The topic was once again brought back to that mysterious House-elf.
" Dobby said Hogwarts will be in danger this year, 'the worst thing ever.' How did he know?"
"It said it 'has known about this for months.' House-elf don't have their own information channels unless their owners are involved."
The air grew heavier.
"So if Dobby is a Pure-blood families House-elf, then that family—"
"--It's very likely related to what's about to happen at Hogwarts."
The old wizard finished his sentence for him, "If its owner knew something bad was going to happen at Hogwarts, then its blocking Harry Potter from returning might not just be to save Harry, but also to stop something its owner was planning."
"But it didn't say it was to stop Harry from going back to protect others; it said it was to protect Harry himself," the witch said. " Dobby's motive was to save Harry."
"So what?" the ring wizard rejoined the debate. "Even if its motives are good, it's still illegal."
" House-elf cannot decide for themselves what to do. If every House-elf could act according to their own judgment, the entire Wizarding World would collapse."
"Wizards have ruled over House-elf, this has been the case for thousands of years—"
"This is the most disgusting tradition in a thousand years," the witch replied coldly.
The atmosphere in the Leaky Cauldron suddenly became tense again.
Tom placed a pot of fresh tea on the bar at just the right moment, his movements neither too light nor too heavy, perfectly interrupting the escalating argument between the two sides.
Just then, the bar door was pushed open, and a tired-looking owl mailman walked in.
He waved a stack of newly delivered Daily Prophet supplements in his hand, his tone filled with a ghostly astonishment.
"You're still chatting here? The book says something bad happened at Hogwarts, it mentions the legend of the Chamber of Secrets of Secrets, and—"
He paused here, glanced at the crowd staring at him, and lowered his voice:
"And the book says those words appeared on the wall, and the Chamber of Secrets was opened, right inside Hogwarts Castle."
A quiet spread around the bar, completely different from the silence that had been briefly frozen by the argument.
The old wizard turned to the corresponding chapter in the book, glanced at the few lines of text, then looked up, his voice a few decibels lower than before:
"It is written on the wall: ' The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Whoever inherits the will of Slytherin, purify Hogwarts.'"
"The book only mentions that the cat was petrified; it doesn't tell us what happened next."
"Cat? Which cat?"
"The cat belonging to the caretaker Filch. Its name is something like Mrs. Norris."
"The cat was just petrified? The person is alright?"
Not yet.
This conversation brought a slight sense of relief to those present, but that relaxation lasted for less than three seconds.
" The Chamber of Secrets," a young wizard who had been standing in the far corner of the bar and hadn't said much repeated the word.
His expression changed, as if he had recalled some very unpleasant memory. "Do you know what that thing was?"
"Which ancient legend?" someone asked.
" Chamber of Secrets. It's said to house a monster, left behind by Slytherin himself, specifically to cleanse the school of..."
He paused, not saying the word aloud, but everyone present understood.
"That's just a legend," said the ring wizard.
"The cat was petrified. It wasn't murder. Maybe it was just some kind of prank?"
"Would a prank use that kind of word? 'Purify Hogwarts '?" the young wizard retorted. "You're telling me that's a prank?"
Having said that, the Ministry of Magic employee had quietly retreated to the back of the crowd.
He pressed his hand to the badge on his chest, his face pale, and turned to walk toward the fireplace.
The green flames suddenly surged up, engulfing him completely before leaving behind only half a sentence: "... I need to notify the director."
The situation wasn't much better at Flourish and Blotts in Diagon Alley.
" Lockhart is going to be the Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts." A middle-aged witch standing by the bookshelf turned to the relevant page in her book, " Dumbledore has invited Gilderoy Lockhart."
"Isn't Professor Lockhart quite good?" the young witch beside her said, her tone filled with obvious admiration. "He's the one who defeated Werewolf and has written so many books—"
"Keep reading," the middle-aged witch said, shoving the book into her hands.
"He let a cage of Cornish Pixies out of the classroom during his first class, and then—and then there was nothing he could do. They turned his office upside down."
The young witch glanced down at the few paragraphs, and her originally bright face visibly darkened.
"These House-elf... are really hard to deal with," she tried to argue. "Besides, isn't the point of bringing the House-elf out in class to demonstrate his skills in handling them?"
"Then why does the book say that he was chased all over the house by the House-elf, and that Harry Potter ultimately stepped in to help him out?"
The young witch stared at the pages for a long time, as if she wanted to refute them, but the words were clearly printed on the paper, and she couldn't pretend not to see their meaning when put together.
More and more customers gathered around the bookshelves, and someone whispered, "I bought a whole set of his books last week."
The set I have at home is a hardcover edition.
"Me too."
The middle-aged witch shook her head, her tone softening slightly:
"I'm not saying his book is bad, I just feel... someone who can't even handle House-elf is going to teach students how to deal with Dark Magic?"
"Maybe this book is a fake at all!" The young witch suddenly raised " Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Part 1)" with her eyes shining.
"That's right, this book must be complete fabrication," she said confidently. "Think about it, the Ministry of Magic previously listed the first volume of this book as a forbidden book."
"It's obvious they think this book is fake!"
"Really... really?" The middle-aged witch was clearly somewhat shaken.
After all, she had been a fan of Lockhart for so many years, and she couldn't accept that Lockhart was a good-for-nothing.
"Absolutely true! In my opinion, that book is complete nonsense! It's just a novel after all!" The young witch's voice grew louder and louder, attracting the attention of everyone around her.
The Lockhart fans around him breathed a sigh of relief after hearing the young witch's "analysis."
"I knew he couldn't possibly be unable to handle even House-elf."
"This book is deliberately trying to smear him!"
"Let's go to the Ministry of Magic and have them add this book back to the Forbidden Books Index."
Amidst the fervor of Lockhart's many fans, a group of people marched menacingly toward the Great Britain Ministry of Magic.
Inside the Leaky Cauldron, the discussion about the Chamber of Secrets continued, but it gradually veered in another direction.
" Harry Potter speaks Parseltongue." Someone suddenly said this.
The chatter around the bar quieted down for a moment.
How did you know?
"The snake house incident from the first movie, you guys forgot? He talked to a Brazilian python at the zoo?"
The witch in the blue robe in the crowd frowned and said softly:
" Parseltongue is Slytherin's signature ability, and the Chamber of Chamber of Secrets is a legacy of Slytherin. You're suggesting that the child is...?"