Hogwarts: Oh no, I've become Voldemort!

What emerged from his sleeve looked like a thick, flesh-colored rubber glove. He tried to move his fingers, but there was no response.

Lockhart didn't set Harry's bones properly. He removed them all.

Lockhart: Just tell me, does it still hurt?

Good news: It's Friday!

Bad news: What bad news could Friday bring?

Waiting to get off work

Chapter 24 The Second Attack

Ms. Pomfrey glared at him.

"I'm glad you came to the school hospital, but I'm not happy that you didn't come to me directly!"

She lifted the pitiful, lifeless thing, which was as soft as Harry's underdeveloped arm.

"I can set bones in a second—but getting them to grow back—"

“Never again?” Cyrus chimed in. “It can’t get hard again? I mean—the bone.”

"What else could it be?" Ron didn't quite understand.

“Of course I’ll let it grow back, but it’ll hurt a lot, so he’ll have to spend the night here,” Madam Pomfrey said sternly, tossing Harry a set of pajamas and giving Cyrus a sharp look. “What on earth are you thinking, you little girl…”

The curtains around Harry's bed were drawn, and Ron helped him change into his pajamas while Hermione and Cyrus waited outside. It took Ron quite a bit of effort to tuck that rubbery, boneless arm into the sleeve.

“How are you still protecting Lockhart now, um, Hermione?” Ron said loudly through the curtain as he pulled Harry’s limp fingers out of his sleeve one by one. “If Harry wants the bones removed, he’ll bring it up himself.”

“Everyone makes mistakes,” Hermione said. “And your arm doesn’t hurt anymore, right, Harry?”

“It really doesn’t hurt anymore.” Even Cyrus looked at Hermione with an absurd expression. Needless to say, Harry, the primary victim, had a different expression. “Hermione, you should be more rational. Think about it. If Madam Pomfrey couldn’t do anything, Harry’s right hand would be ruined. Lockhart almost crippled him forever.”

"He has no ability at all, and he shouldn't have done something he wasn't sure of in the first place."

These words saddened Hermione, and then Madam Pomfrey walked through the curtain carrying a large bottle labeled Bonewright. The two of them followed.

“This night has been tough,” she said, pouring a large, steaming glass and handing it to Harry. “Growing bones is a very uncomfortable thing.”

Seeing Harry's upset expression, Ron decided to change the subject: "At least we won! Thanks to you for catching the Golden Snitch. Malfoy's expression... he looked like he wanted to kill someone!"

“I really want to know what he did to that Walking Ball,” Hermione said angrily. They had already blamed Malfoy for everything related to the Walking Ball.

“We can write this question on the list and ask him together after we drink Polyjuice Potion. I hope Polyjuice Potion tastes better than this stuff…” Harry’s voice trailed off. Hermione and Ron hadn’t realized something was wrong when they saw Harry’s gaze fixed on Cyrus.

"A compound medicine?" Cyrus aptly voiced his "doubt".

Now, they realize something is wrong.

"Harry! You let it slip!" Hermione screamed and covered his mouth with a pillow.

Ron quickly stepped in front of Cyrus, frantically saying, "You misheard, Ginny. Without Polyjuice Potion, how could we possibly brew it? That's a potion even upperclassmen can't brew, not to mention the recipe is hidden in the forbidden library, and we'd have to steal it from Snape! It's impossible! Besides, we can't find a place where we can concentrate on brewing potions without being disturbed..."

“Ron, I have to remind you, you’ve practically told everyone everything!” Ha used his left hand to pry open the pillow with difficulty.

Ron immediately turned pale and pleaded, "Please don't tell Mom, please..."

He was practically about to kowtow to Cyrus.

"Hehe..." Hermione laughed awkwardly.

“Of course I won’t tattle,” Cyrus said, shaking his head. It wouldn’t do him any good, but…

"So, you're planning to use the Polyjuice Potion to become Slytherins and then find out if Malfoy is the one who opened the Chamber of Secrets?"

The trio nodded immediately.

Then, Hermione realized what was happening and exclaimed in surprise, "Wait, you know about Polyjuice Potion? And you even know what it's used for?"

You should know that Ron had never even heard of any compound medicine.

“I’ve seen it in a book,” Cyrus said nonchalantly. Riddle had read the book *Powerful Potions* more than once back in the day. He changed the subject and continued, “If you don’t mind, you can invite me along.”

“You too—” Ron was about to refuse when a commotion came from outside the door. The Gryffindor team swarmed in, so he had to shut his mouth and desperately tried to wink at Cyrus.

The team brought a lot of food and drinks, as if they were going to have a party right there in the school hospital, which angered Ms. Pomfrey. She immediately rushed out from the other side and kicked everyone out.

"This child needs rest; he has thirty-three bones to grow! Get out! Get out!"

At the entrance of the school hospital, Cyrus ran into Colin, who was also there to visit. The guy wanted to go in, but was pushed out by a group of teammates. The small guy craned his neck to look around in the crowd.

Ron avoided him like the plague and immediately moved a distance away.

“Don’t look at Colin, Madam Pomfrey forbids us from visiting Harry,” Cyrus “kindly” reminded him. “But you can, secretly…”

After saying that, he left immediately.

Ginny was a bit too tired, and to avoid affecting her health, Cyrus decided to go and rest. There were still several hours until Hogwarts' curfew.

