Chapter 76

“Let’s reconsider this,” Malfoy said. “Clearly, the one who opened the Chamber wasn’t merely targeting Muggle-borns—Hermione Granger is still perfectly fine. From a higher perspective, what does the Chamber incident signify at Hogwarts? Perhaps we shouldn’t just ask who opened the Chamber, but also who will resolve it. And behind all this, is there some deeper political maneuvering at play?”

“I think,” Pansy said, “the struggle around the Chamber is really a Board of Governors’ game. The Board wants to use this incident to undermine Dumbledore’s authority, while Dumbledore is betting that Harry will help him solve it. As long as Harry grows strong, I believe Dumbledore wouldn’t mind reducing his own visibility.”

“Sorry, I can’t help but chime in,” Ginny said. “I want to know—what do all these power and prestige things even mean?”

“Let me explain,” Cui Ge said. “In the British wizarding world, there are three forces: the Ministry of Magic, the Death Eaters, and the Order of the Phoenix. The Ministry is strictly neutral—it only maintains surface-level order and enforces the Statute of Secrecy. The Death Eaters represent pure-blood wizards’ political demands, led by the once-dominant Dark Lord. The Order of the Phoenix is Dumbledore’s social group, opposing the Death Eaters.”

He wasn’t wrong, Harry thought. Cui Ge, perhaps viewing this British situation from an American standpoint, didn’t judge it through simplistic good-versus-evil morals—he simply described the reality objectively.

“But at the same time, Dumbledore is a very unusual figure,” Cui Ge continued. “He wields considerable influence and has accumulated many honors since becoming headmaster of Hogwarts. When an individual’s personal authority surpasses that of the entire government, social order inevitably becomes unstable. For now, the Ministry likely leans slightly toward the Death Eaters—they hope to diminish Dumbledore’s influence.”

That made sense. Harry immediately thought of Stalin. By analogy, perhaps Dumbledore himself wouldn’t do anything wrong, but his disciples might unconsciously disregard the Ministry.

Just like now, Harry reflected. Even if he himself was under Dumbledore’s spotlight, even if his fate to defeat Voldemort was so crucial, to Crabbe and Goyle, his actions were still wrong. If their friend—even Malfoy—knew Crabbe and Goyle were unconscious in a cold cupboard, wouldn’t they feel pity and worry for them?

“Then I think we can even predict future developments,” Cui Ge said. “Right now, the Ministry and the Board of Governors are negotiating. If these two attacks fail to remove Dumbledore from his position, or if he refuses to compromise, more attacks will follow. Dumbledore is betting that Harry—or another student he trusts—will uncover how the attacks are carried out, or even kill the monster in the Chamber, ending this whole affair.”

“If that’s true,” Luna said, “then your father is on the Board of Governors, Malfoy. So this diary might indeed have some issues—and Harry’s suspicion is significantly reduced.”

“Forgive me,” Malfoy explained, “but he’s only been on the Board for a few years. And as I’ve said, I don’t know if he has any agenda—but I don’t want the Chamber to terrify our classmates. Isn’t that why we’re holding this meeting? To find out who used the diary to do harm?”

“Alright, let’s assume the one who opened the Chamber is among us,” Luna said. “We’ll keep the possibilities that Hagrid caused an accident or Harry staged it himself. Next, I suggest we carefully analyze the previous statements and investigations to see if anyone is deliberately confusing the issue. For example, Ginny insists that Zhang Qiu is likely the one who opened the Chamber—but she has no clear motive to do so.”

“I don’t insist Zhang Qiu opened the Chamber,” Ginny said. “I only think she likely orchestrated the attacks. The motive is obvious: she’s acting on her own to help Harry. I keep saying this because there’s no clear evidence proving otherwise. But Cui Ge—he first claimed the attacker was linked to the Soviets, then said the monster in the Chamber was a Basilisk. I think he’s the one truly muddying the waters.”

