Hermione, join me as Minister of Magic!

"Sneak attack on Christmas Eve!" Professor McGonagall fumed. "Don't let me find that vile, vile bastard! He better hope he doesn't hit me, or I will turn his and that monster's head Come together."

The professors' conjectures are very close to the truth, but the closest to the truth is the trio of saviors who are not under surveillance.

Chapter 84 The Discovery of the Savior

The "savior effect" is a very interesting thing.

Whether in literature or in reality) the savior is often not the most

He is not the most intelligent J character, but at the most appropriate time, and then he becomes the savior.

Similarly, just under Dumbledore, the savior found many clues, far away.

It's quite possible that an insignificant little thing did the right thing in the right place

Snape and Lockhart's intentional or unintentional guidance is unfortunately far from what Dumbledore expected

But on Christmas Eve, during the short time when no one was paying attention to the trio, Harry and the three of them discovered all the secrets of the Chamber of Secrets, which cannot but be said to be a speechless coincidence.

After attacking Lockhart, Ginny Weasley didn't go back to the bathroom, but went straight to the Gryffindor Tower.And the basilisk sneaked back into the secret room under the bathroom from other locations along the pipe.

The castle of Hogwarts was, after all, a castle built in the 10th century AD, so at first its toilet was a narrow secret passage leading directly to the cliffs outside.This structure is simple and easy to maintain, as long as it is dredged when the excrement sticks to the hole.

But the problem is that this kind of structure has a great potential safety hazard. At that time, there were several murders in the castle toilets on the side of the British princes and nobles. In the end, it was found out that an assassin put poison on a long piece of cork. The tip of a spear protruded from the hole under the toilet, and when the nobles went to the toilet, they stabbed their chrysanthemums with the poisonous spear

—The Malfoys, who have been intermarried with the upper class of Muggles and who are also Hogwarts school managers, proposed that the toilets in Hogwarts should also be remodeled and replaced with a built-in plumbing system, otherwise it would be very dangerous. There may be enemies who take advantage of this hidden danger to sneak in.

No kidding, there was an episode of the British comedy "Mr. Bean" in which Agent Bean secretly sneaked in from the secret passage of the castle. It turned out that the secret passage was actually a excrement passage, and Mr. Bean ended up covered in shit.

Although the play is a comedy, the details should not be underestimated.The early British castles did have some pipes for the passage of feces and urine, but in order to prevent blockage, the secret passages were opened a bit wide, so wide that assassins could also pass through them.

After hearing Malfoy's words, the headmaster of Hogwarts felt that this was the same reason, so he opened up several rooms inside the castle as toilets, and then stored the excrement directly in the large room under the toilets, and regularly used the Vanishing Curse to deal with them. .

But this also has a problem - that is the bearing capacity of the floor.

In 084, in the Petersburg Castle, the Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI was gathering with a group of nobles from all over the world. As a result, the floor could not bear so many heavily armed fat men walking and jumping on it, and it suddenly cracked. As a result, more than 60 people drowned in the septic tank below the room.

At that time, there was no "Secrecy Act" in the wizarding world, and news between Muggles and wizards was still exchanged. Britain was ruled by the Plantagenet Dynasty, and its territory included the mainland, Normandy and Aquitaine.

So after this matter spread to Henry II, the upper echelon of England began to renovate their castle while gloating about it.

The same is true for Hogwarts Castle. After collective deliberation, the successive headmasters and deans finally decided to move the location of the septic tank and the toilet a little farther away.

The consequence of this distance is that there are a lot more pipes in Hogwarts Castle.

In the following hundreds of years, Hogwarts has been undergoing small-scale renovations, until the Muggle designers were invited to carry out major renovations, and the pipes inside Hogwarts have become densely packed.

And what's even more frightening is that because of the Untraceable Stretching Curse, you still have to use these pipes

Its width cannot be judged from its external volume. By the end of the 20th century, even the principal may not know how many pipes there are inside the school.

The basilisk walked through these pipes effortlessly - as an intelligent life, it had already figured out the location of these pipes as early as more than 1000 years in the process of preying on mice. Te's family got the design drawings, and he is not as familiar with these pipes as this snake.

