Chapter 120: The Mandrakes Mature (Patreon)

Bang!

The battered turquoise Ford Anglia burst out of the Forbidden Forest, covered in scratches and dents. It managed a clumsy landing beside Hagrid's hut.

The doors swung open.

Harry, Ron, and Fang climbed out, their faces still pale with lingering fear.

Without waiting for anyone, the enchanted car started itself again and lurched back toward the Forbidden Forest.

"Follow the spiders... Follow the spiders!"

Ron exploded in frustration.

"When Hagrid gets out of Azkaban, I'm going to kill him!"

That night, the two of them had slipped beneath Harry's Invisibility Cloak and visited Hagrid, hoping to learn what had really happened fifty years ago.

Before they could ask a single question, however, Dumbledore and Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge had arrived at the hut.

They'd had no choice but to hide beneath the cloak in the corner.

Unfortunately...

Things turned out even worse than they had imagined.

Fudge had come to arrest Hagrid.

After all, Hagrid had been the prime suspect fifty years ago and already had a criminal record.

Until the real culprit was found, Hagrid would remain imprisoned in Azkaban.

To make matters worse, Lucius Malfoy also appeared.

Armed with a suspension order signed by all twelve members of the Hogwarts Board of Governors, he stripped Dumbledore of his position as Headmaster and forced him to leave Hogwarts.

Before being taken away, Hagrid managed to leave them one final clue:

"Follow the spiders."

And Dumbledore seemed to leave them with a message of his own.

"Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it."

Even beneath the Invisibility Cloak...

Dumbledore had somehow seemed aware of their presence.

Following Hagrid's clue, Harry and Ron ventured deep into the Forbidden Forest.

There, they found Aragog—the Acromantula Hagrid had raised fifty years earlier.

The enormous spider was nearly the size of an elephant.

After introducing themselves as Hagrid's friends, they spoke with Aragog for a while.

When they tried to leave...

They discovered that countless Acromantulas had already surrounded them.

Aragog had never intended to let them escape alive.

If the Ford Anglia hadn't arrived in time, the swarm of giant spiders would have torn them apart.

"What exactly was Hagrid thinking?" Ron complained.

"Did he want us to admire the pet he raised fifty years ago..."

"...or deliver ourselves as dinner?"

"I never should've questioned his taste."

"That spider was as big as an elephant!"

"And vicious... savage... completely insane!"

"At least we got a clue," Harry replied.

"What clue?"

"Aragog refused to tell us anything we actually wanted to know. Hagrid questioned him countless times and got nowhere."

"It only repeated things we already knew."

Harry looked thoughtful.

"The girl who died fifty years ago..."

"...was killed in a bathroom."

"Maybe..."

"...she never left."

"You mean..." Ron's eyes widened.

"Moaning Myrtle?"

Then he frowned.

"But with all these new school rules, sneaking into her bathroom won't be easy."

"Harry, I don't want to discourage you, but Myrtle has been a ghost for fifty years."

"Dumbledore must've questioned her already."

"If she knew where the Chamber of Secrets was—or what monster lived inside—it wouldn't have remained unsolved for all these years."

Harry nodded slowly.

"I still want to ask her."

"Maybe she'll remember something unexpected."

"Even a single clue would help."

"Now?"

Ron glanced toward the first rays of dawn rising on the horizon, worried they wouldn't make it back to Gryffindor Tower before anyone noticed.

"No."

"We'll wait until Hermione wakes up."

"She actually saw the monster."

"If we still can't find anything after checking the library again..."

"...then we'll talk to Myrtle."

"Besides, with the new school regulations, the Heir of Slytherin doesn't have many chances to stage another attack anyway."

"That's true."

News of Hagrid's imprisonment in Azkaban and Dumbledore's departure spread through Hogwarts at astonishing speed.

Fear continued to grow throughout the castle.

Not everyone was unhappy, however.

Gilderoy Lockhart, for one, breathed a sigh of relief.

He naively believed Hagrid was the real culprit.

With Hagrid locked away in Azkaban...

Hogwarts had to be safe now.

Clink.

A bronze Knut spun through the air before landing in Wade's palm.

Tails.

Without changing expression, Wade slipped the coin back into his pocket.

He casually glanced toward the Gryffindor table, paying particular attention to Harry, Ron, and Ginny.

After confirming that nothing unusual had happened, he calmly resumed eating breakfast.

Dumbledore's forced departure wasn't entirely bad news.

If anything...

It meant Wade had far fewer concerns about his own plans.

"I've noticed you flip coins several times every day," Daphne said teasingly.

"What could possibly be so important that you keep consulting your divinations?"

"That's a secret."

"So mysterious."

Daphne rolled her eyes.

"These new rules are awful."

"We haven't even been able to get back into that room."

"I know."

Wade sighed helplessly.

"I'm almost finished crafting Griffin's Claws, but my progress has completely stalled."

"For now, we'll just have to endure."

"Once Dumbledore returns—or a new Headmaster takes over—things should improve."

"Or once they catch the Heir of Slytherin?" Daphne raised an eyebrow with a smile.

"Don't try to comfort me."

"I'm not stupid."

"Catching the Heir is the only real solution."

"Otherwise, we'll spend the rest of the term studying under this depressing atmosphere."

"And to make things even worse..."

"...we still have exams on June first."

"Can you believe it?"

"Everything's a mess, and we're still expected to take exams?"

"I heard Professor McGonagall say Dumbledore arranged it."

"I don't understand."

"He's already left Hogwarts."

"How can he still be giving orders?"

"What's so hard to understand?"

Wade chuckled.

"There's only one explanation."

"Vice Headmistress—or rather, Acting Headmistress—Minerva McGonagall is on Dumbledore's side."

Daphne froze for a moment before bursting into laughter.

At that moment, Professor McGonagall entered the Great Hall with an unmistakable smile on her face.

"I have good news for everyone."

The hall immediately erupted with excited guesses.

"Professor Dumbledore is coming back?"

"They caught the Heir of Slytherin?"

"Quidditch matches are being restored?"

Everyone hoped the announcement matched their wishes.

"Quiet, everyone."

McGonagall raised her voice.

"Professor Sprout has informed me that the Mandrakes are finally ready for harvest."

"Tonight..."

"...the students who were Petrified will be restored to normal."

"One of them may finally be able to tell us who—or what—attacked them."

"I sincerely hope this terrible year ends with the culprit being brought to justice."

The Great Hall exploded into thunderous applause.

The dark cloud that had hung over Hogwarts for months finally seemed to part, and relief spread through the students.

Wade quietly glanced toward Ginny Weasley.

Her face had turned deathly pale.

Fear and panic were written all over it.

He couldn't help shaking his head inwardly.

McGonagall's announcement had certainly lifted everyone's spirits...

But it had also backed the Heir of Slytherin into a corner.

Ginny Weasley no longer controlled her own fate.

Tom Riddle would never surrender without a fight.

If anything...

The possibility of him choosing to drag everyone down with him had just become far greater.