless you're going to class, you must stay here and not go anywhere else."

She counted the number of people and didn't leave until everyone had passed through the wooden barrel door.

"Doesn't Professor Lockhart already know who the successor is?"

As soon as Professor Sprout left, someone couldn't wait to say, "Why didn't the professors just arrest that person!"

"Don't you understand yet?" someone said dismissively. "He's just bragging. He doesn't know anything, just like he did at the Duelling Club."

"Nonsense!" someone retorted. "You've all read his books...think about the amazing things he's done."

"He only said it himself, that he did it."

The people in the common room quickly split into two factions, arguing fiercely about Lockhart's situation.

Kyle, Kanna, and Cedric didn't engage in this pointless argument; they bypassed the crowd and sat on a few sofas in the corner.

"Kyle, have you found anything?" Cedric asked.

"No." Kyle shook his head.

"That person is hiding too well." Kanna sighed. "No one saw any of the attacks, it was as if they happened out of thin air... Could it be that the monster in the Chamber of Secrets is a ghost that can move freely throughout the castle?"

"Ghosts can't petrify people; they're just scary-looking." Cedric looked at Kyle again. "Where did you find that golden chain you had earlier?"

"A...very secluded place." Kyle hesitated for a moment, but still didn't reveal the Chamber of Secrets.

He had considered telling Professor Dumbledore the location of the Chamber of Secrets of Secrets and the news about Riddle.

In fact, he had this idea when the diary mysteriously disappeared and attacks occurred frequently, but he never made up his mind, or rather, the idea would just pop up and then mysteriously disappear again.

It felt like being Muggle caught in the range of Banishing Charm, constantly being interrupted by other things.

But Kyle himself was completely unaware of it. He just felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. In the end, he could only conclude that he couldn't bear to Basilisk... After all, the Basilisk was indeed valuable. It could be piled up into a small mountain in Galleon. It was normal for him to be reluctant to part with it.

Kyle rubbed his forehead, feeling inexplicably irritable.

"Speaking of clues, Kyle, remember that thing you gave me for Christmas?" At that moment, Cedric suddenly got up and jogged to his dorm.

"Wait for me a moment."

He returned in about a minute, carrying a stack of parchment.