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Next to them, Harry and Hermione were eating with their heads down, not saying a word.
At the Hufflepuff table, Kyle also remained silent.
Everyone around was discussing who would be the successor, and every time they said a name, Kyle would observe that person's expression.
But everyone looked normal, the only weird one was Lockhart.
He was very quiet, not showing off how many greeting cards he had received or bragging about his achievements that he had talked about countless times.
He, who attached great importance to his image, didn't even take care of his hair. With his messy blond hair, he drank one glass of wine after another. He was completely different from the energetic man he was at noon.
Half an hour later, dinner time was over.
Professor McGonagall re-entered the Great Hall, and with her were the other three Heads of House.
Professor Sprout came over and escorted the Hufflepuff students back to the common room.
"Unless you go to class, you must stay here and are not allowed to go anywhere else."
She counted the number of people and didn't leave until everyone was through the barrel door.
"Doesn't Professor Lockhart already know who the heir is?"
As soon as Professor Sprout left, someone couldn't wait to say, "Why can't the professors just arrest that guy!"
"Don't you understand yet?" Someone said disdainfully, "He's just bragging. In fact, he knows nothing and doesn't know anything, just like he did in the duel club."
“Nonsense!” someone retorted, “You’ve all read his books…think of all the amazing things he did.”
"He just said that he did it."
……
The people in the common room quickly split into two factions, arguing fiercely about Lockhart.
Kyle, Connor and Cedric did not participate in this meaningless argument. They walked around the crowd and sat on the sofas in the corner.
"Kyle, did you find anything?" Cedric asked.
"No." Kyle shook his head.
"That person hid it so well." Kanna sighed, "Every time an attack happened, no one saw it. It was as if it happened out of thin air... Could it be that the monster in the secret room is a ghost that can move freely in the castle?"
"Ghosts can't petrify others. They just look scary." Cedric looked at Kyle again, "Where did you find the golden chain you found earlier?"
"A...very hidden place." Kyle hesitated for a moment, but still didn't reveal the secret room.
It's not like he hadn't thought about telling Professor Dumbledore the location of the Chamber of Secrets and the news about Riddle.
In fact, he had this idea when the diary disappeared mysteriously and attacks occurred frequently, but he never made up his mind, or this idea just came up and then disappeared inexplicably.
This feeling is like walking into the range of a Muggle repelling spell, and you will always be suddenly interrupted by other things.
But Kyle himself didn't notice anything at all. He just felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't put his finger on it. In the end, he could only attribute it to the fact that he couldn't bear to part with the Basilisk... After all, the Basilisk was indeed valuable. If it were replaced with Galleons, it could be piled up into a small mountain. It was normal for him to be reluctant to part with it.
Kyle rubbed his forehead, feeling inexplicably irritated.
"Speaking of clues, Kyle, remember that thing you gave me for Christmas?" At this time, Cedric suddenly stood up and trotted to the dormitory.
"wait for me a while."
About a minute later, he came back with a stack of parchment in his hand.
(End of this chapter)
Chapter 319: The Ministry of Magic Arrives, Hagrid is Taken Away
The parchment was about an inch thick, and Cedric passed it to Kyle as he sat down.
"What is this..." Kyle asked curiously.
"Some pictures of magic items."
Cedric said, "I found this in the library after school started. I don't know if it will be useful. You can take a look at it first."
Kyle opened the notebook, which was filled with photos and long introductions. It seemed that Cedric had copied them from the book.
The top photo shows a demon-proof peephole that looks like a spinning top. Further down are the glasses that can see through invisibility cloaks, as well as a pocket crucible that can be hung around the neck... a time converter... a winged slingshot... an exploding pocket watch...
These photos together are about an inch thick. Although the magical items on them are different, they all have one thing in common... they all have chains.
Some are for decoration, and some are for hanging on the body for easy carrying.
"Remember what you gave me for Christmas?"
Cedric said, "I always feel that the thing is just a little special in shape, just like the maps with family crests that we customized for Slytherin..."
He pointed to the thin chain on the exploding pocket watch in the photo and said, "As long as I have enough Galleons, I can change it into a more delicate snake, badger, or lion..."
Kyle nodded thoughtfully.
Hearing what Cedric said, it seemed that he was indeed a bit obsessed with his appearance before.
This kind of chain is actually not important, it just makes it easier to carry. No matter what it looks like, it will not affect the item itself.
But in this case, the clue is of little value.
There are so many magical items with chains that, apart from anything else, the photos alone are almost an inch thick.
Who knows what it fell from.
