My Hogwarts has a serious problem.

Chapter 278

275. Hermione's Deduction

The news of Justin Finley's attack and the opening of the Chamber of Secrets spread to all the young wizards at Hogwarts in just one night.

Students from all four colleges witnessed this scene that night; such a thing simply cannot be hidden.

Fortunately, Finley did not die; he was simply petrified.

The next day at breakfast, Professor McGonagall announced to the entire school that Madam Pomfrey and Professor Snape would work on concocting the potion to cure Finley, and that they were currently waiting for one of the main ingredients to mature, so he would be in no danger.

The perpetrator who attacked him is still under investigation. Meanwhile, Professor McGonagall stated that Hogwarts will be under martial law soon, with extra strict curfews and harsher penalties for any violations of school rules.

She reminded the young wizards who usually went out at night as easily as drinking water or eating that they should not risk their lives during this time.

The legends surrounding the Chamber of Secrets were varied and numerous. Most of the young wizards had never heard of the story of the Chamber of Secrets in Slytherin. The library's copy of "Hogwarts: A History of the School" was booked up for three weeks in advance. Everyone wanted to know what the monster that attacked Finchley was.

Someone even asked Professor Binns about the Chamber of Secrets during a history of magic class.

Professor Binns firmly denied the existence of the Chamber of Secrets, insisting that it was merely a legend and that there was no historical evidence to prove that Slytherin had ever built a Chamber of Secrets in the castle.

Moreover, Hogwarts Castle has undergone numerous large-scale renovations over the past thousand years, yet no one has ever discovered the Chamber of Secrets. Therefore, he advised the students to forget about the Chamber of Secrets, suggesting that it was merely a pretext used by someone to launch a ulterior motive.

But the young wizards clearly didn't listen to him.

The mystery of the secret chamber undoubtedly piqued the students' interest, and for the past few days, almost everyone in the entire castle has been discussing it.

What is the monster in the locked room?

Who is the successor of Slytherin, and who opened the Chamber of Secrets?

Because Finley was not dead, and this was only the cause of the first attack, the students were not particularly panicked. The sudden realization of something legendary excited them immensely.

Guessing who the murderer is is more like a puzzle-solving challenge, with all the young wizards trying to guess who opened the secret room based on limited information.

Lynn and Dumbledore didn't get many useful clues from the portrait.

But at least they now know the killer's purpose.

It wasn't to fulfill any Slytherin's dying wish; he controlled the Basilisk simply to satisfy his own needs.

Therefore, the safety of these young wizards at Hogwarts can be temporarily assured. The fact that he did not order the basilisk to kill Fenrir this time shows that the other party did not intend to go on a killing spree.

Dumbledore and Lynn did not discuss any useful plans afterward.

However, since the murderer failed to achieve his goal and find what he wanted this time, he will definitely come back again. Without any other clues, they can only wait and see, hoping that the mastermind behind the scenes will gradually reveal his true colors.

Two days after the attack, a rumor began to circulate at Hogwarts.

To be precise, it's not a rumor, but a fact.

On the night of the attack on Finley, four young wizards and a professor were not present at the Halloween dinner and appeared in public.

All four young wizards had solid alibis, but Professor Lockhart, who was the first to arrive at the scene, not only had no one to prove when he arrived, but also had no way of explaining where he was when Finley was attacked.

Because of these rumors, some students believe that Lockhart is the successor of the Chamber of Secrets, and that he is also the one who opened the Chamber and allowed the Basilisk to attack.

However, these people were mainly concentrated among the lower-year students of Slytherin and Gryffindor. Most young wizards, especially those who had experienced what happened with Professor Fawkes, were skeptical about such things.

Even in the Great Hall, a Ravenclaw girl and a Slytherin boy had a heated argument, debating whether Lynn was the real killer. The argument escalated into a large-scale verbal battle between the two groups.

It was only through Professor McGonagall's intervention and Dumbledore's personal endorsement of Lynn's position that the matter was brought under control.

"Professor Lockhart could not be the murderer."

After the Transfiguration class ended, Harry, his two friends, and their friend did not leave the classroom immediately, but stayed there to discuss the recent events.

Harry and Ron looked at Hermione with confusion upon hearing her words.

"Just a couple of days ago you were absolutely certain he was the killer, right? Why is it that now that many people think he's the killer, you're no longer convinced?"

Hermione analyzed the situation with them seriously.

"First of all, we need to know that Professor Lockhart is an adult, and he doesn't act on impulse like we do."

If Professor Lockhart were truly the murderer, he would have prepared his alibi beforehand to exonerate himself, instead of letting the entire Hogwarts community know he was a suspect.

That day in the office, we learned that he couldn't say where he was when the accident happened at Finley. Only we, Professor Snape, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Dumbledore knew.

Professor Lockhart wouldn't have revealed this himself, and we haven't mentioned it to anyone. Although there was a conflict between Professor Snape and Professor Lockhart, given that Professor Dumbledore clearly trusted him, Snape certainly wouldn't have spoken of it carelessly. As for Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore, that's even less likely.

Who leaked these messages?

Hermione had made herself so clear; if Harry and Ron still couldn't understand, they might as well find a block of tofu and smash their heads against it.

"You mean, these messages were actually spread by the killer!"

They gasped in surprise, then their faces lit up with excitement, as if they had discovered some major secret.

"So Professor Lockhart was actually framed!"

Hermione nodded, her head held high, and said, "If my reasoning is correct, then that is the truth."

Harry's expression turned hesitant again.

"Could that Malfoy really come up with such a meticulous plan? Should we still prepare Polyjuice Potion and go find him?"

A subtle glint flashed in Hermione's eyes.

"Of course we should. No matter what, Malfoy is a suspect, so we should still test him."

I forgot to write the title again.

Please bear with it for now. I'm too embarrassed to contact the editor again. I'll ask them for permission to make changes later.

(End of this chapter)