vncnus Chapter 169 A Gathering in a Secret Chamber
Chapter 169 A Gathering in a Secret Chamber
Chapter 170 (5k long chapter) The Secret Chamber Gathering of Heroes: Four Great Classical Novels
Picking up where we left off, Dumbledore claimed to have kept a close watch on Vinda Rozier, and that every word he uttered would be subject to his judgment.
Harry, upon hearing the key points, felt a sudden jolt in his heart and thought to himself:
The professor is truly a master of pedantry. If it had been the professor instead of Huang Wenbing who saw Song Jiang writing the rebellious poem at Xunyang Tower, Song Jiang would probably have faced the most severe punishment—torn apart by five horses—instead of being executed by the marketplace cleaver.
He pondered for a long time, then shook his head three times and said, "Even if we don't name the party leader, it's still just treating the symptoms, not the root cause."
"I've heard that Grindelwald is most skilled at bewitching people. What if that old woman Rozier were to spread his heretical teachings?"
"Ah, don't worry, Harry, forbidden spells are just one of many insurances."
Dumbledore took a jar of honey from the table, slowly scooped out half a spoonful and put it in his mouth, mumbling, "Vendor is being watched by house-elves."
"The house-elves write down what she said and did every day and tell me about it."
Harry's eyes lit up, and he said, "So, you're suggesting that the house-elf should also give me a copy of the surveillance log?"
"I wonder if the professor has any of those surveillance recordings from the past? I would appreciate it if you could retrieve them for me to review."
"That's no problem. Just have the house-elves cast the Copy Charm once."
Brido pulled open the sandalwood drawer and saw it filled with neatly arranged parchment scrolls.
He took out a stack of documents about three fingers thick and pushed it over, saying, "This is a record of everything Wenda has said and done since he took up his post at Hogwarts."
Harry tucked the stack of parchment into his pocket, then stood up, clasped his hands in a gesture of respect, and said, "Professor, please rest well. I'll take my leave."
After saying that, he didn't say anything more, turned around and strode away.
Dumbledore sat alone at his desk, sighing for a long time before finally moving back to his bedroom.
He lightly tapped his wand, first casting a soundproofing spell, then took out a wad of cotton wool to stuff his ears, tilted his head back to take a mouthful of calming potion, before lying down on the bed and falling into a deep sleep.
Meanwhile, Harry moved swiftly through the corridors and courtyards, his hands never stopping as he flipped through the files.
It should be noted that Rozier usually stays at the school hospital or associates with the students of that elite club. Her social interactions are as bland as water.
Harry searched high and low, but couldn't find a single flaw on the surface.
He thought to himself: This old woman has gathered thirty or fifty men and women, who are either hereditary nobles or descendants of officials, and are all rich and noble.
If you say it's just for making money, I don't believe it; if you say it's to revive witchcraft, there's no sign of it happening right now.
I'll be patient and observe her for a while longer, and I'll definitely see through this old woman's tricks.
Harry had made up his mind and headed straight for the Gryffindor Tower. Just as he reached the entrance, he ran into Ron, who was also returning from outside.
He hurried forward to ask Hermione how she was doing, but Ron shook his head vigorously, saying that Madam Pomfrey was still in the room watching over her and had not yet woken up.
Upon hearing this, Harry couldn't help but sigh, and the two of them went back to their quarters to rest.
A day or two later, around lunchtime, the White Snow Maiden flew swiftly to the hall, left a letter, and departed again.
Upon opening the package, it turned out to be a message from Madam Pomfrey, saying that Hermione had woken up.
Upon hearing such good news, Harry and Ron didn't even bother to eat. They hurriedly ate a few bites and rushed to the school hospital.
Upon arriving at the ward, they saw Hermione with a rosy complexion and bright, piercing eyes, leaning against an embroidered pillow, holding a cup of hot cocoa, lost in thought.
Seeing this, Harry clapped his hands with delight and said, "Big Sister is finally awake! These past few days have truly made me extremely worried!"
Ron felt as if he had been granted a pardon, and let out a long sigh of relief. He quickly lowered the curtains around the sickbed, took out the death diary from his pocket, and tucked it under Hermione's pillow in an instant.
Here's your book back.
"These past few days have been a real hassle for me. I keep thinking that if I leave it in my dorm room, I'll lose it, but if I carry it with me, its teeth always hurt me."
"I really don't know how you can stand carrying this notebook around in your clothes every day."
