68: Whispers and Shadows

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"Hey, Moaning Myrtle, I'd like to ask you something."

"Something? Hic* Alright, as long as you don't despise me. Hic*"

Moaning Myrtle's sensitive emotions were quite a headache, so John tried his best not to touch on that.

"I want to ask you if you know of any secret chambers in Hogwarts?"

'Other than Gryffindor's Chamber is what I mean ' He didn't say this.

Moaning Myrtle flew out from the toilet, her face full of confusion. "Sob-sob* Hic* Secret chambers? I've never seen one."

"Ahh.. Alright, looks like I need to ask someone else."

Without getting an answer, John prepared to leave. As he walked out, he bumped into someone.

"Uh... ah.. this.. I'm here to see Moaning Myrtle, hope you understand."

He felt a bit awkward looking at the person who caught him coming out of the girls' bathroom.

Ginny looked flustered. She didn't dare meet John's eyes, and the black leather book in her hand fell to the ground.

"Are you alright, Ginny?"

John noticed something was off with her and tried to help her pick up the diary.

This action made Ginny scream, "Don't touch it!"

"Sorry..."

John retracted his hand and watched as Ginny picked up the black leather book and quickly left.

He wondered, "Why does Ginny seem so off?"

Compared to their last meeting, Ginny's current state was very unstable. She looked haggard, as if she hadn't slept well for many days.

"Maybe I should ask Luna."

John left the girls' bathroom. After he left, Ginny circled back. She heard whispers that made her dazed.

...

"Did you... have you... read it?"

On his way to Filch's office to groom Mrs. Norris, John overheard a conversation. Filch's nervous, stuttering voice made him stop.

"This isn't mine, it's for a friend. It might look like... but..."

Filch stammered, lacking his usual aggressiveness. John moved closer and saw Harry in the office. Filch seemed like he had done something wrong, standing there unsure. In the end, Filch let Harry go without any punishment.

"Strange."

John thought something was off with everyone today. After Harry left, he saw Filch nervously hide a letter. 

He knocked on the door and entered, hearing Mrs. Norris meow.

Filch turned stiffly and, seeing it was John, visibly relaxed.

John didn't dwell on it. He waved to Mrs. Norris, who ran over.

"I hope you don't mind if I groom her."

"Of course," Filch stammered, still a bit nervous. John shrugged and took Mrs. Norris outside.

He pulled out a comb and started untangling Mrs. Norris's fur. Once her fur was smooth, she circled John in what seemed like gratitude.

John waved her off, and she left.

Walking down the corridor, John heard a strange, hissing sound.

"Hmm... It sounds like something crawling...."

John pressed his ear to the wall. With his sharp senses, he detected faint, intermittent movement before it stopped.

Touching his chin thoughtfully, John muttered, "It doesn't sound like mice, more like something dragging its body."

Something crawled past his feet. Looking down, he saw a group of spiders.

"A swarm of spiders leaving... what's going on?"

Watching the spiders leave in groups, John felt something was wrong.

Thinking of spiders, John recalled the spider nest he visited with Hagrid in his first year.

"Forget it, let's go check on Hagrid."

John shook his head and headed to Hagrid's hut.

When he arrived, he didn't see Hagrid but did see Fang.

"Hey Fang, where's Hagrid?"

John casually asked, and Fang got up and led John to the back of the hut.

There, Hagrid kept a flock of chickens, but today, they had become a pile of corpses.

Hagrid was investigating, and when John approached, Hagrid angrily said, "How can this be! Someone killed my chickens, it's too cruel."

These chickens were not killed by animals, as there were no bite marks, indicating it was done by a person.

Hagrid was very angry, as he had raised these chickens himself.

John fell into deep thought. The spiders leaving the castle in groups, Hagrid's chickens being killed—everything seemed eerie.

After staying with Hagrid for a while, John went to the Whomping Willow.