“I think Cui Ge isn’t deliberately muddying the waters,” Ivy said. “Cui Ge is an American raised on Yingzhou—his thinking may be broader and more active than ours, so he considers possibilities we overlook. Though the Soviet connection seems unlikely now, there’s no solid proof the monster isn’t a Basilisk. Reasonable speculation is normal, as long as we adjust when needed. But Crabbe and Goyle—you’ve offered almost no useful information. I wonder if you’re afraid of slipping up and therefore stay silent.”

“Please understand, Lady Crowley,” Neville, playing Crabbe, spoke. He seemed fully immersed in the role, performing convincingly. “We’re not as clever as you. We didn’t want the investigation to be useless. In fact, the information we found didn’t help anyone—and that already hurts me. Please don’t blame me for it.”

“Yes, and it wasn’t completely useless,” Harry said, stepping in—he knew Neville hadn’t attended previous meetings, and he didn’t want to expose him. “At least we uncovered Marvolo Gaunt. Without that name, we never would’ve confirmed Tom was Slytherin’s heir.”

“Is there a possibility,” Malfoy said, “that the two attacks weren’t carried out by the same person? We always focus on the one who opened the Chamber—but for the Board of Governors, they only need Hogwarts to appear unsafe. They don’t necessarily need to open the Chamber at all.”

“And for Dumbledore,” Pansy continued, “he only needed to define the attacks as something solvable. When Filch’s cat was petrified, Dumbledore knew it was the first sign. So he signaled others to write the bloody words, linking the attacks to the Chamber. That way, everyone assumes that once the Chamber is resolved, the attacks will stop—unaware that the attacker and the one who opened the Chamber are two different people.”

“As the saying goes: when you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras,” Cui Ge said. “You’re making this too complicated. In truth, without the bloody words, Filch’s cat being petrified was insignificant. The Weasley twins often throw dungbombs at Filch—does that count as an attack too? Should Dumbledore write bloody words under every dungbomb saying the Chamber has been opened?”

“If it were a dungbomb,” Luna said cheerfully, “I’d suspect the monster in the Chamber is a Troll. I think Cui Ge is right—because of the bloody words, Mrs. Norris was counted as the first victim. If the bloody words and the Chamber were just Dumbledore’s counter-moves in this political game, they shouldn’t have appeared after Mrs. Norris’s attack—they should’ve appeared after Colin’s.”

“If the attacks really are tied to the Chamber,” Ginny said, “then you’re suggesting the Ministry, aiming to weaken Dumbledore’s prestige, is trying to create panic at the school to support the Board of Governors in impeaching him. Their method? Using the diary to spread the method of opening the Chamber, letting the monster inside attack students. And Dumbledore is playing along—planning to let Harry solve the problem, boosting Harry’s reputation to prepare him for becoming headmaster?”

“Then I still suspect Zhang Qiu,” Ginny continued. “Harry is from Gryffindor. Neither the Ministry nor Dumbledore may know he’s also a Slytherin descendant. So after they planned the first attack, Zhang Qiu—who already disliked Colin—devised a bold plan. She investigated the Chamber herself, then tricked Harry into revealing key information, opened the Chamber, and attacked Colin. Or perhaps she didn’t need to open the Chamber at all—she might’ve used some unknown Eastern curse to strike him.”

“That’s very possible,” Ivy said. “There’s a major timing inconsistency. The first attack was on Halloween, October 31st. The second came the following Saturday, November 7th—less than a week apart. But now it’s December 19th, and there’s been no third attack. Rather than saying the third attack is late, I think the second came too early. Political maneuvering—from attack to strategy to failed negotiation to preparing the next attack—can’t be completed in a week. The second attack was probably meant for December. Because Zhang Qiu interfered, it was moved to November. So the third attack will likely happen in early January.”

“That brings us back to Malfoy’s point—that the two attacks weren’t carried out by the same person,” Neville, playing Crabbe, said. “Perhaps the Board of Governors discovered someone was using the Chamber’s name to launch attacks independently. They couldn’t decide whether to truly catch the culprit or use it as leverage against Dumbledore. That’s why things seem so calm now.”

“I remember Malfoy mentioned it,” Harry said, using Goyle’s voice. “The Board of Governors plans to make Snape the next headmaster?”