There was no need to wait until evening—Glenn noticed that the little girl's behavior was already quite unusual.
Unlike her usual self, where she would listen attentively in class while sneakily trying to touch him, today she sat a bit farther away, not clinging to him. Whenever Glenn tried to move closer to Hermione, she would let out a soft humph and scoot her little bottom slightly farther from him.
Glenn sighed helplessly. It seemed Hermione was truly upset about having her Hogwarts: A History confiscated.
Hmm...
After thinking for a moment, Glenn glanced at Professor Binns, who was explaining the 1289 International Wizarding Conference in his usual painfully slow pace. An idea formed in his mind.
"Alright—let's turn to the next page... hmm?" Professor Binns had just finished a section and was about to instruct the students to turn the page when a small hand shot up in front of him. This surprised him, as it was the first time he had ever seen someone raise their hand in his class.
(Professor Binns rarely asked questions, so the little girl never had the chance to raise her hand.)
"You are—" He lifted his head slightly, squinting to get a clearer look at the student.
"Glenn Hawthorne, Professor," the boy replied, lowering his hand now that he had caught the professor's attention. Standing up amidst Hermione's astonished gaze, Glenn asked, "Do you know anything about the Chamber of Secrets at Hogwarts?"
The question was like a sudden thunderclap, instantly waking up all the drowsy young wizards in the classroom. They immediately straightened themselves from their various slouched positions, sitting upright and alert.
Now this was interesting!
Jokes aside, there was no hotter topic at Hogwarts right now than the Chamber of Secrets and the monster within. Who wouldn't want to learn more about these two mysteries?
Especially Harry, who had been dozing off with droopy eyes moments ago. His green eyes now widened as he sat up straight. He would bet anything that no one here was more eager than him to uncover what this Chamber and its monster were all about.
Ever since he and Ron had been caught at the scene of the incident by a crowd of gawking onlookers, Harry felt like everyone was looking at him differently. It was as if they were staring at a criminal!
But he wasn't the culprit! Harry felt so wronged.
That day, after barely escaping Nearly Headless Nick's ghastly Deathday Party, he had once again heard that cold, murderous voice he had heard before.
This time, Harry wasn't about to let it slip away—especially since the owner of that voice seemed intent on killing someone!
So, dragging a bewildered Ron along, he had chased the voice all the way to the third-floor corridor, only to find Mrs. Norris hanging on the wall and those ominous red words.
And then they got caught.
It was so unfair!
Shaking his head to dispel his lingering drowsiness, Harry forced himself to focus. Up front, Professor Binns had already started to hesitantly answer Hawthorne's question. Harry listened intently to what came next.
Meanwhile, he reached over and smacked a still-sleeping Ron awake.
"Ugh... huh? Is class over?" Ron groaned in pain, lifting his head groggily and wiping the drool from the corner of his mouth. His eyes were filled with confusion.
"No, listen up! Professor Binns is talking about the Chamber of Secrets."
"What?!"
Those words were more effective than anything else. Even Ron perked up with excitement.
On the podium, Professor Binns began recounting the history of Hogwarts, starting with its founders: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. He went on to describe the ideological rift between Slytherin and the other three.
No, to be precise, it was the rift between Slytherin and the other three founders.
"...Slytherin believed that Hogwarts should be more selective in admitting students. He thought magical education should be restricted to those from pure magical families. He was unwilling to accept Muggle-born children, deeming them untrustworthy," Professor Binns said in his usual slow tone. But this time, every young wizard listened with rapt attention. "Eventually, Slytherin and Gryffindor had a fierce argument over this issue, and Slytherin left the school."
"This is information that is well-documented in historical records," Professor Binns said, adjusting his glasses. "However, these facts have been overshadowed by the legend of the Chamber of Secrets—a story claiming that Slytherin built a secret room at Hogwarts, unbeknownst to the other founders."
"According to the legend, he sealed the Chamber so that no one could open it until..." Professor Binns paused, "...until Slytherin's true heir arrived at the school. Only the heir could unlock the Chamber..."
"...and unleash the terrifying creature within to cleanse the school of all those deemed unworthy of studying magic."
"The Chamber of Secrets... the heir..." Glenn nodded, having obtained the information he wanted. He thanked Professor Binns and sat down.
However, it was clear that this tidbit of information wasn't enough to satisfy the other students, who had been thoroughly intrigued.
You woke us up for this? That's it?!
Not enough! What about the Chamber's location? The heir's identity? The monster inside?
More information, please! Give us more!
Though the classroom fell silent after Glenn sat down, the atmosphere grew increasingly tense.
The young wizards bombarded Professor Binns with a barrage of rapid-fire questions, their curiosity spilling over like an unstoppable flood. Accustomed to the usual deathly silence of his classes, Professor Binns was utterly overwhelmed by this scene. Moreover, the questions were about things not recorded in historical texts—things he considered mere fabrications.
In a stern tone, Professor Binns silenced the rowdy young wizards, and the matter was left unresolved.
The focus shifted back to Glenn, who had returned to his seat.
Hermione had already taken out her notebook and was furiously jotting down everything Professor Binns had just said. As her quill danced across the pages, she leaned closer to Glenn and whispered, "What's our next move? Are we going to find Slytherin's heir?"
"No, we'll continue the task we left unfinished," Glenn replied, shaking his head. He already had a suspicion about the heir's identity.
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