Magical Studies at Hogwarts...

Chapter 59 Is Ike a bad guy?

Ike's goal has always been clear: to learn magic. As for everything else, it is somewhat dispensable.

His special attitude towards Hermione stemmed from past grievances; it wasn't really about liking her.

To some extent, Harry and Ron are just a bunch of mischievous kids, while Hermione is slightly better, but she's also been influenced a bit by the two of them. Therefore, I'm quite patient with Hermione and Ike, and their interactions often don't involve much communication, but I really don't want to talk to Harry and Ron.

Perhaps Dumbledore's consistently mature demeanor gave him the wrong impression, but now that Ike has personally refused, he will likely not be involved in such matters again.

Having gotten rid of a minor but significant problem, Ike bid farewell to Dumbledore. Dumbledore didn't say anything, seemingly respecting Ike's decision.

But only Dumbledore himself knew the truth.

For the next few days, the entire Hogwarts community talked about the attack on Madam Norris and Sir Nicholas. Of course, this only concerned the younger wizards; the older ones had experienced this far too many times and were somewhat used to it, paying only a little attention before moving on. The OWLs and NEWTS exams weighed heavily on them, leaving them with very little free time.

Stuart took these matters to heart, sharing the information he'd heard with Ike and the others every day during meals in the common room or the Great Hall. However, in just a few days, the suspects had changed more than ten times. Two weeks after the incident, the young wizards had largely reached a consensus.

Harry Potter is the prime suspect!

After all, the timing of his appearance was just too perfect.

Sir Nicholas's murder also corroborates this from another perspective. The young wizards generally believe it was Harry's revenge because he didn't have a good time at the Death Birthday Party.

Rumors really do get more and more outrageous the longer they're spread!

Ike had no intention of revealing the truth, a point on which he shared with Dumbledore.

If the students were to find out that there was a centuries-old basilisk in the school, it would surely cause a huge uproar in the entire British magical world, and the school would have to close down as a result.

This goes against Ike's plan.

Before reading all the books in the restricted section, Ike was probably the person who least wanted Hogwarts to close down.

After some deliberation, it became clear that the first priority was to deal with the snake monster.

As for Comrade Lao Fu's first Horcrux, we can wait a while.

The attack had a significant impact on Ike's life; the library was overflowing with people borrowing books.

The book "Hogwarts: A History of the School" became a favorite among young wizards, with all the copies in the library being borrowed and the waiting list stretching for weeks.

In addition, other books about Hogwarts and the four great masters were also sold out.

As for his own copy, Stuart had already taken it, and it seemed he wasn't planning to return it to him anytime soon.

Fortunately, as a young wizard who can use earplugs to listen to spells without batons or sound, he can basically ignore external noise.

But when someone is right in front of you, you can't ignore them.

"Ike, Ike..." The little witch waved her hand in front of Ike's eyes, easily pulling him out of his immersive state of studying.

Looking up at the cautious Hermione and the two Harry and Ron behind her, whose faces were clearly wary, Ike glanced at Mrs. Pince and casually put earplugs and silence on all three of them.

"What's wrong, Hermione?"

"I'd like to ask, are you familiar with the concept of an escape room?"

"I know," Ike replied casually.

"What! You know that!" Harry's reaction was huge, and both he and Ron looked surprised.

"You just haven't come to the right place. The Chamber of Secrets is more of a legend. If you look for the book 'Hogwarts Mysteries,' you'll find a record of the Chamber of Secrets in it."

After a slight pause, Ike continued, "However, I think you may have made a wasted trip. As far as I know, the book has been borrowed and has not been returned yet."

"Who borrowed it?" Ron asked hastily. Ike was annoyed by the jarring voice and glanced over coldly.

"You'll have to ask Mrs. Pince, Mr. Weasley."

Harry quickly tugged at Ron, and Hermione glared back before continuing, "Ike, can you tell us about the Chamber of Secrets...?"

"Yes, but not here..."

After leading the three away from the library, Ike randomly found an empty classroom and recounted the story of Slytherin building the Chamber of Secrets.

"...That's the legend, but we can't be sure if the secret chamber really exists..."

"But Filch's cat and almost headless Nick are dead!" Ron shouted.

"Perhaps someone used the legend of the Chamber of Secrets to do it, Mr. Weasley?"

"But those two lines of blood-written words..." Harry asked, while Ike shook his head. "I don't know about that..."

"Alright, Harry, Ron." Hermione stopped the two of them from asking any more questions, and gave Ike a bright smile. "Thank you, Ike."

"No need for that, Hermione." Ike nodded slightly and stood up. "If there's nothing else, I'll be going now."

"Okay, goodbye Ike."

Goodbye Hermione, Harry, and Mr. Weasley.

Seeing Ike leave the classroom, Ron suddenly complained, "Listen to that attitude! Who does he think he is?"

"Alright, Ron," Harry said, "at least we know what the Chamber of Secrets is, and that's enough."

Ron clearly wasn't listening, continuing, "He's nothing like a Ravenclaw, nothing like Stuart and the others!"

"Harry, Hermione, he's definitely hiding something, I'm sure of it!" Ron's tone was firm. "You mentioned Harry, he used to be involved with that person whose name I can't reveal. I think he's a lot like that crazy old man in Slytherin who proposed pure-bloods, he makes me feel disgusted..."

"Ron!" Hermione interrupted Ron's rambling loudly, "We shouldn't talk badly about others behind their backs!"

"Come on, Hermione, I bet you've been fooled!" Ron retorted sharply. "Think about it carefully, have you ever seen a wizard of his age who knows so many silent spells!"

"Who knows, he might just be the heir to Slytherin!"

"Ron..." Harry didn't want to see his two friends argue, so he tugged at Ron's arm and said, "That's impossible. You said it yourself, that's the heir of Slytherin. It must be hidden in Slytherin."

"That can't be..." Ron understood Harry's look and his voice grew softer and softer until it was almost inaudible, but he still clearly had some doubts about Ike.

Harry breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Alright, we should go now..."

"In fact, I still think Malfoy is more like Slytherin's successor..."

First update, more to come later.

(End of this chapter)