Early the next morning, all of Hogwarts was shaken by fresh news.
The Ministry of Magic suspected that Hagrid had opened the Chamber of Secrets and had sent him to Azkaban. Meanwhile, Dumbledore had been dismissed by unanimous vote from the Board of Governors.
An unprecedented fear spread rapidly through the castle.
Outside, spring painted the world like a beautiful picture, yet none of that warmth reached Hogwarts. Every face in the school looked uneasy and afraid.
Harry kept repeating Dumbledore's final words from the previous night in his mind.
"Only when no one here remains loyal to me will I truly have left this school… At Hogwarts, help will always be given to those who ask for it."
The night before, he and Hermione had visited Hagrid and learned the truth about what happened fifty years ago.
Unfortunately, just as they were about to leave, Minister Cornelius Fudge, Dumbledore, and several governors barged in and took Hagrid away.
The governors had also declared that Dumbledore was officially removed.
Those words had been Dumbledore's farewell. Harry suspected the old man had said them on purpose—he had clearly noticed Harry hiding under the Invisibility Cloak.
But what use were words now?
For several days, Ron had been too exhausted to participate in their investigations. Only Hermione had continued searching for the truth alongside Harry.
Now they finally had clues—but who could they turn to for help?
"Lewis Green!" Harry suddenly said. "At this point, he's the only one who can help us!"
"We should've gone to him earlier," Hermione muttered. "But before that, I need to visit the library. Last night's trip to the Forbidden Forest gave me a new idea."
At noon, the two intercepted Lewis in the corridor.
"Lewis! Lewis, you have to help us!" Harry grabbed his sleeve anxiously. "We know what the monster in the Chamber is!"
"Oh?" Lewis raised a brow. "You figured it out? Then tell me what you know."
Harry immediately spilled everything.
"Last night we visited Hagrid. He told us someone had opened the Chamber fifty years ago and killed a student—that was Myrtle, the ghost in the bathroom."
"But Hagrid became the scapegoat and was expelled. We know he really did hide a monster, but it was an Acromantula—the ones living in the Forbidden Forest. Those things can't petrify people."
"So what's the real monster?" Lewis asked cooperatively.
Harry looked at Hermione. She nodded proudly and announced her conclusion.
"The monster is a basilisk! The book said this—
'Many terrible beasts roam our world, but none is stranger or deadlier than the Basilisk, also known as the King of Serpents.'
"It can grow enormous and live for hundreds of years. It's born from a chicken egg hatched beneath a toad."
"The basilisk kills not only with venomous fangs, but also with its deadly gaze. Anyone who looks directly into its eyes dies instantly."
"Spiders flee from it because it's their natural enemy. And basilisks are terrified of rooster crows because those sounds are fatal to them."
Growing excited, Hermione continued:
"All the clues fit! Harry could hear the voice in the walls because he's a Parselmouth."
"The victims only got petrified because none of them looked directly at the basilisk. They all saw it indirectly."
"The Acromantulas fleeing through the Forbidden Forest was because they sensed the basilisk. And Hagrid's chickens being slaughtered happened because someone wanted to prevent the basilisk from dying to rooster crows."
Then she frowned thoughtfully.
"But if creating a basilisk is really that simple, shouldn't there be loads of them? Why does Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them say there haven't been confirmed basilisk sightings in Britain for over four hundred years?"
Harry also looked at Lewis curiously.
Lewis explained calmly, "Because not every chicken egg can produce a basilisk. It specifically has to be a rooster egg."
"…Roosters lay eggs?" Harry asked blankly.
"Of course they can."
Lewis nodded matter-of-factly.
"If you study Muggle biology, you'll discover that birds have less rigid sex distinctions than humans. Under extreme conditions, birds can undergo sex reversal."
"For example, in a flock without a rooster, sometimes a hen will gradually develop male characteristics and effectively become a rooster."
"In that situation, the bird possesses traits of both sexes. With magical interference, it's entirely possible to make such a rooster lay eggs."
Harry and Hermione stared at him with mouths hanging open.
This was the first time they had heard such outrageous knowledge.
Seeing their interest, Lewis continued educating them.
"Actually, basilisks aren't the only magical creatures born this way."
"We know snakes are cold-blooded and can't hatch eggs. But if a snake incubates a hen's egg, it creates a cockatrice."
"That creature isn't as deadly as a basilisk, but its venom can still petrify victims."
"There's an even stranger case. If a snake's egg is incubated by a rooster, it hatches into a petrifying lizard."
"It's an eight-legged lizard with a gaze similar to a basilisk's. It can't kill instantly, but it can still turn people into stone."
Cockatrice? Petrifying lizard?
The two were completely dumbfounded.
There were this many bizarre creatures in the magical world?
This was insane.
Seeing the conversation drifting off-topic, Lewis steered it back himself.
"Your analysis sounds reasonable. I also believe the Chamber's monster is a basilisk. You did well."
Hermione immediately looked delighted, and Harry grinned too.
Praise from Lewis Green was hard to come by.
"But," Lewis continued, "do you know who the Heir of Slytherin is?"
"We thought it was Malfoy," Harry admitted. "But when we infiltrated his side, we found nothing. Then even Malfoy himself got petrified."
"Wait…" Hermione's eyes widened. "You're asking that because you already know, aren't you?"
"Smart."
Lewis nodded.
"I do have a conclusion."
"The Heir is Ron Weasley."
"At least, for now."
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