For the next while, whenever Morris and Tom chatted, the latter always made sure to inquire about his "strange illness."
" Mark, how are you feeling today? How's your illness?"
" Mark, I've reviewed my memories, and there might be a way to cure you, but I need more details..."
"My friend, I'm worried about you. Perhaps we should discuss your family history. Oh, I forgot you are..."
Okay, let's look at it from a different angle...
To these questions, Morris would always calmly reply that there was no need to worry.
Tom seemed to genuinely believe he had this strange illness.
From this perspective, the other party is extremely obsessed with his blood.
This made Morris more vigilant and increasingly curious.
What exactly does Tom want to do with his blood?
Just restoring strength?
It's probably not that simple.
Morris knew that his clumsy excuse wouldn't last long.
So he began to consciously reduce the number of times he talked to Tom, only asking him questions about his studies when he needed to, and then immediately closing the door afterward to avoid giving Tom a chance to chat.
The initiative is in his hands.
Even if Voldemort is incredibly powerful, he's just a notebook now.
Before we knew it, March had arrived.
The temperature is gradually warming up.
Four months have passed since the last petrification incident at Hogwarts.
In the past four months, no further attacks have occurred at the school, and the panic that had gripped the castle has gradually dissipated.
The students stopped discussing the Chamber of Secrets.
It feels like a long time ago.
Under Professor Sprout's care, the Mandrake are growing well and are nearing maturity.
Speaking of which, Mandrake are really amazing; just like people, they have various stages of growth.
Childhood, adolescence, maturity, old age... oh, there is no old age.
When they mature, they are processed into raw materials for Potions.
What a pathetic thing to live on.
One Wednesday, Dark Magic Defence Class.
As usual, Lockhart had his students act out excerpts from his books.
Today's performance is " Break with a Banshee," which, in short, is about Lockhart himself and a female ghost's love-hate relationship.
Based on his experience reading books, Morris judged that the content of this book must have been drastically abridged and modified, probably only in that way could it pass censorship.
I wonder which ruthless person Lockhart heard the story from.
Lockhart has been behaving himself lately, no longer engaging in shady activities like the Duelling Club. He's been diligently attending his classes, killing time, and occasionally recounting his past glories.
He also demonstrated the Whip Wand in class, which amazed his students.
Overall, Lockhart is doing alright at Hogwarts these days.
Although a large portion of the fanbase has been lost, the core group can still be barely maintained.
If he can just get through this period, he can go out and deceive people again.
get out of class dismissed.
After Lockhart announced the end of class, the boy dressed as the ghost walked off the podium as if granted a pardon, and followed the students out of the classroom.
Morris walked through the crowd toward the restaurant.
On a staircase landing, he saw several Slytherin students gathered around Draco Malfoy, listening to him talk animatedly about something.
Draco's voice wasn't loud, but Morris could barely hear it.
He spoke in the same way as always, with a condescending tone.
... So, Dumbledore will be dismissed soon because my father doesn't think he's a good headmaster. Maybe a new headmaster will come in and allow the Chamber of Secrets of Secrets to exist, and will purge those who aren't of pure blood."
Was Dumbledore dismissed?
Morris shook his head.
It's important to remember that a long time has passed since the last attack.
Is it too late to hold Dumbledore accountable now?
Moreover, this doesn't seem very reasonable.
You must know that's Dumbledore, the greatest white wizard in the world today.
Who dares to dismiss him?
In short, he didn't believe it.
noon.
Morris had just finished lunch and was walking in the corridor outside the Great Hall when he ran into Harry, Hermione, and Ron.
The three men approached him with somber expressions.
" Hagrid has been taken to Azkaban by the Ministry of Magic," Harry whispered. "They think Hagrid was responsible for those attacks at the school... It's ridiculous."
Hagrid?
Morris also found it somewhat outrageous when he heard it.
Hagrid and Heir of Slytherin...
This doesn't make any sense at all.
"And it gets worse," Hermione said, her voice strained. "I overheard Professor McGonagall and the other professors talking, Professor Dumbledore Dumbledore no longer our headmaster because all twelve board members have signed a document removing him from office."
Morris frowned. "That's definitely bad news."
Malfoy was actually right?
That was truly beyond his expectations.
Hermione nodded. "I also heard from Professor McGonagall that all of this was orchestrated by Malfoy, who used various means to persuade or threaten the other School Governor."
Which Malfoy?
"The older one," Hermione paused, then continued, "Is Draco Malfoy's father, Lucius Malfoy."
Morris stroked his chin.
He felt that no one could truly remove Dumbledore from his position unless Dumbledore himself was willing.
"We suspect the heirs haven't acted recently because they're afraid of Dumbledore," Harry said gravely. "Now that Dumbledore's gone, the attacks will likely resume soon... those Muggle students will be in danger."
Hermione's face paled slightly.
She was a typical Muggle student.
Morris listened to Harry's speculation without refuting it.
From the other party's perspective, this inference is reasonable.
But what Harry didn't know was that the culprit was still lying in his drawer.
As long as the laptop doesn't grow legs and run away, the Basilisk attack won't happen.
Morris pondered for a moment, then asked, "So what are your plans next?"
Without hesitation, Harry said, "Find the real killer and prove Hagrid's innocence."
"I don't think that's necessary," Morris shook his head. "We can just wait for Professor Dumbledore to return; he'll have a solution."
Harry raised his voice. "So we're just going to do nothing? Hermione's in danger."
"Calm down," Morris said calmly, looking at him. "Even if you wanted to do something, you have no clue where to start, do you?"
Harry opened his mouth, but did not refute.
Indeed, they have no leads at the moment.
He was in too much of a hurry.
Ron, who had been silent until now, spoke up, "What we should do now is stay alert and protect Hermione."
Morris nodded slightly. "Very wise."
Harry suddenly realized that Morris was much more mature than him.