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It was much the same with Cedric.
This also forced them to hide in the common room to eat lunch.
"Someone is definitely causing trouble!"
Cedric stuffed a piece of toast into his mouth and frowned, "There are so many people in Hogwarts, why are they always staring at us? There must be something wrong."
"Do you still need to think about it?" Kyle glanced at him and pointed towards the ceiling.
Cedric understood instantly and said through gritted teeth: "Fred, George!"
No wonder he always felt that the contents of those greeting cards were familiar. Now he understood everything. That was clearly the style of the twins.
He had felt guilty before, but he didn't expect that those two guys had already started to do bad things. It was probably them who did the five dwarfs he met near the hallway in the morning.
Otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence that someone wrote a greeting card to him as soon as he went out.
"It seems like we have the same idea." Kyle shrugged.
"Shall we continue writing this afternoon?" Cedric asked.
Kyle shook his head.
Three against two, their advantage was not that big, and Fred and George liked excitement, whether it was their own or someone else's, they liked it, which made them invincible.
Moreover, Hufflepuff third years had Defense Against the Dark Arts class in the afternoon, and there was no way Lockhart would agree to them blocking the classroom door.
I can't use Disillusionment Charm and Invisibility Cloak in the classroom...
"Forget it, let them go for now."
Kyle thought about it and finally decided not to engage in such a meaningless confrontation with them and to focus his firepower on Lockhart.
They also paid out of their own pockets to become fanatical admirers, and anyone who wrote a greeting card for Lockhart would receive one knut.
One card is one natt, twenty-nine cards are one knot.
Although the money was not much, the work was easy, and by the time the afternoon class started, all fifty spots were taken.
……
Lockhart was happy, very happy.
He never thought that after going through so much, he would have more and more admirers at Hogwarts... and the more than a thousand greeting cards were proof of that.
Even if he doesn't even have time to attend classes, what does it matter?
If possible, he really wants to be like this every day, every day is...
In the evening, Lockhart walked towards the auditorium with cheerful steps. On the way, he saw a group of professors gathered in front of the corridor of the underground classroom, not knowing what they were doing.
"It's so lively, are you comparing the number of greeting cards you received?" He leaned over and said proudly, "Why didn't anyone inform me... Oh, I think you must have heard that I received more than a thousand greeting cards..."
All the professors turned and glared at him.
Lockhart was startled and said subconsciously: "Well, if you think it's unfair to compete with me, I won't participate... Wait, why is there a dwarf here?"
He noticed a motionless little man among the professors.
But the problem is that they should have finished their mission and left school thirty minutes ago.
"Ah... the person who can solve the problem is here." Snape said in a deep voice: "As you can see, another attack has occurred. Now, your moment to show your brilliance has finally arrived."
Lockhart looked at the petrified dwarf on the ground and his breathing became rapid.
The dwarf lay in front of a suit of armor, his body stiff, exactly like the person who had been attacked before.
"No... this... how is it possible!" Lockhart stammered, "Don't be ridiculous... Professor Snape, I can tell at a glance that he became like this because of the petrification spell... just like the one you placed at the door of the dungeon classroom..."
"In fact." Snape glanced at Lockhart coldly, "I lifted the petrification curse three hours ago. Or you can try it yourself. I think it shouldn't be difficult for you to remove the curse..."
"Of course... of course I can remove the curse." Lockhart walked forward with gritted teeth, waving the wand in his hand and muttering some gibberish.
A muscle on Professor McGonagall's cheek bulged. She had lived for so many years and thought she had seen some of the world, but she had never heard such a strange spell... It was as if it was made up on the spot.
She even suspected that if Lockhart were to say it again, it might not be exactly the same.
Lockhart performed for nearly a minute, and as expected, the petrified dwarf did not move at all.
"Oh, I didn't expect that the secret spell of the Voga tribe would not work?" Lockhart put away his wand. "This is what I learned from an old wizard during my travels. It can remove almost all curses."
"Oh?" Snape raised his eyebrows.
"I know what you want to say, Professor Snape." Lockhart sighed, "I was deceived. That guy obviously hasn't seen the outside world."
"It's okay, the mandrakes are almost ripe, and they will recover soon."
