The basilisk was covered almost entirely in extremely tough scales, which could not only resist ordinary swords and sharp weapons but also block or even reflect magic spells.
Even now that it was a corpse, cutting it up was still quite a chore.
Speaking of which, Marcel really wanted to chop it all up and take it all away. After all, this was a basilisk! To say that its whole body was a treasure would not be an exaggeration in the slightest.
But even this suitcase, which had been treated with an Extension Charm, couldn't fit it all.
In the end, when Marcel turned to leave, this ancient beast, which had once caused Hogwarts to nearly suspend classes and had even gotten Dumbledore a dismissal order from the school board, had become a pile of unrecognizable flesh.
As Marcel left, the stone door finally closed. But not long after, a dull rumbling sound of collapse could be heard faintly from within the Chamber, and the entire ground trembled slightly with it.
…
On the other side, Lockhart had brought Harry, Ron, and Ginny back to his office, and not long after, Professor McGonagall arrived. She took Lockhart and the three children to her office, where many people were waiting for them.
Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Lockhart stood at the door. Harry and the others were almost covered in mud and slime. Although Lockhart looked a little better, even though he had been invisible all the way, splashes of mud were always unavoidable.
For a moment, there was complete silence. Suddenly, a scream came from the side of the fireplace—"Ginny!"
It was Mrs. Weasley. She had been sitting in front of the fire crying. Now she jumped up, followed by Mr. Weasley. The two of them simultaneously stretched out their arms and hugged their precious daughter.
Ron stood to the side, his head still bowed, lost in thought.
Harry's gaze went past them and into the room.
He saw Professor Dumbledore standing in front of the mantelpiece with a smile on his face. And standing next to Dumbledore was, to his surprise, a smiling Hermione!
"Oh! Hermione? Are you alright?" Harry said in pleasant surprise.
Hermione smiled and nodded, but her eyes were still looking behind Harry, as if expecting something.
"Just as you were breaking a number of school rules, Miss Granger was waking up. It was Maclean. He had been brewing for two days and nights straight and made the Restorative Draught from the newly matured Mandrakes—it was his improved formula, very effective!" Professor McGonagall explained happily from the side.
Ron, who was standing not far away, suddenly looked up.
He looked at Hermione, then at Ginny, his expression changing continuously. Finally, he lowered his head in dejection again.
Just then, Mrs. Weasley looked at Lockhart with excitement. Unlike her usual star-struck adoration, this was a respect that came from the bottom of her heart.
"Professor Lockhart, you saved her! You saved her! How did you do it?"
"That's what we'd all like to know," said Professor McGonagall, looking at Lockhart with a dubious expression.
In front of the mantelpiece, Dumbledore also put on a curious expression.
But Lockhart looked at Mrs. Weasley, a rare look of confusion in his eyes. It was only when Harry reached out and tugged at the hem of his robes that he suddenly came to his senses.
"Oh—of course, I'll tell everyone the whole process," Lockhart said, showing his usual smile, but the smile did not exude its usual boastfulness; it looked a little perfunctory.
"Well, but before that, I think everyone should listen to Mr. Potter's reasoning first. I believe that was the real beginning of rescuing Miss Weasley."
With Lockhart's words, everyone's gaze fell on Harry again.
Under everyone's gaze, Harry hesitated for a moment, then began to recount the things he had experienced.
He spoke for about ten minutes. Everyone listened very attentively, and the room was silent.
But when he mentioned that the note in Hermione's hand had given him a crucial clue, Hermione nodded to everyone without any surprise.
But her hands, which were hanging at her sides, were tightly clutching her sleeves.
After Harry finished speaking, Lockhart had completely returned to his usual state. He held his head high and, with an impassioned expression, exaggeratedly recounted the entire process after entering the Chamber.
Telling stories had always been his specialty, not to mention that this time he had been watching them invisibly from the side almost the entire time.
"Is that really so?"
Listening, Professor McGonagall couldn't help but ask Harry.
Harry subconsciously glanced at Dumbledore. He saw the headmaster smiling faintly, the firelight flashing quickly on his half-moon glasses.
