Hogwarts: I'm Harry's older cousin

Chapter 147, page 145: I understand a little cat language, just a little.

"A very bold design."

Dumbledore immediately grasped the basic principle of the red and white balls: "A very ingenious design, which reminds me of an old friend of mine who passed away not long ago."

As he spoke, Dumbledore revealed a rare hint of nostalgia: "Completely different from his design philosophy. I really wish I could introduce you two to each other; he would certainly like you."

"It's just a little trick, nothing to mention," Dudley said very modestly.

Snape held his head up with a hint of pride, as if Dudley were someone he had trained.

That's not wrong.

Then Dumbledore's gaze fell on the very healthy mandrake: "Perhaps I have another child who will also like you, and I'll introduce you to him sometime."

Fantastic animals and magical plants have never been separate entities.

"It is my honor, Professor Dumbledore."

With mandrake present, the potion to remove petrification wasn't particularly difficult to make, and it was brewed in no time.

With just two drops, Mrs. Lorris's hard, stone-like fur began to soften.

A few more drops fell. Mrs. Lorice's body began to soften, and her temperature rose.

"Although it's a little bit worse than my skills, it's already quite remarkable to have achieved this." Lockhart kept rambling on and on without any regard for his words, but no one present took him seriously, including Filch.

"The petrification is gone, so what kind of creature petrified Mrs. Norris? I don't think it's safe for such a thing to be roaming around Hogwarts."

Speaking of safety, Dumbledore's tone was slightly helpless. He still remembered that he had promised Dudley that Hogwarts was the safest place.

"It must be Medusa," Lockhart said to himself. "I encountered a Medusa when I was adventuring in Armenia, you know. I subdued a werewolf there, which is mentioned in my book, *Wandering with Werewolves*. If it weren't for my quick reflexes..."

Even though the only person present was the professor, Lockhart still made sure to get attention and take the opportunity to promote his books.

Lockhart's words weren't entirely without merit. While Medusas do possess the ability to petrify, England isn't the birthplace of Medusas. Those creatures are native to Greece, and there's no reason for a Medusa to appear even in the Forbidden Forest, a place teeming with wonder.

But if it wasn't Medusa, what kind of magical creature could it be?

The professors were stumped by this. Even Dumbledore couldn't guess the answer.

But no matter what, there is a dangerous creature roaming around Hogwarts.

It's likely that Cormac didn't see it, so the only person who witnessed the other's true appearance was 'Mrs. Lorris'.

We can't very well ask Mrs. Lorris, can we?

Talking to a cat doesn't seem so bad. Dumbledore thought of someone.

"Mrs. Lorris said she saw a huge snake."

Just then, Dudley, who was examining Mrs. Lorris, suddenly spoke up.

"What?" His words startled everyone.

This includes Lockhart.

"Mrs. Loris said she saw a giant snake, very, very big, that almost took up the entire corridor." Dudley emphasized again, feeding Mrs. Loris the "delicious dried fish" in his hand, which helped the poor Mrs. Loris, who had just recovered from petrification, regain some strength.

"I mean, you understand cat language?" Professor Flitwick asked, not because he thought Dudley was lying, but just out of habit to confirm.

This is an excellent wizard who was able to cast spells without a wand in his second year.

"Didn't I say that? Actually, I understand a little cat language."

As he spoke, Dali held up two fingers, his thumb and forefinger making a gesture reminiscent of the pain of losing the Korean market: "A little bit, but enough to understand what Mrs. Lorris is trying to say."

"It's truly amazing," Dumbledore exclaimed.

"I think this is insignificant compared to you, Professor. Don't you also speak mermaid and fairy languages?"

To be precise, Dumbledore not only speaks Mermaid and Goblin languages, but he also understands Parsley, though he can only understand it but cannot speak it.

"Snakehead!" Lockhart seized on the key phrase: "See, I told you it was Medusa."

Medusa's head was covered in snake heads—wasn't that the murderer? It's confirmed.

Dudley clapped his hands, stood up, and looked at the other professors: "I don't think this is Medusa."

"Medusa's snake heads are all very small, and there are a great many of them. Mrs. Lorris said that the snake was bigger than the corridor."

How could a thousand-year-old serpent monster possibly be compared to a mere Medusa?

"Don't be ridiculous, how could there be such a big snake?" Lockhart teased, then flashed his signature two rows of teeth again: "Mr. Dursley, it's just a cat, what does it know about big? What it sees as big is probably just what it perceives as big."

Before Dudley could speak, Filch exclaimed excitedly, "Mrs. Lorris is very clever! She doesn't lie, and she doesn't make mistakes!"

He's not usually like this. Although Filch is very strict with his students, he always maintains sufficient respect for his professors.

But you can insult him, but you can't insult his cat.

That was his only companion!

"Dali, what do you think that is?"

Dumbledore ignored Lockhart and focused his gaze on Dudley, along with the gazes of the other professors.

Under the watchful eyes of countless people, he spoke slowly again: "A gigantic, serpentine magical creature, Professor Dumbledore, I think the answer is already quite obvious."

There aren't many snake-like magical creatures to begin with, and only a few are famous. Add to that the ability to petrify, and there are even fewer.

"It's a basilisk, a basilisk."

"Mr. Dursley, your statement is even more absurd. Basilisks are rarer than Medusas."

Lockhart was determined to prove his guess was correct: "As far as I know, those dangerous magical creatures haven't appeared for a long time. You say it's a basilisk? Why don't you just say it's a basilisk raised by Slytherin that has lived for a thousand years?"

The Lockhart portraits on the surrounding walls nodded in agreement after hearing Lockhart's words.

The process of breeding a basilisk is extremely complex, let alone raising one to such a large size.

"And the basilisk's gaze can be deadly; that cat was just petrified."

Dudley casually remarked, "Is it possible that Lady Lorris indirectly saw the basilisk's eyes through the puddles on the ground, so she was only petrified instead of killed?"

Mrs. Lorris nodded frantically and meowed in agreement.

The two have conflicting accounts.

The professors looked at each other, somewhat perplexed.

In fact, both Medusa and the basilisk were nonsense in their eyes.

Hogwarts Castle is the safest place in the world, how could there be anything like that? Wait, it seems like a few trolls got in last year.

(End of this chapter)