Chapter 120

On Christmas Day, snow had been falling since midnight, exhausting the owls, who had to deliver gifts through the storm all night before finally getting a brief rest at dawn.

When Silven woke up, he found a delivery owl fast asleep in his dormitory, its talons still clutching a long package.

Silven glanced at the address on it.

It was a Christmas gift from his grandfather, sent from Romania.

Given the distance and the heavy snow, no wonder the owl was so exhausted.

Silven found an empty box, poured in some of Tom's snacks and water, and placed it beside the owl—perfect for when it woke up.

Then Silven took down the package and opened it… inside were several dragonwood branches of varying lengths.

Of course, a package from Romania— he should've guessed it would be this. Silven happily put it away.

These dragonwood branches arrived just in time; Hagrid had given him a large bag of wand-core materials, which he could now use.

Speaking of Hagrid, his gift was a large packet of homemade toffee, which tasted decent but was overly sweet and stuck to the teeth.

When Silven arrived at the common room, he saw Hermione and Harry and the others unwrapping their gifts by the fireplace.

"Merry Christmas," Hermione said, handing Silven a beautifully wrapped box—inside was a copy of *Transfiguration: Risks and Responses*.

"You've been reading books on Transfiguration; the people at Flourish and Blotts recommended this one to me."

Ron's gift was a Quidditch photo album, with all the people inside moving; when Silven opened the first page, he saw a man diving on a broomstick, then suddenly pulling up just before hitting the ground.

Beside it appeared a line of golden text… 【The Lonski Feint, used to deceive the opposing Seeker by creating a false impression to gain advantage.】

It seemed to be a highlights reel of Quidditch plays.

Harry gave him a set of tools, including carving knives and drills.

"Thank you," Silven said, and pulled out his own gift—identical for Harry, Hermione, and Ron: wand stickers made from their photos.

A set of seven, and more importantly, they were specially made—would not peel off even after two months on a wand.

"This is amazing!" Hermione immediately stuck hers onto her wand, right beside the original Gilderoy Lockhart gold sticker.

As a fan of Lockhart, Hermione had bought *The Magical Me*—and even the hidden edition with the gold sticker.

Harry and Ron liked theirs too.

These stickers were now popular at school, but everyone else had professors or magical creatures; having one of your own felt truly special.

Like finding your own card in a Chocolate Frog.

Of course, Silven's sticker wasn't as famous as a Chocolate Frog card, but the meaning was the same.

And it was also a matter of prestige.

"If you're willing to sign it, maybe Ginny and Colin would pay a fortune for it," Silven said with a smile to Harry.

"No way," Harry shook his head, looking at the sticker of himself holding a wand, and asked: "Was this taken at the Dueling Club?"

"Yes, all of them were," Silven said. "When Lockhart was carried off, I borrowed the camera and took a few random pictures."

"Colin Creevey's camera—I promised him one of your signed stickers, but he never came to ask for it."

"Because Colin's no longer interested in me," Harry said, his tone light. "I haven't seen him on the way to class in ages. He must've realized I'm not the real Chosen One and got disappointed."

"How could you not be?" Ron said. "Everyone knows you defeated You-Know-Who—there's no doubt about it."

"Everyone knows," Harry smiled, "but not me. I have no idea how I defeated Voldemort…"

"Please, don't say that name," Ron shuddered violently, nearly dropping his wand.

"Sorry," Harry said—he'd spoken without thinking, not realizing Ron's reaction.

"If you knew what he'd done, you'd feel the same as I do," Ron told Hermione, who was watching him. "It's terrifying. Most people won't even say his name—only call him You-Know-Who."

Hermione frowned, said nothing, but didn't argue with Ron.

Though she couldn't understand why, it was true: many wizards, including some professors, dared not speak Voldemort's name. Only a very few were exceptions.

Like Harry, and Silven—he'd heard the name too, but reacted with calm.

"By the way, where are Fred and George?" Silven looked around the common room.

"They went out, said they're preparing a surprise for tonight's Christmas dinner," Ron said, pulling out a set of wizard chess. "I bet they've got something sneaky planned. Want to play a game?"

"No thanks," Silven declined, sitting in another armchair and beginning to work on the branches he'd collected these past days.

By the time he'd finished shaping all the branches into rough wand shafts, it was already night.

Fewer people than ever had chosen to stay at school for the holidays; even with professors and students combined, they didn't fill half a table. Yet the Christmas atmosphere remained just as warm as ever.

The Great Hall held a dozen Christmas trees dusted with silver frost; the ceiling hung with garlands of mistletoe and holly, and enchanted snow—warm and dry—drifted gently down.

Because of the sparse crowd, Hagrid had even appeared in the Hall, sitting among the professors, watching Silven with concern.

When Dumbledore entered the Hall, Hagrid immediately stood. "Headmaster Dumbledore, the papers are full of lies—Silven's a Gryffindor; how could he possibly be the Heir of Slytherin?"

"Calm yourself, Hagrid. I trust Mr. Ollivander completely," Dumbledore waved him back to his seat, glancing at Silven.

