I fell to my knees, gasping for breath, and felt my entire body shaking hysterically.
Jon couldn't help but cover the base of his right hand in pain to relieve the severe pain coming from his palm.
Although it's painful, it's safe for now...
But Jon knew that everything was far from over.
Although the basilisk was repelled, problems followed.
First of all, the plot has undergone great fluctuations:
According to the original book, after Ginny Weasley discarded Tom Riddle's diary, Hogwarts had a few months of peace; until the day of the Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, Hermione Granger and Penelope Clearwater were attacked.
But now, the fourth attack has begun ahead of schedule, and its victim is Percy Weasley! This is very different from the original book.
Who opened the Chamber of Secrets again this time... Was it Ginny Weasley? Or Harry Potter who got the new diary? Or someone else?
...
...
Jon felt that his previous self-confidence had completely disappeared.
He couldn't help but sigh. He was careless after all... He thought he could do whatever he wanted just because he knew a little bit of the original plot.
And it just happened to be such a coincidence that I had just made a mistake and returned to the dormitory late last semester, and happened to encounter the attacking basilisk this time... If I had not made a series of preparations in advance, I would have been one of the victims now.
This coincidence made Jon feel like a dumb person eating bitter herbs.
And more importantly, if you don't think of a solution, you will be in trouble now!
The most important thing now was to get back to the Hufflepuff common room as soon as possible, otherwise if it was late at night and some classmates found out that he was not in the dormitory, wouldn't he become the number one suspect in the attack?
Returning to the common room was also quite difficult, because he was not aware of many secret passages in Hogwarts, and the only route he knew would pass by the crime scene; as a first-year student, there was no reason for him to be there.
It is also unreliable to turn into Sergei Pavlov. Although he is agile, he may not be able to avoid being discovered by powerful wizards such as Dumbledore, Snape, and McGonagall; the appearance of a strange Eastern European face in the castle arouses even more suspicion.
Quite a troublesome matter...
The only way seems to be to turn myself into someone who can move flexibly in the castle!
…
Professor Severus Snape also appeared in the corridor between Hogwarts Castle and the Ravenclaw spire.
His eyes were still cold and unfathomable, but this time they were a little more solemn.
He seemed to be attracted by the noise here.
"What's going on?" he asked loudly.
In the corridor, he saw a "stone statue" on the ground, and two Gryffindor boys, one boy kneeling on the ground crying, and the other standing beside him.
"Potter? Weasley?"
When Harry Potter saw Snape's appearance, he couldn't help showing a look of disgust on his face and said, "Another attack has occurred..."
"I can see it. I don't need you to guide me!" Snape said coldly, "So now, why are you here? Why are you the first to discover the attack?"
"I..." Harry Potter was speechless.
Fortunately, I heard noisy footsteps behind me, and a large group of teachers and students gathered around.
Albus Dumbledore walked in front: "What's going on, Severus?"
"Another victim has appeared!" Snape lowered his voice subconsciously: "It's from Gryffindor..."
"Weasley..." Professor McGonagall staggered over and said in shock, "This is impossible..."
Everyone understood what she meant: according to rumors, Slytherin's monster would only attack Muggle-born students or Squibs; but Percy Weasley was also born a pure-blood wizard, and his grades had always been among the best among the sixth grade students.
"It was more than just an attack, Albus, Minerva..." Professor Filius Flitwick's voice came from the Ravenclaw spire.
He and Madam Pomfrey were carrying a tall girl with long hair, who looked a little funny.
"Miss Clearwater was also attacked, at the eagle-shaped bronze knocker at the top of the tower...she also seemed to have turned into stone!" Professor Flitwick said sadly and angrily.
Behind him followed several senior Ravenclaw students, carrying a wooden gate, on which an eagle's beak could be seen frozen.
"And...the door knocker left by Ms. Ravenclaw, which has lasted for thousands of years and symbolizes the wisdom of Ravenclaw, has also turned into a stone!"
Everyone immediately understood why Professor Flitwick, who was usually easy-going, was angry.
"Is that so?" Professor Dumbledore frowned and carefully examined the stiff bodies of Percy Weasley and Penelope Clearwater.
"Can I understand it this way..." Professor Snape said slowly, with a very solemn expression on his face: "The attacker's original target should be Miss Clearwater, she was petrified along with the eagle-beak door knocker...but it didn't expect Mr. Weasley to appear here, it had a fierce battle with Mr. Weasley, and finally Mr. Weasley got petrified, but the attacker also got injured!"
Everyone looked at the blood on the ground and the wand in Percy Weasley's hand, and many people nodded.
The expression on Dumbledore's face remained solemn. He sniffed the air hard and seemed to smell something strange; at the same time, he checked the bloodstains on the ground.
"Severus, please help me call Silvanus and Hagrid!" he said seriously.
"Okay, Principal!"
…
Snape followed the order, but as soon as he walked out of the corridor, he met a student.
"stop!"
Following Snape's command, the senior Hufflepuff student stopped.
"What's going on, Professor Snape...what was that sound just now?" he said while gasping.
Snape recognized him as Gabriel Truman, the Hufflepuff prefect.
"Another attack, Mr. Truman!" he said coldly, "You should go back to the Hufflepuff common room and warn the students there not to run out."
"I understand, professor!" Truman nodded, then turned and left.
Snape headed towards the Forbidden Forest... but halfway through, he suddenly realized something was wrong:
Gabrielle Truman always called him Sir in Potions class instead of Professor...
"Any student must return to the common room of their college before six o'clock in the evening."
"No student is allowed to leave the residence hall after this time."
