"Something's happened, Damon!"
This morning was unusually lively.
Early rising among campus wizards proved worthwhile: big news broke this morning.
The Heir of Slytherin had appeared!
He had opened the Chamber of Secrets and would exterminate all those of impure blood!
Every Slytherin student was thrilled, their eyes frequently glancing towards a certain spot at the table—even though it belonged to Gryffindor.
"Could it be that Master White has changed his mind? Is he planning to return to Slytherin?!"
"Of course he has! Salazar's legacy will surely entice him!"
Slytherin House erupted in excitement. The petrified ghost was ignored.
Forget ghosts! Even if it was any other student who was in trouble, what would it matter?
They prioritized purebloods; those half-blood mudbloods should be eliminated!
News of the Chamber of Secrets spread rapidly. Many wizards learned Salazar Slytherin's secret: his heir would fulfill his legacy at Hogwarts, purging those with impure blood.
Consequently, compared to the Slytherin students' excitement, students from the other three houses seemed quite worried, especially those from half-blood and Muggle families.
Justin Finch-Fletchley was one of them.
His face paled as he muttered,
"It's over! Have I completely angered Potter? Has he given up on pretending and decided to use the monster in the Chamber to kill me once and for all?"
"Don't worry, we all stand with you. But are you sure Potter is Slytherin's heir?"
"Yes, don't they all say White is?"
Their words made Finch-Fletchley hesitate.
Indeed, if someone had to be chosen to inherit Salazar's legacy, who else besides White would be qualified?
Although his origins remain unclear—despite White's claims of Muggle-born origin, the Slytherin community maintains that he is a great pure-blood wizard whose parents died in an accident—they maintain that
Damon's lineage is a Schrödinger's dilemma for the students.
Slytherin students insist he is pure-blood.
Students from other houses insist he is half-blood, though this is often motivated by a desire to contradict Slytherin.
Normally, when Damon White achieves something remarkable, they tend to believe he may truly be a pure-blood of noble descent.
When he performs well in his studies, they tend to believe he is an excellent half-blood.
When he is mediocre in Herbology and doesn't participate in Quidditch (a fact kept secret by all but Gryffindor), they tend to believe he may be of Muggle-born origin.
In short, it's a complex matter. Damon's lineage depends on the conclusions they draw from it.
The young wizards had never considered how much harm their heated discussions were causing to someone else. Lockhart sat in the teacher's seat, listening to the endless chatter of Damon, White, Master White, and the Dueling Prince coming from all directions. His eyes became redder and redder!
He couldn't stand it anymore.
Why - why, less than two months into the school term, no one was discussing the respected Professor Lockhart?
Christmas was approaching, and wasn't he the protagonist of his first Christmas at Hogwarts? !
Lockhart seemed to hear a demon roaring in his heart, and a voice in his mind mocking him.
"You clown who deceives the world and steals your reputation, your presence is as thin as dirt in front of a true genius!"
"Shut up!"
Lockhart's eyes flushed red. No longer in the mood for slapstick,
he quickly left the Great Hall. Before leaving, he cast one last glance at where Harry was—this so-called savior was a true fraud, a hesitant, weakling!
Why should he share his glory with such a man?
He could uncover the secrets of the Chamber of Secrets himself!
As for danger? He simply didn't believe Salazar Slytherin would leave anything dangerous in the school.
Wasn't the ghost just petrified?
He'd already asked Dumbledore, and he knew the petrification would be removed once the mandrake matured.
As long as he was careful, nothing would go wrong.
He even had a title for his new book in mind:
"The Secret Between Me and Slytherin" or "A Dance with XX." Once he figured out what was in the Chamber of Secrets,
he could change his focus and focus on Master White, then, when necessary, take everything.
Lockhart returned to his office.
It was now completely different.
Sunlight hadn't touched the dark, damp room in weeks, reminding Damon of Snape's office. The curtains were drawn.
"Chamber of Secrets... There's no Parseltongue in the Chamber of Secrets. How can I open it?"
Lockhart yanked books from the shelf and slammed them onto the table. His pupils reddened, his demeanor darkened, and the laughter in his head grew louder and more terrifying.
"Hahahahahahahaha, yeah, all I have to do is imitate Parseltongue and open the Chamber of Secrets? I'm such a genius!
Then all that's left is finding the entrance, Myrtle?"
"The Chamber of Secrets is open! What do we do now?" Hermione looked at Damon sternly. "We must make a decision immediately, or tell Professor Dumbledore!"
Under normal circumstances, Damon would have done just that.
But now, this was the stage he and Dumbledore had set. How could he possibly stop the drama from happening?
Ghost Nick wasn't petrified—that was a Dumbledore feign—Nick was happy to perform, even excited.
"Great! Please let me come!
The Headless Hunters have always refused to let me join them, just because my head was not severed thoroughly enough. This time I will prove that my performance is no less than anyone else's!"
As for now, he should have been temporarily transferred somewhere.
Damon pretended to answer, but the first button on his shirt suddenly lit up.
Harry and the others understood what that meant - it was about the Aurors.
"Another vicious incident has occurred." Damon stood. "Please excuse me to the professor."
He stood up and quickly disappeared from everyone's sight.
"What should
we do now? We are the only ones left!"
Hermione looked at Harry and the others, a little lacking in confidence.
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(End of this chapter)