Li Wei's Reflection and Test

"Me?" Li Wei shook his head. "No, I learned Parseltongue the day before yesterday."

This was a perfectly natural thing to say, but to Hermione and the others, it sounded like gibberish.

"Learned it? But... if you can't even understand it, how can you learn it?"

"It just takes a bit of hard work. Anyway, that's not important to what we need to do now."

Li Wei explained briefly, steering the conversation back on track.

"Potter is indeed a Parselmouth, and the voice he heard was very likely the Basilisk."

Hearing Li Wei's conclusion, the students' vague suspicions were confirmed, and they immediately became anxious.

"Then what do we do! There's a Basilisk roaming the castle? That's too dangerous!"

They looked at Li Wei, hoping he would make a favorable decision, especially Hermione.

At this moment, her face was filled with admiration and composure, as if she had already decided that Li Wei would handle the matter properly.

Unfortunately, this hope was dashed the next moment.

"We do nothing. Tell Dumbledore, and leave it all to him."

Li Wei stood up, quickly wrote a letter with an automatic quill, and summoned Barton.

"Barton, take this letter to the Owlery."

"If it's for delivering a letter, Barton can do it--"

"No, let the owl deliver it." Li Wei gently shook his head at Barton and whispered in his ear, "Our identities haven't been cleared yet. There's no need to alert Dumbledore—there's a sprite in the castle right now who can come and go as they please.

Besides, you might not be able to find him."

"Yes."

Barton bowed, turned, and left.

The two assistants heard Li Wei's plan and didn't react. Harry and the others, however, were somewhat confused.

"Professor—aren't you going to tell Dumbledore yourself? I mean, it's great to tell Dumbledore, but what if he doesn't see the letter?

What if the Basilisk kills someone in the meantime?"

"It won't."

Li Wei's voice was so calm that Hermione and the others found it somewhat cold.

Disappointment and confusion overwhelmed Harry. He thought of the incompetent Professor Quirrell—the man who was later revealed to be Voldemort's henchman—and a surge of anxiety welled up in his heart.

"Harry—"

Ron noticed his best friend's thoughts and subtly tugged on Harry's arm, signaling that they could discuss it later.

He was also starting to find this professor a bit strange.

"No, I have to say it!"

Harry pulled Ron's hand away and took another step forward, staring directly at Li Wei.

"How can you guarantee that nothing will happen? Since you were the one who told Hermione about the Chamber of Secrets and the Basilisk, it means you understand how dangerous the Basilisk is better than anyone, right?

Since we know the Basilisk is in the castle waiting to kill people, we should act immediately! Pushing it off like this is irresponsible!"

"Harry! Stop talking!"

Hermione's face turned pale. She grabbed Harry's sleeve and pulled him back forcefully, believing that Professor Li Wei had his reasons for doing this.

"Bang!"

The sound of hands forcefully hitting the wooden table suddenly echoed.

Harry turned his head—the woman who had previously made him dizzy was now leaning on the table, staring at him with murderous eyes.

Just making eye contact with her made Harry feel like his breath was about to stop.

"If—"

She strode toward Harry, her gaze sharp, her steps like a knife.

"—your impoverished intellect prevents you from fully understanding the professor's words, at least you should learn to ask questions calmly, understand?"

Her posture was so striking, and her aura was as full of power as a victorious female general returning from a ball. For a moment, all three of them were stunned.

"I—you—I—"

Harry stammered, trying desperately to say something, but shamefully realized his voice was trembling.

"Alright, Jiamer, retract your magic a bit. Don't scare the children."

Li Wei pinched the bridge of his nose and reflected on himself.

Although he remembered that no one had died during the Basilisk incident in the original story, others didn't think so, and he had appeared too calm.

Moreover, although it was not his intention, he had officially intervened in the plot.

What should have been a long event lasting a semester had been brought forward. Whether the subsequent developments would be the same as in the book was another matter.

No—rather, this was a good opportunity for verification. The Basilisk was dangerous, but as long as proper precautions were taken, it wasn't fatal.

With that thought, Li Wei's eyes flickered. Then, he chimed in appropriately after Jiamer's words:

"Your name is Harry, right?"

"Y-yes—sorry, Professor, I just don't quite understand."

Harry looked very guilty.

Because he truly felt he had misunderstood Li Wei.

"Listen—this isn't as simple as it seems."

Li Wei leaned closer to the three of them, placing a hand on Harry's shoulder.

He decided to see just how far these three could go.

"The Basilisk was left in the Chamber of Secrets by Slytherin a thousand years ago, yet Hogwarts has never had an accident because of it. What do you think that implies?"

"It means it was locked up and couldn't get out?"

Hermione's eyes lit up.

"Maybe it was just sleeping before, like how ordinary snakes hibernate, but now it's woken up."

Ron hadn't fully recovered from Jiamer's pressure earlier, but his mouth moved faster than his brain.

"Mm, you can interpret it however you like—this Basilisk might have woken from its slumber, or it might have escaped from where it was confined—"

He guided the three, patiently leading them on.

"So, do you think it's more likely that this happened naturally, or that someone is behind it?"

"Professor! You mean!"

Hermione was the first to grasp a possible conclusion. Her eyes widened, and she looked at Li Wei in horror.

"What do you mean, what do you mean, Hermione? What have you figured out?"

Ron looked at her anxiously, and Harry, abandoning his own thoughts, turned to look at Hermione as well.

Hermione glanced at the two of them and said patiently:

"Do you remember the legend of the Chamber of Secrets? Slytherin said that his true heir would open the Chamber and kill all those with impure blood.

There must be a key figure involved. Someone who woke the Basilisk and opened the Chamber! They intend to use it to kill all half-bloods and Muggle-born wizards!"

"Correct."

Li Wei affirmed Hermione's conjecture.

"Furthermore, I believe this is an extremely evil act. No matter who it is, I will not allow them to hold onto such archaic ideas, nor will I permit them to arbitrarily take another's life."

"So, Professor, you want to find this person?"

An excited expression appeared on Hermione's face. Harry and Ron felt their blood boiling—they felt as though they were participating in something dangerous and significant.

Even if they might be a little scared inside, wasn't Professor Li Wei here with them?

They could trust him!