-

At night, Cyrus awoke in a dark, secret room.

A giant basilisk surrounded him.

Despite the terrifying magic in its eyes, it could not harm the one who controlled the basilisk.

"The second hunt is about to begin!"

He sat atop the basilisk's head and commanded it to close its eyes. This magical creature was actually quite different from a snake; it moved more by sight and hearing than by heat sensing.

"Listen to my command, and I will guide you on your path." Cyrus spoke in a terrifying voice, like the whisper of an evil being.

Hogwarts was quiet and eerie at night. Cyrus skillfully avoided Filch, who was still on patrol, and rode the giant snake toward the infirmary.

Meanwhile, Colin, carrying a bunch of grapes he'd secretly left behind at the dinner party, planned to sneak a peek at Harry Potter, just as Cyrus had told him. Since it was his first time going out at night, Colin also brought his camera, hoping to capture something unique.

From this perspective, he can be said to have gotten what he wanted.

He hummed a song and walked briskly around the corner, but unexpectedly bumped into something huge, causing Colin to fall to the ground and even drop the grapes he was holding.

"What—" His voice quickly trailed off as his gaze fell upon him.

At that moment, a gigantic snake—its head alone larger than his own—was facing him with its eyes closed. And on the snake's body was none other than the familiar "Ginny Weasley."

"Ginny, you are the heir to Slytherin?" he said, utterly absurd.

“That’s right, it’s a pity that no third person will know about this,” Cyrus said jokingly.

As if realizing something, Colin immediately picked up his camera and aimed it at the basilisk and Ginny, attempting to photograph the culprit.

I can die myself, but at least—

"Crack!"

Goodnight, little lion of Gryffindor.

It's the weekend!!! Yay!

Chapter 25 The question isn't who, but what?

Harry was awakened by the voice in his head and the pain in his arm.

The feeling was as if someone had stuffed thousands of sharp blades into the muscles of his arm, and as the bone fragments grew, they inevitably cut through his flesh.

Now, the pain that Lockhart took away has returned, twice as intense!

But more than the pain, he was concerned about the voice that kept echoing in his mind—so much time had passed that he had almost forgotten about it—and a monster rubbing his forehead with a sponge.

"Get away!" he waved frantically, but quickly recognized the monster as Dobby.

The house-elf who got him a warning from the Ministry of Magic.

"Dobby reminded Harry Potter time and time again. Oh, sir, why don't you heed Dobby's warnings? Harry Potter missed the train, why doesn't he go home?" Dobby said sadly.

Now, Harry knows who's trying to harm him—

"Did you do this? You blocked the wall and wouldn't let us through! You almost got Ron and me fired!" he said angrily. "You better get out of here before my bones heal, or I'll strangle you."

“Dobby’s used to the threat of death. He hears it five times a day at home,” Dobby said nonchalantly, though he looked rather pitiful. This immediately calmed Harry’s anger considerably.

"Why are you wearing that thing, Dobby?" He looked at Dobby's "clothes," or rather, a pillowcase that hadn't been washed in decades and was dirtier than a rag.

“This, sir?” Dobby said, tugging at the pillowcase. “This symbolizes the slave status of a house-elf, sir. Dobby is only free when his master gives him clothes to wear. The people in the house are very careful not to give Dobby even a pair of socks, sir, because if they do, Dobby will be free and will be gone from their house forever.”

Upon hearing this, Harry immediately felt sympathy, but that sympathy vanished in an instant.

"Harry Potter must go home! Dobby thought his Blink-Ball would definitely work—"

"Your wandering ball? What do you mean by this? Your wandering ball? Did you send that wandering ball to run me over and kill me?"

“I didn’t want to kill you, sir, I absolutely didn’t want to kill you!” Dobby said in horror. “Dobby wants to save Harry Potter’s life! Being badly injured and sent home is better than staying here, sir. Dobby just wants Harry Potter to be slightly injured and then sent home!”

“Oh, is that all?” Harry asked, angrily and sarcastically. “I guess you’re not going to tell me why you want me to be sent home smashed to pieces, are you?”

“Ah, I wish Harry Potter knew! What he meant to us lowly, enslaved little people in the wizarding world! Dobby hasn’t forgotten the height of that man’s power, the one whose name can’t even be mentioned! People treated us house-elves like vermin, sir! Of course, they still treat Dobby that way now, sir.” He admitted, wiping his face on the pillowcase again.

"But all in all, since you defeated that man whose name you can't even mention, our lives have improved considerably. Harry Potter survived, the Dark Lord's magic was broken, it's a new beginning, sir. For those of us who thought the dark days would never end, Harry Potter is a beacon of hope, sir… Now, at Hogwarts, something terrible is about to happen, perhaps it already has, and Dobby can't let Harry Potter stay here, because history is about to repeat itself, the Chamber of Secrets will be opened once more—"

“So, there really is a secret room?” Harry asked quietly. “And—you’re saying it was opened before? Tell me, Dobby!”

“Oh, sir, please stop asking! Please stop pressing poor Dobby!” the elf stammered, his eyes wide as bells in the darkness. “Someone is plotting something here. Harry Potter must not stay here when it happens. Go home, Harry Potter. Go home. Harry Potter must not get involved, sir, it’s too dangerous—”