Hogwarts: This professor is too Muggle

"Mount my steed and charge!"

"..."

The drama produced by students without relevant experience was not as good as Nick's Ghost Theater. Moreover, with Melvin watching, many actors and students adjusting the stage were nervous, and some mistakes were inevitable.

Several girls' voices trembled when they read their lines, and Cedric spoke too fast, so the performance was only average.

Melvin sat in the audience and did not interrupt the entire performance. When the curtain fell, the members gathered together, anxiously and expectantly waiting for the professor's evaluation.

"To be honest, there are many shortcomings..."

Melvin briefly pointed out some shortcomings, looked at the frustrated members, and raised his voice slightly. "But it's much better than I expected. I probably won't be able to perform in time for Christmas, but I will ask Professor McGonagall to reserve a stage in the auditorium for the Easter dinner."

Many little wizards raised their heads with happy expressions, and some had a gleam in their eyes.

"What about the projection mirror?" asked Justin from Hufflepuff.

Melvin smiled gently and said, "That depends on how well you perform."

……

"boom!"

The thick book was slammed onto the table with a dull thud.

"I was saying I remembered reading it somewhere! It turned out to be this book—"

In the corner of the library by the window, Hermione sat on a bench and pointed to Harry and Ron across from her. "It's the natural enemy of the Acromantula. Its eyes are bright yellow. Considering what Harry said about the snake, it can only be this one!"

"Basilisk?"

Harry looked at the scribbled illustration in the book and read its title.

"Ok!"

Hermione nodded heavily. "Mr. Newt Scamander, the expert on magical creatures, said there haven't been any records of basilisk sightings in Britain for at least four hundred years. This statement interfered with my judgment. When you told me this morning that the Monster of the Chamber of Secrets was a snake, it immediately reminded me."

"The basilisk's eyes can instantly kill anyone or any animal that makes eye contact with them.

"Spiders fear basilisks because they have 360-degree vision and cannot close their eyes, which makes it easy for them to make eye contact with the basilisk...

Ron read the information quietly, feeling a little uneasy. He looked up at the two of them and said, "I still don't understand why Harry was so convinced that the Monster of the Chamber of Secrets was some kind of snake just because he heard Parseltongue last night."

"Not only the voices I heard last night, but also Professor Lewynter's suggestion that he once had me demonstrate Parseltongue."

Harry explained, then scratched his head. "Now that I think about it, the professor also gave me some eye hints during duel practice, but I didn't grasp the meaning."

"That's not important. Anyway, we've found the real culprit now! I should have noticed earlier that the basilisk was a monster bred by the famous dark wizard, the despicable Herpo. Salazar Slytherin speaks Parseltongue and is proficient in the dark arts, so it's normal for him to breed a basilisk..."

Hermione muttered to herself for a while, then quickly frowned: "But where is the basilisk hiding?"

Harry saw Madam Pince's eager gaze and knew they had attracted the librarian's attention. He lowered his voice and said:

"Let's ask Myrtle again. She's the only one who's seen the monster. She didn't know it was a basilisk before, but now that she knows the monster's true appearance, she might be able to think of some other clues."

"Makes sense!"

The three of them left the library and soon arrived at Myrtle's bathroom.

Myrtle had a reputation for having a strange temper, and few girls were willing to come to the bathroom on the second floor. But when they walked into the bathroom, the situation was not as bad as they had imagined. Since no one had used it for a long time, there was not much sewage on the ground, and there was no bad smell.

Harry and Ron tiptoed in, their expressions very unnatural, and looked back from time to time, always worried that others would notice them entering the women's room.

Pushing open the third cubicle, the toilet and water tank were quietly placed there.

"The ground is dry," Hermione said with a frown. "It seems Myrtle hasn't been here for many days, and Lavender hasn't mentioned who Myrtle has splashed toilet water on recently..."

"Is she not here anymore?" asked Harry.

Ron scratched his head. "Could it be that, like Nick, Professor Lewinter's philosophy has confused his mind?"

