Chapter 74

Snake monsters are almost covered with extremely tough scales. They can resist not only ordinary swords and sharp weapons, but also magic spells.

Even if it is now a corpse, it is still very difficult to cut.

Speaking of it, Maka really wants to chop it up and take it all away. After all, it's a snake monster! It is said that its whole body is treasure, and there will be no exaggeration.

But even the suitcase with the stretching spell can't fit it all.

Finally, when Maka turned and left, the ancient beast that had caused Hogwarts to close the whole school and Dumbledore to receive the removal order from the school board had become a pile of meat mountains that no one could recognize.

With Maka's departure, the stone gate was finally closed. But before long, I heard a dull roar and collapse from the secret room, and the whole ground shook slightly.

……

On the other hand, Lockhart returned to his office with Harry, Ron and Ginny, and soon Professor McGonagall came. She took Lockhart and her three children to her office, where many people were waiting for them.

Harry, Ron, Ginny and Lockhart were standing at the door. Harry was almost covered with mud and mucus. Lockhart looked better, but even if he had been invisible all the way, the mud splashed all the time.

For a moment, there was silence everywhere. Suddenly, there was a scream from the fireplace - "Ginny!"

It's Mrs. Weasley. She's been sitting in front of the fire crying. Now she sprang up, followed by Mr. Weasley, and both of them put their arms around their baby daughter.

Ron stood aside, his head still hanging low, not knowing what he was thinking.

Harry's eyes crossed them and looked into the room.

He saw Professor Dumbledore standing in front of the mantelpiece with a smile on his face. Standing beside Dumbledore was Hermione with the same smile!

"Oh! Hermione? Are you okay?" Harry said in surprise.

Hermione smiled and nodded, but her eyes were still looking behind Harry, as if expecting something.

"When you broke a bunch of school rules, Miss Granger woke up. It was McLean. He had been up for two days and two nights and made a resurrection potion from freshly matured Mandela grass - that's his improved formula, which is very effective!"

Professor McGonagall explained happily.

And Ron, standing not far away, suddenly raised his head.

He looked at Hermione and Ginny again. The expression on his face changed continuously. Finally, he lowered his head again in despair.

Just then Mrs. Weasley looked at Lockhart excitedly. Different from the worship of stars in the past, it is a kind of heartfelt respect.

"Professor Lockhart, you saved her! You saved her! What did you do?"

"That's what we all want to know," Professor McGonagall said, looking at Lockhart hesitantly.

Dumbledore also put on a curious expression in front of the mantelpiece.

But Lockhart looked at Mrs. Weasley with a rare look of confusion in his eyes. When Harry reached out and pulled at the hem of his dress, he suddenly regained his mind.

"Oh - of course, I'll tell you the whole process." Lockhart showed his old smile, but it didn't show off like before. It looked perfunctory.

"Well, but before that, I think you have to listen to Mr. Potter's reasoning. I think that's the real beginning of saving Miss Weasley."

With Lockhart's words, everyone's eyes fell on Harry again.

In the eyes of everyone, Harry hesitated for a moment and then began to tell what he had experienced.

He spoke for about ten minutes. Everyone listened attentively and the room was silent.

But when he said that the note in Hermione's hand had brought him key clues, Hermione nodded to everyone without surprise.

But her hands hanging on her side clung to her cuffs.

When Harry finished, Lockhart had completely returned to his usual state. With his head held high, he said the whole process after entering the secret room in an exaggerated way.

Telling stories has always been his specialty, not to mention, this time he was invisible and watched next to them almost the whole time!

"Is that true?"

Listen, Professor McGonagall couldn't help asking Harry.

Harry looked at Dumbledore subconsciously. The headmaster smiled faintly, and the fire flashed quickly on his half moon glasses.

"Oh - roughly, that's right -"

"What interests me most," said Dumbledore suddenly, "is how Voldemort confused Ginny, because according to my source, he is hiding in the forest of Albania!"

"What... What?" said Mrs. Weasley in amazement. "The mysterious man? Confused Ginny? But Ginny wasn't... Ginny didn't... Didn't she?"

