The Chamber of Secrets Opens

"What, you want to serve Death too?" Xiwen glanced at Riddle and asked jokingly.

Riddle's expression stiffened for a moment, then he slightly twitched the corner of his mouth and said to Xiwen, "How could that be? I just don't know what they're after, that's why I'm so puzzled."

"There's nothing hard to understand about this," Xiwen shook his head slightly and said sarcastically. "When the temptation is great enough, even humans will dare to snatch food from a tiger's mouth. What's the point of working for Death?"

"I heard... Death promised them immense power and eternal life..." Riddle's expression deepened, and he spoke in a vacant tone.

"Don't be fooled, Mr. Voldemort." Xiwen waved his hand in front of Riddle's face, amused. "Those so-called great powers and immortality are nothing but Death's tricks."

"So-called powerful strength is simply leaving a mark on the human body to control it. When Death is in a good mood, it might allow those servant-like beings to borrow a tiny bit of power from it. As for immortality, that seems even more hypocritical. If you completely invade a person's body and soul, making that person one with Death, or even not one at all, perhaps just becoming a little devil struggling on its cloak, do you really think that counts as immortality?"

Riddle paused for a moment, then gave a stiff laugh.

"I knew Death wouldn't be so kind!" he exclaimed. "Those who believed it were incredibly foolish..."

During their conversation, the two unknowingly walked to the corner of the Entrance Courtyard corridor.

As he turned the corner, Xiwen casually looked up and glanced ahead, then his expression suddenly froze.

Here stands a girl with freckles all over her face, stiff and ashen-faced, staring at the Black Lake with a terrified expression.

Her petrification wasn't like the stiffness of Full Body-Bind Curse; rather, her entire body turned into stone, as hard as marble.

"Panny Mannis?" Xiwen's eyes widened.

He recognized the girl.

Mannis was a junior wizard who entered school in the same year as Xiwen, and the Sorting Hat sorted her into Ravenclaw.

She was usually timid and shy, never daring to speak too loudly to anyone. Her presence at Hogwarts was also very low. Xiwen's impression of her was limited to her wearing the Sorting Hat to the Head Table and her seemingly good relationship with Manto Trelawney.

Hearing the surprise in Xiwen's voice, Riddle asked in a deep voice, "Rozier, do you know her?"

"Yes, we know each other." Xiwen nodded slightly, then frowned. "She's in the same year as me, both her parents are Muggle, and she even got yelled at and made to cry by Abu on the express train when school started."

"But I never expected her to be like this today. What kind of grudge could drive someone to hurl such a vicious curse at such an innocent little girl?"

As he spoke, Xiwen pointed his wand at Mannis's forehead.

"Finite (Finite Incantatem)"

As expected, the General Counter-Spell did not remove the curse from Mannis.

"Things have gotten complicated. It might sound a bit boastful, but there aren't many spells left that even my General Counter-Spell can't break." Xiwen looked at Riddle and asked, "Do you recognize this curse, Riddle?"

Under intense mental pressure, Xiwen didn't recall that Riddle had changed his name to Voldemort, and instead called out his surname once again.

Riddle didn't refute, but simply shook his head slowly and lowered his head with a hint of helplessness.

Riddle, looking down, naturally glanced at Mannis's feet. Then, to his astonishment, he saw two lines of large, blood-red characters etched on the ground beneath Mannis's feet—

"The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Those who oppose the heir, be vigilant!"

The handwriting was vivid, like freshly spilled blood. However, because it was late and the two had been so focused on studying Mannis's symptoms that they hadn't looked down at the ground, they hadn't noticed their surroundings.

Xiwen slowly read the two lines of blood-red text, his expression becoming extremely solemn!

"There are likely two possibilities now—either a dark wizard has invaded Hogwarts, or an older wizard in the school has been bewitched by Death or someone else," he said. "This is beyond our control; we should consult a professor."

After Xiwen summoned Headmaster Dippet and Dumbledore with the Patronus Charm, the corner of the Entrance Courtyard corridor became somewhat crowded.

Dumbledore waved his hand, signaling the crowd to disperse a little.

Then, he pointed his wand at Mannis and said—

"Finite (FiniteIncantatem)!"

A bright beam of light swept across Mannis's body. This beam was so powerful that it even neutralized the spell Headmaster Dippet used to conceal the wrinkles on his face, which was not far away. However, the petrification on Mannis's body remained unchanged.

"Has some Unforgivable Curses- level Dark Magic appeared again?" Dumbledore, looking at Headmaster Dippet, whose face suddenly had twice as many wrinkles, and asked.

Headmaster Dippet, seeing his wrinkles exposed, stopped trying to hide them and began to focus on Mannis's symptoms.

"I don't think Dark Magic of the Unforgivable Curses's caliber is so easily created," he said, shaking his head. "Besides, why would a wizard with the ability to invent such Dark Magic choose to ambush an ordinary student at Hogwarts instead of stirring up trouble in this turbulent world?"

Dumbledore frowned and looked at Headmaster Dippet, asking, "You mean...?"

"Does this mean... this kind of magic might not have been created by a wizard?" Xiwen suddenly asked.

Headmaster Dippet glanced at Xiwen, nodded in agreement, and explained to the others present, "Indeed, if it were this location in the Entrance Courtyard, it would be possible for other Magical Creatures to approach and ambush Miss Mannis."

"After all, there are indeed many Fantastic Beasts around Hogwarts. Is it possible that some petrifying creatures might suddenly pass by the castle? Besides, Miss Mannis has been looking at the Black Lake under the covered walkway, not anywhere else."

Dumbledore thought for a moment, then said, "Then we probably need to ask Silvanus."