Chamber of Clouds

As they entered Lockhart's dimly lit office, there was a sudden commotion on the walls. Harry saw several pictures of Lockhart hiding in a panic, with curling rollers in their hair. At this point, the real Lockhart lit the candle on the table and stepped back. Dumbledore put Lady Norris on the polished table and began to examine it carefully. Augustus glanced around the room, Harry, Ron, and Hermione exchanged glances nervously, and then sat down on a few chairs out of the candlelight, watching closely.

The tip of Dumbledore's long hooked nose almost touched the fur on Mrs. Norris. He scrutinized it through the half-moon spectacles, his long fingers poking lightly here and there. Professor McGonagall bent over, his face almost touching the cat, and squinted his eyes. Snape stood behind them, half-hidden in the shadows, looking eerie. The expression on his face was odd: as if trying to keep himself from laughing. Lockhart hovered around them, constantly scheming.

"It must have been a spell that killed it - most likely a shapeshifting and torture spell. I've seen people use this spell many times, and it's a shame I wasn't there, and I happen to know the spell that could have saved it. .." Lockhart boasted triumphantly to those around him.

A smile flashed in Augustus's eyes. This Lockhart is a very interesting person. At this time, he can still say so much useless nonsense without blushing. I have to say that in this respect he is indeed very talented.

"..I remember something very similar happened in Ouagadougou," Lockhart continued. "There was a series of attacks, detailed in my autobiography. At that time, I gave the common people a variety of Such a talisman solves the problem in one fell swoop.."

At this time, Dumbledore whispered some strange words and tapped Mrs. Norris with his wand, but there was no response: Lady Norris was still lying there stiffly, like a freshly prepared specimen.

Augustus listened carefully to the meaningless syllables Dumbledore uttered, ancient runes? It is an effective method for curing curses or soul attacks, but the cat in front of him is not within the scope of his treatment.

Finally, Dumbledore straightened up.

"It's not dead, Filch," he said softly.

Lockhart was counting the number of murders he had prevented when he stopped. "It's not dead?" Filch choked, looking at Mrs. Norris through his fingers, "then why is it all--stiff, like it's frozen?"

"Finally found it?" Augustus nodded secretly. It seems that this legendary mage treated the incident fairly rigorously, and it took so long to conclude many conjectures.

"It's been petrified," said Dumbledore ("Ah! I think so too!', Lockhart said), "but I don't know exactly how.." "Ask him!" Phil Screamed Kiki, turning his mottled, tear-stained face to Harry. "A sophomore can't do that," said Dumbledore firmly. "It requires the deepest black magic— "

"He did it, he did it!" Filch spat, his plump, sagging face turning purple. "You saw what he wrote on the wall! He found -- in my office -- he knew I was -- I was --" Filch's face twitched horribly. "He knows I'm a Squib!"

"Felch, even if Harry knows you're a squib, there's no need to specifically murder your cat. If he did it, he could petrify you with his abilities, so why bother planning a terrorist attack? For a cat? Besides, as Dumbledore said, a second-year student can't use such advanced black magic at all." Augustus shook his head and said his opinion slowly.

"Mr. Augustus is quite right, Harry can't be the murderer." Dumbledore's glasses flashed a ray of light, and there was an unquestionable tone in his words.

"Allow me to say a word, Headmaster," Snape said in the shadow, and Harry's ominous feeling intensified. He believed that Snape's words would never do him any good.

"Maybe Potter and his friends just weren't supposed to be in that place at that time," Snape said, twitching his lips in a sneer as if he were deeply skeptical, "but we did encounter a series of Doubtful. Why on earth did they go up the hallway? Why didn't they go to the Halloween feast?"

Harry, Ron, and Hermione scrambled to explain that they were going to the death party. "..a few hundred ghosts, they can prove we're there—"

"But after that, why not come to the party?" said Snape, his dark eyes shining in the candlelight. "Why go up the hallway?"

Both Ron and Hermione looked at Harry.

"Because-because-" said Harry, his heart pounding wildly. "Because we were tired and wanted to go to bed earlier," he said.

Snape's ugly smile became more pronounced.

"My opinion, Headmaster, Potter isn't quite telling the truth," he said. "We should probably take some of his privileges away until he tells us the truth. I think he should leave Griffin. Do Quidditch, wait until you're honest."

"Honestly, Severus," said Professor McGonagall sharply, "I see no reason why this kid shouldn't play. The cat wasn't hit in the head with a broom. And there's no evidence Potter did anything wrong. thing."

"It's him, it must be him!" Filch stood in the middle of the teachers and suddenly pointed to Augustus, "He must have done this, Harry and him are accomplices, and I have heard the rumors about the secret room. , With his status and strength in Slytherin, he is completely and possibly the heir of the Chamber of Secrets, and it is obvious that he has the strength to petrify my cat."

Augustus laughed instead: "Do you think a Julius family heir would be interested in what kind of secret room of Salazar Slytherin? In terms of history alone, there is no Julius family in this school. For a long time, even if the family aside, I would not be interested in any inheritance at all."

A trace of panic flashed in Filch's eyes, only to realize that his approach to correcting this person seemed to be a mistake, regardless of his talent in school, or his huge family, it wasn't that he, a small staff administrator, could slander at will. of.

"We can cure it, Filch," said Dumbledore patiently. "Mrs. Sprout got some mandrakes recently. Once they're old enough, I'll have medicine for Lori. Mrs. Sue has come back to life." "I'll make it," Lockhart interjected, "I must have made it a hundred times, and I can make up the mandrake resurrection potion while dreaming—" "Excuse me," St. "I think I'm the potions teacher at this school," said Nep coldly. There was an embarrassing silence. "You can go," Dumbledore said to Augustus, Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

The four of them filed out of the office, closed the last door, the light faded away, the dim lights in the corridor flickered, and Augustus had a complicated expression on his face. The long hair was a bit messy in the wind, and it was another eventful autumn, Augustus, who was standing silently, thought so.