Chapter 49: The First Test

"'A single occurrence might be dismissed as coincidence, but what about the second time?" Harry paused for a moment, choosing his words carefully.

"Just remember the first day of Quidditch at the beginning of term - Malfoy confronted us and called you.. you know a bad word. But just then in that moment that Professor Forester conveniently decided to stroll by. He reprimanded Malfoy and said what to us? 'To enjoy the good weather and have pleasant practice session'!"

Just hearing Harry's recount of the events had Ron dwelling upon that day.

"And then a minute later it starts raining cats and dogs," Harry emphasized, "Ever since that day, the whole region of Hogwarts has been under the spell of a seemingly endless rainfall. Our Quidditch practices all ended up being conducted in constant downpour!"

As Ron slowly started to be convinced, Hermione on the other hand steadfastly refused to believe that any of these incidents could be connected to Professor Forester's words.

"This could be a pure coincidence, Harry. We live in England after all, we all know how unpredictable the weather can be here. Isn't it normal to witness rain even minutes after the most clear and sunny skies?"

Harry kept his cool and didn't try to force his point. As their discussion continued, he realized that there were many indications pointing towards Professor Forester truly possessing what could be termed as 'The Curse of the Harbinger of Misfortune.' (E/N.: in chinese they call this "crow's mouth", not sure how I should translate that..)

"Okay then what about the third time, Hermione? If once or even twice could be written off as a coincidence, what about the third time? Remember when I was being punished by Professor Forester, recall the slew of misfortunes I encountered that very afternoon? So much so that at the end of the day, muddy embarrassment was the only thing I earned from Quidditch practice, Mr. Filch snatched me up on sight for tracking mud across the halls, had me polishing the damn castle corridors as punishment - for a week! And even Ron's pet rat saw my bed as free game...,"

As Harry went on recapping his ordeal, his own expressions clouded with anger. He then looked at Hermione and Ron, making them remember what Professor Forester had said to him before leaving his office.

"Guess what he said to me that day before I left his office?"

Ron, already on edge, struggled to swallow his rising fears.

"He wished you'd have a pleasant day?"

"No, he wished me 'Good luck!"' Harry looked over at both Ron and Hermione and found their expressions mirroring the shock on his own face.

"And then the attacks on Justin and Colin - you both remember that, don't you? And the incidents have only been piling up ever since. Can you explain all these continuous incidents as mere coincidences?"

Harry's words seemed to hang in the air, a heavy silence fell over them all, so profound one might believe they even forgot to breathe. Eventually, after a time stretching on drumbeats and mounting dread, Hermione finally broke the silence.

"I don't want to believe it. Be it Magic or natural science, everyone has to obey certain laws. Predictions, no matter how impossible they might seem, are always based on something with definitive pathways, like tea leaves, crystal balls or celestial symbols. But with Professor Forester's words, I can't find a logical explanation! They don't seem like predictions as much as curses!"

"Well, if you said that Professor Forester was a gifted prophet who could discern numerous time lines, then I'd agree that it was just another magical talent. But a harbinger of a misfortune, whose words unintentionally curse their recipients? I can't recall reading anything like that in any books of my vast reading!" Hermione reasoned.

Ron, more convinced by the moment regarding the strange happenings around Professor Forester, waded into the debate.

"Whether you've read about it or not doesn't mean it's not possible! Magic doesn't have to be logical. Does anyone know why our spells work with a little swish and flick of our wands? We can't deny the reality that every time Professor Forester's made a comment or wished for something, the exact opposite happens. We'll have to accept the possibility that Harry's suspicion may likely be true!"

Their voices gradually began escalating drawing the attention of the other students in the common room. Hermione, trying to maintain her usual composed facade, made an effort to lower her voice.

"But it's simply too fantastical."

Harry seemed to emerge from his thoughts, his eyes had a gleam that Ron and Hermione were well-familiar with. It usually meant Harry had a plan.

"I think there is a simple way for us to confirm or disprove my suspicion."

Something about his earnest expression made Ron and Hermione fully alert.

"Professor Forester is conveniently here at Hogwarts, why not test it?

Ron was beaming, excitement clear on his face.

"You're tight we could actually just test if he's the harbinger of misfortune."

"Exactly, and my test would be simple and straightforward. Even if we are wrong, we won't compromise anything. It will at the very least, prove that everything was just a series of unfortunate coincidences."

Hermione's reservations started to appear on her face.

"But isn't it inappropriate? We still haven't apologized to him about the book borrowing incident from yesterday."

"Once we find the Heir of Slytherin, we will definitely apologize to Professor Forester. No doubt about that, but we aren't being disrespectful with this. We just want to figure out what's going on."

Harry's argument seemed to finally sway Hermione. Of course, their doubts about Malfoy possibly being the Heir of Slytherin weren't completely cleared.

The brewing of the Polyjuice Potion took up more than a month and the concoction was kept hidden in the first floor girls' bathroom.

....

All the while, Professor Sherlock Forester in his office was also trying unravel the mystery of the Chamber of Secrets.

He had informed Professor Dumbledore regarding his suspicion about the monster being a Basilisk. However, it seemed to have made little difference in finding the true culprit.

The Basilisk was undoubtedly the attacker, but it was merely a weapon wielded by the true mastermind. The actual challenge would be to find the one who was controlling the Basilisk.

In spite of all the clues and information at his disposal, Sherlock was at a loss at figuring out the identity of the Heir of Slytherin who opened the Chamber of Secrets.

In all the tragic events unraveling in the original Harry Potter story, the final antagonist was somehow always connected to Voldemort.

It wouldn't be improbable to assume that Voldemort was in some way involved with the incidents concerning the Chamber of Secrets. Although, how it's associated with a resurrected Voldemort from last year, was something that Sherlock had yet to figure out.

Normally, he wouldn't have given the Chamber of Secrets much thought. Despite the fact that the Basilisk was attacking students, it did not directly affect him.

But as a person with typical human emotions and empathy, Sherlock was unable to simply sit back and do nothing.

According to the original scenario he knew before he arrived at Hogwarts, no one was supposed to have died because of the Chamber. Now that he was here, the events that occurred had already deviated greatly from the original plot. He now wanted to control the possible consequences arising from his very presence.

After spending half a semester teaching at Hogwarts, he had developed a fondness for the students. Even though he didn't want to get attached, as their professor, he could not help but wish for their safety, their future filled with happiness and virtue.

He couldn't bear the thought of a student losing their life from an unexpected incident involving the Chamber.

Deep in his contemplation, there was a knock on his door which broke his train of thought. As the door opened, Neville walked in, looking rather pale and anxious.