"It's all the trouble in that diary," Harry said quickly. "It was written by riddle when he was sixteen. There's a memory stored in it."

"Diary?" Dumbledore frowned slightly.

Harry looked at Lockhart. He thought Lockhart should know the final whereabouts of the diary.

But Lockhart shook his head and said, "as I just said - I pierced it with the venom of the basilisk, the venom of the Basilisk penetrated the whole diary, and the virtual shadow of the mysterious man dissipated. Later, I was busy taking the children out, and the diary... Should still be in the secret room now."

"That's amazing," Dumbledore thought for a moment and whispered. "Without McClain, he might be the best student ever at Hogwarts."

He turned and faced the Weasleys, both of whom looked very confused.

"Few people know that Voldemort used to be called Tom Riddle. I taught him in Hogwarts fifty years ago. He disappeared after leaving school... Traveled all over the world... Sank deeper and deeper in the mire of black magic, mingled with the most evil guy in the wizard world, and underwent many dangerous magic deformations."

"Finally, he reappeared as Voldemort, and it was difficult to recognize him at that time - almost no one linked Voldemort with the smart and handsome chairman of the boy student union who had studied here."

Dumbledore recalled that time in the past, and at the same time, he thought of Marca now. In his pale blue pupils, complex eyes flickered faintly.

"But what about Ginny?" said Mrs. Weasley. "What does our Ginny have to do with... Him?"

"His... Diary!" Ginny sobbed. "I've been... Writing on it for a whole year. He... He keeps writing back to me..."

"Ginny!" said Mr. Weasley, stunned, "Haven't I taught you? What have I always told you? Never believe anything that can think independently unless you see where it hides your mind. Why didn't you show your diary to me or your mother? A suspicious thing like that is obviously full of black magic!"

"I... I don't know," Ginny was still crying sadly. "I found it in a book my mother gave me. I... I thought someone had clamped it there and forgot..."

"Miss Weasley should go to the school hospital at once," Dumbledore interrupted involuntarily. "It's a painful torture for her. The school won't punish her. Many wizards older and more resourceful than her have been deceived by Voldemort."

He strode to the door and gently opened it.

"Stay in bed. Maybe I should drink another big glass of steaming chocolate milk - I always think it's good for improving my mood."

He said, lowering his head and winking kindly at Ginny.

"You'll find that Mrs. Pomfrey hasn't slept yet. She's been studying the improved Mandela grass resurrection potion formula given to her by McLean!"

Mrs. Weasley led Ginny out, and Mr. Weasley followed, still looking very hurt.

More depressed than Mr. Weasley was Ron, who was stopped by Dumbledore - he had wanted to go to the school hospital with his father.

"You know, Mileva," said Professor Dumbledore thoughtfully to Professor McGonagall, "I think such things are worth having a party to celebrate. Can I ask you to inform the kitchen?"

"Well, by the way, please help me get McLean and take him to my office to wait for me," Dumbledore added.

"All right," she said simply, and set off for the door. "Porter and Weasley will be left to you, won't they?"

"Of course," said Dumbledore.

Professor McGonagall left, and Harry and Ron stared uneasily at Dumbledore.

What exactly does Professor McGonagall mean? Deal with them? Should they not... Should they not... Be punished?

But Dumbledore smiled and gave them some points, especially praised Harry's determination and intelligence, and Ron's love for his sister Ginny.

Then he turned to Lockhart and looked at him curiously.

"Gidrow, I think you are very suitable for teaching. Maybe next semester -"

Lockhart hurriedly interrupted, "Oh! No, no... I mean... This experience has made me find a lot of shortcomings. I need to work harder. When I think I have more things to teach my students, I will come back to teach..."

He said a lot of things at random, and his mind that he didn't want to stay and continue teaching was already clear.

"Oh - that's a pity," said Dumbledore casually, then turned his eyes to Ron. "I want to talk to Harry again..."

Lockhart hurried out at once. Ron hesitated and left.