Hogwarts Study Panel

Chapter 311: The Most Poisonous Magic

"...I seem to remember telling you both that if you break the school rules again, I will have to expel you."

Dumbledore then spoke to Harry and Ron.

Ron opened his mouth in horror.

"This shows that even the best among us sometimes have to break their word."

Dumbledore continued with a smile,

"You two have both received special contribution awards for the school, and—let me think—right, you each earned a hundred points for Gryffindor."

And of course, you, Miss Granger, you earned fifty points for Gryffindor.

Ron's face immediately turned a bright pink, and he shut his mouth.

"Now, you should rest in bed. Perhaps you should also have a large glass of hot chocolate milk. I've always found that it's very good for improving our mood."

Headmaster Dumbledore bowed his head and winked kindly at them.

The diary problem has been solved.

But its impact goes beyond that.

Harry and Ron were called away by Dumbledore, and they recounted in detail how they used Sheen's snake fangs to solve the problem with the diary. Harry subconsciously skipped the dream part, as he always felt that the headmaster should know about the spirit of Hogwarts Castle.

But what the principal said next made his eyes widen in surprise.

Inside the Hope Hut.

Hermione looked at Harry as he returned and asked:

"So who is Tom Riddle? Have you asked Headmaster Dumbledore?"

Harry sat by the fire, lost in thought.
"It's Voldemort."

These words startled the group.

But this does not include Sheen, because he has already arrived at Hagrid's Hut.

With the diary resolved, Hogwarts will enter a truly peaceful period.

Sheen needs to develop the Basilisk Cookies as soon as possible—his alchemy progress should be improved.

Besides, there's a special guy waiting for him to deal with... a special, cowardly... rat.

As for now, he might be able to help Hagrid overturn his conviction.

For many years, Hagrid lived as the murderer of Myrtle.

Of course, he himself also had some problems, such as keeping wolf cubs under the bed and secretly raising giant eight-eyed spiders...

It's hard to imagine what his roommate's mindset would be.

"Sheen, come in quickly—"

Hagrid was outside the house, picking pumpkins from the ground. Soon, Professor Flitwick would be carving the giant pumpkins he had grown into lanterns, something he was very proud of.

"No, Hagrid,"

Sheen said, waving his wand, and a stone rolled over and turned into tables and chairs.
"Look at this..."

Sheen handed over a copy of a diary.

Hagrid inexplicably took the diary and soon stood motionless in the mud.

"The Daily Prophet has sent a reporter, the basilisk's molted skin has been found, and Myrtle will help testify that the basilisk is the murderer..."

You are innocent, Hagrid, and everyone will know that.

Sheen said softly.

"Ah, ah..."

Large tears seeped into Hagrid's beard.

……

On the eve of Halloween, rumors about Hogwarts are rampant.

With heavy rain falling outside, the auditorium became a perfect place to spread rumors.

"Have you heard of the Chamber of Secrets? And the heir to Slytherin?"

A Hufflepuff whispered.

"of course!"

Ernie, who was shorter, was about to say something when her mouth was covered. A group of Slytherins happened to walk by.

"...Of course I know, although my father would not tell me anything about what happened when the secret room was opened."

Of course, that was fifty years ago, before he was even born, but he knew everything.

He said it was all kept secret, and only a small number of people knew about it.

Malfoy paused, seemingly waiting for something.

Sure enough, it wasn't long before people started praising it.

Even some of the older Slytherins listened with great interest.

"Alright, I'll tell you: the secret room has been opened before, and last time, a Mudblood died."

So, if we open it again, I dare say another Mudblood will die this time; it's only a matter of time... I hope it's Granger.”

He spoke with great relish.

"And what about Slytherin's heir? Young Master Malfoy?"

someone is asking.

"Ah--"

Malfoy raised his face, saying nothing, but everyone knew what he meant.

Pansy looked at him with infatuation, while Gore and Crabbe raised their chubby faces.

They walked past the fireplace in the corner, a place they would never have dared to go before, but now they had forgotten about it.

"Only those of noble blood can do it; as for some despicable people..."

Theodore spoke meaningfully.

"Shut up, Theodore!"

Malfoy hurriedly stopped his provocation.

Sheehan held a copy of the Daily Prophet, and when he looked up, Malfoy and the others had already fled.

"I hope their heads are harder than the basilisk's."

Ron curled his lip. If they knew that Sheen had single-handedly defeated a fifteen-meter-long basilisk with a sword, they would probably find it difficult to even look Sheen in the eye.

At dinner today,
Harry, his friends, and the others casually inquired about Sheen's methods for fighting the Basilisk.

"I used some Transfiguration..."

As soon as Sheen opened his mouth, Harry and his two friends were no longer going to listen.

Well, they should have expected this. Even if Sheen summoned a shooting star from the sky, he would only say:

“I used a summoning spell.”

This puzzled Sheen slightly, but it didn't matter.

Rita will arrive at Hogwarts tomorrow to write a brand new story about Hagrid, who was wrongfully imprisoned and expelled from the school. Now, he needs to clear his name.

This is not an easy task.

The Ministry of Magic might not do something so thankless and exhausting.

But Sheehan didn't care too much; what mattered was that people should know Hagrid was innocent.

Although Sheehan didn't think Hagrid was right to raise wolf cubs and giant spiders without permission, he clearly shouldn't have blamed Tom either.

……

night.

library.

The restricted section was at the back of the library. Sheen avoided the ropes separating these books from the rest of the collection and entered with a touch of excitement.

Perhaps he can find some books related to basilisks...

The restricted section contained too many books, some with peeling, faded gold lettering spelling out incomprehensible words;
Some books don't even have titles. One book had a dark stain on it, resembling blood, which looked quite gruesome.
Sheen even heard faint whispers coming from inside the book.

Soon, his gaze was drawn to a book, which, as Sheen approached, emitted a faint, malevolent smoke and emitted a series of chilling screams.

Its cover is a small book in black and silver.
It reads: "The Most Poisonous Magic".

(End of this chapter)