My Hogwarts has a serious problem.

Chapter 274, 271. Snape, don't shoot, we're on the same side!

Seeing this scene, Harry and Ron, apart from Hermione, couldn't help but suspect that Lockhart was behind it.

"Professor, did you do this?" Harry asked, his face pale, while pulling Hermione and Ron back with each hand.

Before Lynn could deny it, Hermione shook her head and said...

"No, Professor Lockhart couldn't have done this! Yes!"

She was so certain not because she had discovered Lynn's secret that he was Lockhart, but because Lynn had told her about the Chamber of Secrets and the Basilisk a month earlier.

But Lynn had told her not to tell anyone, so she stopped herself from saying what she was about to say.

Fenrir was clearly petrified by something, and such powerful petrification magic is something that ordinary people cannot use; only a basilisk could do this.

However, Hermione did not dispel her suspicions about Lockhart because of this.

That's right, the one who petrified Fenrir wasn't Lockhart, but the person Lynn has been looking for who opened the secret chamber and released the basilisk might very well be their Defense Against the Dark Arts professor!

Lynn looked at the writing on the wall and the petrified Fenrir on the ground, and rubbed his forehead in annoyance: "Hey, it's not what you think. I was only half a minute earlier than you."

However, Hermione and the others had no intention of listening to his explanation.

"Let's go find the professor!" Hermione said quickly, making the decision.

Just as they were about to turn and leave, they heard the sound of hundreds of feet climbing the stairs from both ends of the corridor, along with the cheerful laughter of people who had finished their meals.

Harry and the others immediately relaxed. The Halloween dinner was over, and many people would be arriving soon. Even if Lockhart really was the murderer, he wouldn't dare to commit the crime in front of so many people.

Then, the students pushed and shoved their way into the aisle from both ends. When those in front saw Fenrir lying on the ground, the noisy chatter suddenly stopped, and the little wizards fell silent as they crowded forward to see the terrifying scene.

In the silence, someone spoke loudly.

"Beware, you who oppose the heir! You're next, Mudblood!"

It was Draco Malfoy. He had already pushed his way to the front of the crowd, his cold eyes now bright, his usually pale face flushed crimson. He looked at Finley lying on the ground, then at Harry and the other two, a sinister grin spreading across his face.

However, the next moment, a cold voice rang out.

"You seem to have ignored the fact that I'm right here, Mr. Malfoy, Slytherin deducts 20."

Well, your mouth may be filthy, but Slytherin is innocent. This stinking mouth of yours might get you into some trouble, so it's best if it keeps quiet.

"Tongue sealed, throat locked, front teeth like giant clubs."

Lynn coldly raised his wand at Draco, gagging him and giving him a little lesson.

This guy is incorrigible; he almost made me so angry that I deducted points from Slytherin's score.

The two spells struck Draco with perfect accuracy. His tongue was stuck to his palate, while his front teeth continued to grow larger until they grew out of his mouth and pressed tightly against his lower lip.

It was only then that he noticed Lynn standing next to him; he had subconsciously ignored the person standing next to him whenever he saw Harry.

Draco covered his mouth in terror, then hunched over and fled from the crowd like a mouse, with his two henchmen following behind him.

While Harry and his friends felt relieved to see this, they remained wary of Lynn.

The young wizards who had just arrived didn't know that Harry and his friends had come later. They looked at Harry, his two friends, and Lynn with suspicion, while Finchley was already being checked on by Hufflepuff's classmates.

"Justin, Justin!" the badger cub called out, his fingers trembling as he checked Justin's breath. Then he cried out in terror, "Justin is dead!"

Immediately, the hundreds of young wizards around them started to make a fuss.

Just when the situation seemed to be spiraling out of control, a gentle voice softly rang out.

"Quiet."

The voice seemed to possess a magical power, silencing everyone present. The students surrounding the area automatically parted to make way for Dumbledore, who was outside, to enter.

He walked over to Justin's side, where several Hufflepuff boys said sadly, "Professor, Justin is dead."

"Don't jump to conclusions yet, let me see."

He crouched down, pinched Justin's stiff skin, then tapped his body with his wand while chanting some strange incantations.

He then stood up again, shook his head, and said, "He's not dead, he's just petrified."

Dumbledore turned his gaze to the students around him: "You carry Mr. Finley to the school infirmary. Mrs. Pomfrey will find a way to heal him. Filch, you erase these words from the wall. You three, and Gilderoy, come here."

The silent crowd parted, and Dumbledore led Harry, his two companions, and Lynn away, with Professor McGonagall and Snape following behind.

Lynn quickly took a few steps forward to stand beside Dumbledore. Without saying anything, he said, "Let's go to my office. It's on the fifth floor."

Dumbledore nodded, and the three professors and one headmaster led Harry and the other two to Lynn's office.

"Tell me, who found Finchley first?" Dumbledore asked Harry and the others, sitting in Lynn's chair. They all turned to look at Lynn.

Lynn, of course, did not deny it: "It was Professor Dumbledore. I had just reached the third floor when I saw Finley lying on the floor, and those words were written on the wall."

Before Dumbledore could say anything, Snape was keeping a close eye on Harry and the others.

"Where did the three of you go tonight instead of the Halloween dinner?"

Harry, Ron, and Hermione all chimed in with explanations that they had attended Nick's death anniversary dinner, and that there were hundreds of ghosts and Lynn, who had already returned to the common room, could testify to this.

There is indeed a "Lynn" in the Slytherin common room who can testify for them.

This time, because Lynn was shielding them from attention, Snape didn't question them about why they were on the third floor as he did in the original story. Instead, he turned his attention to Lynn.

He sneered and asked in a malicious tone, "So, where are you tonight, Professor Gilderoy Lockhart?"

Lynn remained silent, inwardly complaining that his dean had made a mistake in hiring him; he was actually one of their own.

But he really has no way of explaining where he went tonight instead of attending the Halloween dinner.

(End of this chapter)