Dumbledore, seeing that Victor had disappeared without a word, shook his head helplessly and sighed. He then placed his hand on the stiff Hagrid and Apparated away.
Inside the dark pool beneath the Chamber of Secrets.
After Victor teleported here, he immediately created several spheres of light to illuminate the entire cavern. However, the scene was exactly the same as the first time he came here. On the surface, nothing had changed, and he didn't find anything particularly special.
So, Victor activated his [X-ray Vision]. In the next second, as his eyes were completely covered in white, Victor suddenly discovered that there was a huge, circular space inside the cavern walls, completely surrounding the dark pool.
Seeing this, he immediately flew forward and blasted a hole in one of the cavern walls with his fist, sending dirt and rocks flying. A foul, fishy stench unique to snake-like creatures immediately assailed his nostrils.
Victor covered his nose and looked around. He then looked at the mirror-like surface of the dark pool behind him. He found that there was an opening about a dozen meters beneath the water that connected to the circular space.
So, it was now basically confirmed that this second Basilisk had escaped from here, and there must be an underwater passage that led directly to the Black Lake. Hagrid must have encountered the Basilisk in the Forbidden Forest and seen its eyes through the water of the Black Lake, which is why he was afflicted with the Petrification Curse.
This conclusion was based on the fact that when he and Dumbledore found Hagrid, they hadn't found any traces of large animal activity around him. So, if it wasn't on land, it could only be in the Black Lake!
In addition, looking at the huge scales scattered on the ground and the size of this circular space, this second Basilisk was probably more than ten times larger than the one kept in the guild!
It was truly unexpected that Salazar Slytherin had actually hidden another Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets.
Victor narrowed his eyes. He was thinking that, if all went well, a new small pet would probably appear by Luna's side tomorrow, or the day after at the latest.
So, with the information on the second Basilisk, Victor left the dark pool and went to the Hogwarts hospital wing. There, he saw the petrified Hagrid lying stiffly on the bed. Dumbledore, Professor Sprout, and Snape were also there.
Professor Sprout was saying with a look of regret, "Headmaster, I'm so sorry! To be honest, Hagrid was cursed at a very inconvenient time! To make a potion to reverse the Petrification Curse, you need fresh Mandrake. But I only planted my Mandrakes a few days ago, and it normally takes more than three months for them to grow to maturity. And since it's winter, even with greenhouse cultivation, the growth rate of the Mandrakes will be affected! So, unfortunately, our gamekeeper might not wake up until April next year."
"Is there any way to buy fresh, mature Mandrakes from outside the school?" Dumbledore pondered for a while, then asked.
"It's basically impossible to buy them," Professor Sprout regretfully shook her head. "Mandrake must grow in a warm swamp. The only place with that kind of growing conditions right now is South America, but they have never produced Mandrake."
"That's truly dreadful," Dumbledore frowned, then looked at Snape. "Severus, do you have any ideas?"
"I have one," Snape replied emotionlessly. "Dreyar gave me a lot of Basilisk venom before. I can try to use it to create a potion to reverse the Petrification Curse without Mandrake, but I can't guarantee that it will be successful!"
"Excellent, I'll leave it to you then," Dumbledore nodded, then he noticed Victor standing not too far away and asked with curiosity, "Victor, did you find any clues coming back so quickly?"
"I did," Victor walked up. "There is indeed another Basilisk in the dark pool below the Chamber of Secrets. And judging by the size of this scale, it could knock a fully grown dragon flying with a single tail-whip!"
With that, he showed them the snake scale he had picked up in the cavern.
"Oh… this is not good news at all…" Dumbledore took the scale from Victor and looked at it, and his face immediately changed.
Snape and Professor Sprout were also shocked. After all, dragons are the largest of all known magical creatures. If it could knock a dragon flying, one could only imagine the size and strength of this Basilisk.
And the worst thing was that it was still lurking around Hogwarts. No one knew if it would suddenly go berserk and attack the students in the castle.
