Chapter 65: The Second Roundtable Meeting

"Since everyone is here, let's start the second meeting. Let's start with Pan Xi; each of us will first talk about our investigation results and suspects, and then everyone can ask questions and discuss based on these results." Harry hid under the Invisibility Cloak, listening to Malfoy's speech.

"Alright, this investigation was done by Malfoy and me; we analyzed the attacker's motives," Pan Xi said. "We think it is very likely to create panic in the school, so as to drive away Headmaster Deng Buliduo, and the person who benefits the most after the Headmaster leaves is undoubtedly Professor Snape. We all feel that he is very likely to serve as the next Headmaster. Moreover, he has always wanted to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts, but Deng Buliduo has never let him get his wish."

"I want to ask a question," Trig raised his hand to signal. "Why are you sure that Professor Snape will have a high probability of succeeding as Headmaster?"

"This is the research result on the Board of Governors," Malfoy said. "Eight out of the twelve governors feel that Snape is more suitable to be the next Headmaster than McGonagall, and Snape himself knows this."

"I want to ask a question," Crabbe learned to raise his hand. "Do you think it was Professor Snape who opened the Chamber of Secrets?"

"To be honest, not sure," Malfoy said. "It could be other people who hope Snape succeeds as Headmaster."

"Any more questions?" Pan Xi asked. Seeing no one answer, she said again: "Then let's express our opinions later; let's let Trig talk about his investigation results first."

"Actually, when we investigated, we thought it was possible that a wizard from outside the school opened the Chamber of Secrets," Trig said. "We also tend to think that the attacker's goal is to drive away Headmaster Deng Buliduo, but the next Headmaster might be appointed by the Ministry of Magic. The Ministry of Magic is infiltrated by the Soviets like a sieve; they might arrange a pro-Soviet wizard to be Headmaster, so that Hogwarts and the entire British Wizarding World would become a very useful card in the Cold War."

As soon as the words fell, three different voices sounded together.

"What is the Cold War?" Pan Xi asked.

"What is the Soviet Union?" Jin Ni asked.

"What is a sieve?" Gao Er asked.

"The Soviet Union is another powerful country in the world; its struggle with the United States is called the Cold War," Trig explained. "Britain is an important ally of the United States, so the British Wizarding World should also be very important. And, what a sieve is is not important; that's just a metaphor."

Harry under the Invisibility Cloak was somewhat unwilling to believe that if one had to attack innocent students to take charge of Hogwarts, this was not something the Soviet Union in his heart could do.

"If there are no other questions, Jin Ni, you talk about your investigation results," Trig said.

"We investigated and didn't feel that the attacker's goal was aimed at Headmaster Deng Buliduo," Jin Ni said. "She should just be using the name of the Chamber of Secrets to cover up her true purpose. We feel that Zhang Qiu's whereabouts are very suspicious; her roommates say they never see her, and the attacked Colin happened to be Harry's fan. I think Zhang Qiu must want to possess Harry alone."

After Jin Ni finished speaking, many people present fell into deep thought, including Harry.

In the end, no one asked questions, and the right to speak was passed on to Crabbe in turn.

"We asked Tang Mu, and he hinted to us that there are people who can wander around the castle freely without causing any suspicion, and we immediately thought of Filch," Crabbe's eyes flashed with wisdom. "Filch wants to punish students he doesn't like outside of school rules. We heard that he is very dissatisfied with Colin's behavior of fiddling with Muggle cameras, but this didn't trigger school rules. So he used this to attack Colin."

"Question," Lu Na raised her hand. "Then why was Mrs. Norris the first to be attacked?"

"Because Filch wanted to remove himself first," Crabbe said. "He let his cat become the first victim, and then he could punish any student unscrupulously, no longer worrying about being suspected."

"Question," Malfoy raised his hand symbolically. "Filch is a Squib; you wouldn't not know this, right?"

"This is precisely the reason why he opened the Chamber of Secrets," Crabbe explained his conjecture. "Precisely because he is a Squib and doesn't have the ability to attack others himself, he had to open the Chamber of Secrets and use the monster in the Chamber of Secrets to complete the attack."

"And," Gao Er added, "Filch has served as the caretaker here for many years; it's very possible that he accidentally discovered the secret of the Chamber of Secrets."

"Then, after everyone has finished stating, I suggest this," Malfoy summarized. "Everyone speaks in turn, talking about their views on these four suspects, and then we discuss how to take action."

