Chapter 65

"Since everyone is here, let’s begin the second meeting. We’ll start with Pansy—each of us will first state our findings and suspects, then everyone may ask questions and discuss." Harry, hidden beneath his invisibility cloak, listened to Malfoy’s words.

"Alright, this investigation was done together with Malfoy. We analyzed the attacker’s motive," Pansy said. "We believe it’s likely meant to create panic at the school to drive Headmaster Dumbledore away. After he leaves, the one who benefits most is undoubtedly Professor Snape—we all think he’s the most likely candidate to become the next headmaster. Besides, he’s always wanted to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts, but Dumbledore has never let him have it."

"I’d like to ask a question," Cui Ge raised his hand. "Why are you so certain Professor Snape has a high chance of becoming headmaster?"

"This comes from our survey of the Board of Governors," Malfoy said. "Eight of the twelve governors believe Snape is more suitable than McGonagall for the next headmaster, and Snape himself knows this."

"I’d like to ask," Crabbe imitated raising his hand. "Do you think Professor Snape opened the Chamber of Secrets?"

"To be honest, we’re not sure," Malfoy said. "It could be someone else who wants Snape to become headmaster."

"Any other questions?" Pansy asked. Seeing no response, she added, "Then we’ll hold our opinions for now—let’s hear Cui Ge’s findings first."

"Actually, during our investigation, we thought it might have been an outsider wizard who opened the Chamber," Cui Ge said. "We also lean toward the attacker’s goal being to drive Dumbledore away, but the next headmaster might be appointed by the Ministry of Magic. The Ministry is as porous as a sieve, infiltrated by Soviets—they might install a pro-Soviet wizard as headmaster, turning Hogwarts and the entire British magical world into a highly useful pawn in the Cold War."

As soon as he finished speaking, three different voices spoke at once.

"What’s the Cold War?" Pan Xi asked.

"What’s the Soviet Union?" Ginny asked.

"What’s a sieve?" Gao Er asked.

"The Soviet Union is another powerful nation in the world; its struggle with the United States is called the Cold War," Cui Ge explained. "Britain is a key ally of the United States, so the British magical world must be important too. And as for what a sieve is—it doesn’t matter; it’s just a metaphor."

Beneath the invisibility cloak, Harry found it hard to believe that if the goal was to seize control of Hogwarts, attacking innocent students was something the Soviet Union would do.

"If there are no further questions, Ginny, please share your findings," Cui Ge said.

"Our investigation suggests the attacker’s goal isn’t to drive away Headmaster Dumbledore," Ginny said. "She’s probably using the Chamber of Secrets as a cover for her real motive. We find Zhang Qiu’s movements highly suspicious—her roommate says she’s never seen her. And the victim, Colin, is exactly Harry’s fan. I think Zhang Qiu wants to possess Harry all for herself."

After Ginny finished speaking, many in the room fell into thought—including Harry.

Eventually, no one asked questions, and the floor passed to Crabbe.

"We asked Tom, and he hinted that there’s someone who can wander freely through the castle without raising suspicion—we immediately thought of Filch," Crabbe’s eyes gleamed with insight. "Filch wants to punish students he dislikes outside the school rules. We heard he’s deeply annoyed by Colin’s constant use of Muggle cameras, but that doesn’t violate any rule. So he used this opportunity to attack Colin."

"Question," Luna raised her hand. "Then why was Mrs. Norris the first victim?"

"Because Filch wanted to clear himself first," Crabbe said. "He made his own cat the first victim, so now he can punish any student without fear of suspicion."

"Question," Malfoy raised his hand symbolically. "Filch is a Squib—you don’t know that?"

"That’s exactly why he opened the Chamber," Crabbe explained his theory. "Since he’s a Squib and can’t attack anyone himself, he opened the Chamber to use the monster inside to carry out the attacks."

"Also," Gao Er added, "Filch has served as caretaker here for years—it’s entirely possible he stumbled upon the Chamber’s secret."

"Now that everyone has spoken, I suggest this," Malfoy summarized. "Each of us will take turns stating our views on these four suspects, then we’ll discuss what actions to take."

