Chapter 86: End of Holidays

After learning about Astoria's situation, Harry didn't hesitate and sent Lord Gremory a message asking him for a favor. Zeoticus was an old-school devil, different from Rias and Sirzechs. He only did things for a price; nothing was done for free.

The only reason Harry received such a good education, payment, and more was that he was part of Rias' peerage and had an official employment contract with her, ensuring that he retained his rights and everything. Such a contract was quite exceptional in the Underworld, as many devils didn't care about the well-being and freedom of their reincarnated servants. This was unique to families like the Gremory.

However, at the same time, the Gremorys didn't have to help Harry in matters unrelated to them, as helping Daphne was his private business. He probably could have asked Sirzechs for help, and if he did it through Rias, he might have received free help. But he didn't want to abuse his friendship with Rias and preferred to take matters into his own hands, especially for a relatively small request like being introduced to good medical experts.

Moreover, Lord Gremory was older than Sirzechs and far more invested in politics, business, and networking. Harry's understanding was that Sirzechs was a Satan more out of necessity than preference, as nobody else was there to lead the devilkind to their best outcome; he was more a fighter than a political mind, with Grayfia helping him in these areas. On the other hand, Lord Gremory had more connections and better relationships, which made him more suitable to help in this case.

To his surprise, Zeoticus didn't ask for anything besides Harry continuing to support Rias well. Harry's previous actions and guidance for Rias, regarding Riser and the Phenex Clan, as well as the Veela business, had endeared him to Lord Gremory. Lord Gremory believed that Rias might have thrown a bigger fit and acted childishly without understanding the true reasons behind Harry's actions. Having Harry help Rias understand the truth was quite pleasant for him. He didn't perceive it as taking the work from Rias, as Harry was part of her peerage, using her resources. The results were what truly mattered to him.

So, in the next few days, Harry gained contact information for numerous medical experts, curse specialists, and others who could potentially help. Through Daphne, he acted as a contact between the Greengrass family and the supernatural world, ensuring that Astoria could receive all possible assistance. However, whether this assistance would be effective was another question that remained to be seen.

Even if it didn't help, Harry wouldn't give up. He was already working on a concrete plan to assassinate the current Lord Nott, gaining access to the Nott family library. He also hoped to be summoned again soon to gain more knowledge. He was confident that the most valuable information and magic resided with these old families, which had been collecting ancient texts for centuries. Even his Potter family might have some relevant information in their family vault, although he had to wait until he turned 17 to access it.

Another option for him to gather information was the Black family. According to Serafall's investigation into his background, she learned that his legally registered godfather was Sirius Black, the current head of the Black family. However, Sirius was spending the rest of his life in Azkaban for betraying his parents to Voldemort. Perhaps there was a legal way for Harry to gain access to the Black family library. Since the person responsible for his parents' deaths was the owner of that library, he felt entitled to some compensation.

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The Christmas holidays soon came to an end, and the rest of the school returned to Hogwarts, once again filling its ancient halls. Since there were no more attacks while they were absent, their suspicion of Harry lessened. They eyed Lockhart even more suspiciously when they learned that he had left the castle over the holidays.

Calmness returned to the castle for now. Hermione spent her afternoons in the library, Malfoy's pallor lessened, his arm reattached and functional again, though he became much quieter. The students resumed their usual classes. And Harry, once again, pondered the question of the Chamber of Secrets. He couldn't locate the chamber himself, and his only lead was that it might be related to being a Parselmouth, so he considered alternative approaches.

He could research Salazar Slytherin more, although the only publicly known thing related to him in the castle that Harry hadn't explored yet was the Slytherin common room. He was certain it was located somewhere in the dungeons since that's where Slytherins entered the rest of the castle. Unfortunately, he had missed the perfect opportunity to investigate the common room during the holidays. Doing so with everyone in the castle would be extremely challenging, as common rooms were rarely empty. Even with invisibility, it would be difficult to thoroughly investigate.

Perhaps he could follow some Slytherins while being invisible, overhear their password or entry method, and return during the night. It was somewhat risky, as he couldn't ensure the Slytherin students were asleep and the common room empty. But it was a possibility worth considering.

Alternatively, he could explore the Gaunt family more. They were the last known descendants of Salazar Slytherin. Maybe he could find records about past members and their involvement at the school. He might also inquire among the ghosts who had been at the school for centuries. Since Salazar had expected his descendants to find the chamber, he could have left them instructions passed down through generations. It was a long shot, given the likelihood of finding anything concrete in the records, but it was better than having no leads.

Last but not least, he could investigate the current heir of Slytherin himself. This person must know the location of the chamber since they were releasing the beast inside onto the student population. If Harry found the heir, he could tail them and discover the chamber's whereabouts that way.

As for asking Hagrid, Harry believed it would only inform Dumbledore of his intent to find the chamber.

With only three viable possibilities remaining, Harry had to select the one with the highest probability. "Why have you been sneaking glances at Ronald Weasley in the past few days? Have you fallen in love?" Padma asked Harry as they sat in the Great Hall during dinner.

"No, but don't you think he has undergone quite a drastic change?" Harry asked absentmindedly, the girls sitting beside him on the Ravenclaw table. Of course, his biggest suspect would be the person acting the most oddly since the attacks began. While Ronald was a Weasley, a family known for supporting Dumbledore and opposing anything dark, he was also acting suspiciously. Harry didn't believe something like accidentally casting a dark spell due to anger was the reason. He hadn't cared about Ronald until now, as it wasn't his business, and he had other leads to follow. However, if Ronald knew the chamber's location, he became Harry's primary target.

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