"I'll speak first," Pan Xi said. "I think we can actually classify Professor Snape's supporters and the Soviets mentioned by Trig together, that is, people who hope to use the opening of the Chamber of Secrets to drive away Headmaster Deng Buliduo. I think these people are the most suspicious. As for Zhang Qiu, it was mentioned last time; in order to date her, Harry doesn't even care much about his sister, so it's even more impossible to pay attention to Colin. Moreover, even if Zhang Qiu wants to monopolize Harry, it's impossible to open the Chamber of Secrets; the monster in the Chamber of Secrets has no reason to attack Ron or Neville. Finally, I think the possibility of Filch opening the Chamber of Secrets exists, but similarly, the people he hates most should be the Wei Wei Silai twins; the monster in the Chamber of Secrets cannot attack the Weasleys. My speech is over."

"I'll speak," Trig said. "I tend to think that Professor Snape might have reached some agreement with the Soviets, so he became the biggest beneficiary in the Chamber of Secrets case. As for Zhang Qiu, I think as a foreign visitor, she might not find where the Chamber of Secrets is, and might not even have heard of the Chamber of Secrets at all. Then Filch might also be a very suspicious object. As for who is more suspicious between Snape and Filch, I haven't thought about it yet; perhaps I have to wait until I see the next victim to make a decision. My speech is over."

"I'll speak," Lu Na said. "I think compared to driving away Headmaster Deng Buliduo, perhaps the possibilities of Zhang Qiu and Filch are greater. Because in the two attacks, the attacked people didn't die, but were only petrified. If there were deaths, then it would be easier for them to drive away Deng Buliduo, so by comparison, I suspect Zhang Qiu and Filch more; their motives don't need to kill the victims. Intuitively, I think Zhang Qiu is more suspicious than Filch. My speech is over."

"I'll speak," Ivy said. "First of all, I think the suspicions of Filch and Snape are not great, because they have been in school for a long time; if they wanted to execute this plan, they could have done it long ago, and wouldn't choose this time when Deng Buliduo is very vigilant. And the fact that the attacked people didn't die is not enough to clear the suspicions of the Soviets; if the Soviets execute this conspiracy, they definitely won't kill innocent students, so I think the suspicions of the Soviets and Zhang Qiu are equally great. By comparison, I think Lu Na usually shows great talent in Divination, and I am willing to believe her intuition to suspect Zhang Qiu. My speech is over."

"I'll speak," Jin Ni said. "I think if Ivy knows enough about the Soviet Union, then correspondingly, Pan Xi should know Snape very well. Now Ivy chose to suspect the Soviet Union, and Pan Xi chose to suspect Snape; I think this is enough to show that they are not people who will kill innocent students. So Lu Na's logic is wrong, but her intuition has always been accurate, so I want to exclude Filch. As for who is more suspicious among Zhang Qiu, Snape, and the Soviets, I can't distinguish for the time being; perhaps I have to wait until there are further clues. My speech is over."

"I'll speak," Crabbe said. "Perhaps Ivy's analysis is also wrong; Deng Buliduo is very vigilant at any time, so they can completely do it this year. This year's Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher is a foreigner; he must not know about the Chamber of Secrets at all. This is the advantage of Snape or Filch, missing a professor who can participate in the investigation. And Zhang Qiu is also a foreigner, so I don't think Zhang Qiu is suspicious. My logic tells me Snape and Filch are the most suspicious, and emotionally I prefer to suspect Filch. My speech is over."

"I'll speak," Gao Er said. "My thought is, Tang Mu hinted to us whether there are people who can wander around the castle without causing suspicion; this is him hinting to us that Filch is very suspicious, so compared to everyone's suspects, we also have to consider that the person Tang Mu suspects is also Filch. Tang Mu also knows Zhang Qiu and Snape, but he doesn't know about the Soviet Union, so I think the most suspicious are Filch and the Soviets. Because I don't know much about the Soviet Union, I dare not say who is more suspicious. My speech is over."

"Let me summarize," Malfoy said. "Snape has a complete motive, and the attack logic also fits the facts, but the possibility of him launching this plan this school year is not great; the Soviets also have a complete motive, and the attack logic can basically match the facts, but the possibility of them infiltrating Hogwarts is not great; the possibility of Snape and the Soviets joining forces is minimal, because he has his own beliefs; Zhang Qiu's motive for launching the attack is complete, and it has almost nothing to do with the Chamber of Secrets, but considering she is a foreigner, it is possible that she used the Chamber of Secrets in a state of half-understanding; we are all willing to believe that Filch is the murderer and drive him away, but logically speaking, the possibility that he is really the murderer is actually very small."

"Then, I think we can discuss countermeasures next," Malfoy said. "The attacker is likely to be one of the four suspects we discussed, and it is also possible that they are lurking among the eight of us. Now we have to discuss how to make targeted measures to avoid someone being attacked next time." ===== CHAPTER 66 =====