Thinking of this, a dangerous light flickered in Dumbledore's eyes, and he unconsciously rubbed the Elder Wand. He wanted to go and find that Basilisk and kill it right then and there.
However, Victor also noticed Dumbledore's change and immediately said, "Professor, I'll handle this Basilisk. It's probably in the Black Lake. I'll go and take care of it tomorrow!"
You must be joking. A Basilisk that big was a huge mobile treasure trove. With the Basilisk in the guild and the income from the Forbidden Forest, while they had enough, they weren't exactly rich.
The daily expenses of the guild, the cost of replacing the damaged enchanted puppets during magic practice, and the research and development costs for other herbs, potions, and alchemical items all cost money.
Plus, he wanted to hold a big event at the school at the end of the school year, so he wouldn't turn down this unexpected windfall.
Dumbledore, hearing that Victor would handle the Basilisk, nodded without any hesitation and then asked, "When do you plan to do it?"
"After lunch tomorrow. I was woken up by Norbert in the middle of the night, and I don't want to get up early again!"
"Alright, I'll notify Minerva to have the students stay in their dormitories then."
"But besides the Basilisk problem, Professor, have you considered who to get to substitute for Hagrid as the Care of Magical Creatures professor?" Victor suddenly brought up a very important point. "The position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor has been vacant for several months now. Are you going to suspend another class?"
"Oh, you've reminded me of that," Dumbledore scratched his head with some difficulty. "Professor Kettleburn has already gone on a trip, and to be honest, I don't know where he is. And he just retired, so it wouldn't be right for me to ask him to come back. But it's alright, I've thought of someone. Although he is also quite old, he should be fine to teach our students…"
And so, a poor little owl in the Hogwarts Owlery suddenly received a notice for some temporary overtime work and flew south overnight.
The very next day after Hagrid was attacked.
On the north bank of the English Channel in southwestern England, in Dorset, was a very beautiful place.
Beneath the treacherous channel, giant waves crashed and sea foam sprayed everywhere.
The giant, rock-like reefs, after being eroded by the waves for a long time, gradually formed soft caves that penetrated the giant cliffs. Some were shaped like arches, while others were a magnificent sight of towering pillars formed after the arches collapsed.
Due to ancient geological activity, Dorset had a complete record of the Jurassic period and rare fossil specimens of marine reptiles and dinosaurs, making its coast a world-renowned paleontology research base.
It was in this magical place that Newt Scamander and his wife had settled down.
Newt Scamander, whose full name was Newton Artemis Fido Scamander, was a famous magizoologist and the author of the book Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
Influenced by his mother, who raised Hippogriffs, Newt had a strong interest in all kinds of magical creatures since he was a child. He enrolled at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in 1908 and was sorted into Hufflepuff, but was later expelled for taking the blame for his friend, Leta Lestrange.
With the help of Albus Dumbledore, he was not subjected to any other punishment for his expulsion and was allowed to keep his wand.
After being expelled from Hogwarts, Newt traveled all over the world, working to protect magical creatures.
In 1918, he was commissioned by Augustus Worme of Obscurus Books to write Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
Later, during the First Wizarding War, Newt assisted Dumbledore in defeating the international criminal Gellert Grindelwald. After that, he married Porpentina Goldstein, and the two of them lived in Dorset after he retired.
And now, at the Scamander's house, Newt was in his room, meticulously observing the fossilized bones of some ancient creature with a magnifying glass and writing something down with a quill. He was already a ninety-five-year-old man, but he had a vitality that didn't match his age.
"Newt!" his wife, Porpentina Esther Scamander, suddenly called out his name from outside the room, and then shouted, "Newt! An owl just delivered a letter for you!"
Hearing this, Newt slowly put down the magnifying glass, propped himself up on the table, and walked slowly to the door. He turned the doorknob, poked his head out, and asked, "My dear, can you tell me where the letter is from?"
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