Hermione, upon seeing her two sworn brothers, showed no joy whatsoever. Instead, she fixed her bright eyes firmly on Harry and said:
"Harry, you didn't go to the Ministry of Magic, did you?"
Seeing the seriousness of her question, Harry stopped offering words of comfort and instead replied solemnly:
"I will always remember your wise words, elder sister."
"But what happened the other day when my elder sister suddenly bled from all seven orifices? Have you found the cause? When I carried you to seek medical help, she only said, 'Don't go to the Ministry of Magic.' Did she have something in mind?"
Hermione struggled to sit up and said in a deep voice, "I have two guesses. First, Fudge is actually a master magician who has been hiding his true strength, and his actual level may even surpass Professor Dumbledore's."
"My attempt to influence Professor Dumbledore only left me exhausted. This is the first time I've experienced bleeding from my eyes and ears."
Before he could finish speaking, Ron waved his hand and shouted, "Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
"If Fudge is truly that skilled, how could he possibly be afraid of Professor Dumbledore?"
"Then the only possible outcome is the second one." Hermione let out a long sigh. "This involves too many people."
Harry pondered for a moment, then frowned and said, "The words my elder sister wrote were meant for all the Hogwarts students to appreciate by the Ministry of Magic."
"Could it be that this crucial point is that if a student steps into the Ministry of Magic, they will invite disaster?"
Hermione shook her head. "No, I think it refers to you."
"When writing the gibberish, I specifically mentioned that Fudge would like to invite popular and well-known students, because the admiration of these outstanding students for the Ministry of Magic would inspire others."
"Think about it, Harry, who else could be the most popular student in school besides you?"
Hermione spoke earnestly, but Harry sensed something amiss in everything she said.
If such remarks are accepted, wouldn't it mean that we've already stirred up a huge storm the moment we stepped into the Ministry of Magic?
This cause and effect, however, is unknown whether it is tied to the locket around Umbridge's neck, or whether there is some horrifying scheme hidden within the Ministry of Magic.
Harry was completely bewildered, and even Hermione was unable to grasp the key to it.
Ron scratched his head, pondering for a long time, until his head began to throb. He finally blurted out, "So, can we still get to the Ministry of Magic using the Death Diary?"
"Yes, it's possible. But according to my estimate, it would require the magic power of at least two or three hundred adult wizards to do it."
Ron was taken aback. "Two or three hundred adult wizards? Then we'll have to go to Hogsmeade and ask the local villagers for help."
"And that's under the most ideal circumstances." Hermione lowered her voice even further, and said dejectedly, "If my estimate is wrong, the number will at least double again."
As the two were sighing to each other, Harry suddenly clapped his hands and laughed loudly, "Why are you two acting like children! It's just a few hundred people, what's so difficult about that!"
Hermione and Ron were both taken aback, and when their eyes met, they both looked at each other with a strange expression.
Does Harry have no concept of numbers?
Before the two could ask further questions, Harry said, "You two have forgotten the basics. Although good wizards who are crowned are hard to find in the world, Hogwarts is full of young heroes."
"Even if these scoundrels are not yet powerful enough, know that we have already gathered eight or nine hundred brothers and sisters in our secret chamber."
"As the saying goes, many grains of sand make a tower. Even if each person adds half of their own magic power, it should be enough for the eldest sister to enjoy."
Upon hearing this, Hermione's delicate eyebrows furrowed, and she tapped her fingertips lightly on the quilt for a long time before hesitatingly saying:
"But...is our team cohesion a little weak?"
"Apart from students like Colin, Fred, and George who have always been close to us, the rest of us don't seem to have a strong sense of belonging to the Secret Chamber."
"Besides, everyone knows that Tom drained the Slytherin students' magic last year, so getting them to give me all their magic now seems unlikely."
Seeing that Hermione still looked worried, Harry patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, big sister, I have a plan."
Seeing his confidence, Hermione said no more and let him do as he pleased.
Three or five days passed in the blink of an eye, and Hermione's injuries were healed. She couldn't wait to explore the Chamber of Secrets to see what trick Harry had up his sleeve.
As soon as he stepped inside, he froze on the spot as if he had been frozen in place, not even noticing that his magic wand had fallen to the ground.
Why do you think she lost her composure like this?
It turns out that this secret room has been completely transformed!
The house-elf used a space-expanding spell, expanding the secret room to more than two or three times its original size, making it seem endless.
On the left wall stood a rack displaying all eighteen kinds of weapons: swords, spears, halberds, axes, hooks, and forks, all gleaming coldly. Seven or eight students were wandering around, choosing the weapons that suited their needs.