The Whomping Willow had almost recovered; it was estimated that it would fully recover in another week.

However, many of its branches were missing, as John had taken them for alchemy.

To this end, he expanded various protective charms and enchanted rings.

These two items played a significant role during the attack on Borgin and Burkes. Mr. Borgin did not suspect at all that it was done by werewolves.

Because werewolves do not use magic after transforming.

Pouring dragon dung around, John encountered Luna near the Whomping Willow.

"Hi, John, It's good to see you! You know, Ginny has something going on."

Luna had eyes that were good at observing, her ethereal voice sounding like it was singing, "She hasn't been looking at me lately."

"I think something's wrong too."

John nodded in agreement. He wasn't very familiar with Ginny.

So he planned to ask Ron to see if something was going on with her.

...

In Potions class, John threw sliced bat spleen into the cauldron, stirred counterclockwise four times, and then heated it at a low temperature for thirty seconds.

With a wave of his wand, a perfect potion was completed.

Professor Snape awarded Slytherin 20 points.

After class, John found Ron and mentioned Ginny's situation.

Ron said he would keep an eye on her but immediately shifted the topic to his wand.

"This wand is simply amazing."

Ron was lavish with his praise, and John nodded humbly.

Harry came over and invited John, "We're going to Nearly Headless Nick's Deathday Party. Do you want to come with us?"

To be honest, Harry already regretted agreeing, as that night was also the Halloween feast.

He would much rather celebrate with his classmates than with a bunch of ghosts.

John waved his hand and declined, "Sorry, I don't have time that day. I still have to take care of the Whomping Willow."

"Oh, yea.. Alright." Harry knew John was busy, so he didn't continue the invitation.

...

On the night of the Halloween feast, John returned from the Whomping Willow and saw the spiders again.

"What exactly is it?"

Following the spiders' path, John went to find out.

He remembered Dobby mentioning danger; could it be this?

As he searched, John arrived at the second-floor corridor.

He found a puddle of water at a corner of the corridor.

"Where did this water come from? It hasn't rained."

John felt the puddle was strange and followed the path where the water was found.

He ended up back at the girls' bathroom.

Just as he was about to enter, John remembered the previous awkwardness and stopped.

"Hey! Ehm* Is there anyone around?"

Feeling a bit guilty, John looked around.

After entering the girls' bathroom, he saw another puddle of water on the floor.

This made him think.

"Could it be Moaning Myrtle who caused this?"

John walked toward the toilets, wanting to see if Moaning Myrtle was there.

At that moment, a shadow flashed in the mirror.

John's nerves tightened, and without hesitation, he drew his wand and looked behind him.

He heard the sound of something moving.

Being cautious, John felt a strange sense of oppression in his heart.

He walked past each stall, finding nothing in any of them.

Just as he was wondering where it was, he heard a cat's meow.

"Mrs. Norris?"

Hearing this sound, John recognized it as Mrs. Norris.

The cat was in the corridor outside, so John went out.

Mrs. Norris was climbing and exploring, as if she had also discovered something.

"Be careful, Mrs. Norris, there might be danger here."

John reached out to stroke Mrs. Norris's chin. He followed her through the corridor, searching.

He didn't know what that fleeting shadow was, but his intuition told him it was very dangerous.

He felt as though something was watching him, making him tense.

Mrs. Norris reached a puddle of water at a corner and, possibly thirsty, began to drink.

John heard a movement nearby, followed by a cat's scream.

Turning his head, he saw a large black figure there.

Without any hesitation, John acted.

"Petrificus Totalus!"

The Full Body-Bind Curse had no effect on the shadowy figure, and John cursed under his breath.

Before the figure could turn, John cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself and hid in the corner.

He noticed Mrs. Norris had stiffened and seemed to be slowly petrifying. John realized this thing was extremely dangerous.

Drawing the Sword of Gryffindor, John attacked based on his instincts.

"Reducto!"

The white light hit the wall.

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