After these attacks, things at Hogwarts became even more complicated, especially for the headmaster, because, in a way, now it wasn't just the school that had a problem.
Among us were also the five students from Castelobruxo along with their professor, who was about to take them out of here without hesitation. Every magic school has its dangers, but what was happening at Hogwarts was too much to ignore. I didn't know much, only that this professor had argued heatedly with Dumbledore, determined to take his students away from this place.
I can't deny that he had a point in worrying about his people. If the castle's next victim were one of his students, the situation would escalate into an international problem. But, in reality, that wasn't my problem… at least, not entirely. I didn't want this incident to ruin my trip to Castelobruxo. Luckily, it seemed that Dumbledore handled the situation skillfully because, even though the foreign professor looked upset and the students seemed scared, none of them left. However, the countermeasures became evident: the professor didn't let his students wander alone and even personally escorted them between classes.
I, on the other hand, had other things to focus on. Christmas was a joyful time, but for someone like me, it also meant being quite busy. Besides, some of the things I had planned… weren't exactly right.
...
When I arrived at the hideout, the place was emptier than usual. Many had decided to leave for the holidays, but my group of girls hadn't; they stayed. At that moment, they were probably in the room they used for their research.
I approached and knocked on the door. Soon, Susan peeked out. With the current cold, she was wearing gloves, a scarf, and yellow earmuffs that suited her quite well. She was one of the people who felt both happy and sad about staying. Sad because she couldn't spend Christmas with her only family, her aunt, who was too busy. Happy because, at least, she wouldn't have to spend the holidays alone and could enjoy them with her friends.
"Can I come in?" I asked, noticing that the door didn't open enough for me to enter.
"Uh…" Susan turned to look inside, and murmurs could be heard for a few seconds before she peeked out again, her face slightly flushed with embarrassment. "No… sorry, Red."
"I brought gifts," I said with a smile.
"Hmm…" Susan hid again, and this time, besides murmurs, some suspicious noises came from the room. Several seconds passed before the door finally opened. "Alright, you can come in."
I stepped in slowly, observing my surroundings. All the girls were there, wrapped in their winter coats, looking at me with various expressions. Some with expectation, and others—the ones already in a relationship with me—with looks filled with other feelings.
As for the place, it was clear they had tried to hide several things at the last moment. The board where they usually placed photos and wrote down suspects was turned around, the table with their notes and clues was covered with a sheet, and other details betrayed their attempt to disguise things… like the cookies that, at that moment, Hannah had stuffed into her mouth, looking like a squirrel trying to hide its nuts.
"Red… did you bring gifts?!" Tracey asked excitedly, without the slightest hint of subtlety.
"Christmas isn't here yet, don't you think it's better to wait?" Padma questioned, though she also couldn't hide her interest.
"It's nothing big," I replied with a smile. "You'll still get your Christmas presents."
Several of the girls, whether they were in a relationship with me or not, seemed excited by my words.
"What is it? Where is it?" Parvati asked enthusiastically.
"I only have one gift in mind…" Lavender murmured, staring a bit too intently at my crotch. A very clear image was forming in her mind, a certain package with a ribbon, ready to become a great present for all the girls present. And, in nine months, return an even greater gift.
"Wait a moment. Before the gift, I'd like to see how your investigation is going. It might be related to it," I said, trying to calm the girls' excitement.
"That's a secret, Red…" Hermione said, receiving silent approval from the others. These girls were already fully committed to the case and, after so much effort, felt a true sense of responsibility. They had decided to take it on without my intervention.
"I'm not saying I want to interfere, I just want to see how things are going. If you already have clues or something concrete. I don't plan to stop you, in fact, I'm glad you want to solve it on your own. I mean it. If it's not absolutely necessary, I won't intervene and will let you act. I promise." I responded honestly.
Several girls looked at each other, whispering things while occasionally glancing at me. I was surprised by how dedicated they had become to this and the strong bond of cooperation they had formed.
"Alright. We can tell you a few things," Pansy said. Despite her love for me, if I didn't ask for the information directly, she preferred to keep it to herself to prove her abilities.
"Good. So, what have you discovered?" I asked with a smile.
Hermione stood up from her seat and approached the table in the center of the room. She looked at the others as if communicating with them telepathically. Penelope waved her wand, and the sheet covering the table flew… straight toward me, wrapping me up like an improvised ghost costume.
I quickly took it off, not realizing that Penelope had already cast other spells on the table, hiding some things and making others appear.
When I looked again, the table was covered with photographs and illustrations of magical plants and creatures, along with several essays on magic. I observed everything with curiosity before turning my gaze to the girls.
"Our progress regarding the suspect hasn't advanced much. There are too many possibilities, so we decided to focus on another important point: the victims and their situation," Hermione explained.
Just at that moment, the door opened, and we all turned around.
The person who had just entered froze upon feeling our gazes on her. It was Astoria, who visibly blushed under all the attention and seemed to freeze in place.
