Two weeks into the new semester, Alaric had successfully completed the first step to becoming an Animagus.
He joyfully took the Mandrake leaf from his mouth and placed it into a crystal vial. Honestly, this past month had been an ordeal for him.
Not everyone could endure keeping a leaf in their mouth for a whole month.
After preparing the Animagus potion, Alaric once again sneaked into the Forbidden Forest, burying the potion beneath a tall tree, with his unicorn, Lurue, appointed to watch over it.
Now, all he had to do was wait for the next storm. At that time, he could attempt to become an Animagus.
In a few days, Alaric would face another significant event. As a reward for inventing the mobile fireplace technology, the Ministry of Magic would award him the Order of Merlin, Third Class.
In fact, he would become the youngest medal recipient in the history of the Ministry.
On the day of the ceremony, a large crowd gathered, eager to see the youngest medal recipient.
Journalists were keen to interview Alaric, as he had been elusive since the International Wizard Chess Championship.
Even though some had spotted him at the Flourish and Blotts, they couldn't catch him. So, this award ceremony was their best chance to interview him.
However, the ceremony left all journalists disappointed. After delivering his acceptance speech, Alaric immediately retreated backstage and disappeared from the venue.
He didn't attend the post-ceremony banquet. No one knew where he had gone, and the reporters once again lost track of Alaric.
Time quickly approached Halloween, and in the past two months, a significant event occurred in the Muggle world.
Under the leadership of Soros Fund Management, LLC, international speculators stirred up trouble in Europe, successfully shorting the pound.
This resulted in heavy losses for the Bank of England, and Alaric made a fortune from this event. His total assets now reached fifty million US dollars, and he could withdraw the money during the Christmas holiday.
...
After the Halloween feast, Alaric and all the well-fed young wizards returned to their respective common rooms.
However, as they passed the second-floor corridor, they noticed an eerie silence. There were no sounds of laughter from these wizards.
Alaric looked ahead, and the scene in the corridor was quite terrifying.
Between two windows, on a wall about a foot above the ground, were some writings that glowed faintly in the light of burning torches.
"The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the Heir, Beware."
Underneath the message, Mrs. Norris's tail was hanging on the torch bracket, her body stiff as a board, eyes wide open and staring.
Alaric could tell at a glance that she had been petrified.
At this moment, Harry and Ron were standing next to Mrs. Norris, looking dumbfounded.
The surroundings fell silent, and suddenly, a sharp shout broke the stillness: "Enemies of the heir, beware! The next one is you, Mudblood!"
It was Draco Malfoy. He had squeezed to the front of the crowd, his cold eyes now full of life, and his usually bloodless face turned red. He looked at the motionless cat with a malicious smile.
He was indeed an unpleasant guy.
"What happened here? What happened?" Filch was undoubtedly attracted by Malfoy's shout, and he pushed through the crowd with his shoulder.
Then, he saw Mrs. Norris, and he staggered back a few steps, clutching his face in horror.
"My cat! My cat! What happened to Mrs. Norris?" he screamed.
At this point, his bulging eyes saw Harry.
"You!" he screamed, "You! You killed my cat! You killed her! I'll kill you! I'll—"
He lunged at the unfortunate Harry Potter.
Of course, he was quickly stopped, and Dumbledore and the professors arrived in time, taking Harry, Ron, and Filch away, bringing an end to the commotion.
After that, the topic among the young wizards immediately shifted to the Chamber of Secrets.
Back in the common room, it was time for Alaric's Defense Against the Dark Arts class.
"Alaric, how about you tell everyone about the heir and the Chamber of Secrets in this class?" As soon as they sat down by the fireplace, Hermione eagerly suggested.
Others agreed with this idea. The recent incident was truly frightening, and they urgently wanted some reassurance.
Alaric readily nodded and began his lecture.
"Before I begin the story of the Chamber, I want to make two points clear," Alaric looked around at the concerned faces of the young wizards and spoke loudly.
"First, Mrs. Norris is not dead; she's merely petrified. That's why she's stiff, like she's frozen. Petrification can be reversed. Who can tell me how to reverse petrification?"
Hermione immediately raised her hand. Even in Alaric's private Defense Against the Dark Arts class, she was enthusiastic about answering questions.
"Miss Granger."
"It's the Restorative Draught, made from Mandrake leaves. It can reverse petrification."
"Absolutely correct," Alaric smiled at her.
"Unfortunately, I can't award points to Ravenclaw, but I can give you some good news. Remember in our Herbology class at the beginning of the school year when we repotted the Mandrake?
Well, those Mandrakes will be mature soon, and then Mrs. Norris will be back to normal. So, there's no need to worry."
He saw everyone breathe a sigh of relief—not because they were concerned about Mrs. Norris, but because they were worried about being petrified themselves.
Then Alaric stated his second conclusion: "Harry couldn't be the one responsible for petrifying Mrs. Norris.
Ordinary Petrificus Totalus spell can't achieve such an effect. It requires extremely powerful dark magic.
Considering Harry's abilities, it's clear he couldn't accomplish this. He's too weak."
Laughter erupted around, and if Harry were present, he wouldn't be happy about Alaric defending him like this.
"So, who could have done it?" someone shouted from below.
"Is it Snape?"
"Or is it the heir of Slytherin?"
"Could it be the monster in the Chamber?"
"Hurry up, Alaric, tell us about it."
Alaric then began to share his thoughts on the Chamber of Secrets and the heir of Slytherin.
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