[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-wizard-war-at-hogwarts":3,"chapter-wizard-war-at-hogwarts-wizard-war-at-hogwarts-chapter-54":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Wizard War at Hogwarts",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2358027,4612,"Chapter 54","wizard-war-at-hogwarts-chapter-54",54,"\u003Cp>After the new week passed, no one disturbed Harry again, and he finally managed to quietly finish an essay on Monday night—a small but welcome victory for him. Later, he heard the notebook had returned to Cui Ge and Luna’s hands, beginning a new rotation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That meant they had ultimately selected four groups of eight people, rotating weekly, so each group got one week per month. This way, even if the notebook truly was a dark magic artifact, its harm could be maximally minimized. Harry thought their approach was wise, but he still kept a cautious eye on the matter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Life settled back into its usual rhythm. Harry had initially been interested in dueling, but when he felt himself hitting a plateau, he turned back to potion-making. Undeniably, despite Snape’s consistently poor attitude, he possessed genuine expertise and had given Harry considerable help. Combined with the fact that the Cauldron of Bouncing never exploded, Harry was now able to attempt brewing more advanced potions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Quidditch training continued steadily. After several practice matches, Harry Yinyin  felt he was the strongest Seeker among all four teams. Only Gryffindor had placed their bets on him; the Seekers of other teams were often required to coordinate with their squads, rarely able to focus solely on hunting the Snitch like Harry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Until a Sunday evening a few days before Halloween, Harry was tinkering with the Cauldron of Bouncing in his dormitory, attempting to brew a powerful potion he’d read about in a book—but ended up with nothing but a charred mess, leaving him deeply displeased.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ron returned, his hair damp, his body faintly scented—as if he’d just bathed. Seeing Harry’s sour expression, he burst out cheerfully: “Hey Harry, you’ll never guess what I just saw!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What?” Harry waved his wand, clearing the garbage from the cauldron.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I was practicing dueling with Neville, and Hannah and Hermione were there too. Honestly, Hermione’s being so awkward—she said that thing last time, yet now she keeps drifting back to them.” Ron said, “But that’s not the point. Donald showed up later and suggested we find a quiet spot to try sword dueling. Donald’s really thoughtful—he probably sensed I was uncomfortable, so he took the two girls away.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So you two just had a sword duel?” Harry’s eyes lit up instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yeah, of course, we used wooden swords and no one got hurt—but that’s not the point!” Ron paused for effect. “We saw Cui Ge and Luna by the Forbidden Forest. They’d stolen a chicken from Hagrid and were about to roast it!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Poor Hagrid,” Harry murmured sympathetically, though his mind was already savoring the taste of roasted chicken.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But the strangest part? Cui Ge, right in front of us, proudly announced he and Luna were dating.” Ron continued. “Neville’s face turned awful—he’s got his own love life in chaos, and then he sees them so happily paired up. He must’ve been crushed.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That explains why you came back first. Where’s he?” Harry asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He said he wanted to take a walk. Looked thoroughly downcast.” Ron pulled a grease-stained paper parcel from his robe. “I brought you a chicken wing. Cui Ge made it himself—authentic Texas BBQ chicken!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ron, not all Texans know how to cook Texas food.” Harry corrected as he gnawed on the wing. “Besides, Cui Ge said he lives in San Francisco.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s all the same.” Ron laughed it off. “I tell you, Neville had the worst day today. By rights, only Hannah should’ve been there, but Hermione showed up too—he was distracted the whole time. Professor finally helped him out, I beat him in the duel, and then Cui Ge went and showed off his whole romance.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“True.” Harry recalled Hannah and Hermione’s personalities. “No matter who Neville chooses, he’ll never be as happy as Cui Ge and Luna. Hermione’s a conceited bookworm, and Hannah’s too soft and indecisive…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His voice trailed off as footsteps seemed to approach the door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Neville returned, his robe still dirty, unwashed. He wore his usual expression; Harry couldn’t tell how he felt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Harry, Ron,” Neville began. “I ran into Nearly Headless Nick and chatted with him a bit. Then Filch caught me—but he didn’t punish me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wow, that’s amazing.” Harry knew at once Neville was in good spirits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I found out Filch’s secret. I’ll tell you later. Nick invited us to his Deathday Party—on Halloween. Interested?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ron looked excited, but Harry tugged him subtly and declined: “I think I’ll pass. I’m a bit afraid of ghosts.