"So that's how it is!"
Dumbledore spoke after hearing Regulus Black's analysis.
Clearly, while everyone else was still struggling with questions like "Where is the Chamber?" and "What kind of monster is inside?", Regulus Black had long since known the answer and had been quietly waiting for the mystery to be revealed.
This kind of forethought and shrewdness made Dumbledore think of even more. Although Regulus was different from Tom in many ways, if things continued this way, it wouldn't be surprising if another Dark Lord emerged.
If Regulus Black knew Dumbledore had evaluated him like that, he definitely wouldn't regret his words or actions. Instead, he'd mock Dumbledore's judgment.
Not everyone wants to become a Dark Lord. After all, there are many ways to start a revolution. Revolutionaries who resort to senseless killing—like the Dark Lord—are better off dead early.
Regulus Black adhered to a style more like that of a mastermind pulling strings behind the scenes. Is it necessary for him to kill someone himself? To negotiate benefits personally? To bear the losses himself? As long as he was the hidden hand behind it all, countless servants would naturally handle these things for him. He only needed to enjoy the results.
"You know it's a Basilisk and still want Harry Potter to continue?"
Regulus Black turned to ask Dumbledore, and Snape immediately looked at Dumbledore as well, unable to hide the urgency in his eyes.
Dumbledore was caught off guard by Regulus Black's question. His long eyebrows twitched as he slowly turned around.
He first gave Snape a reassuring glance, then looked at Regulus Black, a hint of admiration in his scrutinizing gaze.
"I trust that you won't let Harry Potter be in any danger, right?"
With that sentence, Dumbledore had effectively handed the entire matter over to Regulus Black.
None of the professors expected Dumbledore to place such trust in Regulus Black.
"You know what I want."
Regulus Black wiped his clean mouth with a napkin, then stood up, ready to leave.
Of course, Dumbledore understood what Regulus meant. Last year, when the Philosopher's Stone was being guarded, Regulus had swept through all the defenses with ease—cleaner than a scorched-earth raid.
Hagrid's three-headed dog, Fluffy, had also ended up in his hands. Hagrid still felt heartbroken whenever he thought about it.
"Do whatever you want. You can even be a professor if you like."
Dumbledore knew Regulus was asking for ownership over the entire Chamber of Secrets—and perhaps even the Sword of Gryffindor, which had just been mentioned in the love song.
"Harry Potter! Look at the professors—what are they talking about? Why can't I hear anything?"
Ron tugged on Harry Potter's sleeve, pointing toward the professors' table. In fact, very few students weren't curious about what was going on there.
Ever since Professor Flitwick had cast a silencing spell over that area, students had been dying to know what the professors were discussing. They hadn't even gone back to their offices, yet they clearly didn't want the students to know what was being said.
From the expressions on their faces, it seemed like there had been some disagreement among the professors—but in the end, Regulus Black had come out on top.
Comparing him to Gilderoy Lockhart, who looked like he'd just received a death sentence, Regulus was undeniably more dashing.
Quite a few girls covered their mouths in excitement. No one knew just how far the little gifts Regulus Black had handed out around Hogwarts had spread, but it seemed to be getting out of hand.
This year's Valentine's Day was clearly owned by Regulus Black—the number of gifts he received from smitten girls was simply overwhelming.
The girls didn't have much money to hire dwarves to sing or recite love letters, so they just had the letters delivered directly. Because there were so many and no payment involved, the dwarves weren't particularly enthusiastic—hence their grumpy expressions.
Still, they kept delivering the letters to Regulus Black, who accepted them all with a smile and stored them in his system space, planning to read them later.
"My god, Harry! Do you know how many love letters Assistant Professor Black got?"
Ron exaggerated wildly, gesturing with his hands to show an enormous pile.
"Everyone sent one—except the seventh years who are about to graduate and those already in relationships."
Harry shrugged as if it was nothing—he'd already known that.
"But I heard some seventh-year girls sent letters too. Some even broke up with their boyfriends."
Neville added helpfully… or rather, delivered a blow.
Draco lounged on the sofa in the Slytherin common room. Crabbe and Goyle were sneakily eating nearby.
"Merlin! Even I didn't get that many love letters. What's so great about Assistant Professor Black?"
The platinum-blond young master felt deeply wounded, lying there in utter dejection.
"Besides the friendship chocolate I gave you, who else gave you something?"
Pansy Parkinson was fiddling with a small box nearby, smiling happily like a girl in love for the first time.
Because she was always hanging around Draco, and as a friend among the boys, she had given out friendship chocolate to everyone for Valentine's Day. In the past, she would have carefully prepared an exquisite Valentine's chocolate just for Draco. But now that all her attention was on Regulus Black, naturally, she only gave Draco friendship chocolate.
"There were the two Greengrass sisters—Daphne gave friendship chocolate like you did, Astoria gave a Valentine's chocolate. A few others gave chocolates too, but all were just friendship chocolates."
Draco rummaged through his bag and said with some disappointment.
"Ah! Congratulations! Young Master Draco can finally be sure who his other half is."
Pansy Parkinson smiled with pursed lips, clearly amused by Astoria's behavior of sticking to Draco like glue.
Astoria's actions were incredibly straightforward—everything revolved around Draco, and her method was simply to follow him closely. You have to understand that most girls evaluate a boyfriend in many different ways: wealth, family background, interests, personality, habits, character, sincerity, and whether he's easy on the eyes.
Of course, Draco's qualities—his wealth, background, personality, habits, and character—were all top-notch. So the only thing left to win over was his heart. To do that, Astoria had chosen the relentless approach to raise their intimacy. Besides, she did find Draco easy on the eyes.
"Daphne didn't give you a Valentine's chocolate?"
Pansy Parkinson was surprised. It had always been Daphne who had her eyes on Draco. Unexpectedly, once her younger sister joined the race, she stepped back. But by the look of things now, there was no race—Astoria had won by a landslide.
"Congratulations, Astoria! Take good care of Draco. He likes girls who listen to him. The rest of us are just too headstrong."
Pansy shrugged, as if to say, it's not that she didn't try—it's just that Draco's expectations were too high. There aren't many people who can do exactly what he says all the time, so she was quitting the game. Congratulations to the one who could play and win the prize.
Not far away, Astoria looked up from her book, flashed a shy smile, and then quickly buried her face in the pages again.
Draco looked at her and could only sigh. Why is it that the girl who checks every box for him isn't someone he fell for at first glance? Looks like he'd have to adjust his mindset and try to accept her going forward.
Just then, he noticed the delicate little gift box in Pansy Parkinson's hand. Glancing again, he saw Daphne also had a similar box. The two girls kept fiddling with them but weren't opening them.
"What's that? Valentine's chocolate? Who's it from?"
Draco Malfoy asked three questions in a row. Sitting here was getting dull—if he didn't stir something up, he was going to fall asleep.
"This, of course, is a return gift I got after sending a love letter!"
Pansy Parkinson shook the little box proudly. It was obvious that inside was a Valentine's chocolate.
"This Valentine's chocolate has been laced with a love potion. Anyone who eats it will fall in love with the one who gave it—unless I give it to someone else. Then, the next person who eats it will fall in love with me. So, what do you think? Want me to give it to you, Draco?"
Pansy's words made Draco pause. He hadn't expected Regulus Black to give out such a Valentine's chocolate.
No wonder the girls were all toying with theirs—it was clear they were hesitating!
Of course, once passed on, this special chocolate could become quite the lethal weapon.
"Sister… can you give me yours? I want to give it to Draco."
Astoria softly asked her sister, Daphne.
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