On Halloween, which is a holiday, most students would choose to play around in the school for a day or go back to the dormitory to have a good rest.
However, on the morning of November 1st this year, the Hufflepuff common room was packed with students.
They were whispering and discussing at the same time.
"What exactly is the secret room? I heard it has been opened?"
"I think I heard my father mention the secret chamber. I thought he was trying to scare me into falling asleep early!"
"It is said that the spell cast on Mrs. Norris is an extremely powerful dark magic, and even Professor Dumbledore is helpless against it."
"Who told you that? How could Professor Dumbledore ever be helpless?"
"The Gryffindor Weasley brothers, their youngest brother went with Professor Dumbledore to check on Mrs. Norris."
...
...
"I think Ronald Weasley is very suspicious... and Potter and Granger, why would these three Gryffindor students appear at the entrance of the basement? And the three of them have always had a bad relationship with Mr. Filch."
"Yes, that Ronald Weasley was put in detention by Mr. Filch in September?"
"Potter also had a row with Mr. Filch..."
…
From first-year students to seventh-year students, everyone expressed their opinions.
Although it seems to be getting further and further away.
Suddenly there was a noise from the archway, and then a fat witch climbed up.
"Professor..." The students quickly surrounded her: "Professor Sprout..."
"What exactly is the secret room?" Hannah Abbott asked anxiously.
"How is Mrs. Norris?" Cedric Diggory asked with some concern.
"Um... Professor... what is a squib?" Justin Finch-Fletchley touched his head in a naive manner.
"It's okay... let me answer them one by one!" Pomona Sprout's eyes were bloodshot, as if she hadn't slept all night... But after checking on the petrified Mrs. Norris and going back to the greenhouse to take care of the mandrakes, she chose to go to the Hufflepuff common room as soon as possible to comfort her students.
"Mrs. Norris is not in danger of death, she is just petrified!" Professor Sprout said, "The Mandrake can easily cure her... Coincidentally, we have a batch of Mandrake growing in our greenhouse!"
The students sighed.
"What about the Chamber of Secrets, Professor?" a sixth-year girl asked quickly, "It's just a prank, right? A prank by Potter or Weasley?"
"Chamber of Secrets!" Professor Sprout's voice became deeper. "That's not a prank..."
"There is a legend, of course it's just a legend... Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin, the four best wizards of that era, they built Hogwarts together..."
"In the first few years, the founders worked together harmoniously, looking for young people who showed signs of magic and bringing them to the castle to train them well... However, differences gradually arose among them. Slytherin believed that magical education should only be limited to pure magical families. He was unwilling to accept children born to Muggles, believing that they were unreliable. So they had a fierce quarrel, and finally Slytherin left the school."
"So there's this weird legend about the Chamber of Secrets… the story goes that Slytherin built a secret room in the castle, unknown to the other founders. Slytherin sealed it so that no one could open it until his true heir came to the school. Only that heir could open the Chamber and release the horrors inside, allowing it to cleanse the school of all those who were unworthy of studying magic!"
"That is, Muggle-born wizards and Squibs."
As he spoke, Professor Sprout curled his lips.
"This... is just a legend!" Eloise Midgen said tremblingly.
"We all thought it was just a legend before..." Professor Sprout said solemnly, "But then... fifty years ago, when I was a second-year Hufflepuff student, the Chamber of Secrets was opened once!"
"What!" Many girls took a few steps back in fear.
"A Ravenclaw student died, due to terrible black magic, and no one knew the cause of her death... Later, Armando Dippet found the 'real murderer', and we all thought everything was over..."
"Ah..." Susan Bones suddenly screamed, as if she saw something terrible, and then ran forward several steps in fear.
Several girls nearby also screamed and ran away, thinking that the horrible monster in the Chamber of Secrets had come out and entered the Hufflepuff common room.
Professor Sprout frowned. She soon found the culprit... Taking out her wand, she almost lazily shouted.
She caught two little guys who were running on the ground and trying to escape from the Hufflepuff common room.
"I'm sorry, professor!" Jon Hart ran over hurriedly holding the glass cage.
"Jon, releasing your pet to scare your classmates is not the right thing to do!" She put the two South African red spiders into the glass cage, her voice containing some reproach but not harshness.
"I'm sorry, Professor..." Jon explained quickly, "But I really didn't mean to do that... They escaped!"
"I fed them Professor Kettleburn's medicine before, and they were very quiet... But since last night, they suddenly became anxious again, and the medicine is no longer effective. Just now, I accidentally opened a crack in the cage, and the two of them jumped out... They almost ran away!"
"Really?" Professor Sprout's face gradually became serious after hearing these words.
…
Half an hour later Jon made another trip to the Owlery.
For nineteen galleons and seven Sickles he purchased five ounces of powdered bicorn horn and the skin of a whole boomslang.
Magic potions are indeed a money-burning thing; just making these two ingredients almost cost him all his fortune.
Fortunately, there is nothing necessary to consume at Hogwarts, and it doesn't matter if you don't have a Knut on you.
Returning to the castle and entering the basement, he passed by the spot where Mrs. Norris had been murdered, the words still flickering so brightly on the stone wall.
"The chamber of secrets has been opened."
"Those who are enemies of the heir, beware!"
Jon snorted coldly, touching the rooster alarm clock hidden in his robe...without stopping, he walked away.