Professor McGonagall said sadly.
"The heir of Slytherin has left another message, right below the previous text—Come and see me if you want to save them, or their bones will remain in the Chamber forever."
"Them?" Sherlock frowned. "More than one person?"
"That's why I called you over, because the ones taken were Miss Hermione Granger and Professor Gilderoy Lockhart."
"Who?"
Harry and Ron couldn't help crying out in shock again.
Sherlock also frowned. At this point, he could now confirm that his deductions were correct.
Pansy Parkinson, who first left writing on the wall, was only temporarily controlled. Lockhart was unwilling to do this from the beginning, so Tom Riddle's compromise was to change to another person.
From then on, she had nothing to do with the whole affair.
This also matched Dumbledore and Snape's observations of her during this period.
As for Professor Lockhart, since he could enter the Chamber of Secrets as a victim, it meant he had ultimately been completely controlled by the dark magical object left by Voldemort.
This inevitably made Sherlock feel somewhat regretful. He had thought Lockhart was holding up quite well recently.
Unfortunately, personal willpower ultimately couldn't resist the erosion of dark magic.
But speaking of it, if calculated from before the school term began, being able to hold out for so long was already quite remarkable.
"A teacher and a student taken into the Chamber of Secrets at the same time, with the opponent blatantly leaving challenging words, this is more serious than previous attack incidents, and Dumbledore still isn't here—"
Professor McGonagall looked at the three of them. "I suppose none of you can explain this?"
Harry and Ron both looked at Sherlock.
"Professor, I'd like to go there and take a look."
"No, I must escort you back to Gryffindor Tower. I still have to speak to the students later. I specifically called you here because Granger is your good friend—"
"Then, Professor, before you escort us back to Gryffindor Tower, please take us to see those words first."
"Holmes—" Professor McGonagall emphasized her tone.
"If you still remember what happened near the end of last term, you should trust me."
Sherlock looked intently at Professor McGonagall. "Professor, you don't want Dumbledore to lose his job, do you?"
(°一°)
Professor McGonagall's expression changed several times, and after thinking of something, she finally made up her mind.
"Follow me."
Sherlock was all too familiar with the first crime scene of the entire incident.
Don't think that just because Filch had guarded this place every day for a while, his understanding of this place was far inferior to Sherlock's.
Arriving here, Sherlock immediately walked toward the wall with the writing and took out his magnifying glass to observe carefully.
Harry and Ron didn't go over, just stared blankly at the two lines of text on the wall.
[The Chamber has been opened. Enemies of the heir, beware]
[Come and see me if you want to save them, or their bones will remain in the Chamber forever]
"All students must return to their House common rooms by six o'clock in the evening. No student may leave the dormitory buildings after this time, and all classes will be escorted by a teacher.
No student may use the washrooms without teacher supervision. All Quidditch training and matches are postponed, and no evening activities will be held."
The Gryffindor students crowded in the common room, silently listening to Professor McGonagall speak.
She rolled up the parchment document she had just read, then said in a somewhat suffocating voice.
"Actually, without me saying it, you understand what's happening. I have rarely been this distressed.
The school may have to close unless the criminal responsible for these attacks is caught. I urge anyone who thinks they know something to come forward voluntarily."
After she somewhat clumsily climbed through the portrait hole, the Gryffindor students immediately began discussing.
"The rooster and mirror were indeed useful, no attack incidents occurred, but they actually kidnapped people!"
"Granger is a Muggle-born witch, and I heard Professor Lockhart is also a half-blood wizard—"
"Damn it, even someone as capable as Professor Lockhart was taken. What can we do?"
"Dumbledore shouldn't have left at all! If he were still at school, this would never have happened!"
"Those Slytherins couldn't wait for him to leave. I heard Malfoy saying today—"
Sherlock, Harry, and Ron ignored the discussions around them, the three quickly leaving the common room and heading toward their dormitory.
At this time, Neville and Dean were still lingering in the common room, which provided them with rare convenience, allowing them to discuss matters peacefully.
"Sherlock, what should we do now?"
Harry and Ron almost simultaneously looked at Sherlock with expectant eyes, like soldiers waiting for a general's orders, eagerly hoping for their commander to assign tasks.
Everyone was on high alert, guarding against basilisk attacks, but no one had expected the opponent to use this strategy of pulling the rug out from under them.
More importantly, the person taken was their good friend.
"I have to say, his response really surprised me."
After returning to the dormitory, Harry and Ron were surprised to find that Sherlock seemed unusually excited.
His cheeks were slightly flushed, like a caged cheetah, pacing back and forth rapidly in the dormitory with urgent and powerful steps, as if he were beating out a rhythm on the floor.
Didn't he care about Hermione's safety at all?