"Every class is escorted by at least one teacher; no student is allowed to leave the common room, classroom, cafeteria, etc. without being accompanied by a teacher."
"All Quidditch training and matches are postponed indefinitely."
"No activities will be held or participated in at night..."
As the fourth attack emerged, a series of announcements were posted on the wall.
Professor Sprout, who was always gentle, this time ordered them very seriously that they must abide by these rules.
But this still could not stop countless letters of opposition and even shouting letters from being sent to the school.
The attack on Valentine's Day was completely different from the previous ones. The victims of the previous three attacks were all Muggle-born students or other creatures... Although the impact was bad, it did not cause much panic among the wizard parents.
...
...
After all, there was the legend of Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets, and it was rumored that his monster would not harm young wizards of pure or half-blood.
But this time it was different. The victim of this attack, Penelope Clearwater, was born a Muggle, while Percy Weasley was from the Weasley family, and several generations before him were pure-blooded...
Although the Weasley family is known as the shame of pure-bloods, they are actually an ancient wizarding family.
This bombshell news undoubtedly caused a stir in many wizarding families.
Even though Dumbledore had a high reputation in the wizarding world, it still couldn't stop parents from protesting against him.
More and more students are being picked up by their parents, who believe that Hogwarts is no longer the safest place in the British Isles...
Susan Bones was taken away by her aunt, Blaise Zabini was taken home by his graceful mother, and the Weasleys seemed to be preparing to bring all their children who were still studying at Hogwarts back home...
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry seems to be on the verge of falling apart!
…
During this period, the entire Hogwarts castle was filled with a depressing atmosphere.
Fear spread rapidly in an unprecedented form. The warm sun outside the castle seemed unable to shine into the corridors inside the castle. Most faces in the school looked terrified, and every laugh in the corridor seemed harsh and weird.
Students only stay in classrooms, dining halls and common rooms... after class or dinner, they leave in a hurry; even the common rooms are no longer filled with laughter as before.
The day after Percy and Penelope were attacked, Jon went to the school hospital under the escort of Professor Sprout... He lied that his right hand had fallen and seemed to be injured.
After a careful examination, Madam Pomfrey thought that Jon's right hand was only broken and it was not serious; but to be on the safe side, she suggested that Jon stay in the school hospital for one night.
As the night went on, many students talked about his "disappearance", thinking that he had also been attacked by Slytherin's monster.
Astoria Greengrass was so scared that she secretly ran out of the Slytherin common room that night and ran to the school hospital.
However, after arriving at the school hospital, he only stayed in the ward for a few seconds before being driven out by Madam Pomfrey.
Before leaving, Astoria told Jon that her mother would come to the school to pick her and her sister up in the next two days.
It was only when Madam Pomfrey had Hagrid escort her back to the Slytherin common room that Jon remembered that today was February 14th.
So last night might have been the day Percy and Penelope made an appointment to date on the rooftop of Ravenclaw Tower on Valentine's Day eve, but Penelope was targeted by the basilisk and attacked first; then the scene in the corridor happened.
Fortunately, both of them were just turned into stone, otherwise if they died, there would be bigger problems in the subsequent plot.
…
Hagrid also left the school a few hours later after escorting Astoria back to the Slytherin common room.
It is said that officials from the Ministry of Magic found him, took him away, and took him to Azkaban.
Professor Gilderoy Lockhart told the public in the Defense Against the Dark Arts class that Rubeus Hagrid was the real culprit of the Chamber of Secrets incident.
"Mark my words!" He said calmly, "According to my understanding, the murderer of the last attack in which the Chamber of Secrets was opened was Hagrid... I think it should be the same this time... The murderer has been caught, so there is no need to take so many security measures!"
Unfortunately, it is no longer the beginning of the school year, and few people are willing to believe Lockhart's words.
Panic continued to spread rapidly in the school.
…
In this situation, the first person to bear the brunt is undoubtedly the headmaster of Hogwarts.
In the early morning two days after Percy and Penelope were attacked, two uninvited guests appeared in the headmaster's office on the top floor of Hogwarts Castle.
Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts, was dressed in formal attire today: a luxurious dark green robe embroidered with many stars and moons; his face was full of seriousness.
In front of him was a middle-aged man wrapped in a long black traveling cloak, with elegant manners and a cold but satisfied smile on his face; and there was also a man wearing a messy pinstriped suit and looked very strange.
"What do you want with me, Cornelius and Lucius?" said Dumbledore. "I heard that you took my gamekeeper away to Azkaban last night."
The tone of his voice was quite polite, but it contained a hint of anger.
"I'm sorry, Dumbledore...but Hagrid's criminal record is not in his favor. The Ministry of Magic has to take some measures!" Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge said somewhat helplessly.
"It's even worse!" Mr. Malfoy said lazily, taking out a long roll of parchment. "The board thinks you should leave, Albus."
He paused and continued, "This is a dismissal order. You will see that all twelve directors have signed it."
"How many attacks have occurred so far? There were two the night before last, right? At this rate, there won't be a single student left at Hogwarts, and we all know that would be a terrible loss to the school!"
"Ah...what did you say...Lucius..." Fudge shouted in panic: "Dumbledore was dismissed...No...We absolutely don't want to..."
Lucius Malfoy ignored the Minister and stared straight into Dumbledore's eyes.
"If the board wants me to leave, Lucius, I will certainly give up my seat," Professor Dumbledore said calmly.
His blue eyes seemed lost in thought.
"Very good, Albus...I just hope your successor can stop these attacks once and for all!" Mr. Malfoy replied with a look of joy.