So Voldemort made a mistake—he didn't watch the basilisk return to the secret room with his own eyes, but let it slip back directly from the HVAC next to Lockhart's office, and he avoided the portrait and walked along the path for people to walk. Tunnel returned to the Gryffindor common room.

He's going to lie low for a while

Although the "monster in the chamber of secrets is a snake" will definitely become known after the attack fails, but Voldemort is confident that no one can find the chamber of secrets except him.

So you might as well lie dormant for a while, wait for the basilisk to shed its skin and take away all of Ginny's vitality, and then come out to make trouble.

After returning to the lounge, he let go of the manipulation of Ginny's consciousness, allowing her to lie on the chair by the fireplace, making her think that she was just asleep, and then sent her consciousness back to his diary.

However, just after Ginny looked blankly at the smoky marks on her body and went upstairs to wash up, there was another commotion in a corner of the common room.

Harry Potter lifted off the invisibility cloak covering his body, stood up, and at the same time exposed Ron and Hermione behind him.

"It's unbelievable...it's Ginny." Harry's tone was full of surprise, "but now she looks dazed again."

"It can't be her!" Ron knelt on the ground weakly, his eyes full of pleading, "I can't be more clear, she has always been a good child... You see, she doesn't even remember what happened just now."

Hermione pulled him up: "Neither of us said that was what she meant

, Ron, but we have to figure out what's going on. "

Just now, after receiving the information from Malfoy, the three of them returned to the bathroom with full of joy, ready to go back to the compartment to retrieve their original clothes.

However, a large pool of dragged water marks on the ground told them that this matter was not simple.

They bent down and observed carefully, only to find that the starting point of the trail of dragging turned out to be a broken faucet in the bathroom, and there was actually a snake on the faucet.

Hermione was the first to react - the pipes, the Slytherins, the enigmatic voices, Harry's Parseltongue, the water on the floor when Mrs. Norris was attacked...

After reacting, they immediately realized that since the monster had just been dispatched, someone was about to be attacked again.

At Hermione's suggestion, the three of them put on Harry's invisibility cloak, and moved towards the Gryffindor lounge bit by bit, only to hear the sound of an explosion halfway.

The lion cubs were very courageous, knowing that someone was being attacked, but they still ran towards the scene of the accident, only to meet Ginny Weasley.

Watching a giant snake go into the pipe under Ginny's command, the three of them would be lying if they said they were not surprised—and none of the other two could understand what Ginny was saying except Harry.

Then, in order to find out, they followed Ginny quietly all the way back to the Gryffindor lounge, so the above scene happened.And Voldemort was probably because the diary consumed too much magic power, and the invisibility cloak, one of the Deathly Hallows, was quite powerful, so they didn't notice the three of them following behind.

Although the truth was discovered, the saviors did not feel relaxed because of this, but fell into a dilemma-what should they do next?

Chapter 85 Meets Master Newt

The most tangled question for the three of them now is whether to report this matter to the principal?

If they report directly to the school, needless to say, no matter how the school handles the snake in the end, Ginny will definitely be expelled from school (they don't know about the diary yet), then their actions will be the same as reporting.

As Ron's friend, and out of the gratitude of Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Harry didn't intend to do this. "Protecting his friend's sister" and "repaying the Weasley family" were both priorities in his heart. Far above the school rules.

This is the difference between the Lions and the Snakes. They tend to believe that justice lies in their own simple ideas, and the pursuit of outcome justice is much higher than procedural justice.As for the rules, especially the bad habits of Mangdong, the lions have never liked to abide by them.

Hermione was also a little hesitant-although she showed far more Ravenclaw traits than Gryffindor in her first year, but since the troll incident, she has been turned on-a switch, and she has become less conformist .

Faced with the Ginny incident at this time, although her first reaction was to report to the school, another thought immediately killed her in her mind.

"We have to find a way to prove..." She seemed a little hesitant, and her voice lowered a lot, "We must find the culprit, so as to prove that Ginny did not attack others of her own will, and it is best to kill the snake. "

"Get rid of that snake?" Both of them were taken aback.

