69: The Chamber of Secrets and the Bloody Word

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To confirm the location of the shadow, John used the reflective surface of the Sword Iron Wick.

It was a massive creature with black scales and a crimson crest on its head. It could easily swallow a giant whole.

John cursed under his breath, wondering where this thing had come from, just as the shadow turned around.

In the sword's reflection, he saw a pair of large yellow eyes. Just a moment of eye contact made his body stiffen.

"Not good, it's petrification!"

He was horrified, not expecting that just seeing the eyes would result in getting hit. John's magic resisted the petrification, but it wasn't very effective.

"Damn it!"

If he got petrified, he would be done for.

John growled, his eyes turning into vertical slits, and the petrification on his body slowed down.

Without hesitation, he reached into his small satchel and took out bottles of potions one by one.

He poured an antidote into his mouth, but it had little effect, so he switched to another bottle.

Racing against time, just before he was completely petrified, John managed to find the antidote made from Mandrake.

"Fina-fucking-ly!"

*Gulp-Gulp-Gulp!*

After drinking it, the petrification on his body was lifted.

He had made this antidote last term by secretly taking a pot of Mandrake from Professor Sprout's greenhouse.

It was his only bottle.

"Is it a curse?"

With his dragon eyes activated, John could see that the creature's eyes were filled with a powerful curse.

Without hesitation, John activated his flame mode.

Under the influence of the flame sword's burning magic, the reflected curse was incinerated. Through the sword's reflection, he saw the shadow approaching him.

As the shadow neared, John closed his eyes and struck at the shadow, relying only on his hearing.

With a flame spell attached, the Sword Iron Wick finally pierced through the shadow's scales with one strike.

Blood trickled down the blade, and John heard the shadow's painful growl.

A gust of wind swept past, forcing John to roll away to avoid it.

"No, I have to get away!"

He turned and ran in the direction he remembered. The shadow, now enraged by its wound, chased after him.

Activating his flying boots, John opened his eyes while facing away from the shadow and began to relocate.

Through the reflection on the sword's blade, John could see that the shadow was still chasing him.

Judging by the time, the Halloween Feast should be ending soon.

If this creature with the deadly gaze got inside, the entire school would be doomed.

With an understanding, John decided to run outside the castle.

After running for a while, he checked the sword's reflection again and saw that the shadow had disappeared.

"Did it leave?"

John stopped, realizing something, and his face changed as he ran back.

...

On the second floor, Harry saw his least favorite cat, Mrs. Norris, hanging there.

Mrs. Norris was hanging from a torch bracket, her body as stiff as a board.

There was a line of blood-written words on the wall.

"T-The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the heir, beware...."

Ron read the words in a trembling voice. Just as they realized they should leave, the Halloween Feast ended.

A large crowd of students witnessed the scene, and Filch pushed through the crowd, seeing his cat in distress.

He stumbled back a few steps, fearfully grabbing his face with his hands, and let out a heart-wrenching scream.

"My cat, my cat! What happened to Mrs. Norris?"

His appearance made people feel a bit sorry for him.

Malfoy saw the blood-written words on the wall and started to mock.

Filch adamantly insisted that Harry had killed his cat, screaming that he wanted to kill Harry to avenge Mrs. Norris.

Dumbledore arrived at the scene and was the first to notice some signs of a struggle.

Among the students, there was a commotion, and a wave of panic started to spread.

Dumbledore knew it was crucial to quell these emotions immediately, so he took the three who had witnessed it first to leave with him.

Filch glared at them with hatred, while Lockhart eagerly suggested Dumbledore go to his office nearby.

After they left, John returned to the scene.

He stared at the blood-written words on the wall, his eyes scanning the crowd.

He knew that when he was fighting the shadow, these words weren't there.

This meant that after he had drawn the shadow away, someone else had come here.

"Who could it be?"

John pondered deeply, while the prefects were leading their house students back.

"Gemma, I have something to do."

Gemma Farley, the sixth-year Slytherin prefect, wanted John to leave, but John simply left a sentence and headed in the opposite direction.

Gemma Farley felt somewhat helpless but chose to ignore it.

John arrived at the girls' bathroom where he had first seen the shadow.

Upon arrival, he noticed water stains still present and cautiously used his sword to probe the area.

"Not here?"

