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Resets Weekly! [Monday]
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Moaning Myrtle was curled up in her toilet as usual, lost in meaningless thoughts.
However, since meeting Jane Yu, her thoughts had taken a different turn.
For instance, she was considering getting a larger toilet, so when Jane died, they would have more spacious living quarters.
Perhaps they could customize a colorful toilet, with their names engraved on the lid.
Or maybe they could renovate the entire stall?
Lost in these thoughts, she suddenly remembered dejectedly that she was already dead.
If Jane died too, no one would come to renovate their place.
This realization brought tears to her eyes, and she began to sob uncontrollably.
But just as she was in the midst of her crying, she heard voices at the door.
It must be Jane Yu!
She immediately stopped crying and happily rushed out of the stall, eager to discuss her renovation plans.
However, she was horrified to find her friend covered in blood, weakly leaning against a boy named Harry's shoulder!
She felt blood rushing to her head.
"No, no!" she screamed.
She watched in terror as Harry made the same strange sounds she had heard in her final living moments!
It was the same language used by the Basilisk that had killed her!
Could he be the Heir of Slytherin?
Was he the one who had coerced Jane into this state?
But then something seemed off.
Because Harry appeared to be following Jane's commands, and even took a stunning spell from her.
This scene... it looked more like Jane had deceived an innocent bystander...
No, impossible, Jane couldn't be wrong!
It must be this Harry boy's fault!
She shook her head, pushing these strange thoughts aside.
Her bias towards Jane made her willfully blind, and she screamed as she rushed out of the bathroom to spread the news.
...
In the Great Hall.
Students and professors were enjoying their feast.
Though the shadow of the Chamber still loomed over them, the lack of recent incidents had somewhat eased their concerns.
"Perhaps the Heir has reformed and turned over a new leaf," they joked.
But these illusions were quickly shattered by Moaning Myrtle's sudden entrance into the Great Hall.
Her hair disheveled and glasses askew, she burst in like a whirlwind, passing through the bodies of the young Slytherins at their table, and flew straight to the staff table, plunging into Snape's dinner as she shouted:
"Harry! Harry has taken Jane Yu hostage! He's opened the Chamber!"
Chaos erupted in the Great Hall immediately.
Students jumped up from their seats in panic, some screaming, others crying. At the Gryffindor table, Ron and Hermione looked on the verge of fainting, supporting each other while muttering "impossible." Ginny's face turned whiter than paper.
At the Slytherin table, Daphne's spoon dropped into her pumpkin juice, splashing golden liquid all over her robes, though she hardly noticed; Theodore and Draco remained frozen in place as if petrified.
Only Pansy and Millicent wore inappropriate smiles, secretly delighting in Jane's misfortune.
The professors' faces grew grave as they hurriedly left the staff table. Professor Snape's expression darkened further, transforming him into what seemed like a real bat. All the young wizards watched open-mouthed as his black robes billowed up, and he practically flew out of the Great Hall. Professors McGonagall, Flitwick, and Sprout followed closely behind.
"I've already notified Dumbledore, he's on his way," McGonagall said quietly to Snape.
The professors stopped in the third-floor corridor.
They all saw the blood-covered floor and the unconscious Lockhart.
"Merlin's beard—is he alive?" McGonagall's voice trembled as she reached out to check Lockhart's breathing where he lay in the pool of blood.
Seeing that he was merely unconscious and still breathing, she sighed in relief.
Professor Snape's brow furrowed deeply as his hooked nose twitched, sensing something odd about the smell.
He dipped his finger in the "blood" and brought it to his nose, immediately detecting the irregularity:
"No, this isn't blood, it's just paint."
Everyone's tension eased slightly.
Being short in stature, Professor Flitwick habitually looked upward and immediately spotted the writing on the wall. He trembled:
"You... you should see this..."
Flitwick's voice shook more than McGonagall's, almost coming out as a whistle.
The professors followed his gaze to the wall, and everyone drew in a sharp breath.
"His skeleton will lie in the Chamber forever."
Then they noticed another line of text above it, which left them puzzled:
"Scam techniques are evolving daily, we must all stay vigilant?"
Professor Snape immediately recognized Jane's crooked handwriting.
What message was she trying to convey?
But time didn't allow him to ponder further, and his voice came out as if scraped by gravel:
"There's no time, we must hurry."
The professors followed the trail of paint drops and Myrtle's directions into the Chamber.
No one believed Jane and Harry could survive an attack from the Heir of Slytherin and the Chamber's monster.
They all silently prayed for a miracle.
Professor Flitwick's eyes were already wet with tears.
They passed through the winding pipe and came upon the enormous snake skin. It was bright green and fresh, measuring twenty feet in length, clearly shed by a highly venomous snake.
"What kind of snake is this?"
Professor Sprout muttered unconsciously.
"Possibly a Basilisk... I can't be certain, I've only seen them in books," Professor Flitwick answered her question.
Could Jane and Harry still be alive after facing such a terrifying Basilisk?
The professors fell silent.
They continued forward, stepping over scattered stones, finally reaching the depths of the Chamber where they saw the snake-entwined pillars supporting the ceiling.
Near the closest pillar lay a dark figure, motionless, seemingly lifeless.
"It's Harry—he—" Professor McGonagall exclaimed.
She hurried forward, one arm supporting Harry's back while the other hand checked for breath.
Warm, faint air brushed against her hand.
"He's alive!" she cried with joy, announcing to the others.
But her heart quickly sank again.
Because she couldn't see Jane anywhere.
She laid Harry down and stood up, looking toward the other professors.
She noticed Snape's expression was darker than anyone else's, with beads of sweat appearing on his sallow face.
"Severus, you..."
She looked worriedly at her old colleague, at a loss for words.
"Let's look inside."
Snape forced the words from deep in his throat, stumbling forward.
They made their way past the numerous pillars, discovering the dead Basilisk, splattered and dried venom stains on the floor, and a severely corroded book. The Basilisk had a large wound in its vital spot, appearing to have been made by a sword.
Everything indicated an intense battle had taken place here.
Finally, at the Chamber's end, they found the person they were looking for.
But what they saw defied their expectations.
At the Chamber's far end stood the enormous statue of Slytherin, reaching to the ceiling.
He had a long, wild beard, his face stern and cold, looking austere and cruel.
And perched atop the statue was a figure with flowing black hair.
—It was Jane Yu!
The scene no longer seemed like the dark and sinister Chamber, but rather her coronation ceremony. The shadows on the walls appeared like loyal soldiers standing in formation; the carved serpents coiling around the pillars resembled ceremonial sashes celebrating her triumph.
The professors couldn't make out her expression, but they could see her head bowed, one hand holding a small bald bird and a snake, the other playing idly with two wands, her lips curved in an eerie smile as if celebrating her success.
Everyone felt a chill run up their spines, leaving them momentarily speechless.
Jane raised her head, her dark eyes finally visible, fixing them with an unwavering stare.
Then her pale lips parted, her voice soft but the Chamber's echo ensuring everyone heard clearly:
"You've finally arrived."
The perpetrator of all this seemed quite clear now.