"Sean, you are the first person to be targeted by the Basilisk and escape. Could you tell me how you managed to escape the Basilisk's attack?"
Hearing Dumbledore's words, Sean immediately knew that the headmaster had some suspicions about him. While it might not necessarily be suspicion about any connection between himself and the Basilisk, there was definitely suspicion.
Sean had long prepared an explanation for this.
He gently patted his shoulder, and Kulkan immediately followed their prior agreement, poking her head out from Sean's collar. Looking at Dumbledore, she flicked her tongue slightly but didn't say much, because Harry was right beside them—essentially a Parseltongue translator. If she said anything inappropriate, they would surely be exposed.
"Professor, her name is Kulkan. She's a pet I bought before coming to Hogwarts. Whenever the Basilisk appeared before, Kulkan showed signs of unease. Perhaps because she's also a snake, she's very sensitive to the Basilisk's presence. Just now, I was heading back to the common room when Kulkan suddenly became agitated. I became alert and managed to escape disaster."
To avoid suspicion, when Sean spoke, he even changed "she" to "it," avoiding any unnecessary doubt from Dumbledore.
Dumbledore looked at Kulkan, clearly somewhat surprised. He nodded gently and said to Sean, "This is a very beautiful snake. You have an excellent pet."
With that, Sean's matter was essentially glossed over.
Regarding Slytherin, Dumbledore's attitude was as gentle as always, but indeed lacked some concern. One only needed to see his attitude when facing the Weasley twins and Ginny to understand that Dumbledore's care wasn't only directed at Harry, but also at Gryffindor.
Although among the four House heads, Slytherin's Head Snape was the most biased, there was still a biased headmaster above him.
"Mr. Weasley and Miss Weasley, first, I express my regret for your brother Ron being attacked. Secondly..." Dumbledore looked toward Ginny, not showing any serious expression, but instead asking even more gently, "Miss Weasley, or rather Ginny, regarding Ron being attacked, do you have anything you'd like to explain to me, to us?"
As Dumbledore's words fell, Ginny, who had already been sobbing, could no longer hold back and burst into tears.
At this moment, except for the Weasley twins, everyone else sensed something was wrong with Ginny.
"Ginny, look at me, look at me."
Dumbledore's gentle words seemed to have some kind of magic, causing Ginny to slowly raise her head. Her violent sobbing also eased somewhat as she calmed down.
"P-Professor, will I be sent to Azkaban?"
"Ginny, why would you think that?!"
Turning to look at Professor McGonagall, whose face showed worry, Ginny cried again, "But, but Professor, the person who first opened the Chamber was actually me. I opened the Chamber, which led to everything that followed. I even, I even harmed my brother. I harmed Ron.
I..."
At this point, Ginny could no longer continue.
Everyone present was shocked by Ginny's words.
Especially the Weasley twins, who for the first time showed speechless, bewildered expressions, no longer displaying their usual liveliness and wit.
The Chamber was actually opened by Ginny?!
Seeing Ginny unable to continue, Sean thought for a moment, then took out the bag that Andy had cast an Undetectable Extension Charm on. He reached inside, pulled out a potion, and came to Ginny's side.
"Ginny, drink this. It will help you regain your composure. Right now you need to be calm and explain the cause and effect clearly. I'm not doing this to help you—I simply don't believe that Slytherin's heir would be a Weasley, a Gryffindor. So drink it and explain everything clearly."
These words were naturally meant for Dumbledore and the others to hear. When facing this headmaster, Sean always maintained the utmost vigilance, speaking and acting with extreme caution.
Ginny took the potion and looked at Professor McGonagall. Seeing McGonagall nod, she pulled out the cork and drank the entire potion in one gulp.
Frowning as she swallowed the potion, Ginny wiped the corner of her mouth. Slowly, her emotions visibly stabilized, and even her continuous sobbing stopped.
Seeing Ginny's condition, Dumbledore couldn't help but praise, "Worthy of being Severus's most valued student. This calming potion has reached professional standards."
"Thank you for the praise, Professor Dumbledore."
Sean nodded lightly, his manners perfectly befitting a Slytherin's status.
Seeing this scene, Dumbledore blinked and looked at Ginny again, asking, "Ginny, can you now tell us the details of what happened?"
"Of course, Professor."
At this moment, Ginny spoke decisively and efficiently, like a Slytherin.
Next, Ginny began from discovering the old diary in her books, including how the diary could answer her questions and even help solve her academic and emotional doubts. She told Dumbledore and the others everything truthfully, up to the first and last time she opened the Chamber doors, then lost consciousness, and woke up to find the old diary missing.
After hearing Ginny's account, Professor McGonagall couldn't help but cover her mouth and say with slight reproach, "Oh Ginny, really, we told you in first year that magical objects with their own consciousness must never be touched."
Hearing Professor McGonagall's words, Ginny said self-reproachfully, "I'm sorry, Professor. I was bewitched by Riddle. He was so understanding and had the right perspective on so many things. I considered him my best friend and trusted him wholeheartedly. Because of this, I was bewitched by him, harmed many people, and even harmed my brother."
At this point, Ginny's eyes reddened slightly, but with the help of the calming potion, her emotional fluctuations were controlled within a certain range without major reactions.
At this moment, Sean caught sight of the three professors from the corner of his eye. When Ginny mentioned the surname Riddle, the expressions on the faces of Dumbledore and the other two professors clearly changed, though they quickly concealed it.
"So it seems that diary with its own consciousness is the real culprit behind opening the Chamber and releasing the Basilisk. This diary should now be in someone else's hands, which triggered the subsequent attacks. So now there's an urgent question that needs to be clarified: who is the person currently in possession of the diary, and where are they?"