Chapter 121: The Gift of a Book (Patreon)

Vieder tossed the copper Knut into the air again. When it landed in his palm, the front side was facing up.

Today?

Indeed, today was the perfect day to act.

“Mr. Moria.”

Snape had somehow appeared beside Vieder.

“The Mandrakes have matured. Perhaps you could try brewing the Restorative Draught.”

Was he kidding?

Vieder’s expression changed slightly. He had been waiting for this day for an entire school year. If he wasted this precious opportunity brewing a Mandrake Restorative Draught, he might end up accomplishing nothing.

“I’m sorry, Professor Snape. I have something to take care of today, so I’m afraid I won’t have time to brew the potion.”

Snape stared at him for several seconds before leaving with a single remark:

“Don’t forget the rules.”

During Defence Against the Dark Arts, Gilderoy Lockhart was once again talking at length. This time, however, he wasn’t boasting about his legendary adventures. Instead, he was complaining about all the regulations.

“There are more and more things teachers are being asked to do these days. Besides teaching classes, we have to escort students around and stand guard throughout the night.

“But fortunately, this dreadful workload will disappear tomorrow. Once those poor petrified students wake up, the first thing they’ll say will undoubtedly be, ‘Hagrid is the culprit.’”

“Honestly, Vieder.” Daphne couldn’t help laughing. “Lockhart is completely useless, but somehow he’s always incredibly confident no matter what happens.

“I really wonder what his face will look like when he finds out Hagrid isn’t the culprit.”

“With Lockhart’s thick skin, he’ll probably pretend nothing happened. And he’ll find himself a perfectly reasonable excuse soon enough.”

Daphne’s expression froze for a moment.

“You’re right.”

After class, Lockhart was responsible for escorting the students to the History of Magic classroom. However, he first had to wait for the long line of Hufflepuff students to pass.

Vieder called out to Harry and Ron, who were whispering among themselves, and handed them an old book.

“What’s this?” Harry asked in confusion.

“A book about snakes.”

“Snakes?”

Ron instinctively glanced at Harry.

“Why are you giving us this book?”

“It isn’t for you. It’s for Hermione.

“On the day of the Gryffindor-Hufflepuff Quidditch match, I ran into Hermione outside the library. The moment she saw me, she urgently asked whether I had this book.

“She seemed extremely anxious about it. In order to find out where the book was, she even secretly looked through the borrowing records in Madam Pince’s drawer.”

Harry and Ron exchanged a glance, their breathing becoming noticeably heavier.

They both thought of the same possibility.

This book contained the true identity of the monster in the Chamber of Secrets. Otherwise, Hermione wouldn’t have been so desperate to find it.

Although snakes were not typically the natural enemies of spiders, things would be different if the snake were a magical creature.

How had they never thought of snakes?

If Salazar Slytherin had raised a snake, then Harry being able to hear its voice suddenly made perfect sense.

“Y-You should have told us sooner!”

Ron was beside himself with frustration. He wanted to curse Vieder, but he didn’t even know where to begin.

If they had obtained this book earlier, they wouldn’t have needed to venture into the Forbidden Forest, and they certainly wouldn’t have nearly died in the spiders’ lair.

That had to be the most disgusting and unbearable way to die imaginable.

Hagrid might not have been locked up in Azkaban, either, and Dumbledore might not have been forced to leave Hogwarts.

“Hm?” Vieder pretended to be confused. “Why should I have told you earlier?”

“Hermione was the one who wanted to borrow the book, not you.

“I’m willing to lend it to her because she’s my friend, but she had already been petrified at the time. Even if I took the book to her, she wouldn’t have been able to read it.

“Professor McGonagall said they should wake up tonight. Since you’re Hermione’s friends in Gryffindor, I thought you could give the book to her.

“If you don’t want to, then forget it.”

Vieder reached out as if to take the book back.

Harry immediately hugged it tightly to his chest.

“Of course we’ll do it.”

“Yeah, leave it to us!” Ron said at once.

Vieder looked deeply at the two of them.

“You two... aren’t you hiding something from me?”

“No! Really, we aren’t.”

“If you are, it doesn’t matter. I have no interest in your secrets.”

“All right, Gryffindor, follow me,” Lockhart called.

Harry and Ron followed the others toward the front of the line.

Once they entered the History of Magic classroom, the two of them immediately chose seats in the very last row.

They had absolutely no interest in listening to Professor Binns drone on about boring history. Instead, they eagerly opened the book.

They quickly scanned through its contents, skipping over every type of snake that didn’t match the clues they had gathered.

“Harry, look at this.”

Ron pointed at a picture of a gigantic serpent on the page.

“A Basilisk. It can live for hundreds of years. Anyone who looks directly into its eyes dies instantly, while spiders flee at the sight of it.”

“It fits, Ron.”

Harry nodded firmly.

“The monster in the Chamber of Secrets is a Basilisk. That explains why I can hear it.”

“But if it can kill people with its gaze, why hasn’t anyone died?”

“Because no one looked directly into its eyes.

“Colin saw it through the lens of his camera. Justin saw it through Nearly Headless Nick. Nick is a ghost, so he can’t die. Hermione... she was wearing the alchemical glasses Vieder gave her.

“And the girl who died fifty years ago really did die. She just wasn’t as lucky as the others.”

“What about Filch’s cat?”

Harry thought for a moment.

“Water. There was a lot of water on the floor of Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom. What she saw was only the Basilisk’s reflection.”

“There’s another clue here. A rooster’s crow is fatal to a Basilisk.

“That’s why all of Hagrid’s roosters were killed. The Heir of Slytherin definitely wouldn’t want any roosters near the castle.”

“But how does the Basilisk get around? A snake that enormous would surely be seen by someone. The book doesn’t say it can pass through walls.”

Harry’s mind was working at full speed now.

He thought of every location where the victims had been attacked, including Mrs. Norris.

“Pipes. It’s the pipes.”

“Hogwarts: A History mentioned that there are many pipes running throughout the castle. If the Basilisk moves through the pipes, then everything makes sense.”

“The bathroom.”

Ron suddenly realized the significance as well.

“The entrance to the Chamber of Secrets might be in a bathroom. Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom.

“Fifty years ago, when the Basilisk was released from the Chamber, it happened to encounter her. One look was enough to kill her.”

“Yes, yes! You’re right!”

Harry nodded excitedly before voicing his own theory.

“Fifty years ago, Riddle wrongly blamed Hagrid, but the real Heir of Slytherin was never caught. Instead, he chose to stop before things went too far.

“Fifty years later, his descendant entered Hogwarts.

“He knows how to open the Chamber, and he also speaks Parseltongue. That’s why he can control the Basilisk and use it to kill people, finally accomplishing what his ancestor failed to accomplish.”