On the right wall stood a dozen or so armored soldiers, spirits conjured by Mag. Each of them had light shining through their helmets and held swords, shields, bows, and hammers, practicing martial arts with the students.
The strangest thing is that the central Salazar stone sculpture has been completely removed, and in its place stands a green-robed deity with phoenix eyes and silkworm eyebrows, about three feet tall.
When Hermione saw that he was holding the Green Dragon Crescent Blade, she immediately knew that it was the same deity that the three of them had worshipped when they swore brotherhood in their humble abode.
Before the statue were offerings of three kinds of sacrificial animals, fresh fruits and vegetables, and fragrant wine; below that, two long tables were arranged on either side, with fine wine and meat, just like the banquet in the ceremonial hall.
But when a student took some, new dishes appeared in an instant, clearly the house-elf was secretly watching over them.
Hermione was mesmerized, her mouth agape, as if she were floating in the clouds.
Is this still a locked room?
Where did you take me?
This is a completely condensed version of Hogwarts!
No, it's a mini-Ministry of Magic!
As Hermione was still in a daze, she suddenly heard a joyful shout behind her.
"Oh dear! My elder sister has recovered and returned home, but why didn't she send a formal invitation first? I could have cleaned the house and prepared a welcome feast for her!"
Hermione turned around and saw Harry striding towards her.
She opened and closed her mouth several times, unsure of what to say. Finally, she pointed to the large character "义" (righteousness) on the stone wall behind the statue of Guan Yu and murmured:
"Harry...did you cut down the wall above the fireplace in the common room that had the word 'righteousness' on it?"
Harry laughed, "Big sister has a good eye! It was taken intact, with the wall and writing still on it."
Having said that, he took Hermione's wrist and pointed out the various sights as if they were his own treasures.
But this small space, after his arrangement, was like a mustard seed containing Mount Sumeru, with all kinds of facilities complete. It truly was a case of: though small, it had all the vital organs.
Then, Harry pointed to the crisscrossing iron pipe openings above and said, "I had already instructed the house-elves to open up a pipe network that leads directly to the four house common rooms."
"After we are given waist tags, we will no longer have to detour through the women's restroom and be lewdly stared at by that scoundrel, Peach Queen."
Hermione was taken aback. "Mormah?"
"Eldest sister doesn't know, that female ghost died young and never experienced the joys of human life. When the brothers pass by, they all make her stand close and scrutinize them."
Hermione listened blankly for a while, then looked around the Chamber of Secrets before finally asking, "Harry, how did you come up with all this?"
Harry cupped his hands and said, "Elder sister, please accept this. I knew an older brother many years ago who was an expert at managing the mountain stronghold. I've only learned a tiny fraction of his skills."
Readers, please note: The hero Harry spoke of was none other than Tao Zongwang from Gwangju, known in the martial arts world as the Nine-Tailed Turtle.
This hero was the leader in charge of all matters in Liangshan Marsh. He was in charge of the management and operation of all the city walls, moats, passes, granaries, and other facilities in the stronghold.
Where to build a stockade, how to dig trenches, and how to arrange defenses—all these were handled by him with remarkable skill and efficiency.
Back when Harry was supervising the construction of the camp with Blue-Eyes Tiger Lee Yun and a couple hundred henchmen, he was greatly aided by this nine-tailed turtle for guidance. The two discussed things day and night, and Harry learned some of his methods as well.
Harry looked around the underground cave and couldn't help but shake his head and sigh:
"It's a pity that this secret chamber is buried deep underground and cannot be accessed in any direction. If it were on flat land, I would have built city walls, opened up main roads, dredged ditches, set up water gates, and cast spells to make it as solid as an iron barrel, so that even a thousand troops would have a hard time getting close."
Hermione's lips twitched as she listened. How many brothers was Harry now?
He was taught how to steal, he was taught military strategy, he was taught how to butcher pigs—and now someone else is teaching him civil engineering!
Where on earth did he get to know so many amazing people?
Hermione, filled with curiosity, pondered for a long time but couldn't figure it out. She then carefully scanned the secret chamber again, but Ron was nowhere to be seen. She asked in surprise:
"Where did Ron go? Why isn't he in the secret room today?"
Harry waved his hand: "My brother took a few men this morning, along with scout Rozier and some birds from the Noble Club."
It turns out that Harry and his companion had made a scene in the tent the other day, which caused a grudge against those privileged young men.
