socalfunplaces Chapter 67 The Tiger with the Hanging Eyes Acts as an Accomplice to a Tiger
Chapter 67 The Tiger with the Hanging Eyes Acts as an Accomplice to a Tiger
Harry shouted "Watch out!" and Ron and Hermione hurriedly pulled out their wands, looking around, but saw no danger at all.
Hermione asked in surprise, "Harry? What did you see?"
Harry said, "It's not that I saw anything, but that I heard something. Didn't my elder sister and brothers hear anything?"
Hermione and Harry exchanged glances and shook their heads. Harry was surprised, thinking to himself: Damn it! That sound was really strange, how come it only reached my ears?
Just then, the strange sound, like a wandering ghost, gradually faded and drifted away, floating up to the building.
Harry, wanting to find out what was going on, took off running, with Ron and Hermione following behind to protect him, though they were puzzled.
Emerging from the underground classroom, Harry ran straight up the stairs. The strange whispers continued intermittently in his ears, like a malevolent ghost haunting him.
"I smell blood..."
"I'm so hungry... I want to kill..."
The hoarse, strange words kept babbling in, drilling straight into Harry's ears, making him inexplicably furious and unable to contain himself.
"What the hell are you yelling about! If I catch you, I'll skin you alive, tear you limb from limb, and grind your bones to dust!"
Harry's shout was like a thunderclap, making the hallway vibrate. As soon as the vicious words were uttered, the strange sound seemed to have its throat cut off, and immediately fell silent.
Hermione asked suspiciously, "Harry, what did you just say?"
Ron nodded and said, "It sounds like a snake hissing."
Upon hearing this, Harry was filled with doubt and surprise. "How strange! I clearly spoke in human language, so why couldn't my elder sister and brother understand?"
Hermione was about to speak when she suddenly heard a heart-wrenching howl, so powerful it seemed to pierce through the beams and pillars, making the windows of the entire building vibrate and the sound pouring from the attic into the cellar.
Harry, Harry, and the others rushed towards the sound, only to find the night watchman, Filch, kneeling in the corridor, pounding his chest and wailing incessantly.
Upon closer inspection, his beloved cat, named Mrs. Lorris, in his arms was lifelike yet completely still, as if frozen in place.
"Harry, Hermione!" Ron gasped, pointing to the two windows in the middle of the corridor. "Look!"
Harry stared intently and saw that the wall was covered with winding, blood-red lines that outlined several letters and words, forming a large line of blood-written words.
The secret room has been opened.
"Beware of becoming an enemy of the successor."
Hermione turned pale. "The Chamber of Secrets in Slytherin has been opened."
Before Harry could ask about this damned Chamber of Secrets in Slytherin, another series of footsteps approached.
Looking back, they saw all the professors and students celebrating Halloween swarming over. Upon seeing the blood-written words on the wall, they immediately erupted in chaos, whispering amongst themselves.
When the Slytherins read these words, their eyes shone, their faces glowed red, and they felt as if their bones had become three times lighter.
Draco leaped to his feet, grinning maliciously, "Let's cheer for the heir to Slytherin!"
"What did you say?!" Filch stumbled forward, lunging at Draco to grab his collar, yelling, "Hooray for that bastard who killed Lady Lorris!"
"Did you do this?!"
Draco consumed the muscle-building potion daily, making him as robust as a third or fourth-year student. When Filch tried to intimidate him, Draco remained completely unfazed.
"Old man, don't slander people without reason." Draco sneered, then sneered, "Even if you really know who it is, so what?"
"You should know the consequences of making an enemy of Slytherin's heir!"
The Slytherin wizards cheered and celebrated with Draco after hearing his inspiring words.
Harry, annoyed, squeezed forward, touched the red letter, sniffed it, and scoffed, "What Slytherin heir! Just a cowardly scoundrel!"
"Trying to fool people by writing a few bird characters, I thought it was human blood, but instead they threw paint on it. What a show-off!"
Draco was so enraged by Harry's insults that he nearly exploded, yet he couldn't utter a single word.
Hearing Harry's bold words, Colin was deeply moved and quickly stepped forward with his camera, exclaiming, "Harry is right! I'm not afraid of any Slytherin heir!"
As the saying goes, fire is fueled by the wind, and people by their courage. With Harry leading the way and Colin assisting, the other students from the three houses regained their spirits and boldly began to hurl insults.
"So it was paint? I thought it was human blood."
"Actually, I think some guy was just trying to scare people—have you forgotten? It's Halloween today."
"Lady Cloris is dead!" Filch roared, his eyes bulging. "Who killed her?!"
"How could you hurt such an innocent and adorable little life!"