"Oh—roughly, that's right—"
"What I'm most interested in," Dumbledore said suddenly, "is how Voldemort managed to bewitch Ginny, because according to my sources, he is currently hiding in the forests of Albania."
"Wh-what?" said Mrs. Weasley, stunned. "You-Know-Who? Bewitched Ginny? But Ginny's not... Ginny hasn't... has she?"
"It was the diary," said Harry quickly. "Riddle's diary. He wrote it when he was sixteen."
"The diary?" Dumbledore frowned slightly.
Harry looked at Lockhart. He thought Lockhart should know the final whereabouts of the diary.
But Lockhart shook his head. He said, "As I said just now—I pierced it with the basilisk's fang. The basilisk's venom permeated the entire diary, and the Dark Lord's shadow also dissipated. I was busy bringing the children out later, so that diary... should still be in the Chamber."
"Remarkable," said Dumbledore softly, thinking. "If it weren't for Maclean, he could probably be considered the most outstanding student in Hogwarts history."
He turned to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, who both looked very confused.
"Few people know that Voldemort was once called Tom Riddle. I taught him myself, fifty years ago, at Hogwarts. He disappeared after leaving school... traveled far and wide... sank so deeply into the Dark Arts, consorted with the very worst of our kind, underwent so many dangerous, magical transformations."
"Finally, he re-emerged as Lord Voldemort, and it was difficult to recognize him. Almost no one connected Voldemort with the clever, handsome Head Boy who had once studied here."
As Dumbledore recalled the past, he also thought of the current Marcel. A complex look flickered in his pale blue eyes.
"But Ginny?" said Mrs. Weasley. "What's our Ginny got to do with... with him?"
"His d-diary!" Ginny sobbed. "I've been writing in it, and he's been writing back all year."
"Ginny!" said Mr. Weasley, flabbergasted. "Haven't I taught you anything? What have I always told you? Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can't see where it keeps its brain. Why didn't you show the diary to me or your mother? A suspicious object like that was clearly full of Dark Magic!"
"I... I didn't know," Ginny was still crying sadly. "I found it inside one of the books Mum got me. I... I thought someone had just left it in there and forgotten about it..."
"Miss Weasley should go up to the hospital wing right away," Dumbledore interrupted firmly. "This has been a terrible ordeal for her. There will be no punishment. Older and wiser wizards have been hoodwinked by Lord Voldemort."
He strode to the door and opened it gently.
"Bed rest and perhaps a large, steaming mug of hot chocolate. I always find that cheers me up."
He said, and winked kindly at Ginny.
"You will find that Madam Pomfrey is still awake. She has been studying the improved Mandrake Restorative Draught formula that Maclean gave her."
Mrs. Weasley led Ginny out, and Mr. Weasley followed, still looking very shaken.
And even more dejected and uneasy than Mr. Weasley was Ron, whom Dumbledore had called back—he had originally wanted to go to the hospital wing with his father.
"You know, Minerva," Professor Dumbledore said thoughtfully to Professor McGonagall, "I think all this merits a feast. Might I ask you to go and inform the kitchens?"
"Oh, right, and while you're at it, please go and fetch Maclean for me. Take him to my office and have him wait for me," Dumbledore added.
"Right," she said crisply, and also headed for the door. "I'll leave Potter and Weasley to you, shall I?"
"Certainly," said Dumbledore.
Professor McGonagall left. Harry and Ron stared nervously at Dumbledore.
What did Professor McGonagall mean by that? Deal with them? Could it be... could it be... punishment?
But Dumbledore smiled and gave them each some points, and specifically praised Harry for his decisiveness and intelligence, and Ron for his love for his sister Ginny.
Then, he turned to Lockhart and looked at him curiously.
"Gilderoy, I think you're very suited to be a professor. Maybe next term—"
Lockhart hurriedly interrupted, "Oh! No, no... I mean... this experience has made me realize many of my shortcomings. I need to work harder. When I feel I have more to teach the students, I will come back to teach..."
He rambled on, his lack of desire to continue teaching already revealed.
"Oh—that's a pity," Dumbledore said casually, then turned his gaze to Ron. "I'd like to have a few more words with Harry..."
Lockhart immediately hurried out. Ron hesitated for a moment, then also left.
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