Chapter 84

Just when Harry couldn't help but suspect that Colin's card was related to some conspiracy, a voice sounded in his heart: Is it possible that Colin recovered?

He walked around the common room and didn't see the child who was always holding a camera and laughing. With a hint of expectation, Harry came to the school hospital.

He saw Colin sitting on the bed, concentrating on holding a book, which made Harry feel very excited. He rushed forward to say hello, but saw Justin still in a petrified state on the side, so his mood suddenly felt lost again.

"Oh, Senior Harry," Colin said happily. "Did you receive the card I sent?"

"Received," Harry smiled awkwardly. "You recovered?"

"Only the upper body can move for now; Madam Pomfrey said the petrification effect is slowly fading," Colin said. "Actually, my head had already recovered around Christmas, but at this speed, I might have to be discharged in April."

Harry glanced at the camera he placed on the bedside table, not knowing if this machine was still working.

"Eh, since you've already recovered halfway," Harry remembered Filch's cat, "what about Mrs. Norris?"

"Still in a state of complete petrification," Colin said. "Maybe, it was my longing for Senior Harry that triggered a miracle."

Harry didn't quite believe in this so-called miracle. He now tended to think that the person who attacked Colin and the person who opened the Chamber of Secrets were not the same person.

"By the way, do you still remember if you saw or heard anything when you were attacked?"

"No. I came out of the dormitory and was going downstairs when I suddenly felt a numbness in my back. When I woke up, I was in the school hospital," Colin tried his best to recall. "If I have to say, it seems there were faint footsteps behind me, but I might not have paid attention."

"Is Senior Harry investigating the real culprit of the Chamber of Secrets attack? I'm sorry, I couldn't help you..." Colin looked a bit lost.

Harry glanced at the camera again. Colin was attacked perhaps because he photographed something he shouldn't have.

"Then, do you still remember that Quidditch match? Did you take any interesting photos?"

"Of course, I took the moment Senior Harry caught the Snitch, and several of your high-difficulty moves. I also took several photos of you discussing tactics during the halftime break," Colin said and started to feel lost again. "Unfortunately, they are all gone now."

Harry was a bit disappointed, because in this way, it was equivalent to him not making any progress from Colin. However, as long as Colin could recover, it was still something worth being happy about.

On the way back to the dormitory, Harry couldn't stop thinking about the "other culprit" who attacked Colin. Because there were no other rooms on the eighth floor, the corridor was always empty, at most with a few Gryffindor students.

Colin said he didn't find anything unusual that night, and Mrs. Norris didn't see the attacker, and the attacker attacked from behind. Harry could only guess that it was an invisible person, or he was hiding in some other place on the eighth floor...

Standing at the door of the dormitory again, Harry looked from the perspective of the Fat Lady. Except for the Gryffindor dormitory behind him, there were only the Barnabas the Barmy tapestry and the Headmaster's office. That tapestry was so thin that anyone hiding behind it could be seen at a glance. Does that mean the attacker came from the Headmaster's office?

Harry was a bit unwilling to admit this conclusion. He stood in front of the stone statue of the Headmaster's office, frowning and pondering the doubts he had just discovered.

The wall in the middle of the stone statue suddenly cracked, and Harry could hear Deng Buliduo's gentle voice, "Come in, child."

Harry walked along the stairs to the Headmaster's office. He noticed that on the bird stand on the side, Fawkes looked old and unlike a bird. Last year it was still a radiant big bird, but now it was like a plucked turkey.

"What are you worrying about, Harry?" Deng Buliduo sat behind the desk, hiding his expression with the reflective lenses of his glasses.

"I was thinking, between 8:00 PM on November 6th and 1:00 AM the next day, before Colin was harmed, was anyone in your office?" Harry finally decided to speak bluntly.

"I'm sorry to tell you, no," Deng Buliduo said. "I stayed here by myself that night."

"Then the person who attacked Colin might be an invisible person, because the Fat Lady didn't see anything, and there was no place to hide on the eighth floor," Harry believed that Deng Buliduo himself shouldn't be the attacker.

"Oh, Harry, what you said makes a lot of sense," Deng Buliduo blinked. "Do you have anything else you want to tell me? Anything at all?"

Harry remembered the analysis of Deng Buliduo in several meetings, and in the end, he himself started to believe that all this was within Deng Buliduo's plan. Perhaps, as the successor trusted by Deng Buliduo, even if he didn't take the initiative to cooperate, at least he couldn't tear down the old man's stage.

Everything is for the greater good. Harry forgot where he saw this sentence, but he felt it was undoubtedly very suitable for Deng Buliduo.

