Chapter 97: Passing Through a Sea of Flowers Without a Single Leaf Touching
"So, you sent that Acromantula, Aragog, into the Forbidden Forest?"
Harry pressed further.
Hagrid nodded:
"Yes, I even found him a wife in the forest named Mosag. They now have hundreds of descendants."
"From what I know, Acromantulas don't have the ability to petrify people."
George added.
Hermione pondered for a moment and said:
"Since Aragog is in the Forbidden Forest, the monster attacking students now can't be an Acromantula. That means Hagrid couldn't have been responsible for the attacks back then.
Unfortunately, apart from us, no one else is likely to believe this."
To outsiders, the Acromantulas in the Forbidden Forest might not be the same one Hagrid had released from the Chamber. There was no concrete evidence to prove it.
After leaving Hagrid's hut, having confirmed that Hagrid wasn't the Heir of Slytherin, the trio's spirits were noticeably lifted.
"Since Hagrid was framed, can we do something to help him?"
On their way back to the castle, Harry suddenly suggested.
Hermione seemed to have a similar idea:
"If we can lure out the monster and prove it's not an Acromantula, we can clear Hagrid's name and set the record straight."
"But the monster hasn't appeared lately. What if it's already over?"
Ron voiced his concern.
Hearing their discussion, George couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
"Typical of you three!"
While most students at the school were terrified of encountering the monster from the Chamber, these three were actually thinking about how to lure it out.
To be fair, George also had similar thoughts, but his approach was different. He wasn't being reckless—he had his own considerations.
He knew the monster in the Chamber was a Basilisk and that it had a fatal weakness.
The Basilisk was the most fearsome magical creature, created by ancient wizards using dark magic to hatch a chicken egg beneath a toad.
It possessed deadly fangs, a massive body, and eyes that could kill anyone who looked directly into them. Even indirect eye contact could petrify its victims.
However, this powerful creature had a natural enemy: the rooster. The sound of a rooster's crow could render the Basilisk powerless, even potentially killing it.
This was why Voldemort, through Ginny, had secretly killed all of Hagrid's roosters in advance.
During his Christmas break in Diagon Alley, aside from learning wand-making, George had secretly bought several roosters and kept them in a box expanded with an Undetectable Extension Charm.
His plan was to use them against the Basilisk if he ever found himself in mortal danger.
Of course, if the goal was simply to clear Hagrid's name, they didn't need to kill the Basilisk. They just needed to prove that the monster was a Basilisk.
However, George wouldn't resort to using the roosters unless absolutely necessary.
After all, it would be hard to explain the existence of the expanded box and the roosters he had prepared in advance.
But that was a concern for later. For now, the diary was still in Harry's possession. The Basilisk wouldn't reappear until Ginny stole the diary back, which gave them some time.
For now, George's top priority was mastering the Sectumsempra Curse.
---
Time flew by, and soon it was February 14th—Valentine's Day.
As soon as George entered the Great Hall that morning, he noticed the decorations had changed. The walls were covered in large, dazzling pink flowers, and heart-shaped confetti continuously fluttered down from the pale blue ceiling.
"It looks quite nice, no wonder the witches love it."
Seeing the young witches entering the Great Hall with hearts in their eyes, George couldn't help but admire Lockhart's skill in this area.
At the same time, he reflected that whether they were Muggles or witches, most women couldn't resist such romantic settings.
On the other hand, some of the male wizards didn't seem as pleased. Harry and Ron, upon entering the Great Hall and seeing Lockhart in his bright pink robes, looked disgusted, as if they were about to vomit.
As for the professors at the high table, they didn't seem to be in a good mood either, especially Snape, who looked as though someone had just forced him to drink a large cup of Skele-Gro.
Once most of the students had gathered in the Great Hall, Lockhart began his specially prepared Valentine's Day morale-boosting plan.
He had enlisted twelve dwarves dressed as cupids, complete with golden wings and harps, to deliver Valentine's cards throughout the school.
If a student had a crush on someone, they could write a Valentine's card and give it to a dwarf, who would deliver it to the intended recipient. If requested, the dwarves could even read the cards aloud as a public declaration of love.
Lockhart even encouraged students to ask Snape for tips on brewing love potions and Flitwick for advice on enchantment spells.
George found all of this amusing but didn't pay it much attention.
After all, as far as he was concerned, his current body was still that of a child, and most of the students at the school were underage. He had no intention of getting involved in romantic relationships.
Romance took time, and right now, he preferred to dedicate his time to studying magic.
Love could wait, but the opportunity to learn magic wasn't something that came easily. Besides, George had a rather detached view of romance.
His past life had taught him that love wasn't a necessity. If he had physical needs, he could find someone to satisfy them, and afterward, they could go their separate ways, each a passing figure in the other's life.
Since discovering magic, he had come to believe that magic was his true pursuit. Everything else took a backseat.
"Passing through a sea of flowers without a single leaf touching"—that was his attitude toward relationships.
"Sectumsempra!"
In the Forbidden Forest, George waved his wand, and a transparent blade shot out, striking a fleeing mole and causing its flesh to split open.
Pigwidgeon, flying above George, immediately swooped down, grabbed the mole in its beak, and swallowed it in one gulp.
With no classes in the morning, George had sneaked into the Forbidden Forest after breakfast to practice the Sectumsempra Curse, using the forest's small animals as his targets.
Just as the Fire-Making Spell could range from a small flame to a raging inferno depending on the caster's skill, the Sectumsempra Curse was the same.
At its basic level, George could only cast one blade at a time, and its power was limited.
But with mastery, he could cast multiple blades simultaneously, and each blade could be much larger.
With enough practice, a single blade could even slice a person in half.
So even after mastering the basics, George knew he had to keep practicing and refining his skills.
He skipped lunch in the Great Hall and instead ate rock cakes at Hagrid's hut. To be honest, if it weren't for his enhanced physical constitution and strong teeth, he wouldn't have been able to bite into those rock cakes.
But as for the taste, they weren't bad at all. Hagrid hadn't been exaggerating.
(End of Chapter)