A certain Hogwarts professor of runes.

After a long while, he said in a hoarse voice, "Hello, Haip."

Felix looked at him, recalling how, during a nighttime outing during his school days, he had inadvertently overheard Barrow and Lady Grey talking. Barrow was begging for her forgiveness, while Lady Grey cursed him, saying he would never be redeemed.

That same night, he learned of Helena Ravenclaw's identity. He also roughly pieced together the entanglement between the two: Helena had taken Ravenclaw's crown and dared not return home. Meanwhile, her admirer, the Blood Man Barrow, had been entrusted by Rowena Ravenclaw to bring his daughter back.

A fierce argument ensued between the two, and in the end, Barrow the Blood Man accidentally killed Helena. In remorse, he also committed suicide with the same weapon that killed Helena.

“Barrow, what do you mean by saying her name is taboo?” Felix asked.

Blood Man Barrow did not answer; he simply said dryly, "In that respect, you are better than me at not falling into dark magic."

Felix's expression turned serious, and he said in a low voice, "You reminded me."

“You can break free on your own without me. I saw the form you filled out…”

“Oh,” Felix thought of the happy part as well, “it was a psychological assessment scale in the Muggle world, a backup plan I prepared in advance to prevent myself from getting too deeply involved… but I still have to say, without you, I might have delayed realizing the seriousness of the problem by a month or two.”

The corrupting influence of dark magic on the mind is insidious, and the data on the measuring instruments is always lagging. By the time an anomaly is detected, the danger may have already occurred.

The blood-soaked Barrow drifted away silently.

Felix stared blankly at his emaciated back, then shook his head. He couldn't get involved in or mediate the matter between the two ghosts—the knots in a ghost's heart weren't so easily untied.

Ghosts are products of those who died with resentment and strong obsessions, lingering in reality. This obsession is the foundation upon which they maintain their existence, and as such, their perception is almost forever stuck in the time when they were still alive.

This is somewhat similar to the portrait in the principal's office, but ultimately, ghosts can be altered.

However, once things change, the outcome may not be good.

According to Felix's speculation, if Hogwarts publicly dismissed Professor Binns, he might disappear on the spot—because Professor Binns' obsession was teaching.

However, given the question of whether this approach is humane and how to find another old scholar to replace him, this suggestion has never been put forward.

He returned to his office, opened the three manuscripts he had selected from the Slytherin archives, and began to study them carefully. This particular document also reflected Slytherin's own style—it proposed a hypothesis about whether the unique talents of magical creatures could be transformed into wizarding spells.

This line of thinking has existed since ancient times, such as the chameleon and the illusion charm, the invisible beast and the invisibility charm, but in reality, there is little connection between them, and the development of charms is largely accidental.

It was only when later generations looked back that they discovered that some of the wizards' magic and the magical creatures' own talents had great similarities.

Slytherin attempted to find a way to reliably convert the talents of alien magical creatures into wizarding spells, but it is clear that he later abandoned this approach.

Slytherin chose to give up, and young Tom didn't take it seriously either, as evidenced by the fact that he hid this information in the Room of Requirement to trick people.

But Felix was very interested in it. He memorized the incomplete information, thinking that he might need it someday.

Over the next few days, Felix spent his time leisurely and comfortable, reading books and watching movies. He would occasionally check on his assistant's learning progress and offer appropriate suggestions; time passed little by little.

Finally, the Christmas holidays ended, and the new term at Hogwarts began.

That evening, the Hogwarts train brought the students back, and everyone gathered in the Great Hall, making the school lively again.

Having enjoyed the Christmas holidays, they seemed to have forgotten the attack that occurred last semester and excitedly shared their experiences with each other.

"My mom took me abroad to visit relatives, and I never imagined I'd have a cousin who goes to Ephamoni!" a young wizard exclaimed excitedly, while the people around him bombarded him with questions about the details.

What is Iphamoni?

"A magic school, similar to Hogwarts, but in America."

"Really? I thought there was only one magic school in the whole world!" a young wizard sighed.

On the Gryffindor table, Hermione was dressed in thick clothes, wearing a knitted hat, and a huge mask covered her face.

"Hermione, what's wrong with you?" Hannah Abbott, who was in the same year as her, asked in confusion.

"I have a cold, cough cough!" Hermione said briefly.

“But I noticed that the color of your eyes has changed too…” The little witch examined her closely.

"Um...it might be because of the magic," Hermione said guiltily, changing the subject. "Hannah, how did you spend your holiday?"

Hannah's attention was indeed diverted. She pouted, "Staying at home is incredibly boring, except for being a little safer. Do you think the attack will still happen? I've read quite a few newspapers these past few days..."

"Don't worry, Hannah. There won't be any attacks," Hermione said confidently.

"how do you know?"

“Ahem, you’ll see in a minute,” Hermione said, while Harry tugged at her sleeve from the other side.

He asked in a low voice, "Hermione, is your spell not finished yet? To be honest, your outfit looks a bit strange."

She sighed in frustration, "No—I can barely manage to use it, but the effect is very poor, and there's still a light layer of hair on my face. At least wait another day or two, Professor Hyp said I'm making great progress."

Ron tapped his empty wine glass with his fork. "But how are you going to eat later?"

"I'm not eating!" Hermione said angrily.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!" Dumbledore tapped a glass in front of him from the teachers' table.

The auditorium gradually quieted down.

Dumbledore spun around, his face beaming, and said, "Welcome back, young wizards."

Chapter 82 Honor

“Before you enjoy the delicious food, you will have to listen to an old man’s ramblings,” Dumbledore cleared his throat.

"First of all, it's great to see you all back at school, full of energy and happily sharing your experiences with your friends. But I must mention that we just went through a difficult few months last semester..."

