It's Tuesday, the third week of the new school year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
If calculated according to the calendar of the parallel world, it should be September 17, 1991. Except for those who happened to be born on this day, in the eyes of most people, this is just an ordinary day with no special meaning.
However, for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, this is a day destined to go down in history.
because……
A cute butterfly flapped its wings, pushing the story that was supposed to take place a year later to the present.
First floor of Hogwarts Castle, staff room.
Dinner was over, and professors one after another opened the door and walked into the faculty lounge.
This is a long room, with wooden panels on the walls and filled with mismatched old black wood chairs. There is a shabby wardrobe beside the wall and an armchair in front of the fire, but
It seemed that no one had sat on it for a long time, and it was covered with thick dust.
?Most professors have confusion written all over their faces, even Minerva McGonagall, who is the vice-principal, is no exception.
Although at the dinner table, Albus Dumbledore informed everyone to gather in the faculty lounge after the meal, saying that there was an important matter that required all professors to discuss and decide, but he did not reveal much about the specific matters.
"The secret room has been discovered, and this time it's true."
As the last professor walked into the room, Dumbledore looked around at the confused professors and said softly.
"Just at noon today, Professor Binns discovered the legendary secret room in Hogwarts Castle. As expected, the monster left by Slytherin was also in it."
"The Chamber of Secrets?! That Salazar Slytherin Chamber of Secrets?!
Professor McGonagall couldn't help but let out a low exclamation, and frowned heavily.
"Professor Dumbledore, didn't you organize a search of all the rooms in Hogwarts Castle before? The final result proved that it was just a rumor."
"No, we were all wrong...because the secret room does not exist in the main part of the castle."
It was not Dumbledore who answered Professor McGonagall. A dry and weak voice floated out from the corner of the room.
Everyone turned their heads and saw that Professor Binns' body had become almost completely transparent, with only a tiny bit of thin gray remaining, as if it would be blown away if someone blew a strong breath.
"Professor Binns! What are you doing..."
Professor Sprout suddenly covered her mouth with both hands and stared in disbelief at the ghost professor who had taught her. Even a discerning person could tell that Professor Binns was in a very bad state now.
"Curse? No, it seems to be the effect of some powerful magic."
A grim look appeared on Professor Flitwick's face, and he looked at Professor Binns' appearance carefully, "What happened, Professor Binns? If possible, maybe I can find a way to help you ease and stabilize it."
"Don't worry, it's just a little soul shock. Just rest for a while and you'll be fine."
Professor Binns shook his head, and his rickety body slowly floated down to the armchair by the fire. The expression on his face was obviously much more lively than before, but his voice became more and more ethereal, mixed with some strange things.
Noise.
"The entrance to the secret room is in the girls' bathroom on the second floor. There is a relief of a small snake under a pool. Follow the main pipe connected to the pool and you will reach the secret room left by Salazar Slytherin.
"
Clang.
Professor Quirrell, who was standing at the edge of the crowd, swayed, his face turned pale, he clutched the back of a chair tightly, and asked in a particularly strange and trembling tone, "How can you, how can you be sure that that is
The legendary secret room?!"
"Salazar Slytherin's sculptures, traces of magic, as well as skeletons and giant snake sloughs... Of course, there seemed to be some rough magic protection put in place by later generations along the way, which did cause me some trouble."
Professor Binns slowly raised his head and looked at Professor Quirrell standing in the corner with his cloudy eyes. After roughly four or five seconds, he continued to open his mouth and spoke softly in a hoarse and dry voice.
"I know Salazar Slytherin very well. The layout and remaining traces of magic were definitely done by him personally, and those giant snake sloughs also perfectly explain a problem that has troubled us over the years -
—What on earth did Slytherin leave behind in this school? And what on earth were those children killed by?"
"Basilisk, yes, I should have realized that."
Dumbledore's lips trembled, and a look of pain and remorse flashed in his blue eyes.
