"Weasley, I think you need to learn when to keep your mouth shut!" Snape waved his wand and a grayish-white light hit Ron.
Ron was horrified to find himself unable to speak, and Snape left with a satisfied nod.
Yvonne took a moment to mourn Ron's fate, while trying to guess how things were going.
Dumbledore's refusal to allow them to return to their dormitories is proof that the two girls who did not show up for class have not yet been found, or that… something else happened along the way!
Ivan lay quietly in his sleeping bag, going over and over the events that had transpired since the disappearance of his Horcrux.
…
By the next day, word of the search last night had spread, and Ivan was once again surprised by what he found.
One of the two junior girls who did not attend class was attacked and knocked out cold.
The remaining Slytherin girl, a second year, has not been found and is presumed to be missing temporarily…
Ivan grew increasingly uneasy at this news, and was now almost certain that the Horcrux was in the possession of this Slytherin girl.
However, when he secretly used the Marauder's Map in the morning to check, the entire school could not find the other party's name, which meant two possibilities.
Either the girl was hiding in a secret room or she was dead…
After absorbing the life force of at least three people, Ivan guessed that Tom Riddle's power was nearing its resurrection, and that this Slytherin girl was probably dispensable to him, and it was not impossible for him to abandon her…
Ivan was not afraid of the sixteen-year-old Lord Voldemort in terms of strength. The memories of a Horcrux and its true self were not shared, which meant that Tom would not be able to match up to his true self after his resurrection.
While discussing various charms with Horcruxes, Ivan had determined that Tom Riddle's Charms were around Level 5, which was not too far off from his own.
With the addition of a few magical tools and two special blood magic spells, Ivan felt that he should be able to win.
The only thing to consider is how to find Tom…
Yvonne tried to analyse the similarities between the victims, hoping to find something, but to no avail.
Their houses were different, and their ages varied. He had even asked them about it, and they did not interact much.
Ivan frowned in thought as he ate his lunch in the Great Hall.
As word of the search spread, many young wizards and witches discussed the previous night's attack and speculated that the missing Slytherin girl was the Heir of the Chamber of Secrets.
Many more were terrified that they would be the next to be attacked.
George and Fred took the opportunity to come up with a charm that was said to be effective against attacks, and it was so popular that most girls would have bought one to wear.
After lunch, Ivan checked his schedule. He had two Defence Against the Dark Arts classes in the afternoon.
Ivan was prepared to listen to the story all afternoon, but was surprised when Lockhart did not ask Neville to perform for him.
Over the course of the two lessons, Lockhart bragged about how he had gone easy on Snape in order to save face on the Duelling Ground last night, and also showed off his knowledge of magic to the second year students.
Ivan thought this was strange, but then he remembered the books of magic in Lockhart's office.
After class, Ivan was walking to the Great Hall,
In the corridor, the witches chattered about today's Defence Against the Dark Arts class and, of course, the duel between Lockhart and Snape last night.
They firmly believed that Professor Lockhart was so good that he would soon find his attacker, just as he had done every time he took a risk!
Ivan listened to their conversation and had a vague idea of what was going on, but couldn't seem to get a handle on it.
"That man is a complete liar!" Hermione muttered under her breath, glaring at Ivan in annoyance.
"It must have been you who told Lockhart about the lessons in magic, mustn't it?"
"It's not that. Lockhart probably read it in a book somewhere." Ivan shook his head, frowning as if he had been missing something…
Suddenly, Ivan heard the system mission-completed announcement in his head.
Efraim found it strange when she opened the system list and was surprised to find that her Legendary Points had increased. She looked at the mission column and saw that one of the missions had indeed changed.
[Mission: The Dark Lord's Wish (completed)
Objective: Tom Riddle teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts directly or indirectly
Task Reward: Legendary Point *1 (unlocked)
Task description: Although the Dark Lord has completed this task, your reward will not be reduced…]
Ivan spoke through gritted teeth as he read the mission instructions, which seemed to mock him.
"Lorhart… it's you?!"
Yvonne was puzzled. Lockhart was in the Great Hall yesterday, so he shouldn't have had the chance to attack the girls.
Unless… Ivan thought of the possibility that Lockhart had gone upstairs instead of heading to the Great Hall on the ground floor.
Seeing this, Ivan immediately ran towards Lockhart…
Hermione wondered where Ivan was going in such a hurry when it was almost time for dinner.
The little witch frowned, remembering Ivan's earlier words, and immediately realised something.
Although she had yet to work out how Ivan judged the situation, Hermione gritted her teeth and increased her pace, intending to report the incident to Dumbledore in the Great Hall.
After all, Ivan had told her that the attack was most likely related to You-Know-Who!
In her opinion, the only one who could help Ivan now was Dumbledore…
…
Meanwhile, Ivan tracked Lockhart's movements with the Marauder's Map, and soon discovered that Lockhart seemed to be heading to the abandoned girls' bathroom, the entrance to the Slytherin Chamber.
Ivan had no idea why Lockhart would choose this moment to approach the Chamber of Secrets, but it didn't matter. He could get everything out of him if he caught him.
As Lockhart's name disappeared through the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets, Ivan put the Marauder's Map away and gripped his wand.
Unbeknownst to Ivan, shortly after he looked away from the Marauder's Map, a familiar name appeared in a corridor on the eighth floor of the castle…