Chapter 121 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
"harry potter and the chamber of secrets?"
"What is this?"
Harry pointed at the title of the script in his hand, looking at Tom with a puzzled expression.
"Harry, don't you think the entertainment options in the magic world are too monotonous? To enrich the spiritual and cultural development of the magic world, our STARGAZER Film Company has decided to launch the magic world's first major motion picture, 'harry potter and the chamber of secrets'."
"Production will begin now, just in time for a summer release at the R&W Cinema, which is currently under construction on Ariana Avenue—no, not Knockturn Alley."
"But, isn't this plot you wrote too ridiculous?" Hermione, who had roughly read through the script once, pointed out all the parts she found unreasonable to Tom.
"Harry being the protagonist is understandable; after all, the Savior's story will attract many people."
"But what about the rest? A Dark Wizard from a thousand years ago reincarnates as Ginny, deeply hating her lover who abandoned her a thousand years ago to join the light side."
"Upon entering Hogwarts, she discovers Harry, the reincarnation of her thousand-year lover, but sees that he is already entangled with Draco. Driven by new and old grievances, she teams up with her brother, Ron, in this life, finds the Chamber of Secrets left by Slytherin, and releases the monster inside—an Acromantula—planning to use it to end Harry."
"However, with the help of his friends Draco, Hermione, and Neville, Harry thwarts her plot. In the final moment, Ginny has a sudden realization and turns into light in Harry's arms, while Ron, imprisoned in Azkaban, quietly awaits a new round of revenge."
"The End…"
As soon as Hermione finished speaking, Harry, Draco, and the newly joined Ginny, who hadn't read the script, along with Ron, who was dragged along to make up the numbers, all glared at Tom at the same time.
Ron even slammed his hand on the table, "Riddle, what do you mean by this? Why are Ginny and I the villains, and why do I end up in Azkaban?"
Tom merely shrugged indifferently, "Isn't the story exciting? So, how do you want to change it?"
After they whispered and discussed for a while, Hermione uncertainly said to Tom, "How about we change it so Dumbledore uses Imperio to control Ginny, making her search for Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets and release the Acromantula inside, to eliminate Muggle-born students and thus purify the school?"
"Harry discovers Dumbledore's plan, and with the help of his friends, he defeats the Acromantula, thwarts Dumbledore's plot, ultimately rescues Ginny, and restores peace to Hogwarts."
"See, would that work?"
Tom was stunned after hearing this. The greatest White Wizard of the 20th century, Dumbledore, was now so unpopular that everyone wanted to persecute the old man. He wondered if the old man could still hold on?
But, he had to admit, well done.
Tom immediately clapped his hands and slammed the table, deciding, "That's how we'll change it! The script will be credited to you, Hermione."
"Huh?" Hermione and the others felt a chill down their spines, sensing they had fallen into someone's trap again.
Before Hermione and the others could react, Tom continued, "How about we also film the first version? And make Harry Latino, Hermione Black, Draco cross-dress, Ron and Ginny choose their gender from A to Ω, and everyone else choose their appearance. This will be the Beautiful Country special edition, to be screened there."
"Ah? What is all this?"
The others listened to Tom's words, greatly confused but deeply shocked.
"What do you know? This is called Beautiful Country-style political correctness."
"So, the 'harry potter and the chamber of secrets' major motion picture is officially greenlit."
"Oh, by the way, Professor Lockhart is a special consultant. Tell the other students that anyone willing to help will receive an autographed photo from Professor Lockhart."
After the gathering ended, and everyone else had left, Cassandra reconfirmed with Tom, "Can this really make money? I not only convinced my family but even invested all my pocket money saved over the years into your cinema and movie. Please don't let us lose everything."
Tom showed no worry, "Don't worry, Cassandra."
"You see, for filming, the Hogwarts grounds are free, the actors are free, Mr. Colin Creevey is willing to be the cameraman for free. For other odd jobs, I contacted Cedric, and he said Hufflepuff students are very willing to help. Even the theater is our own."
"Basically, with no costs, no matter how we film it, we won't lose money."
"And the theater, if all else fails, we still have Muggle-produced films as a backup. We won't lose money."
After hearing Tom's words, Cassandra felt a little relieved but then remembered another matter: "Oh, right, I heard news from people in the Ministry of Magic that Fudge seems to be having a tough time lately and might take action against Dumbledore. Should we pay attention?"
"I know, don't mind him," Tom replied indifferently.
How could he not know about Fudge's situation? After all, he still had Umbridge, the traitorous insider, relaying information.
.....
Ministry of Magic, First Floor, Minister's Office.
Fudge sat in his office, irritably running his hand through his hair. He felt that everything had been going wrong lately.
Knockturn Alley was under full-swing construction, and he heard that the most popular activity there daily was the prayer session in front of Dumbledore's statue. He had repeatedly sent people to check for any violations, but each time, they returned saying that all businesses and activities in Knockturn Alley were legal, compliant, and reasonable, as if it were the cleanest place in the entire magic world.
Umbridge, who was sent to Hogwarts for investigation, had been sending reports that were completely uninformative and full of boilerplate language, saying things like Dumbledore was normal at Hogwarts, or Dumbledore was well-disguised and showed no obvious ambition.
Even the occasional useful piece of news was something like Dumbledore cordially meeting Lucius Malfoy at the Castle gate, and the two exchanging opinions on new investment projects. This kind of information provided no way to catch Dumbledore red-handed.
And the Ministry of Magic was even worse; now, any proposal that was unfavorable to Dumbledore simply could not be implemented. Some proposals were even directly rejected the moment he brought them up.
This made Fudge feel that he had been sidelined. He was sure that every single one of those people around him had been bought off by Dumbledore.
Seeing Dumbledore's influence grow increasingly large, this was a huge blow to his power and authority as Minister of Magic, who had only been in office for two years.
This time, Fudge, feeling unable to trust anyone, decided to take matters into his own hands. He would find an innocent student at Hogwarts to be his informant, uncover evidence of Dumbledore's crimes, and then launch a counterattack to completely ruin him.
And his chosen candidate was that Slytherin student who had left a very good impression on him—Tom Riddle.