"Slytherin, pipes and snakes... What a simple reasoning. Only this legendary monster can use the pipes of Hogwarts to travel throughout the castle and take away people's lives silently -
—Even the simplest information and warning signal cannot be sent out."
As a professor who witnessed the tragedy with his own eyes, Dumbledore knew even more information than Professor Binns. For example, he knew that the Acromantula raised by Hagrid did not kill anyone, only
But he escaped into the Forbidden Forest; he knew that Myrtle Elizabeth Warren saw a pair of huge yellow eyes before she died; and that the most unique magical talent of the Slytherin family is the language of snakes...
Therefore, when Binns found him in the afternoon and told him these findings, Dumbledore almost immediately confirmed the guess made by Professor Binns. The monster that killed those students was the Basilisk.
"So, dear Professor Albus Dumbledore, are we going to get rid of that monster?"
As Filch spoke, he held the broom tightly in his hand and looked around the room with a vigilant expression, as if the basilisk would suddenly emerge from a corner at the next moment.
"No, I'm still hesitating...that's why I need to ask for your opinions."
Dumbledore shook his head and said solemnly.
"The basilisk has a very long lifespan. If I guessed correctly, it should still be sleeping in the secret chamber at our feet, waiting for the descendants of Slytherin to wake it up. Now, we have two choices...
"
"The first option is to gather the power of the Ministry of Magic, actively enter the secret room to carry out an encirclement and suppression, and eliminate the terrible hidden dangers in this castle. Frankly speaking, even when I faced this unknown ancient magical creature, I had no choice.
100% sure of victory... There is still too little understanding and record of the basilisk. If there is any deviation, someone is likely to be sacrificed."
"The second method is to add more magic seals at the entrance to the secret room and guard it tightly so that it can never come out of the secret room. However, no one can guarantee whether this protection will be effective forever, and what we have found now
Is the entrance the only way for the basilisk to go out?"
Dumbledore paused for a moment, glanced at the professors who were deep in thought, and took a deep breath.
"But in any case, I think the Ministry of Magic and all students have the right to know about this matter - I will also write to Cornelius Fudge later, but before that, I want to hear your opinions first...
"
…
Half an hour later.
An empty classroom not far from the Hufflepuff common room.
"Well, that's about it."
Gellert Grindelwald grinned, looked at the white-haired dumpling in front of him and said.
"If nothing else happens, some officials from the Ministry of Magic will come to Hogwarts tomorrow to discuss how to deal with this matter... So, I guess Albus won't have the time or thought to help you tomorrow.
Now that you have to deal with the editor-in-chief of "The Quibbler," you can only think of a way to reply to the letter. What are you going to do?"
"Grandpa, you are here. Since you took the initiative to tell me, you must already have a solution."
Elena blinked her eyes, took Grindelwald's skinny hand and shook it from side to side, showing an innocent and cute expression, as if she was a granddaughter acting coquettishly towards her grandfather, and said sweetly.
"There is indeed a way, but..."
Grindelwald raised his eyebrows, narrowed his eyes helpfully, and his voice was deliberately drawn out.
"A top-notch dish from the East, beggar's chicken. I am probably the only one in the European wizarding world who knows how to cook this dish. It is definitely a delicacy you have never tasted before."
Elena gave her bargaining chip without hesitation. She was very familiar with this kind of "exchange". It had been done many times before in Nurmengard Castle by an old man and a young man.
"Deal." Grindelwald nodded happily.
In fact, the safety of Hogwarts didn't matter to him at all. According to his idea, he would directly dismiss the students temporarily, then assemble a large number of adult Aurors, jointly use the lethal spell, and force the big snake to death.
Okay, there is no need to make it as complicated as Dumbledore.
In comparison, what he cared about more was the grand vision that Elena had described before, which could change the structure of the entire magical and non-magical world - the Magical Era, and fundamentally create a world for wizards.
Time dimension, such a great idea, why didn't he think of it at that time?