Hogwarts Study Panel

Chapter 326, Section 325: A Warm Winter Fire

"Secret room?"

When Minerva McGonagall heard the word, her expression turned somewhat unpleasant.

"Yes, Professor."

In Professor McGonagall's presence, Sheehan felt as if he had shrunk in size.

"Tell me about it."

Professor McGonagall looked at him with a gaze that Sheehan couldn't quite understand, a gaze that seemed to indicate a great decision had been made.

On the table, a silver kitten figurine was illuminated by the fireplace. Sheen inexplicably recalled that in the cottage, Justin often baked soft desserts or heated cups of honey tea by the fireplace.

"Hogwarts does indeed have a Chamber of Secrets, with the entrance in the lavatory. There is indeed a basilisk in the Chamber, about fifty feet long, whose gaze can be deadly, but after being refracted multiple times, it loses its power..."

When it came to explaining, Sheen gradually became more fluent.

"It all started with Tom Riddle's diary. In the forbidden section, I learned that it might be a Horcrux..."

Sheen gave a general overview of the problems with Riddle's diary and the frame-up decades ago, but he glossed over the battle in the secret room.

"Why do you know so much?"

Minerva McGonagall's voice trembled noticeably. She didn't ask any more questions about the Chamber of Secrets, the Basilisk, or the Riddle's Diary. Sheehan saw the firelight shatter into sparks in her gentle eyes.

“I…was involved in some of it.”

Sheen said.

"Dumbledore must be insane to let you get involved in something so dangerous..."

Although she had expected it, Professor McGonagall still spoke after a long pause, her voice hoarse.

Sheehan lowered his head slightly in response to Professor McGonagall's words. In fact, Principal Dumbledore probably didn't know this at first.

"You did great, kid."

Professor McGonagall was silent for a moment, then let out a long sigh.

How should she express her relief and worry, or should she say that this is the price that every lover must bear?

It was a mild winter; the fire in the stove burned fiercely, and the drizzle and snow melted as soon as they touched the window.

Minerva McGonagall sat in a chair with soft cushions, listening to the young wizard tell her dramatic stories.

It all begins with the discovery of Ginny's unusual behavior, a chance encounter with Myrtle, and the uncovering of the truth from fifty years ago...

The story of the Chamber of Secrets—the story of young Tom framing Hagrid, his attempt to activate the Chamber, and his eventual destruction of the Horcrux by Harry—is slowly depicted around the fireplace.

It's not hard to tell that the destruction of Tom's Horcrux was almost entirely orchestrated by the young wizard.

"Where is the basilisk? How did you deal with it?"

Professor McGonagall said slowly that she was now able to tolerate the young wizards doing those dangerous things.

For example, he dared to enter the secret chamber after making a magical refraction mirror, and he risked being discovered by Riddle to investigate the entrance to the secret chamber, etc.

Nothing could stir her peaceful and resolute heart.

Sheen fell silent; though he tried his best to avoid it, he couldn't get around it.

"I defeated it."

Sheen said in a low voice.

He felt like he had shrunk again.

"Sheen Green!"

Minerva McGonagall couldn't contain herself and slammed her hand on the table.

"That's a basilisk! You child—"

She was furious
Tell me in detail!

Outside the window, it was as if the owl knew something bad was happening; it flapped its wings and flew away from the window into the boundless night.

"You said the Weasleys are all excellent wizards. Voldemort is gradually corrupting Ginny's soul, and he can command the Basilisk to launch attacks at any time..."

Before tragedy strikes, before everything becomes irreversible, I want to do everything in my power.

Sheen looked up and said.

His green eyes were completely still, like a vast, boundless sea.

Minerva McGonagall looked dejected, her lips pressed into a tight line as she stared at the young wizard but couldn't utter a word.

"How did you defeat the basilisk...?"

She asked, seemingly hoping that a school principal would appear in the process so that she would know that the action was safe and not as dangerous as she imagined.

“I used some Transfiguration magic, and the Gryffindor sword… In fact, there was no one else…”

That night was particularly difficult for Sheen.

Lies are ineffective; the professor can clearly know what he did based on reports or conversations with people like Harry.

Professor McGonagall remained motionless, feeling as if the world was spinning around her.

In the secret chamber, there was no one, no one to lean on, just a second-year wizard with only a few insignificant magical abilities.

But the heavy responsibility he carried and the indescribable courage were enough to support him in facing the basilisk and defeating it...

What happened during this process, and how many unexpected events might have occurred?

This is impossible to know.

It's also unsettling.

She closed her eyes, and the Sorting Hat's unwavering praise flashed through her mind:
"You showed amazing courage."

……

In fact, even though Sheehan demonstrated powerful transfiguration magic at the start of the school year, Professor McGonagall still considered him a "second-year wizard."

Therefore, the professor could accept his magical abilities, enough to change the landscape of the Forbidden Forest, but he could not accept that he was now capable of confronting the Basilisk directly.

So when the curfew came, Sheen followed the professor out of the Transfiguration office. The professor didn't ask him any more details, as if she didn't want to hear them.

"Go get a good night's sleep, child."

Professor McGonagall said softly.

She gradually began to smile more often, almost imperceptibly.

At least, the child is willing to tell her, right?
The truth is always different when told by different people.

Sheen finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He watched the fleeting light on the empty rune and silently walked towards the Ravenclaw Tower, following the image of the snoring figure.

But things aren't going too peaceful in Gryffindor Tower today.

Professor McGonagall called Harry and Ron to her as soon as she entered; she had calmed down a bit by now.

"About the Chamber of Secrets. I know everything. Well done, Harry, and Ron. Do you have anything to add?"

Professor McGonagall had the ability to instantly bring the young wizards to order with just a word, and Harry and Ron, who had been summoned without warning, were initially terrified.

They thought Professor McGonagall had discovered the hundred rules they had broken, but now it seems that Headmaster Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall have extolled their heroic actions.

"Of course, Professor!"

Ron, on the other hand, was quite excited, and once the topic came up, he could talk on and on.
"Here's what happened: on the very first day, we discovered Sheen..."

His robes were torn, his hair was covered in dust, and he carried a bloodstained sword—if Headmaster Dumbledore told you, it was the legendary Gryffindor sword.

At first we didn't know what he had done, but later we learned that the professor... every night, he was fighting the basilisk..."

"Ron..."

Seeing Professor McGonagall's expression change repeatedly, Harry quickly nudged Ron.

(End of this chapter)