……
The lights in the Hufflepuff common room stayed on until late at night. Everyone was so sleepy that they yawned and returned to their dormitories.
However, no one expected that early the next morning, someone suddenly told them that the heir had been caught!
"I knew it was him, the key keeper."
Lockhart's hair became neat and tidy again, and he said to everyone he met, "Ha, I gave him a chance. If he had stopped at that time, he would not be taken away by the Ministry of Magic now.
But it’s okay this way… the crisis is over.”
"Hagrid? How is that possible!"
Kyle and his companions happened to pass by here. Cedric's eyes widened and he ran up to ask, "Professor Lockhart, was Hagrid taken away by the Ministry of Magic?"
"Yes, the Minister of Magic and the Aurors were here." Lockhart showed his shining teeth, "last night, when you were sleeping soundly."
"I believe Hagrid. He can't be the heir to the Chamber of Secrets. There must be some mistake." Kanna murmured.
"I believe I know a little more about Hagrid's arrest than you do, Miss Prince."
Lockhart said in a smug tone, “Although he hid it well, I still found it.
The only thing he did wrong was that he shouldn't have opened the Chamber of Secrets after I came to Hogwarts.
And, my dear young man, the Minister of Magic would not have taken Hagrid away if he had not been absolutely certain that he was guilty."
"What will happen to him? Will he be locked up in Azkaban?" Cedric asked worriedly.
"That's for sure..." Lockhart said triumphantly, "As punishment, he will be with those Dementors forever..."
"Professor Lockhart!"
At this time, Professor McGonagall came out and looked at Lockhart with a serious expression, "I think you shouldn't tell these to the students before the truth comes out."
"I'm sorry, Professor McGonagall." Lockhart said nonchalantly, "I just can't wait to share this good news."
Professor McGonagall gave him a look of disgust, as if he were looking at a snuffbox that had failed to be transfigured and still had a rat's tail.
"I hope you can be more rigorous, Professor Lockhart...at least stop conveying those wrong messages to students all the time."
"As for you..." She looked at Kyle, Connor and Cedric, "Come with me... I have something to ask you."
After saying that, Professor McGonagall walked straight out of the castle.
When the three of them saw this, they quickly followed.
Professor McGonagall made her way across the grounds to Hagrid's hut.
Hagrid had been taken away, and the hut was eerily deserted.
"Now, I need you to tell me the truth." Professor McGonagall pointed in the direction of the Forbidden Forest. "Did you set up all those beast-repelling spells?"
"Yes, Professor." Kyle nodded, "That was a long time ago. Fred, George, and Qiu were the six of us who were busy for the whole morning.
Hagrid was so lazy, he didn't help at all."
Professor McGonagall's expression became much more relaxed, not as serious as before.
Fortunately, it was not a curse cast by Heggle, otherwise even Dumbledore might not be able to save him.
"By the way, Professor, was Hagrid really taken away?" Kanna asked worriedly.
"I know you and Hagrid are close, but unfortunately, this is true."
"but……"
Professor McGonagall suddenly laughed, "Thanks to these beast-repelling spells, Hagrid was only taken back to the Ministry of Magic for investigation."
"Because of the Beast Repelling Charm?" Cedric scratched his hair, a little confused.
"This involves trace magic and the particularity of the Exorcism Spell." Professor McGonagall explained: "In simple terms, the Exorcism Spell is holistic, like a transparent wall.
If a large beast that is not affected by the banishing spell were to break through, it would break the wall and the magical traces would change."
"You mean...these beast repelling spells are still intact?" Kyle asked.
"That's right." Professor McGonagall smiled.
"The Ministry of Magic originally thought that Hagrid hid the monster in the Forbidden Forest, but by coincidence, these repelling spells just proved them wrong."
"Principal Dumbledore has caught on to this... I can't tell you the specific process, but I can assure you that Hagrid will not be sent to Azkaban until the Ministry of Magic finds new evidence."
After hearing what Professor McGonagall said, the three of them breathed a sigh of relief.
But Cedric still didn't understand why the people from the Ministry of Magic arrested Hagrid... He rarely even went to the castle, let alone controlling monsters to attack other people.
Professor McGonagall did not answer his doubts either, but only warned them not to talk nonsense when they returned.
Before returning to the castle, Kyle walked to Hagrid's cabin and opened the door. When Fang saw him, he rushed over in ecstasy.
This dog is always in a silly state and he probably doesn't know what's going on, but that's good.
Kyle took some dried meat from the shelf next to him and put it in its food bowl. Yaya immediately started eating happily, wagging his tail.