Hermione said succinctly: "Make up for the mistakes, as long as we find out who confused Ginny, and we get rid of the culprit, the school will not hold us accountable, and maybe there will be awards... just like last year."

Harry was a little nervous: "It's just us? Can it be done?"

"Why can't we do it?" Hermione asked back: "We already know that our enemy is a snake, and it is a snake that can live in the secret room for 1000 years. We will know how to deal with it after looking up the information. To be honest , compared to this, I think it is more difficult to ask Ginny what she should not have been in contact with recently." Harry and Ron exchanged glances.

"It seems that this is the only way to go."

Even though he knew the goblins were blackmailing him, Lockhart came to Gringotts immediately after being attacked, bought...rented what he ordered at a high price.

After haggling over the price, Lockhart finally paid 3000 Galleons for this. Even with his net worth, it is hard to say that he is not heartbroken, because it is more than the remuneration for his first book.

In Ragnol's scheming smile, Lockhart kindly pointed out the location of the funeral home for him, and earnestly suggested that the other party should book a pit early, so as not to find a suitable wooden coffin for cremation. farewell.

The trip to Gringotts did not delay Lockhart for too long. He then went to Whits Harder Book Company to hand in the first three chapters, which had been reviewed and revised by his mother.

Mr. Harder also informed Lockhart of the latest developments in their propaganda: and invited him to stay for lunch, but was declined by Lockhart because he had a more important person to visit.

That person is Mr. Newt Scamander, a "former" employee of the Beasts Office of the Department of Magical Creatures, Ministry of Magic, Order of Merlin, Second Class, and legend during the First Wizarding War.

Although everyone is used to calling him Newt, he actually has the same name as the scientist who developed the theory of universal gravitation, called Newton (Newtn), and he is called Newt (Newt) after omitting the last two letters

The legendary figure is now 95 years old and has already retired at home. Although his brother Theseus did not die on the battlefield against Grindelwald, he died at the hands of the Death Eaters headed by Voldemort. People feel sad.

But if Master Rowling did not lie or remember wrongly, then Master Newt lived at least until 2017, which is 120 years old.

It's no secret in the wizarding world that Newt and Dumbledore have a close friendship, and it's probably why he never got promoted to Director in his lifetime.

But he doesn't really care about it, because he has some social fears and just wants to be with the animals.

He published Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, contributed to the Werewolf Register and the Magical Creatures Prohibition Experimentation Act, and was awarded the Order of Merlin, Second Class for his services to the protection of magical creatures.

Although he is now retired, his personal relationship with Dumbledore has not broken, nor has his love for magical creatures. When the hippogriff Buckbeak is about to be executed in the movie, Harry Potter also saw Newt in the principal's office from the Marauder's Map, and believed that he should have come to discuss this with Dumbledore.

So it's not for nothing that Dumbledore introduced Newt to Lockhart when he talked about wanting someone to consult about the basilisk.

He apparated to a certain village in the countryside of Dorset, England, and after tidying up his clothes, he walked towards Mr. Scamander's house.

As a belated Christmas present, Lockhart also brought a few packs of cat food from the Muggle world with him, and I don't know if cats like it or not.

In the warm afternoon sun and breeze, Master Newt received him kindly.The old man looked healthy, and his wife also looked good. The two were sitting outside in the sun together before Lockhart's visit, and teasing the cat in his arms.

"Hello, Mr. Lockhart, the Headmaster has already told me... oh, cat food... Frankly, I don't like it very much. Muggles put too much food attractant in it to make cats eat, It is easy for animals to lose control of their food intake and eat too much, and some of them are harmful to animals, so I would rather mix cat meals myself."

Even though Lockhart was a guest, Mr. Newt had no scruples at all when he spoke, and he still said whatever came to mind. If he hadn't known that he was a sincere person, Lockhart might not have felt very happy.

"I see." Lockhart didn't seem angry at all, "Actually, this is also the first time I've bought this kind of thing. When I raise owls, I always feed him whatever I eat. Occasionally, he will go out to catch mice himself. ..."

