Hogwarts: My name is the Unforgivable Curse...

Chapter 136 Baron in Solitary Confinement

"The provider of key information... what key information?"

As he walked back, Avada pondered Snape's words—Snape's office and the Hufflepuff common room were only a few steps apart, and he needed to think it over quickly.

"What information would be needed to push this so-called plan to this point... The coma incident was staged; it could be carried out under any circumstances as long as there are insiders cooperating... And Tom Riddle knew about the Basilisk and the locked room from the beginning; he didn't need anyone else to tell him..."

"But now that I think about it, wasn't Dumbledore's performance throughout the whole affair a bit too passive?"

"Ahem, we've gone off-topic. What information could possibly be considered crucial...?"

"By the way! Myrtle's memories and the password to the secret room were changed at the beginning of the semester!!"

Avada shuddered, nearly twisting his ankle even on flat ground: "They knew someone would investigate the Chamber of Secrets from the start! And one of the reasons they used the coma incident to take down Dumbledore was to eliminate the chickens in those paintings!!"

"Who told them?!"

He rubbed his temples hard, wishing he could dissect and go through every single moment of his life, from birth to the last, afraid that he might have revealed a flaw somewhere...

Unfortunately, he gained nothing—he had never told anyone about the secret room before the start of the semester, only expressing his concerns about this year on the train.

He did go to the abandoned washroom during his second-year final exams, but since he couldn't see souls back then, he came up empty-handed. Besides, he was hiding in a spatial interlayer that time, and he made sure no one else was around…

"Could it be that I've been legateeed upon?"

He couldn't help but have this absurd idea, but he rejected it the next second—with his Occlumency and magical senses, someone might be able to forcefully break through his defenses, but absolutely no one could read his thoughts silently without him noticing, not even Dumbledore!

"How did they know that? Who can provide such information?"

"Did the other side have a prophet? Or do they also have a time traveler?"

As Avada's thoughts wandered aimlessly, he slowly walked toward the Hufflepuff common room—and after all this time, he hadn't even gone halfway.

"Oh, Ken."

A familiar voice suddenly rang out from behind him. Avada turned around, then paused, startled: "Baron?"

"Just finished seeing Professor Snape?"

Baron, carrying water in one hand and a mop in the other, wearing an apron, was smiling and greeting Avada.

"This outfit..."

Avada pointed blankly at Baron, rubbed his eyes, and after a long silence, cautiously asked, "You're in solitary confinement?"

"yes."

"...What exactly happened?"

The fact that a model student like Baron, who was both academically gifted and well-behaved, would be placed in solitary confinement was as fantastical to Avada as it was to someone who knew from the start that they would be checking out the secret room.

"He was caught trespassing into the forbidden forest."

Baron chuckled nonchalantly, wiping the floor with the mop handle as he went. "I'll tell you later. This seclusion was worthwhile; I learned a lot—and I happen to need your help with this. Meet me at the door of 'Always Ready' after dinner; I have something good to show you..."

"It's best to stop having a Room of Requirement."

Avada asked curiously, "Harry and the others have been making potions there recently...it's not something that needs to be kept secret, is it?"

"No, quite the opposite... Let's find an empty classroom then, how about the Potions classroom?"

"OK."

Seeing Baron's suspenseful expression, Avada didn't press him for details about what he'd come up with, though he felt a nagging curiosity simmering within him. So, after saying goodbye to Baron, he forced himself to ponder how the mysterious informant knew he'd be checking the secret room as soon as school started…

Then he felt even worse.

"This is unbelievable, what is all this about... Why are the Horcruxes left behind by Voldemort even more troublesome than his original body?"

"Oh, right, I was the one plotting against him from the shadows that time, and now it's his turn to plot against me from the shadows... Is this karma?"

With a sigh, he paced back to the entrance of Hufflepuff's common room, where he saw a group of students running back and forth between the kitchen and the common room, carrying various bottles and jars, creating a lively scene...

"Ken!"

Rolf Scamander was carrying a bunch of snacks from the Kitchen King's lounge when he spotted Avada: "Cookies? Candy? Or chocolate?"

"What are you doing?"

Avada pulled a bag of Chocolate Frogs from his arms with a puzzled look on his face, and asked as he unpacked the bag, "Wasn't the lounge quite quiet when he left? How come it's lively again in such a short time?"

"Susan just knocked out a bucket of balsamic vinegar!"

Rolf's face was flushed with excitement: "We're planning a feast tonight just for this barrel of vinegar, and we're making preparations right now... Would you like some more?"

"Holding a banquet?"

When Avada first heard the name of Balsamac vinegar, he almost jumped up, but then calmed down: "Isn't holding a banquet at this time a bit... uh, inappropriate? The Muggle-born students are having a hard time right now."

"This banquet is for them—balsamic vinegar is enough to wash away any bad mood!"

Rolf chuckled and explained, "Didn't our Dean make it clear that we won't abandon any student? There are already many ways to deal with the petrification curse. Professors will come to the common room for classes, we can use flying brooms to fly out of the windows, and the Dean's mandrake is growing... If all else fails, we'll just abandon this castle and move in with the professors and students!"

"Since we're using Balsamic vinegar, we also want to give everyone a change of pace and, incidentally, encourage those Muggle-born students. We hope they won't give up on magic, school life, and the food in the kitchen so easily... Good food always brings a good mood, right?"

"Sounds good... Is there anything I can help with?"

Avada raised an eyebrow—the professors' words sounded inspiring, but their starting point was still to oppose the so-called will of the castle. Could it be that the professors were unaware of the Basilisk's existence and had been intimidated by Snape and the Board of Governors' rhetoric?

"No, everything is almost ready."

Rolf shook his head, then seemed to suddenly remember something: "By the way, Ken, you're Muggle-born, right? I just heard that your name isn't on the school's Muggle-born list?"

"Oh, I just asked Professor Snape, and he said the school re-counted the student records and found that I might have a rare wizarding bloodline, such as a Squid descendant, so they counted me as a wizarding descendant."

"You can do that? Congratulations!"

"Actually, there's nothing to congratulate you on. Things will have to be resolved sooner or later anyway..."

Watching Rolf disappear into the barrel with a pile of snacks, Avada turned around, intending to ask Baron if he wanted to join the party, and while she was at it, she finally opened the chocolate frog in her hand and looked at the card inside—

Despicable Herbo.

"Thank you."

Avada's eye twitched.

(End of this chapter)