"Professor, you know we like to explore and adventure," Harry pondered and said. "We are investigating the monster in the Chamber of Secrets."

"Oh, but I think you also investigated Avalon, didn't you?" Deng Buliduo said with a smile.

"Uh, yes," Harry answered.

"Then, what harvest did you have in Avalon?" Deng Buliduo asked casually.

"Love and courage, the magic of friendship, trust between companions," Harry said without thinking. "This is the most precious harvest."

"Yeah, trust between companions," Deng Buliduo pondered. "It was a very meaningful experience."

It seemed Deng Buliduo didn't want to talk about the Chamber of Secrets. Harry sensibly didn't say anything more, but introduced Luo En's armor, Neville's treasure sword, and the spell he had just learned.

"Great harvest, so you have the power to protect yourself even in the face of danger," Deng Buliduo smiled and ate a licorice candy. "Want some, Harry?"

Just as Harry reached out his hand, he found that the office suddenly lit up, which scared him.

"Oh, Fawkes," Deng Buliduo looked at the bird stand at the door. Harry noticed that the phoenix had turned into ashes, and a wrinkled chick poked its head out of the ash pile.

"I'm curious, Professor," Harry couldn't help but ask. "Last year it was so beautiful, why did it suddenly nirvana now?"

"The phoenix and the master are closely related. When I feel tired and sad, it will age very quickly," Deng Buliduo's expression seemed to have changed. "I must thank you, Harry; you brought me too much good news today."

"But nothing has happened recently," Harry was a bit confused. "Did I say anything?"

"Your growth, your courage and determination, I am very gratified, Harry," Deng Buliduo touched Harry's shoulder. "If I want to leave, I can trust you."

"Thank you, Professor," Harry said happily. "I will solve the Chamber of Secrets problem."

"Don't have pressure, child. Now go to sleep; you are still at the age of growing," Deng Buliduo smiled and sent Harry out of the Headmaster's office, then sighed lowly.

Through the thick wooden door, Harry wanted to hear what Deng Buliduo was talking to himself, but he didn't hear anything clearly.

Perhaps, the departure Deng Buliduo mentioned was not just because of the Chamber of Secrets, right?

Zhang Qiu had confirmed before that the reward for Luo En in the Avalon secret realm was customized by Tang Tang Nade looking for a Heavenly Dynasty alchemy master, his own spell might also be invented by someone for this purpose, and Gryffindor's treasure sword must have something to do with Deng Buliduo.

When Deng Buliduo made a decision, Fawkes, who was closely related to his mood, was reborn from nirvana. Perhaps, Deng Buliduo intended to let himself make a decision, and could even be said to intend to entrust the remaining things to himself.

When Harry left the office, he was still confused about the truth of the matter, but he was psychologically prepared for subsequent developments.

If the attacks didn't happen again, that was fine. Once the attacks appeared again, he would have to find the monster in the Chamber of Secrets and kill it, so as to calm the hearts of the people that had been floating since Halloween. If he couldn't find the Basilisk hidden somewhere, Harry thought, then he could only find a way to sweep the spiders in the Forbidden Forest.

When he returned to the dormitory, Luo En also came back from Tang Tang Nade's private Dueling Club. He looked bruised and swollen, but his spirit was not bad.

"Wow, what did you do today?" Harry couldn't help but ask.

"I was practicing combat with Tang Tang Nade, adapting to Gawain's armor," Luo En said. "He accelerated the course progress, and it seemed he was a bit anxious, and told me to be prepared; I don't know what that means."

"Perhaps he is indeed in Deng Buliduo's plan to deal with the Chamber of Secrets," Harry sighed. "If the attack happens again, and Deng Buliduo is driven out of the school, we must end the Chamber of Secrets matter."

"What do you mean?" Luo En gripped his sword tightly.

"Either we can find the Basilisk hidden somewhere in the school and then behead it," Harry said. "Or we go deep into the Forbidden Forest and wipe out all the spiders we saw last time."

"Not to that extent, right?" Luo En's voice sounded a bit trembling. "I heard that looking at the Basilisk will kill you."

"Of course, if we are lucky, the attacks won't happen again, and we won't need to worry about these things," Harry said pessimistically. "But being prepared means you have to be ready to face the worst situation."

"It's even possible that we have to deal with both monsters," Harry suddenly remembered Colin, this unusual victim. It was possible that the one who attacked him was a smaller but poisonous spider, which explained "no place for the attacker to hide" and "a numbness in the back, followed by loss of consciousness."