Hogwarts: My name is the Unforgivable Curse...

Chapter 103 The Legend of the Locked Room

"First, let's understand the definitions of these three categories."

Professor Kettleburn conjured a blackboard and began writing on it: "Bloodline-type means that the magical structure of this magical creature is directly inscribed in all its tissues and can be stably inherited through its bloodline. These creatures are usually the main producers of potion ingredients on the market; the most typical example is the unicorn..."

"The term 'spiritual' means that these organisms have no magical structure within their tissues and are no different from ordinary creatures. However, their spiritual power can help them manipulate the magic of nature to cast spells, just like wizards. But generally speaking, they can only cast a few fixed spells. The most typical examples are centaurs and mermaids... while house-elves are an exception."

"Speaking of which, someone once tried to include fairies in this category, which caused quite a bit of controversy..."

"The Mutant category is the most special. It means that the vast majority of these creatures' bodies are those of ordinary animals, but they possess a special organ that can be used to unleash magic. In the last century, this category was considered not to belong to an independent classification, but rather to a branch under the Bloodline category, until Newt Scamander's theory was proposed..."

"These kinds of creatures are the most common in nature and are often mistaken for ordinary animals by inexperienced people, such as most species of owls, swallowtail dogs, and porcupines."

"Now I'll demonstrate the characteristics of these three magical creatures... Let's start with the Spiky."

As he spoke, Professor Kettleburn conjured up another table, picked up two hedgehogs with his wooden prosthetic hand, and placed them on it, letting them lie quietly. "Here's a hedgehog and an ordinary hedgehog. Generally speaking, the only way to distinguish them, besides being pricked, is by observing their reactions when fed. But look..."

He grabbed a hedgehog with one hand, and with the other, he pulled out his wand and pointed it. A pale purple light immediately emanated from the tip of his wand. Under that light, the hedgehog's quills reflected wondrous and complex colors, making the students dizzy with admiration.

"See those colors? They represent the magical structures on this spiky creature's body."

"Through professional analysis, we can roughly determine what kind of magic this magical creature possesses simply by looking at these colors. Of course, this is only a rough estimate; to gain a more detailed understanding, we still need to take samples and analyze them."

Professor Kettleburn then looked at the ordinary hedgehog, and sure enough, it didn't reflect multicolored light like the hedgehog.

"Professor, when will we learn this spell?"

One of the students asked excitedly.

"This spell is quite difficult, sir. It's usually taught in the advanced seventh-grade class. However, you'll begin learning to interpret the meaning of those spectra in your fourth year to determine the magical abilities of a magical creature..."

"Professor, I have another question."

This time, Avada raised his hand to ask the question: "What would happen if this magic were used on creatures that have no physical form or are invisible, such as Invisible Beasts, Thestrals, and Boggarts?"

"Invisible beasts cannot be illuminated while in their cloaked state, which is one of the reasons why the principle behind their cloaking has always been a mystery."

Professor Kettleburn thought for a moment before explaining, "Intangible creatures like Boggarts require a different kind of magic to aid in research, and the spectrum they exhibit is much more complex. This will be a challenge you'll face in your fourth year. As for Thestrals..."

"What's wrong with Thestrals?" Everyone looked at him curiously, not understanding why he suddenly stopped.

"The Thestrals are the most unique case."

He sighed, "Those who have never witnessed death and cannot see the Thestrals cannot see the spectrum they emit either. And those who can see the Thestrals can see the spectrum, but it's an unanalyzable tangled mess... There is still no explanation for this situation, not even a plausible guess."

"Alright, that's too far off for you guys right now. Let's focus on the lessons we're currently studying..."

Soon, the third-year students' first lesson on magical creature protection came to an end. Kettleburn, a professor with over sixty years of teaching experience, possessed a wealth of knowledge and knew how to impart it in the most engaging way—after all, who could resist a cute and safe magical creature?

After Kettleburn clattered away, the students returned to the castle with exclamations of admiration, preparing for their next class. Avada, however, did not follow the crowd back, but instead headed alone in another direction—to Hagrid's hut.

"Hagrid? Hagrid? Are you there?"

He knocked on the door, and casually knelt down to scratch Tooth's itch. A moment later, the door opened, revealing Hagrid's tall figure: "Yo, Ken?"

"Did you just finish Professor Kettleburn's class? How was it? Wasn't his class great?"

"really."

Avada Kedavra nodded. "But Hagrid, I've come to you today to ask about something—have you heard of the Chamber of Secrets in Slytherin?"

"How did you know that?"

Hagrid's eyes widened in surprise, then a hint of sadness flashed in them: "Of course I know about the Chamber of Secrets... In fact, I was expelled from Hogwarts because of that so-called Chamber of Secrets."

"What?!"

Avada's surprise was genuine—the Chamber of Secrets had clearly disappeared, and Myrtle hadn't died at the hands of the Basilisk, so why was Hagrid still fired because of the Chamber of Secrets?

"Could you tell me more about it?"

Avada pressed on anxiously, "Oh, I'm sorry, I reminded you of something unpleasant... but this is very important to me, please tell me!"

"Is it that important? If you think so, why did you even bother with the decryption room?"

Hagrid scratched his head, somewhat puzzled, but didn't press the student who had even outmaneuvered Voldemort: "Originally, this was just a legend. It was said that Salazar Slytherin was strongly opposed to Hogwarts admitting Muggle-born wizards, and ultimately parted ways with the other three founders of Hogwarts due to differing ideologies. When he left, he left behind the Chamber of Secrets at Hogwarts, along with a monster that would expel and destroy all Muggle-born students for him..."

"Originally, this was just a legend, but that changed during my school years..."

A flicker of fear crossed his eyes. He swallowed hard before continuing, "I heard the secret chamber was opened around that time, and a student died because of it. Then, everyone said I released the monster from the chamber… You must be joking, how could Aragog possibly hurt anyone!"

"I was expelled from Hogwarts for that. Fortunately, Professor Dumbledore trusted me and saved me from being imprisoned in Azkaban. I heard that people searched the school thoroughly but found nothing of the so-called Chamber of Secrets... and the legend was once again proven to be nonsense."

"That's how it is." He sighed heavily.

"I understand, thank you, Hagrid... Would you like some cookies? I made them myself."

……

Upon returning to the castle, Avada couldn't resist checking the abandoned bathroom one more time—and still found nothing amiss.

"What happened? Why?"

"If the Chamber of Secrets doesn't exist, why hasn't Hagrid's history changed at all? What exactly killed Myrtle?"

"And if the secret room exists, where is it now?"

What's the Horcrux Diary up to now?

(End of this chapter)