"P-Potter.. You're not the Heir of the Chamber of Secrets, are you?"
Malfoy's question echoed through the Room of Requirement, instantly freezing the atmosphere.
Harry felt his blood surge and his ears ring.
He had spent all this time trying to uncover the real culprit, so how had he suddenly become the Heir himself?
"I…"
Harry was too angry to speak, his cheeks flushed bright red, but Ron beside him immediately spoke up first.
"Malfoy, calm down. If Harry really were the Heir, wouldn't you already be lying petrified in the hospital wing?"
The moment Ron said that, Malfoy turned sharply and glared at him.
"Weasley, I'm not joking!"
Still, Ron's words eased the tension in the room considerably.
"Alright."
Lucien's calm voice rang out.
He looked toward Harry, who was still indignant, and gently guided him.
"Harry, calm down and think carefully. You mentioned before that outside Lockhart's office, and later at the scenes of the attacks, you heard strange 'whispers' or 'voices,' correct?"
Harry froze.
Frowning, he tried hard to recall those memories.
After several minutes, he spoke uncertainly.
"You mean… that might also have been… a snake speaking?"
The instant he finished speaking, Hermione suddenly turned toward Lucien and blurted out,
"I specifically went to the Restricted Section to look into this some time ago. Lucien, do you already know—"
But before she could finish her sentence, the air in the center of the classroom suddenly twisted and heated up.
A blazing ball of scarlet flames burst into existence out of nowhere.
In the next moment, a bird flew out from within the fire, flapping its wings.
Its wings still looked slightly immature, and its flight was somewhat clumsy, like a fledgling only just learning to fly. Even so, it managed to glide accurately toward Lucien.
Lucien naturally extended his arm, allowing the small bird to perch there.
Its body was covered in reddish-orange down, fluffy and soft, making it resemble a chick that had just molted and entered an awkward stage of growth.
"Cheep! Cheep cheep! Cheep—"
The little bird chirped anxiously, successfully drawing everyone's attention away from the discussion about Parseltongue and the Heir.
Meanwhile, the mass of writhing snakes on the floor instantly fled toward the farthest corner of the room. The moment the small bird appeared, they curled themselves tightly into a trembling pile.
Lucien understood the bird's meaning and nodded gently.
"The Headmaster needs me urgently? Hmm… and he said an old friend has arrived? Who is it?"
"Cheep!"
The little bird nodded its tiny head vigorously.
Lucien gently stroked its soft feathers.
"A surprise?"
"Alright then, a surprise it is. I'll trouble you to lead the way, Fawkes."
Fawkes!
Harry and Ron exchanged glances and simultaneously let out long sighs of relief.
At the beginning of the school year, they had "parked" the flying car inside the Headmaster's office. At the time, they had thought they accidentally frightened Dumbledore's phoenix to death, leaving them both terrified and guilt-ridden.
Thankfully, just as Lucien had said before, it had only been a normal rebirth through fire.
As though sensing their thoughts, Fawkes, nestled in Lucien's arms, suddenly turned his small head toward Harry and Ron and let out a rapid string of chirps.
"Cheep! Cheep cheep cheep! Cheep cheep!"
The two boys immediately looked confused and turned toward Lucien.
"Lucien, wait… you… you can understand the phoenix?"
"What is Fawkes saying?"
At that question, everyone else suddenly realized the same thing.
How was Lucien communicating with a phoenix so naturally?
Was there such a thing as "Phoenix language" too?
Under the curious gazes of the group, Lucien's expression became somewhat subtle, carrying a trace of helplessness.
Because Fawkes had just cursed at them.
Quite enthusiastically, in fact.
"Well… Fawkes just warmly greeted your entire family."
"?"
Harry and Ron had not yet processed the odd expression on Lucien's face when Fawkes suddenly burst into brilliant flames once again, instantly engulfing Lucien as well.
The fire flickered briefly before fading away, and both the boy and the phoenix vanished completely.
Harry stood frozen for several seconds before finally snapping back to reality and turning toward Hermione.
"Uh, Hermione, what were you about to say? About the monster in the Chamber of Secrets…"
He absolutely did not want to carry terrifying labels such as Heir of the Chamber of Secrets, mastermind, or some cruel descendant of Slytherin.
Just as Hermione was about to answer, Daphne beside her gently pointed toward the restless shadow squirming in the corner of the classroom.
"I think… shouldn't we deal with these snakes first? It looks like Lucien forgot to turn them back before he left."
Only then did everyone reluctantly shift their attention toward the snakes, which had begun writhing around again, and raised their wands.
"Potter! Since you can talk to them, can't you use your 'talent' to make them leave already?"
"Ha! Send them where? Back to the Slytherin common room so they can be your bedtime pets?"
"Damn it, Potter! Do you want to duel me again?! Weasley, don't interfere this time. This is a fair one-on-one duel between men!"
Watching the three boys instantly begin bickering again while shoving each other around, Hermione and Daphne exchanged glances, suddenly feeling as though they had found a shared topic to bond over.
Meanwhile, on the other side.
Inside the Headmaster's office.
Lucien had already been brought to the Headmaster's office by Fawkes.
As the flames faded and he steadied himself, the first person he saw was Dumbledore sitting behind the massive desk with a smile on his face.
Hearing the sound of his arrival, the person who had been standing with his back turned slowly turned around.
Although the man appeared slightly younger than Lucien remembered, he still recognized him instantly. Pleasant surprise filled his voice.
"Mr. Newt?!"
"Good afternoon, Lucien."
"Good afternoon, Mr Newt. Headmaster."
Lucien nodded politely to the two elders in the room.
He gently placed the young Fawkes onto its perch before walking over and taking a seat beside Newt.
Newt looked far better than the last time they had met. Even the wrinkles around his eyes seemed less pronounced.
Lucien guessed that the Vitality Restoration Potion he had previously sent must have been quite effective, since it slowly and continuously replenished the user's life force.
Dumbledore smiled, nodded, and immediately got to the point.
"Blaise Zabini, who was petrified, has already awakened after drinking the Mandrake Restorative Draught. Just like Penelope Clearwater before him, the last thing he remembered before losing consciousness was a 'massive yellow light.'"
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