The young wizards stared at Dumbledore's face, wanting to hear what he had to say.

"...There were two attacks, and a young wizard is still in a hospital bed, in a special ward." Dumbledore paused, then suddenly raised his voice, "but thanks to a few people who, through their own efforts, uncovered the truth and, very bravely, dealt with the monster in the Chamber of Secrets."

"Yes, we shouldn't forget their names—Harry Potter! Ron Weasley! Hermione Granger!"

All eyes turned to the Gryffindor table, and they stared at Harry and his two companions in disbelief.

"You're kidding!" one of the twins shouted, his voice echoing in the auditorium and livening up the solemn atmosphere.

Dumbledore chuckled and said gently, "Of course not, Weasley. But speaking of jokes, I'm reminded of a very funny joke about a troll and a dwarf—"

"Cough cough!" Professor McGonagall next to him coughed violently.

“Ah, well then, let’s get back to the point. Their courage has earned the unanimous praise of several professors, and for that, I award them each two hundred points!” said Dumbledore.

Snape couldn't help but snort.

The Gryffindor dining table erupted in cheers, with the Weasley twins rushing to hug Harry and Ron, and Percy shouting from a corner, "That's my brother! My brother! They'll be sharing the Special Merit Award trophy!"

Hermione looked at the stunned Hannah Abbott and said cheerfully, "See? I told you there wouldn't be any danger, right?"

The noise in the auditorium lasted for a few minutes before gradually subsiding.

However, most of the attention was still focused on Harry, Draco Malfoy, and Draco Malfoy at the Slytherin table, slamming a silver fork against his plate, making a creaking sound.

Potter! It's Potter again, everything is Potter!

"I did my part too..." he said, looking at Harry with resentment.

“Headmaster Dumbledore,” a seventh-year Gryffindor student stood up, “could you elaborate? Did Salazar Slytherin really put a monster in the Chamber of Secrets to purge everyone he deemed unworthy to learn magic?”

The accusatory tone of his words was quite obvious, and the wizards at the Slytherin table all glared at him, wishing they could cast a curse on him. However, the expressions of the young wizards from the other three houses as they looked at Slytherin became silent and complicated.

“I don’t think so, Mr. Xavier,” Dumbledore said with a very serious expression. He first glanced at the young wizards present to calm the commotion before calmly saying, “The monster in the Chamber of Secrets—the Basilisk—has existed for thousands of years, but there are only two recorded attacks this year and one fifty years ago.”

"It had been lying dormant for nearly a thousand years before this. We have reason to infer that launching the attack was not Salazar Slytherin's intention."

Dumbledore quickly skipped over the previous topic: "I will place the Basilisk in the courtyard of the school castle tomorrow, and I will also invite some reporters into the school. Please behave yourselves. You may visit, but do not try to touch it. The professors will also be casting special magic."

"Now, let's enjoy the food to our hearts' content."

Dumbledore sat back in his chair, waved his wand, and various foods began to appear on the table.

However, the young wizards were not paying attention to this. Dumbledore's speech was very informative, and they were all buzzing with discussion, from Salazar Slytherin himself to the monster in the Chamber of Secrets, and how the three Potters defeated it.

"What does the Basilisk look like?" a young Gryffindor wizard asked Harry.

"Uh, a huge snake, whose eyes can kill."

"Cool! How big is it? Is it even bigger than the one Professor Lockhart conjured up at the Duel Club?"

Ron, his mouth full and his words muffled, interjected, "Hey bro, that's way bigger than that."

The young wizard looked at Ron suspiciously. "You really got involved too?"

"Dean, the role I played was far more important than you think!" Even though Ron's mouth was stuffed full, he couldn't help but defend himself.

Hermione Granger sat quietly to the side, without saying a word.

"Hermione, aren't you hungry?" Hannah Abbott asked the little witch, who was wearing a mask, with curiosity.

“…I’m not hungry,” Hermione said stubbornly, but she quickly pulled two pieces of parchment from her pocket and wrapped the beef pie on the plate in front of her.

Hannah Abbott stared at her, her fork frozen in mid-air.

The students' dining table was bustling, and the teachers' table was no quiet either, with some professors who were unaware of the situation trying to find out what was going on.

After dealing with Lockhart's incessant questions, Felix bypassed Professor Flitwick and questioned Dumbledore.

"Headmaster, regarding the pressure from some pure-blood families..."

"You mean this!" Dumbledore put down his knife and fork and said with great interest, "I've been in contact with most of the board members these past few days, and they all agree that it's better for me to sit in this position."

"What about the Malfoy family?"

“Lucius… I’m sorry, he’s facing some trouble right now. The other board members are very unhappy with his previous threatening behavior and want to remove him from the board. I heard he’s now approached Fudge.”

"That Minister of Magic?"

"Yes, if nothing unexpected happens, you will see him tomorrow," Dumbledore said with great foresight.

Felix nodded in understanding.

The dinner party ended quickly, and the young Gryffindor wizards escorted Harry and his two friends back to the common room, eager to ask about the details of what had happened.

Ron was an expert at this, and he began to describe it vividly.

From Harry's perspective, aside from the parts that were required to be kept secret—such as the professor's existence and the Gryffindor sword—Ron exaggerated everything else to the extreme.

Hermione quietly returned to her dorm, secretly ate the two pies, and came back satisfied.

"...So there's a reason I was punished with solitary confinement before. Actually, I didn't expect Lockhart to fall over with just a push," Ron said, spitting as he spoke with a regretful expression.

Hermione, hiding in the crowd, overheard a young wizard asking Ron, "So, you don't have to go into solitary confinement?"

Ron opened his mouth, then, like a deflated balloon, his face immediately fell.