Valentine's Day arrived quickly, bringing with it the warmth and bloom of spring. Naturally, butterflies like Gilderoy Lockhart couldn't help but flutter out and dance—how else could they do justice to such a beautiful season?
"Students, today is Valentine's Day! We must love freely within the school so we don't waste our youth,"Lockhart cheerfully announced after breakfast on that day.
"And I've specially invited a group of Cupids to help our shy students deliver their love letters," he added.
With a wave of Lockhart's hand, seven dwarfs with angel wings walked in. They looked just like the dwarves in fairy tales. At that moment, Regulus Black felt as though Lockhart himself was playing the role of Snow White.
Turning to Dumbledore, he saw the old man laughing heartily. It was unclear whether he genuinely enjoyed the spectacle or was just playing along.
But thinking more deeply, it was clear why such a ridiculous suggestion from someone like Lockhart was accepted by Dumbledore.
In recent months, the pressure from the Chamber of Secrets had made the atmosphere at Hogwarts unbearably tense. Everyone was suspicious of each other, and students did everything in groups. No one knew who the Heir of Slytherin was, nor what the monster in the Chamber truly was.
People fear the unknown. The fear itself isn't the real threat—it's being unable to overcome that fear, allowing it to spread unchecked. When fear accumulates over time, it becomes harder and harder to defeat.
So letting Lockhart mess around on Valentine's Day was actually a way to ease the tension at Hogwarts and let the students return to their usual mischievous selves—that was who they really were.
"If you want someone to fall in love with you, you can even consult Professor Snape about how to brew a love potion,"Lockhart said, undeterred by Snape's murderous glare. After all, Snape had been ruthless during their Duel Club match, so Lockhart was happy to get a little payback today.
Some students were indeed tempted by the idea, but it remained just that—a temptation. Because with the way Snape was glaring, it felt like anyone who really did approach him would be forced to drink poison, then be left to die as he stood guard to stop anyone from intervening.
So, no one dared bother Snape that day—but the school itself quickly descended into chaos.
At any moment, dwarfs would barge into classrooms and deliver love letters in front of everyone. Students soon discovered that for just a Knut, the dwarf would read a love letter aloud; for a Sickle, all seven dwarfs would sing it loudly in chorus.
Thus, Hogwarts went wild.
Dwarfs were everywhere, able to sniff out even those trying to hide. But with how busy they were, their expressions turned sour—as if the whole school owed them something. They delivered letters with a scowl.
They made quite a bit of money that day, and the activity only ended around dinnertime.
"Harry Potter! I love you, just like Voldemort loves his own child.Harry Potter! I love you. If you want to know the secret of the Chamber, you must seek it yourself—no one can help you.Harry Potter! I love you. You will explore the Chamber's secret with your beloved.Harry Potter! I love you. You will wield the Sword of Gryffindor, slay the monster in the Chamber, and save the one you love.Harry Potter! I love you, Harry Potter! I love you, Harry Potter! I love you…"
After singing this dramatic ballad in high-pitched harmony, the seven dwarfs turned and marched out of the Great Hall, leaving everyone stunned by the lyrics.
Though their singing was terrible, the students of Hogwarts treated it all as a joke. They often came up with bizarre lyrics for the dwarfs to perform. However, the dwarfs refused to sing songs without themes of love—so no insults or malicious provocations ever made it into their performances. Story-like songs like this, however, were acceptable.
Dumbledore's glasses gleamed, his expression uncharacteristically grim. On such a festive and foolish day, pulling something like this was a direct affront to the Headmaster—no doubt he wasn't pleased.
"What is going on? Who sent that last song to Harry Potter?"Even Gilderoy Lockhart wore a sheepish and nervous smile as he questioned the dwarfs, who were supposed to stop working after dinner.
"No idea! The letter was delivered by the school's owl post, along with two Sickles,"a dwarf croaked in his hoarse voice, pulling out the two coins and proudly kissing them.
The dwarfs loved money—and they had fulfilled their task diligently.
But since it came through the owl post, tracking the sender would be extremely difficult. And since the dwarf only presented the coins, the letter was likely gone. It could've self-ignited, dissolved, rotted away, had vanishing ink, or been magically recalled—there are countless ways to maintain secrecy in the wizarding world.
However, just by looking at the lyrics, it seems the sender wanted to remind Harry Potter of something, but the content of the lyrics also appears to be hinting at something deeper.
"Harry Potter can't possibly be the Heir of Slytherin!"
Ron, ever the chivalrous protector, immediately stood up in the midst of the eerie atmosphere in the Great Hall. But judging from the expressions of everyone around, not to mention the other three houses, even among Gryffindor, there weren't many who supported him. Anxiously, Ron turned his gaze to Dumbledore at the staff table.
"Mr. Weasley, calm down. No one has drawn any conclusions about this matter. Everyone, please continue to enjoy your dinner and try to rest early. There are still classes tomorrow—don't oversleep," Dumbledore said with a cheerful smile, which eased the tension in the room considerably. The students resumed their dinner, though the mood was noticeably more subdued than before. Quiet conversations buzzed among them as they ate.
"I wonder how Harry Potter's progress in finding the Chamber of Secrets is going?" Regulus Black murmured softly as he slowly chewed his food. Though he spoke quietly, both Professor Snape and Professor Flitwick on either side of him heard clearly.
Letting Harry Potter find the Chamber on his own—only Headmaster Dumbledore would do such a thing.
At that moment, everyone assumed the song had been arranged by Dumbledore. But Dumbledore knew very well it wasn't him. He mentally ruled out every professor at the table one by one, until only Regulus Black and Gilderoy Lockhart remained.
Could it be Regulus Black? He was always so mysterious, greedy, yet cautious. That was Dumbledore's evaluation of him.
If it really was Regulus Black, then what message was he trying to conceal within the lyrics?
Could it have been Gilderoy Lockhart? Perhaps he staged the entire event with the dwarves to liven up the atmosphere, only to ambush Harry at the end and make him the target of ridicule. But truthfully, Harry was already a target even before Valentine's Day—he had long been the most widely suspected Heir of Slytherin at Hogwarts.
Because in the entire school, Harry was the only one who could speak Parseltongue. No one else could.
Harry had matured quite a bit during this time—because the pressure on him was immense!
"Regulus, what do you think is inside the Chamber?" Professor Flitwick, clearly intrigued, couldn't help but ask the nearby Regulus Black.
"Of course it's a Basilisk!" Regulus Black answered directly, with no intention of keeping it a secret.
"The symbol of Slytherin is a serpent, and among magical serpents, only a Basilisk is capable of living for a thousand years. Other higher-tier creatures simply don't have the temperament to lie dormant for so long. Those with divine or demonic natures would've broken loose and gone on a rampage by now! There's no way they'd commit one attack fifty years ago and then just disappear. Oh, and by the way, Moaning Myrtle was killed by a Basilisk. I checked the records—only a Basilisk could cause a death in that manner."
By now, Regulus Black's voice wasn't exactly quiet. Most of the professors at the table had heard him. However, as Regulus spoke, Professor Flitwick had cast a soundproofing charm to block the sound from reaching the students.
So, all the students could see were the astonished expressions of the professors as they listened to Regulus Black speak.
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