Currently, many things remained unrevealed. For instance, Harry had not yet discovered the truth about Voldemort framing Hagrid years ago, nor had he found the connection between the Malfoy family and the diary, so naturally he couldn't piece together the truth.
However, Sean wasn't worried about this, or rather, didn't care.
Originally, Sean had planned to wait quietly until Harry found the truth and opened the Chamber, then follow him in to deal with the Basilisk and the diary. But now it seemed that Marcellus Bulstrode truly harbored deep hatred for him, being so eager to kill him so quickly. Although the last attempt failed, there was no guarantee there wouldn't be a second or third attempt.
You might dodge the first attack, but you might not avoid the fifteenth.
There was no logic in guarding against thieves for a thousand days.
So when Dumbledore finished his questioning, Sean had already made his decision to take the initiative. Of course, before that, he planned to first obtain Lockhart's Memory Charm. Although the method was somewhat crude, desperate times called for desperate measures—being crude was acceptable.
Sean had a plan, and Harry also had a plan.
In fact, tonight Harry's trio had just completed the Polyjuice Potion, obtaining hair from Goyle, Crabbe, and Pansy, and were preparing to infiltrate Slytherin to gather information. But then they encountered the Basilisk incident, leaving only Harry from the trio. However, Harry didn't intend to abandon their three-person plan and resolutely prepared to use the Polyjuice Potion to enter Slytherin alone for investigation.
The two House heads each escorted their students back to their respective common rooms.
The four House common rooms could be considered the safest places within Hogwarts. The protective magic here was countless, and there were no pipes through which the Basilisk could pass, so staying in the common room guaranteed safety.
When Sean returned to the common room, he found the atmosphere somewhat strange.
After thinking briefly, Sean understood the reason. They had been pursuing Slytherin's heir, but Slytherin's heir had commanded the Basilisk to kill a Slytherin. If things were really as Slytherin's heir's message suggested, wouldn't that mean Sean wasn't qualified to be a Slytherin?
But a first-year student who was top of his class, joined the Slytherin Brotherhood reserve organization at a young age, and had papers published in The Golden Cauldron—if you told them he wasn't qualified to be a Slytherin, then what about the other Slytherin members?
If Slytherin's heir truly only recognized bloodline, there were many people with lower bloodlines than Sean, and even their Head of House was a half-blood. Could it be that as Slytherin's Head of House, he also wasn't recognized by Slytherin's heir and wasn't qualified to call himself a Slytherin?
An attack targeting Sean had inadvertently lowered Slytherin's heir's status in the hearts of Slytherin's wizards—something Marcellus probably never anticipated.
"Sean, what exactly happened with this attack? What did Dumbledore and the Head of House say?"
Following Blaise's words, many people in the common room turned their attention to them. They also wanted to know what Dumbledore and Snape thought, including Marcellus, who was pretending as if it had nothing to do with him.
Glancing at Marcellus from the corner of his eye, Sean could see that Marcellus was also very eager to know the news from Dumbledore and Snape's side. Although he possessed the diary, even Voldemort himself was extremely wary of Dumbledore—what qualification did Marcellus have to ignore Dumbledore's attitude and thoughts?
In a flash of inspiration, Sean had an idea. Using a voice that Marcellus could barely hear, he said to Blaise, "Professor Dumbledore has already found the approximate location of the Chamber. In a while, he should be able to find the exact location and go deal with the Basilisk. As for Slytherin's heir, he should be discovered by then too."
Sean, who had been watching Marcellus closely, could clearly see that after hearing his fabricated words, Marcellus's face obviously showed fear—clearly intimidated by his bluff. In the short term, Marcellus probably wouldn't dare summon the Basilisk again.
And this period would be the perfect opportunity for Sean to make his final preparations.
Harry sat alone at the Gryffindor table, finishing his meal by himself. During this time, Colin wanted to say something to Harry, but when he saw Harry's condition, he ultimately didn't muster the courage.
For this, Harry was quite grateful that Colin lacked courage. Right now, he had no intention of accommodating anyone. Ever since Hermione and Ron were petrified by the Basilisk, Harry had been in a state somewhere between extremely irritable and quite irritable. He had tried several times to calm himself down, but to no avail.
Harry had even considered going to find Sean to ask for two bottles of calming potion. Earlier in Dumbledore's office, he had seen Ginny's state after using that potion, and it had truly impressed him.
Speaking of Ginny, Harry finally felt a bit of comfort.
Dumbledore hadn't held Ginny responsible, considering her a victim as well. Professor McGonagall agreed with this assessment, and she had always been fond of the well-behaved Ginny. Although the old bat was very dissatisfied that Ginny hadn't been punished, not even with point deductions, he generally didn't oppose Dumbledore's decisions, except when it came to Sean.
Thinking of Sean, Harry really wanted to talk with him now. Every time he encountered difficulties and troubles, Sean could always point him in the right direction. For Harry, Sean was both his friend and half his teacher—he had learned much from Sean that benefited him greatly.
After eating, Harry got up to leave.
Today his plan was to use Polyjuice Potion to enter Slytherin and approach Malfoy to investigate the truth. But just as Harry was about to leave the Great Hall, passing by the Hufflepuff table, two people sitting at the Hufflepuff table with their backs to Harry happened to mention him.
"I told you long ago that Slytherin's heir must be Harry Potter. He's always the first to appear at the scene every time. Where in this world are there such coincidences? Besides, you all saw him talking to the snake before—if Slytherin's heir isn't him, then who could it be?
I just never expected him to be so heartless as to even attack his own friends. That Sean Bulstrode was lucky enough, but he's also quite stupid for not quickly distancing himself from Harry Potter. Poor Ron and Hermione, though—harmed by their own friend and nearly killed. How pitiful and foolish!"