"No, Argus, I think she's not dead yet." Dumbledore cast a clearing spell, causing the crowded people to make way.
He examined the cat closely and replied, "Just as I guessed, she must have been cursed, or more likely, petrified."
"Ah, that's right, I think so too!" Lockhart chimed in, "I happen to know the counter-curse of the Petrification Curse. If I had been there, this poor little cat wouldn't have suffered this fate."
Hearing their words, Filch stopped crying and asked hopefully, "Really? Is there any hope for Loris?"
"Please come with me, Argus, we need to talk about this."
After saying that, he glanced at Harry, who was holding the ring knife, and added, "And you, Harry, come along too."
"Ah, why don't you come to my office? It's just a few steps away."
Lockhart extended a warm invitation and then whispered to Dumbledore, "Professor Dumbledore, if my deduction is correct, this should just be children playing tricks on people for Halloween, right?"
It should be noted that Lockhart knew the details of Quirrell's death and that Voldemort was still alive. After teaching for several months, he was like a frightened bird, fearing that the devil would return.
Dumbledore laughed and said, "Rest assured, my dear Gilderoy, you think exactly the same thing as me."
Lockhart breathed a sigh of relief after receiving Dumbledore's promise, and a smile returned to his eyes.
"Oh my, kids these days are so different from when I was a kid—"
"Giddro, please take Loris to Bobby. I think she might know what to do."
"Oh, okay, that's fine."
Lockhart handed the office key to Dumbledore, then picked up the hard cat and headed straight for the university hospital.
After the group entered the office, Dumbledore waved his wand, making the candlelight brighter, and said:
"Argus, please tell me what happened."
Filch, with tears streaming down his face and trembling, finally finished speaking after a long while. Dumbledore listened carefully, then asked him to go back and come see Harry again.
"So, Harry, can you tell me now why you're here?"
Harry recounted his experience of following the strange noises and spoke in a hissing language that Hermione and Ron couldn't understand. Before he could finish, Dumbledore and Snape's expressions changed drastically.
"What did you say? A hissing sound?!"
Snape, his face contorted in a grotesque grimace, stared intently at Harry. "Mr. Potter, are you serious?"
Harry said unhappily, "Why would I lie to you? I just don't know how you speak like that. It's as if you know it all by yourself."
"That might be Parsleyan speech." Dumbledore took off his glasses, rubbed his temples, and felt a headache coming on.
"Oh... Harry, you shouldn't know these things."
Snape echoed grimly, "The Dark Lord is just a Parseltongue."
Harry was annoyed by these strange words, which sounded like a funeral dirge.
"Hmph! I'm not dead yet. Even if I were like Voldemort, what good would Parseltongue do to me?"
"This suggests that Voldemort may have left a piece of his soul in you through your scar."
"This fragment of soul is what connects you, which is why you often see those images."
"Severus, it seems I'll have to trouble you again. I hope you can teach Harry Occlumency before the end of this term."
Snape sneered at this, "That depends on how much understanding Mr. Potter actually has."
"Let's talk about other things after his silly guardian spirit hatches."
Harry had no interest in arguing with him now, so he simply told Dumbledore about Draco's embarrassing situation and asked him to investigate.
After Dumbledore nodded in agreement, Harry prepared to head home to prepare the Polyjuice Potion.
He had just left the office when Snape called him back.
"Wait a minute, Potter, come to my office now."
Harry said doubtfully, "Today isn't the day I'm here to practice my spells."
"Of course I know I'm not, but I'm still going to teach you Occlumency. Do you think you're a genius?"
Harry thought to himself: "Why does my sister need African tree snake skin for medicine? This guy must have some hidden in his medicine cabinet."
Having made up his mind, he cupped his hands and said, "Professor, if you say so, I cannot refuse."
The two went to Snape's office and asked Harry to summon the Patronus.
After summoning the silver orb, Snape examined it closely and nodded, saying, "It's much more obvious than before; it seems she's about to hatch."
Harry said, "It looked the same half a month ago, and we've tried several times now, but it won't change."
"Of course, you'll need some external help."
Snape snorted and waved his wand. Suddenly, the box beside him opened, and a Dementor shrouded in black mist sprang out.
"Now, Potter! With your Patronus!"
The Dementor charged straight at Harry, who, without a word, quickly raised his wand and shouted, "Palmtops of Protection!"
With that shout, what was summoned was not the silver ball, but a large, white-browed worm with piercing eyes that leaped out!
The giant worm roared, opened its mouth, and sucked the Dementor into its belly, leaving Snape stunned and Harry speechless.
Harry was secretly alarmed. Could it be that the tiger had eaten the Dementor and turned it into its accomplice?