"I’ll speak first," Pansy said. "I think we can group Snape’s supporters and Cui Ge’s Soviets together—those who want to use the Chamber’s opening to drive Dumbledore away. I believe their suspicion is the highest. As for Zhang Qiu, we’ve mentioned this before: Harry barely cares for his own sister since he started seeing her, let alone Colin. And even if Zhang Qiu wanted to possess Harry alone, she couldn’t have opened the Chamber—the monster inside has no reason to attack Ron or Neville. Finally, Filch opening the Chamber is possible, but similarly, his greatest hatred should be toward the Weasley twins—the monster couldn’t have attacked them. That’s all."

"I’ll speak," Cui Ge said. "I lean toward believing Professor Snape may have reached some agreement with the Soviets, making him the biggest beneficiary of the Chamber case. As for Zhang Qiu, as a foreigner, she may not even know where the Chamber is—or perhaps she’s never heard of it at all. Filch is also a very suspicious figure. As for whether Snape or Filch is more likely, I haven’t decided yet—I may need to see the next victim before I can conclude. That’s all."

"I’ll speak," Luna said. "I think Zhang Qiu and Filch are more likely than driving Dumbledore away. In both attacks, the victims weren’t killed—only petrified. If someone had died, driving Dumbledore away would’ve been easier. So Xiangbizhixia , I suspect Zhang Qiu and Filch more—their motives don’t require killing. Intuitively, I think Zhang Qiu is more suspicious than Filch. That’s all."

"I’ll speak," Ivy said. "First, I think Filch and Snape are unlikely suspects—they’ve been at the school too long. If they wanted to carry out this plan, they could’ve done it anytime, not now, when Dumbledore is especially vigilant. The fact that victims weren’t killed doesn’t clear the Soviets’ suspicion—if they were behind this conspiracy, they wouldn’t kill innocent students either. So I believe the Soviets and Zhang Qiu are equally suspicious. Compared to others, I think Luna has always shown strong divination talent—I’m willing to trust her intuition and suspect Zhang Qiu. That’s all."

"I’ll speak," Ginny said. "If Ivy understands the Soviets well enough, then Pansy must understand Snape equally well. Now Ivy suspects the Soviets, and Pansy suspects Snape—I think this proves neither would kill innocent students. So Luna’s logic is flawed, but her intuition is always accurate, so I’d like to rule out Filch. As for which of Zhang Qiu, Snape, or the Soviets is more suspicious, I can’t tell yet—I’ll need more clues. That’s all."

"I’ll speak," Crabbe said. "Perhaps Ivy’s analysis is wrong too—Dumbledore has always been vigilant, so they could’ve acted this year just as well. This year’s Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher is a foreigner—he surely knows nothing about the Chamber. That’s an advantage for Snape or Filch: one less professor involved in the investigation. Zhang Qiu is also a foreigner, so I don’t find her suspicious. My logic tells me Snape and Filch are the most likely suspects, but emotionally, I’d prefer to suspect Filch. That’s all."

"I’ll speak," Gao Er said. "My thought is this: Tom hinted that someone can wander the castle without suspicion—that was his way of pointing to Filch. So beyond everyone’s suspects, we must also consider that Tom himself suspects Filch. Tom knows Zhang Qiu and Snape, but he doesn’t know the Soviets. So I think the most suspicious are Filch and the Soviets. Since I don’t know much about the Soviets, I can’t say which is more likely. That’s all."

"Let me summarize," Malfoy said. "Snape has a complete motive, and the attack logic fits the facts—but his launching this plan this year is unlikely. The Soviets have a complete motive too, and their logic mostly aligns with the facts—but their infiltration into Hogwarts is improbable. Snape and the Soviets working together is nearly impossible—he has his own beliefs. Zhang Qiu has a full motive for the attacks, unrelated to the Chamber, but as a foreigner, she might be acting on partial knowledge, using the Chamber opportunistically. We all want to believe Filch is the culprit and get rid of him, but logically, his chances of being the real killer are very low."

"Now, I think we can discuss our response," Malfoy said. "The attacker could be one of these four suspects—or someone among the eight of us. We need to decide how to act, to prevent the next attack."