As if seeing through their doubts, Sherlock stopped pacing and looked calmly at Harry and Ron.
"My dear friends, don't worry, Hermione will be fine. He took Hermione and left that message clearly as a challenge to me."
"Who?" Harry asked alertly, his eyes flashing with wariness.
"Gilderoy Lockhart." Sherlock spoke the name with certainty.
"What?" Ron's eyes widened in disbelief. "But wasn't he also taken to the Chamber of Secrets?"
"Well, that's not quite accurate. It should be the controlled Lockhart.
I think at this moment, he has probably completely become Tom's puppet—
Harry, fortunately you didn't go with him when he approached you before, or we'd be in a passive position now.
However, this makes the whole matter clear."
"Sherlock, you mean—" Harry probed.
"Since the opponent has initiated a challenge, I naturally must respond."
Sherlock's gaze was firm, then he stopped pacing and turned to look at Ron. "Now we need to go meet Voldemort. We're missing muscle, Ron, would you like to come along?"
"You-Know-Who?!"
Ron drew in a sharp breath, feeling a chill run from his feet straight up his spine.
He struggled to control the surging fear in his heart and stammered. "Sherlock, you mean that in the Chamber of Secrets, we might encounter You-Know-Who?"
"The possibility is extremely high." Sherlock nodded gravely.
"I'll go with you!"
After hesitating for a moment, Ron gritted his teeth, his eyes showing determination as he said word by word.
"Excellent!" Sherlock's lips curved into a pleased smile. Ron's answer was within his expectations.
He quickly took out paper and pen, his pen tip dancing rapidly across the paper, hastily writing a few lines, then handed the paper to Watson.
Watson chirped happily and disappeared outside the window with flapping wings.
"Sherlock, what are you doing?"
Ron watched this scene with confusion and couldn't help asking.
"Some final preparations."
Sherlock's answer was somewhat vague and hard to fathom.
Then he stood up and straightened his clothes.
"I need to leave for a while. You two prepare as well. We'll meet in a bit at Myrtle's bathroom."
"But Professor McGonagall instructed that we must stay in the tower unless going to class."
"That's not much of an obstacle for me, my friend. If I want to leave here, others won't notice at all."
"I know you have ways, but Harry and I—"
"I think it's time to bring out my father's old Invisibility Cloak."
"Harry, staying with me for so long has indeed improved you considerably."
Hearing Harry's words, Sherlock smiled with satisfaction, his eyes full of approval.
Since they stopped going to the Forbidden Forest at night, Sherlock had returned the Invisibility Cloak to Harry.
Now, it was finally time to use it. Sherlock left the dormitory first.
Harry and Ron prepared after he left, though calling it preparation, it was more psychological preparation.
Harry had much more experience in this regard than Ron, having faced Voldemort more than once.
The two put on the Invisibility Cloak and quietly passed through the corridors, heading toward Myrtle's bathroom.
This journey was unpleasant.
Because Professor Snape was standing guard on this route, they had to be extra careful with their steps, taking much longer than usual to reach the door of Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.
Snape's presence here was mainly due to the extremely special location of this bathroom.
It was right next to the site where Mrs. Norris had been attacked—the place Professor McGonagall had just taken them to see.
At this moment, large amounts of water had spread out, occupying half the corridor, and water continued to seep out from under the door of Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.
Harry and Ron had heard Hermione describe this bathroom in detail before, so they weren't too surprised by this scene.
However, Ron still grimaced with disgust and muttered. "If it weren't to save someone, I swear I'd never come here."
"Hermione said this is Moaning Myrtle's territory, there won't be anyone inside."
Harry's tone carried some reassurance. In this matter, his attitude was much more open-minded than Ron's.
He ignored the large sign that read "Out of Order" and carefully grasped the brass spherical handle, slowly pushing open the door.
Harry appeared decisive and proactive, but actually he was somewhat panicked inside.
However, he knew clearly that at this moment, he absolutely couldn't perform worse than Ron.
Sure enough, seeing Harry's confident appearance, Ron gritted his teeth, struggled to overcome his inner discomfort, and carefully followed Harry into the girls' bathroom.
Upon entering this bathroom, Harry couldn't help but shudder slightly.
The place was gloomy and depressing to the extreme, with a large mirror covered in stains and cracks below a row of stone basins whose coating had already peeled off.
The floor was wet, several candle stubs flickered weakly on brackets, and the dim light made the floor look particularly eerie.
Individual stall doors had peeling paint and were full of scratches, with one door's hinges completely loose, hanging crookedly as if it might fall at any moment.
Harry suppressed his inner discomfort, while recalling what Hermione had said, walking toward the innermost stall.
Reaching the stall, he bent down slightly, trying to make his voice as gentle as possible, and said softly. "Myrtle, how are you?"
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