Hearing that Lockhart used "he" instead of "it" to refer to his owl, Newt Scamander nodded slightly, as if to approve Lockhart's qualifications to talk to him.

It's just that once he opened his chatterbox, he couldn't close it:

"Also, I've read your book too... I have to say, your methods of dealing with werewolves and vampires are too rough, and the way you deal with Wan Lun's female ghost is not very appropriate..."

0 seedlings, I don't remember these things at all.Lockhart thought.

Fortunately, the appearance of the old lady relieved Lockhart's embarrassment: "Newt, don't say this in the chat!"

"Oh...Okay! I just read those books, and I have some thoughts in my mind that I have to say." Mr. Newt shrugged.

Then, he finally got to the point: "Are you here to ask about the basilisk? I've already heard from Dumbledore that you found one at Hogwarts? Did you attack it?"

Lockhart spread his hands, showing a helpless expression: "We don't want to attack it, but so far, it has been attacking the teachers and students of our school.

It's a brutal guy.

Newt shook his head, as if to disagree with Lockhart.

"I'm afraid it's not magical creatures that are cruel to people, but me, who is also a human being.

Men.

PS "Xiaozhi, refuse to travel! "

It’s impossible to travel, it’s a pain to travel, and you have to go to so many cities, isn’t it to increase their GDP, so it’s good to lie at home!

"It was indeed like this at first, but who knew that these guys don't know how to fight!!!"

Tactical leader, cultivator of the father of the dragon clan, the strongest underworld man, the strongest champion in history, the master of Pokémon, the strongest harem king... Xiaozhi!

"I said that I first posted the video just to raise the price of King Carp, do you believe it?" Xiaozhi said helplessly, covering his face.

(Mainly online battles, less real battles, weak introduction, please read the text)

Chapter 86 Old Urchin

Seeing Lockhart's questioning gaze, Newt took the initiative to explain:

"It has been entrenched in the pipeline of Hogwarts for more than 1000 years. If it wants to attack people, it has already attacked many people, but it has hurt people twice recently and 50 years ago. Yes ?"

"That's true." Lockhart thought for a moment, then admitted honestly.

"That's really a pity." Newt Scamander sighed: "Maybe it didn't mean to hurt anyone, but it was just used by others. Slytherin must have warned it not to let it see people, and was banned." 1000 years in the pipeline, it's so lonely, I met a Parseltongue who can talk to it again, if it was me, I would go over right away..."

Lockhart suddenly felt strange: "You don't mean to... pardon it?"

Newt shook his head again and again: "No, no, that's not what I mean. Anyway, it has learned how to attack people now, just like a beast that has tasted human flesh, no matter how it was lured at the beginning, but now It has already begun to regard humans as prey, so it must not stay."

"You gave me a big jump." Lockhart was relieved.

Newt showed a look as if he was missing something: "I'm just a little regretful. If I had been more curious and found the secret room when I was in school, maybe I wouldn't let that bastard take that snake Off."

Lockhart didn't realize it for a while, and realized that "that bastard" refers to Voldemort after his brain froze for a while.

Just like between Grindelwald and Dumbledore, Newt chose "not to choose a side", when Dumbledore fought Voldemort, he also chose not to help.

Although the two don't help each other, it doesn't mean that Newt likes Voldemort, Voldemort tortured animals, drove dark creatures to fight in the First War, and fought for resurrection.

The act of killing the unicorn for blood angered Newt, and he would never have been polite to Voldemort if he could.

"About the basilisk, Newt said to Lockhart: Actually, I suggest you use the simplest method to solve the problem." "A simple method can subdue it, and then think about it."

There's no way to find a female snake, lay eggs for her, and make her...harmless. "

Lockhart decided to ignore what Master Newt said later. He wished that the basilisk would become extinct immediately, so how could he actively contribute to its reproduction.

But he was very interested in the "simple way".

"I would like to hear more about it." He showed an eager expression.

"Crow like a cock," Newt told him.

Lockhart: ?