As the toast was swallowed by the "octopus," a low, scraping sound emanated from the stone wall.
The stone wall painted with an octopus mural slowly rotated inward from the center, opening a circular entrance.
Behind it is a passage leading to deeper areas.
They prepared to enter.
However, Scrope stopped outside the circular entrance, his small body trembling slightly, and dared not take another step forward.
" Scrope, aren't you coming in? There might be something else we need to check inside."
Hermione turned around and looked at it with a puzzled expression.
"Miss... Miss once said... if I dared to step into this Chamber of Secrets without permission, she would cut off... my other ear as well..."
Scrope's voice was filled with a deep-seated fear.
Hermione felt a pang of sadness and softly comforted her, "She's gone now. No one will hurt you anymore. Don't be afraid."
Draco stopped as well, frowning, his tone tinged with impatience, but more so with a statement of fact:
"Your young lady passed away long ago, Scrope."
"She can't punish you anymore. If you don't come in, how can you tell us what else is inside?"
But Scrope continued to shake his head desperately, his eyes filled with fear and stubbornness, still not daring to cross the line.
Hermione sighed inwardly—it had been tormented its whole life, fear etched into its very soul, and even without its master, it would never dare disobey the orders of that year.
This gave Hermione a deeper understanding of the cruelty of the relationship between "master" and "servant".
Draco seemed to have given up hope of persuading a terrified House-elf, and he gestured to Hermione:
"Forget it, let's go in and see for ourselves. What it knows is the same whether it says it from the outside or not."
The two stopped pressuring Scrope and turned to enter the Chamber of Secrets behind the circular stone door.
The Chamber of Secrets wasn't large; it was more like a private study or research room. Inside, there was a set of antique-style stone table and chairs, and on the table was a magic lamp that was still lit.
Judging from the furnishings, this place was clearly intended for people to study, research, and even write for extended periods of time.
Considering that Apollonia was also obsessed with Ancient Magic, everything here makes sense.
Their gaze was quickly drawn to a thick notebook with an open leather cover, lying in the center of the stone table.
That looks like Apollonia Blake's diary.
Hermione cautiously stepped forward, holding her breath as she flipped through the pages. The more she read, the more somber her expression became. Finally, she closed the book and whispered:
"I now understand how much pain Apollonia felt when she was betrayed... but that cannot be a reason for her to unleash all her suffering on a completely innocent person."
" Anne did nothing!"
"Who writes a diary every day? They just lay all their innermost thoughts on paper," Draco casually remarked.
These words were said casually, but they made Hermione blush slightly, because she herself had a diary.
It secretly recorded many details of her time with Draco, as well as her little-known thoughts...
Draco, seemingly oblivious to Hermione's odd behavior, continued his calm analysis, "Judging from the diary, Apollonia's mental state was clearly abnormal in the later stages, bordering on madness."
"A madman's subjective record, embellished with more emotion than fact, cannot be used as evidence on its own."
"No, sir, there's more evidence!" Scrope pointed urgently to the space under the desk. "Hidden in a drawer are letters Mr. Richard Jackdaw wrote to Miss. At first, they were sweet love letters, but later... they were all plots to use her."
Draco and Hermione exchanged a glance and, following Scrope's instructions, opened the drawer.
Inside, there was a neatly stacked pile of letters bound with ribbons; the parchment was yellowed, but it was remarkably well-preserved.
Dedraco casually gave half of his to Hermione.
He quickly skimmed through the first few letters and said, "The first half is indeed cheesy, recounting Jackdaw's fervent pursuit of Apollonia; he's practically a lovesick fool."
Draco shook the letters in his hand. "The first half is indeed cheesy, recording Jackdaw's fervent pursuit of Apollonia, he's practically a lovesick fool."
He pointed to the signature at the end of the letter and the fancy name: " Richard Jackdaw ".
Hermione looked at the other section, her brow furrowing deeper. "And these... are all requests to use the Black clan's influence to access sealed clues to Ancient Magic."
At this moment, Hermione's opinion of Richard Jackdaw took a sharp turn for the worse.
He transformed from a pitiful ghost wronged by love into an opportunist who uses emotions to achieve his goals.
Although Apollonia's subsequent retaliation was extremely cruel, Jackdaw's actions were undoubtedly the initial trigger and the deepest wound in this tragedy.
"The love letters, and these so-called 'plea for help' letters, while the handwriting is similar, could still be forged." Draco remained cautious, suggesting another possibility.
"Especially if Apollonia later harbors resentment out of love and deliberately fabricates evidence to support her 'victim' claim, or simply to vent her frustrations..."
"You're right, sir. Ordinary ink might be counterfeited, but this stationery is different," Scrope said.
"You can verify this with your wand. Gently place your wand on the letter, and it will resonate automatically, revealing the primal magic he left on the paper when he wrote it."
Upon hearing this, Hermione raised her wand and pressed it against the surface of the letter.
The next second--
A faint, ethereal blue light emanated from the letter, exactly the same as the light that had emanated from Jackdaw earlier.
"It's his magic..." Hermione put her wand away.
She watched the faint blue light on the letter gradually fade, her face drained of color, and her eyes filled with complex emotions.
Her previous sympathy for Jackdaw was now replaced by a feeling of disgust, like swallowing a fly.
Although Jackdaw did not directly harm her
But the feeling of peeling back the glamorous exterior to reveal the unbearable interior is equally unpleasant.
This means that what Scrope said about the core part is very likely true.
Jackdaw played the role of a exploiter, at least in the part of the relationship they observed.
Draco put away the letter and said firmly, "Regardless of who is right or wrong between them, we should clear Anne's name. She is the only one who is completely innocent."
Hermione nodded vigorously, temporarily suppressing her disgust for Jackdaw, her sense of justice prevailing. "Yes, Anne's injustice must be redressed!"
At that moment, Scrope, who had been waiting outside the door, suddenly knelt down on the stone ground with a "thud".
It pressed its forehead to the ground, its voice choked with sobs, filled with a humble plea. "Sir, Miss Granger... please, don't tell anyone about Miss's wrongdoings."
"Peace after death is too much of a luxury for her. Let her not be pointed at or insulted anymore..."