"..."

The three of them fell into silence.

Just as the investigation came to a standstill again, a translucent figure poked its head out from the wall. Its chubby, round face was half hidden by bangs and thick-framed glasses. The ghost girl stared straight at Harry and said in a resentful tone:

"It turns out it's you..."

"Myrtle! That's great!" Harry breathed a sigh of relief. "We thought you'd moved away."

They had questioned this victim last time when they investigated the Hagrid case. Myrtle was also present at the Deathday party, listening to Professor Lewynter's philosophy lecture with them. Perhaps because she died relatively late, she was still relatively young among the ghosts, so philosophy did not make her doubt herself.

Myrtle gave them a long look and said, "It's because you always come in the middle of the night and make some weird noises that scare me so much that I don't dare to come back."

Harry was stunned for a moment: "Who always comes here in the middle of the night?"

"Isn't it you?"

Myrtle was also stunned. "Someone's been coming to the bathroom in the middle of the night lately, creating strange mist and hissing noises. I thought it was some dark wizard or monster, so I was too scared to come back. When I came back, I hid in the next room. I heard you guys talking just now, and I thought it was you guys who came in the middle of the night..."

Harry looked thoughtful.

"Of course not us. Who would choose the girls' room for a night out?" Ron retorted with reason and evidence.

No one paid attention to his rebuttal. Hermione looked at the ghost floating in the air and said, "Myrtle, we have found out the monster that killed you. It's not an acromantula, but a basilisk. We came here to ask if you have any clues."

"Brassizor, it's a basilisk..."

When Myrtle heard that the monster was a basilisk, her eyes became melancholy and sad, and tears gradually filled her eyes and slid down her cheeks.

The short and fat ghost girl stared at the tiles on the wall in a daze.

I remember that year when I was bullied and insulted, I hid in the toilet and cried secretly, just wanting to relieve the grievances and resentment in my heart. I heard a boy's voice and thought it was someone who had the same experience as me. When I turned around, I happened to meet a pair of yellow eyes. From then on, my life stopped at the age of 12.

The Ministry of Magic could not find out the truth, and Mr. Dumbledore was powerless. In the end, he only found out about an acromantula and expelled a Gryffindor student.

Not knowing the real murderer, she blamed the people who insulted her. If it weren't for them, she wouldn't have hidden in the toilet crying, and if she wasn't in the toilet, she certainly wouldn't have died mysteriously.

A few years before she turned into a ghost, she took revenge on the person who had insulted her with hatred. She still remembers that person's name, Olive Hornbey.

He had been pestering her while she was in school, hiding in corners to intimidate her and disturbing her while she was sleeping. He would not let her go even after graduation and even made a scene at her wedding until Hong Bei moved away from Britain.

After Olive Hornby left, Myrtle Warren was completely lost. Because her parents were Muggles and could not see ghosts, she could only wander around Hogwarts forever, occupying this bathroom and becoming an annoying female ghost.

"Myrtle, Myrtle?"

Hermione called out several times, but Myrtle was lost in memories of the past, her expression dazed, as if she didn't hear anything.

The little witch pursed her lips, hesitated for a moment, and decided not to continue calling the poor victim. She turned and gave Harry and Ron a look, indicating that they should stop here today.

Harry and Ron nodded silently.

Just as they turned to leave the bathroom, Harry stopped, suddenly remembered something, and began to look around the room, the broken tiles, the old wooden door, and the stained sink.

"What are you looking for?" Hermione asked in a low voice.

Harry stepped closer to examine the contents of the bathroom, explaining as he searched. "Do you remember? Professor Lewynter asked me to demonstrate Parseltongue. Myrtle just said someone came here in the middle of the night and heard strange noises. I suspect that was Parseltongue. The Parseltongue password to open the Chamber of Secrets."

"You mean... the secret room is hidden here!"

