The person is at Hogwarts, but the system is in Middle-earth!

By the time they left Hagrid's hut, it was completely dark. Ron had finally stopped snorting, though he was still a little pale. Hermione's mood had also calmed down considerably.

"Thank you, Rowe," Hermione whispered again before returning to the common room. "And please thank Susan for me."

"I will," Rowe nodded with a smile. "Remember, the elven princess has no need to bow down to orcs."

In the days that followed, the discussion about the brawl at school remained heated. Rowe's "Gandalf combo," which involved first blinding the victim and then kneeing her, became a move that Hufflepuff and the younger Gryffindor students eagerly imitated.

Saturday night was a bleak and rainy day. Harry had to go to Lockhart's office to help him reply to fans' letters, Ron went to the trophy room to polish the trophies, and Rowe arrived at Filch's archives on time.

"Come in, Baggins." Filch carried a dim oil lamp, and Mrs. Lorris circled around his feet. "Professor McGonagall said you'd help me organize the files... Humph, don't think it's an easy job."

The archives room is crammed with hundreds of metal cabinets, filled with Hogwarts’ records of disciplinary violations over the centuries.

"This place records the crimes of every troublemaker."

"Your task is to re-file these scattered records by year and surname. If there are any mistakes..." He revealed uneven, yellow teeth, "I'll show you what real pain is."

Looking at the mountain of parchment, Lowe's eyes showed no fear, but rather excitement.

“These are not merely archives, Mr. Filch,” Rowe said solemnly. “They are the sediment of history, a record of humanity’s struggle against its own dark side. I will compile them into volumes, just as the librarian of Minas Tirith compiled the king’s chronicles.”

Filch paused, clearly not expecting such a response. He gave Rowe a suspicious look: "Enough talk. Get to work!"

For the next four hours, the only sound in the archives was the rustling of parchment.

Lowe worked with extraordinary dedication. He not only filed the documents but also relabeled each file folder with an extremely neat, archaic cursive script. For particularly egregious violations, he even drew small "orc" or "Eye of Sauron" marks next to them as a warning.

Filch had initially intended to find fault, but when he picked up the first file that Rowe had organized, he couldn't find anything wrong with it. The cabinet, which had been a mess, was now so neatly arranged that it felt unfamiliar to him.

"Hmph...not bad." Filch muttered, though he didn't want to admit it, this was indeed the most efficient student he had ever seen. "Alright, time's up. Get out of here."

Lowe dusted his hands: "May the dust here cover evil, and may the light guide the lost sheep. Good night, night watchman."

Filch watched Rowe's departing figure and couldn't help but shudder: "A madman..."

After leaving the archives, Rowe didn't go straight back to his dormitory, but went directly to Lockhart's office. Judging by the time, Harry's confinement should be over soon.

He had just reached the corner of the corridor when he saw Harry stagger out, looking exhausted and bewildered.

"Harry!" Rowe went to greet him.

"Oh, Rowe..." Harry rubbed his wrist, his voice weak, "You have no idea... for four whole hours... he was teaching me how to reply to fans' messages... and he kept bragging about his teeth..."

"Beware of smooth talkers." Rowe helped Harry up. "You don't seem to be in good spirits. Have you been subjected to any psychological manipulation?"

"No... I'm just too tired," Harry sighed.

The two walked side by side into the dark corridor, preparing to return to the Gryffindor Tower.

Just then, a voice appeared.

"Tear...shred...kill them all..."

The sound seemed to be coming from a crack in the stone wall, or it seemed to be echoing directly in the depths of my mind.

Harry stopped abruptly, looking around in horror.

"Did you hear that?"

Luo Wei also stopped.

[Warning: Dark language fluctuations detected]

[Source: Unknown (Wall/Ghost Realm)]

[Content parsing failed... Only dark creatures or those who hold the shackles can fully understand it]

Red ripples flickered on Luo Wei's system interface. He heard a faint hissing sound, like a giant snake flicking its tongue near his ear, but he couldn't understand what it meant.

"That voice..." Harry, pale-faced, stared at the ceiling. "It said...it was hungry...it wanted to kill..."

Rowe suddenly turned around and grabbed Harry's shoulders with both hands.

Under the system's filter, Harry's eyes seemed to be veiled in a gray shadow.

"Look at me! Harry!" Rowe shouted.

"What?" Harry was startled.

"Don't listen to it!" Rowe shook Harry violently. "That's Sauron's whisper! He's tempting you! He's trying to control your mind!"

"No... Rowe, it's not what I want to hear!" Harry struggled. "It's inside the walls! Something's moving!"

"That's an illusion! An illusion created by the Ring!" Rowe persisted, even raising his hand to give Harry a physical wake-up call (he refrained, considering the Gondorian headbutt was too heavy). "Concentrate! Think of something happy! Like... like your flying broomstick! Or Ron's silly face!"

Harry, feeling dizzy from the shaking, cried out, "Love! Stop! I really heard it! It's going upstairs!"

Harry broke free from Rowe's grasp and ran upstairs.

"Damn it! The monastic has gone out of control!"

Luo Wei cursed and followed closely behind.

"Hold on, Harry! I won't let you turn into Gollum!"

The two ran wildly down the corridor, all the way to the second floor. Harry suddenly stopped, panting, and pointed ahead.

"look!"

In the torchlight, a line of words on the wall glowed.

The secret chamber has been opened. Beware of those who oppose the heir.

And on the torch stand below that line of text hung upside down a stiff Hakimi—Mrs. Lorris of Filch.

[Warning: Victim Found]

[Status: Petrified]

[Speculated Killer: Medusa/Prehistoric Beast/Sauron's Gaze]

Lowe slowly walked over and touched the cat's stiff tail.

"There is no blood."

"This is no ordinary killing. This is some kind of ancient black magic."

Just then, the bell rang, and the once quiet corridor was filled with noisy voices. A few seconds later, hundreds of students poured into the corridor, and then fell silent as well.

Draco Malfoy squeezed to the front, and his eyes lit up the moment he saw the cat.

"Those who oppose the heir, beware! You will be next, Mudbloods!"

Lowe turned his head sharply, his eyes fixed on Malfoy.

"Looks like that wasn't enough to teach you to shut up, Malfoy."

"Are you trying to see if you can catch my fist with your nose?"

Malfoy was so startled that he took a step back and covered his nose.

Just then, Filch rushed over screaming.

"My cat! My cat! Who did this?" His bulging eyes were fixed on Harry. "It was you! You killed my cat!"

"Calm down, Night's Watchman." Rowe stepped in front of Harry. "Harry's been with me the whole time. And the cat isn't dead. It just...saw something it shouldn't have."

Luo Wei looked up at the blood-red writing on the wall, and the warning box on the system interface was getting redder and redder.

[Main Quest Update: The Shadow of the Locked Room]

Objective: To uncover the ancient evil within the castle.

[Current Clues: Dark Whispers, Petrified Guard, Slytherin's Heir]

[Warning: War has begun.]