These good-for-nothings, though they dared not openly confront each other, relied on their parents' power and influence to secretly sabotage and frame others.
The people in the secret room were furious at this humiliation. Ron remembered being called "the poor devil," but now he often led three or five good men and women to seek out trouble for those rich kids, which he considered a pleasure.
Harry had previously refrained from mentioning this part, fearing that Hermione would be too stressed while recovering from her injury. Now, seeing that she was in good spirits, he recounted in detail the actions of Rozier and his group, as well as the various escapades of the Noble Club.
After listening, Hermione pondered for a moment and then said, "Could you show me the logbook that records Rozier's surveillance?"
Harry readily agreed, saying he would fetch it from her once he returned to his dormitory, without mentioning it further.
After more than half a month of this, Hermione examined the scroll of parchment repeatedly, but like Harry, she couldn't find a single flaw.
During this time, the rift between the Noble Club and the members of the Secret Chamber deepened. One side relied on its power to bully others, while the other side relied on its numbers; the two sides were already irreconcilable.
Those privileged children who once straddled two boats can no longer turn a blind eye and have no choice but to find a new path to follow.
Ultimately, driven by fame and fortune, most of these scoundrels joined the elite clubs, leaving only a dozen or so still passionate enough to remain in the secret chambers.
It is true that brothers may quarrel within the walls, but they unite against external threats. The aristocratic club, relying on their social standing, has instead drawn most of the students from humble backgrounds to Harry's side, much like rivers flowing into the sea, making the hearts of those in the Chamber of Secrets even more united.
Seeing that everyone in the Chamber of Secrets was of one mind, Ron thought the time had come and quickly approached Harry, who was burning incense in front of the statue of Guan Yu, and said:
"Harry, I think it's time to get everyone together and sort things out for getting to the Ministry of Magic."
Harry didn't answer. He first placed three sticks of incense into the burner, bowed respectfully three times, and then turned around and said:
"Brother, you are mistaken. You should know that when you plant bamboo, you only see the roots growing secretly for the first three years, but you don't see any bamboo growing on the ground."
"Only after the spring rains have thoroughly soaked them will they break through the soil and grow to a height of three zhang (approximately 10 meters) in ten days. We are still lacking this timely rain."
He then patted Ron on the shoulder and said, "Besides, our Quidditch match against Ravenclaw is in three days. We'll discuss everything after the match."
Upon hearing this, Ron had no choice but to give up for the time being.
Three days have passed in the blink of an eye, and although the Quidditch arena is still fluttering with flags, it is not as lively as before.
Since the Lion and Eagle academies had no prior grudges and there was no excitement, the number of spectators was not large, and most of them were students from their own academies cheering them on.
Suddenly, a whistle blew, and Wood led Harry and the others into the arena to greet Davies, the captain of the Eagles.
After the two shook hands, Davis grinned and hurriedly waved his hand, saying:
"I say, Wood, is it really necessary to use the same force you used on Flint on me?"
Wood remained stern and said solemnly, "I'm sorry, Davis, this is competition. Going easy on him is not only unfair to the game, but also an insult to you."
Angelina rolled her eyes at his words. "I bet if Boggart met Wood, it would turn into the Quidditch Cup."
Fred nodded and said, "And the kind with wings."
George chimed in, "As fast as the Golden Snitch, you'll never catch him."
Seeing this, Harry patted Wood on the shoulder and laughed:
"Brother, why so tense? Of all those present, who hasn't gathered in secret to uphold righteousness? Who hasn't paid homage to Guan Yu? Who isn't a sworn brother?"
He then turned to the Ravenclaw team, bowed to Cho Chang with his hands clasped, and said, "If it weren't for my sister Chang speaking up for us when the College Cup was awarded, how could we have won the trophy?"
Wood, after being reprimanded by Harry, didn't say anything more and just nodded with a stern face.
Hearing Harry's words, Cho Chang couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh, saying, "Seriously, Harry, I've never met an Englishman who speaks more strangely than you."
"If your words were translated into Chinese, it would be like the episodic style of the Four Great Classical Novels."
As soon as she finished speaking, she realized that she had spoken too cryptically, and quickly explained: "The Four Great Classical Novels refer to the four books in Chinese history that have the highest literary and artistic achievements."
Harry, curious, pressed on, "What are those four extraordinary books that you mentioned, Sister?"
Qiu Zhang counted on his fingers, "Hmm... let me think... Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Dream of the Red Chamber, Journey to the West, and... Jin Ping Mei."
(End of this chapter)