But Silven hadn't noticed their exchange—he sat expressionless, staring at a copy of *The Daily Prophet* on the table.

The front page showed a clear image of Lockhart as he'd been found, with the words written on his body.

*Hogwarts Unearths Chamber of Death: What Is Dumbledore Hiding?! *

【Lately, strange events have plagued Hogwarts. Defense Against the Dark Arts professor Gilderoy Lockhart seemed to have uncovered the truth, yet mysteriously attacked after contacting our paper.】

【Insiders reveal the Chamber may be a secret weapon left by Salazar Slytherin, designed to purify the school by eliminating those unworthy of magic (Muggle-born students). Yet Hogwarts appears determined to conceal this shocking truth.】

…

This newspaper had been brought by Hermione in the afternoon; the article was long, but she'd marked the key passages with her quill.

【According to insiders, the attacks are linked to a boy—a child from a wand-making family—who appears deeply entangled with the legendary Chamber.】

…

"We're too scared to return to school," a young wizard wept. "He told us to shut up and threatened to make us never use a wand again."

Does this mean he's the one who opened the Chamber? Did he kill Gilderoy Lockhart? Will he keep killing?

"Dumbledore knows all this and does nothing—even when students are hurt on school grounds, he ignores it," an angry parent declared. "He doesn't deserve to be Headmaster of Hogwarts!"

……

Silven glanced at the byline — Rita Skeeter. After being chased off by Tom last time, she hadn't shown up again, and he hadn't expected her to reappear before him in this manner.

Moreover, he didn't know where she'd gotten her information, but she actually believed he was the one who had opened the Chamber.

"Silven, you… we'll help you clear your name," Hermione said. "You're a Gryffindor — how could you possibly have opened Slytherin's Chamber?"

"Right, and you were also the first person to be attacked." Harry said from the side. "The paper didn't mention it, but a lot of us know, and the professors do too. You wouldn't release a monster to attack yourself."

"Going on about purging Muggle-born wizards — what utter nonsense." Ron took a hard bite of the Christmas pudding. "If even Ollivander doesn't qualify to learn magic, Hogwarts might as well just shut down!"

Everyone felt Silven couldn't possibly be the one who opened the Chamber — the newspaper was talking complete rubbish.

Silven said nothing, only glancing again at the picture at the very top. It was very clear, the angle just right to show every single word on his body — clearly the work of a Hogwarts student, sent to the paper During the break.

"Silven, what if we also write a clarification piece?" Hermione asked. "I'll go write a letter to the Daily Prophet right now!"

"No, no clarification needed." Silven stopped her, his fingers lightly resting on the photograph in the paper. "Maybe I really can open Slytherin's Chamber?"

"What are you saying?" Hermione frowned. "This isn't the time for jokes."

"A Gryffindor opened Slytherin's Chamber?" Fred across from them couldn't help laughing out loud. "That's the funniest joke I've ever heard."

"Then why not let more people hear it." Silven said with a smile. "Fine, I'll lay my cards on the table — I am the Heir of Slytherin."

The Weasley twins laughed even louder, doubling over in a way that drew everyone's gaze.

"Then do you know where the Chamber is?" George asked, putting on a solemn face.

"Of course I do." Silven said. "I also know that getting into the Chamber requires a very special method — a special ability only Salazar Slytherin and his heir could master."

"And what ability is that?" Fred asked.

"That doesn't matter." Silven said. "Because Salazar was wrong — every wizard has the right to learn magic, not only the pure-bloods.

"Therefore I've decided that, before term starts, in the name of the Heir of Slytherin, I will destroy the Chamber completely."

"As heirs of Gryffindor…" Fred and George struggled to hold back their laughter, doing their best to put on a serious expression,

"We'd be glad to help."

"If you're willing." Silven waved a hand. "Then first help me write all this down and send it to the Daily Prophet."

"No problem."

"Leave it to us!"

Fred and George said with a laugh, immediately producing parchment and quills and, sprawled between the pudding and the pies, began writing the letter.

"Wait, wait a moment…" Hermione finally caught on, saying hurriedly, "You're not serious, are you?"

"What else?" Silven blinked. "And you're the one who suggested I write a clarification letter to the Daily Prophet."

"That's not what I meant!" Hermione said loudly. "This isn't the time for jokes — have you thought about what happens if you can't keep those promises…

"Finding the Chamber before term starts, and destroying it too — that's simply impossible. The professors can't even do it. You'll become a laughingstock."

"What does it matter." Silven said carelessly. "Only a joke magazine would put that ridiculous article by Rita Skeeter on the front page — if I tell a joke in a joke magazine, what's wrong with that?"

"Joke magazine? Isn't it the Daily Prophet?" Ron asked instinctively. It took him a good while before he realized… Silven was mocking the Daily Prophet as a joke.

"Exactly — just telling a joke." Fred and George were far too excited, abandoning even the Christmas pudding and running straight out of the castle.

They had to think carefully about how to play the part of a "very willing-to-be-named insider."

……

(End of chapter)