Professor Sprout said, "But, Gilderoy, didn't you say on the first day of school that you knew exactly who the heir was?
Then go find him, that is the most important thing."
"Yeah...right...I know..." Lockhart began to panic.
If he knew who the successor was, he would have announced it long ago. Why would he have waited until now?
But isn’t Dumbledore the most powerful wizard? After such a long vacation, he still hasn’t solved the Chamber of Secrets?
This is different from what he thought!
Lockhart stammered and was unable to speak, and the other professors ignored him.
Professor Flitwick took the dwarf to the hospital ward.
The other professors also stood up and left one after another.
No one cared about Lockhart, as if he had never existed.
"Things are getting more and more serious." Professor McGonagall looked at the bustling auditorium not far away, "We must find a way to solve this matter before the students are hurt."
"But the question is, who!" said Snape. "We have searched the entire castle but have found nothing."
"Wait a little longer, it will be soon."
Professor Sprout whispered, “Wait another month… No, the mandrakes are getting more and more excited, and in less than a month they will want to be repotted again.
Those petrified people must have seen something. Once they wake up, we will know whether the monster is a human or something else."
"You are right, Pomona." Professor McGonagall said with a heavy heart, "But a month is still too long. None of us can guarantee what will happen during this period. In any case, I have to go and speak to the students."
(End of this chapter)
Chapter 318 Tension
“All students must be in their college common room before 6pm, and no student may leave after this time.
You will be escorted by a professor to each class, and you are not allowed to wander around the castle alone before the professor arrives.
Quidditch training and matches are postponed, and no evening activities will take place..."
All the students sat at the long table in the hall, listening to Professor McGonagall's speech in silence.
Professor McGonagall was truly frightened.
Before the holiday, the Ministry of Magic paid close attention to the situation at Hogwarts.
After Professor Charity Burbage of Muggle Studies was attacked, some people even suggested temporarily closing Hogwarts and focusing all their efforts on finding the Chamber of Secrets.
Although the proposal was later rejected by more people, as the number of attacks increased, the idea was brought up again a few days before Christmas.
And that time, the number of people who voted against it was obviously much smaller.
The reason why the Ministry of Magic was so quiet, besides because of Dumbledore, was that the students were not harmed.
But this luck cannot last forever.
The current calm is only temporary. The previous attacks are like piled up barrels of explosives that may explode at any time.
In secret, some people have already been ready to make a move.
Professor McGonagall was certain that once a student was attacked, or the number of attacks increased to a certain level, they would take advantage of the situation and detonate all the barrels of explosives.
No one knows what will happen then.
Besides, Professor McGonagall didn't want to see any students get hurt.
Now is the most critical moment.
The mandrake is about to mature. When the petrified people or ghosts wake up, we will be able to learn about the secret room and the monsters from them.
I believe the heir to the secret chamber must also know this. In order to protect himself and hide those secrets, he will either stop here or become even more crazy.
The petrified dwarf proved that the man did not choose the former...
Professor McGonagall took a deep breath, her expression more serious than ever.
Although all the people attacked so far have been petrified, this does not mean that the monster in the secret room will only petrify others.
After all, fifty years ago, when the secret room was first opened, a student died inexplicably.
This kind of thing must never happen a second time.
She looked at everyone and said in a choked voice: "I hope each of you can abide by the regulations, even for your own safety!
Anyone who violates the rules will have all house points deducted and will be directly disqualified from participating in Quidditch competitions."
"I also urge anyone who thinks they know something to come forward.
Every clue now, no matter how small, could lead us to the criminal who planned these attacks."
Professor McGonagall said, and left in a hurry.
As soon as she left, there was a burst of buzzing discussions in the auditorium.
Deducting all house points and canceling the qualification to participate in Quidditch, there has never been such a severe punishment before.
"Fortunately, Professor McGonagall only postponed the Quidditch match..." Harry said with some relief.
"You guys..." Ron looked at Fred and George hesitantly.
How could they not guess what he was thinking.
"We won't be discovered, not even for Quidditch," said Fred.
"That's right." George said with a smile, "Don't be like last year and think about catching bad guys and being a hero. That's not what you should do."
"We don't want to be heroes!" Ron said with his neck stiff.