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Now that you mention it, I’m a little scared too. You and Hannah go.” Ron vaguely understood Harry’s meaning—this precious chance was better used to invite a girl on a date, and if it were a date like this, Hermione probably wouldn’t be able to crash it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alright.” Neville smiled. “Want to hear Filch’s secret?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Of course, don’t keep us in suspense!” Harry urged curiously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He’s taking an online correspondence course in the Charm of Upward Clarity. In other words, he’s probably a Squib.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Whoa—you mean he can’t do magic?” Harry paused, then realized—he’d never once seen Filch cast even a single proper spell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s why I wasn’t punished,” Neville said. “He’s afraid I’ll tell. Don’t you dare rat me out!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Of course,” Ron grinned wickedly. “Next time I threaten him with this, I’ll say Malfoy told me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a few more casual chats, they went to bed. The next day, Harry noticed Hermione still awkwardly hovering near Neville. He began to doubt whether his and Ron’s plan would work.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That night, Zhang Qiu suddenly asked Harry: “Are you going to Nick’s Deathday Party?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why did you get invited too?” Harry asked, puzzled. “I don’t really want to go—I mean, Neville’s going with Hannah.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alright, Helena invited me. If you’re not going, I won’t go either.” Zhang Qiu said casually, then bent back over her homework.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harry recalled that Lady Helena was Ravenclaw’s ghost. He suddenly realized—if all four house ghosts were attending the party and each invited students, Neville’s private moment might be ruined.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, “only two people” was very different from “only two people.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On Halloween night, Harry saw Hermione sitting quietly at the table, while Neville and Hannah were nowhere to be seen. Harry’s heart eased—he and Ron were both glad to see this outcome. They enjoyed their entire dinner with laughter and chatter, just as they were about to head upstairs, when they noticed a commotion ahead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harry pushed through the crowd to the front. He saw Filch’s cat hanging upside down from a torch bracket, stiff and lifeless, a large puddle of water glinting beneath it. But what truly froze the students and sparked murmurs were the two lines of blood on the wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Descendants of the enemy, beware.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Qiu squeezed beside him and sighed: “It was bound to happen.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is this Voldemort’s doing?” Harry whispered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Voldemort!” a Hufflepuff student screamed in terror: “My family has been pure-blood wizards for nine generations! Don’t target me!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t be afraid,” Harry said loudly. “Voldemort’s target is clearly me. No matter what scheme he’s planning, I’ll fight him to the end!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Come on, children,” Donald appeared out of nowhere. He noted the time, place, and victim hadn’t changed—and his tone was almost casual. “Let’s not scare ourselves. Maybe this is just a prank against Filch? Everyone, go back to bed. The professors will investigate. Let me see… this cat’s only petrified. Not dead.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The arriving professors confirmed this, comforted the students, and told them to get some rest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harry felt much more at ease. So far, the Chamber of Secrets was just a terrifying term, and the victim merely a scrawny, nasty cat. Though the blood words were frightening, they didn’t necessarily imply a death threat. If Voldemort truly intended something horrific, even if no student had been harmed today, he wouldn’t have left the cat alive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He quickly pieced things together and whispered to Zhang Qiu: “I’ve figured it out. This is probably what Voldemort plans to do at Hogwarts. Undoubtedly, he’ll create some commotion—but not too much. At least, the students shouldn’t be in real danger.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hmm?” Zhang Qiu turned to look at him curiously. “What makes you think that?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Just like we analyzed over the summer—he needs Hogwarts to have an incident to draw Dumbledore’s attention. But the only people he can use here are students from Death Eater families. What kind of shocking thing can one student do? So he needs to exaggerate this small-scale chaos, making us believe it’s a terrifying conspiracy. He used Dobby to make me expect trouble at school, and now these blood words—if I hadn’t figured it out, I’d be terrified right now.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Qiu frowned in thought, then her face cleared with sudden understanding. “But you must stay alert. If he only means to scare you and you’re cautious, you lose nothing. But if he truly intends to kill someone and you ignore it—that’s serious.”\u003C\u002Fp>",1493,"2026-06-21T04:54:27.874Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","97dd5182a7c4632e69a68d02d9f54a62dc826214f569104afb4e86b23a31aca3","wizard-war-at-hogwarts-chapter-55","wizard-war-at-hogwarts-chapter-53",528,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fwizard-war-at-hogwarts-cover.jpg"]