John inspected the entire girls' bathroom but did not find the shadow.

Instead, he encountered Moaning Myrtle, but he had no time to deal with her at the moment.

Leaving the girls' bathroom, John's brow remained furrowed.

He understood the danger of that thing; it wasn't just about Harry being in danger anymore, but the entire school could be at risk.

"I must tell Dumbledore."

John made up his mind; this was no small matter, and he needed the great White Wizard.

He immediately headed to Lockhart's office.

"I remember a very similar situation happening in Ouagadougou, a series of attacks. It's detailed in my autobiography," Lockhart was boasting shamelessly about his autobiography again. None of the professors present genuinely believed him.

Dumbledore deduced that Mrs. Norris wasn't dead but had been petrified.

Filch, heartbroken, was crying, his tear-streaked face turning viciously towards Harry.

Dumbledore told him that it was impossible for a second-year student to achieve this.

But as he said this, he thought of John.

If there was anyone in the second year most likely to be capable of this, it would be John.

Moreover, John hadn't been present at the feast.

Dumbledore had a complex feeling towards John.

John's excellence, diligence, and charm that drew people in all reminded him of Hogwarts' once most outstanding student.

This worried him.

Filch insisted that Harry and his friends were responsible because Harry had seen his Quick-Spell letter and knew he was a Squib.

The most unexpected thing was Snape speaking up, sarcastically stating that Harry couldn't possibly have such magical proficiency, though the timing of the trio's appearance was suspicious.

Harry felt uneasy and didn't mention hearing the strange voice, only saying he was tired and wanted to sleep.

Anyone could tell it was a poor lie, and Snape was no exception.

Snape even suggested Harry be removed from the Quidditch team, which upset the die-hard Quidditch fan McGonagall.

The two nearly started arguing, with Filch yelling about his cat being petrified.

John decided it was best not to go in; he might witness a fight between two Heads of House, but he knew it wasn't likely with Dumbledore present.

The discussion inside concluded, and Dumbledore instructed Snape to brew the potion to cure petrification.

The trio was the first to leave, but instead of returning, they found an empty classroom to discuss.

John initially wanted to talk to Dumbledore, but seeing this, he decided to follow them, remembering Dobby had said these events were targeting Harry.

And he had promised Dobby to protect Harry from danger.

...

In the empty classroom.

"Do you think I should tell them about the voice I heard?" Harry asked uneasily.

He was the only one who heard the voice, which made him feel very uneasy.

Ron, considering his friend's well-being, decisively advised him not to, saying, "Hearing voices no one else can hear isn't a good sign, even in the wizarding world."

Harry asked, "You believe me, right?"

Ron, of course, believed him, which slightly comforted Harry.

Just then, a voice sounded in the empty classroom.

"Harry, where did you hear the voice?"

Harry was startled, his body tensing up, while Hermione recognized the familiar voice and tentatively asked, "John?"

"Yup, it's me."

John lifted the Disillusionment Charm, appearing as if he had walked out from the darkness.

He stared at Harry and asked word by word, "You can hear that voice, right?"

"John, did you hear it too?" Sensing something off in John's tone, Harry asked urgently, "I heard it in the corridor when we were coming from the Ghost party!."

"That makes sense."

A gleam flashed in John's eyes. After leaving, that thing returned to the second floor and disappeared. Perhaps its lair was on the second floor.

[Ding, exploration mission triggered: Find Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets! Get the Blessing: Snake Catcher]

[Snake Catcher: Increased damage to snakes, immune to snake toxins and curses]

With the mission triggered, John knew where that thing had emerged from.

However, locating Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets was another problem. Taking a deep breath, John realized he needed help.

Looking at the trio, he said solemnly, "I encountered that thing. It's a giant snake, and its eyes are extremely dangerous."

The trio's eyes widened. Had John really encountered the culprit?!

Harry quickly asked, "You mean, you know who the culprit is?"

"No, besides the snake, there was another person. After I left, they wrote the blood message. We need to find them."

When it comes to the best helpers, the protagonists are always the best choice.

After John's revelation, the trio also realized the gravity of the situation.

The heir of the Chamber of Secrets was the most dangerous one.

John entrusted the three people to find the heir to the Chamber of Secrets, and he went to Dumbledore's office.

But when he arrived at the door, he was in trouble.

After all, he didn't have the password...

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