Hermione connected many things as she spoke, muttering her own speculation: "No one else in the school has seen the basilisk, because the Chamber of Secrets is hidden in the bathroom, and the basilisk met Myrtle as soon as it walked out of the Chamber of Secrets.

“Her murder was an accident, and the true heir didn’t expect it, so he manipulated the basilisk to retreat back to the secret room.

"The murder case alerted the Ministry of Magic. The incident was so serious that the heir was afraid of exposing his identity and never opened the Chamber of Secrets again."

The three of them were very excited. Until now, all the clues were connected together, revealing the truth of the locked room mystery from fifty years ago.

They kept searching the bathroom, trying to find the mechanism to open the secret room. There were only a few things in the whole room, so they searched one by one and soon found a snake-shaped mark on the side of the copper faucet.

Harry calmed his rapid breathing, recalled Professor Lewynter's instructions, and leaned closer before whispering in Parseltongue, "Open."

As soon as he finished speaking, a white light emerged from the faucet and began to spin rapidly, taking the sink with it. Under the gaze of the three people, the white light gradually dissipated, revealing a wide water pipe opening.

It was pitch black inside.

The three of them looked at the changes happening before their eyes in amazement. Just as Harry was about to speak, a translucent figure suddenly floated past their eyes, flashed by, and disappeared into the thick pipe.

"Myrtle!"

Chapter 147: Going Deep into the Secret Room

The pipe hole at the sink in the girls' bathroom was pitch black, emitting a damp and moldy smell.

This is the secret passage leading to the Chamber of Secrets, where a legendary basilisk, personally bred by the school's founder, Salazar Slytherin, is hidden. Ten seconds ago, a poor ghost had slipped into it.

An atmosphere of danger and unease spread through the pipes.

Harry stood firmly in front of the pipe. He heard the breathing of his two companions beside him. The terrible smell prevented him from taking a deep breath. He looked up at them and said, "Calm down, friends. Ron, you and I will go downstairs to find Myrtle. Hermione, you quickly go find the professor for help."

"Let's go find the headmaster together, Harry. We're only in second year and can't deal with the basilisk. Besides, Myrtle is a ghost, and ghosts that die once won't die again. What do you think?"

Ron said in a tight voice, his face pale.

"You're right. The ghost has already died once, but no one knows the effect of the basilisk's gaze on ghosts." Harry shook his head slightly, his tone firm. "It would be too pitiful for Myrtle to die twice in the basilisk's mouth. I can't let her go into the Chamber of Secrets alone and gamble on whether she will die again."

Ron sighed: "Okay then..."

"I'll go with you! We've had tutorials together, so we have experience working together." Hermione suddenly said, "Ron, you go inform the professor quickly. We'll try to delay the time."

Before Ron could object, Hermione had already bent down and jumped into the pipe.

Harry patted Ron's shoulder and rolled over and got in as well.

"..."

Ron stared at the dark pipe entrance. He seemed to hear the sound of them sliding inside. He opened his mouth, feeling a little irritated.

"Two arrogant guys, talking to themselves without even asking for my opinion, what a shame!"

Ron didn't care about the bad smell at all. He took a deep breath, turned around and ran outside.

The corridor outside the bathroom was very quiet. It was the weekend and every teacher and student had their own things to do, so he didn't know who to talk to.

The nearest office was Lockhart's. Ron didn't dare waste time, but still chose to run a little further to the Muggle Studies classroom. He had heard Neville mention before that the drama club rehearsed there and professors would occasionally pass by.

……

The deepest part of the underground chamber.

A figure stood in front of the Slytherin stone sculpture with his head lowered. Only the bright yellow snake pupils were glowing, illuminating half of Melvin's face.

"The magic in your eyes is too dangerous. They will be coming down soon. To avoid any student casualties, I need to make some adjustments."

Melvin's mumbling voice echoed, and the tip of his wand waved in front of the snake's pupil. "Don't worry, it's just a simple transfiguration. It will fix the transparent stratum corneum outside your eyes and block the life-threatening magic in your gaze. The petrification magic will not be affected."