"Astoria?" I asked, glancing at the girls, especially at Daphne.
"Sorry for being late. I was in the bathroom, and then I ran into..." Her voice grew quieter until she stopped speaking completely. Discreetly, she moved to sit next to my sisters.
I was a bit surprised, to be honest. I had told Ginny and Luna to try befriending Astoria, since she was a good girl and, like them, was in her first year, so having a couple of friends wouldn't hurt. But I had said it almost as a joke... Were they already friends? How did they get along? I was curious.
Even though my interest in Astoria was greater than in most people at school, it wasn't as strong as my interest in the girls here. Still, it wasn't a problem. She was Daphne's sister, and perhaps that was why she now seemed to be involved in this group of young detectives.
*Cough!*
The sound pulled me out of my thoughts.
"Sorry about Astoria, shall we continue?" Daphne apologized.
Her sister's words made Astoria blush even more, but she didn't stop looking at me in a not-so-subtle way, which made Ginny shoot me a look that clearly said: "Is this why you wanted us to befriend her?"
"Yes, well, we were on our current investigation," Hermione resumed the explanation. "We focused on the message that appeared when the first victims were attacked—Filch and his cat."
"THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED.
ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE." Cho pronounced solemnly.
"We've researched the Chamber of Secrets, though information is scarce or practically nonexistent," added Padma.
"Moreover, many of the stories we found are mere legends with no basis, exaggerated tales with no historical backing or reliable sources," Lavender commented in frustration before muttering to herself, "But why can't any of these stories have at least a little bit of sex or rape? So boring..."
"What we could deduce is that the Chamber should contain Slytherin's legacy. It's likely he left something there to get rid of those he deemed unworthy of learning magic," Millicent added, momentarily glancing at me with a hint of nervousness. Since the incident, her attitude had changed; she was more active but also more restless.
"Penelope, Padma, Cho, and Luna have been researching possible forms of magic that could petrify someone in the way the victims ended up," Hermione continued, pointing at the scattered papers on the table.
"But we haven't found any relatively simple magic capable of causing such an extreme effect," Penelope explained, shaking her head. "At least, not one that young wizards could easily use. We're talking about very advanced magic or highly dangerous dark magic."
"For that reason, we believe the petrifications might not be directly caused by the Heir's own magic," Hermione intervened. "Although we haven't completely ruled it out, we think it might be due to a creature or a legacy left by Slytherin."
"Hannah and Susan have been investigating any type of plant or herbal substance that could have a similar petrifying effect," she added, giving them the floor.
Hannah stood up seriously and took a step forward before beginning her report.
"We haven't found any plant currently known to cause this state naturally. The effect is too strong, and no known plant would generate it on its own," she explained.
"There are records of some plants in ancient times that might have achieved it, but most are considered extinct," Susan added.
"However, considering Slytherin lived a thousand years ago, it's not impossible that one of these plants is responsible. We examined the victims and ruled out some options, but we still lack information," she concluded.
"That's why we think it might not be just a plant," Hermione continued, looking at the Slytherin girls.
"We researched potions and poisons," Daphne explained. "If, as Hermione said, it's not a plant itself, it could be a product with petrifying properties."
"If the Chamber of Secrets contained poison or potion recipes, the Heir might be using them," Tracey added. "That would explain why the attacks have long gaps between them instead of taking down all the victims at once. It takes time to prepare them."
"The possibility isn't the strongest, but we can't rule it out yet," Pansy pointed out. "We don't know what kind of legacy Slytherin might have left his heir. If it's a poison or a special brew, it remains within our considerations."
"For that same reason, we also haven't ruled out the possibility of a dark magic spell," Padma added. "It's possible Slytherin left some kind of special enchantment for his heir. Maybe a spell unknown to the rest of the world."
"Lastly, we Gryffindor girls have been investigating magical creatures," Hermione explained. "We know it's said that Slytherin left a monster inside the Chamber. We narrowed our list down to creatures capable of petrifying."
"We considered gorgons, cockatrices, some type of Chinese specter..." Parvati listed.
"But we decided to focus on creatures closer to home," Hermione interrupted. "Looking outside of Europe would make the possibility less likely. Although, thanks to Lavender, another theory arose."
"I thought it might not be a known creature," Lavender said, biting her lip and rubbing her legs together, struggling to stay focused. "I'm not talking about extinct creatures, which we also reviewed, but the possibility that Slytherin might have created some kind of unknown monster. Who knows what kind of twisted hybrids he could have made in his lab."
"For that reason," Hermione concluded, "we added some non-magical animals with paralyzing venom to the list. If they were enhanced with magic, they could have evolved to a point where they went from paralyzing to petrifying directly."
From my seat, I smiled at how much they had worked. The division of tasks had been excellent, and they were much closer to the truth than they realized, even if they didn't know it yet.
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