[HP] Comparative

Harry was swept back to the tower like a gust of wind.Dinner had already started, and the common room was empty, and he saw Ron and Hermione facing each other, staring at the small glass jar in the middle of the table.

Hearing the opening of the portrait hole, Ron instinctively turned sideways to block it, only to find out who it was later. "Oh, it's you, Harry!" He heaved a sigh of relief, and a smile appeared on his face, "You finally appeared!"

Harry strode over, and sure enough, he found a fat beetle with ugly patterns near the antennae that he had seen twice before at the bottom of the glass bottle. "You really did it, Hermione! That's amazing!" he praised heartily.

Hermione was also beaming. "Because I thought, she will definitely try to sneak into the school again to find news. In this case, it is always right to follow the news."

"Recent news..." Ron thought about it, and suddenly realized after a while. "You think Skeeter will go to Karkaroff?"

Hermione nodded cheerfully. "I thought we'd have to wait until the third project, after all, the explosion in the women's bathroom doesn't sound like a part that Skeeter would care about—" She said, glancing lightly at the buzzing beetles in the jar At a glance, "—but Headmaster Durmstrang's complaint is different. Judging from the previous situation, she must be willing to report Dumbledore's dereliction of duty, whether it is true or not."

The buzzing of the beetle grew louder and seemed to be protesting frantically, but none of the three paid attention to it.

"She met Karkaroff by the Black Lake. After Karkaroff left, she landed on the wheels of Beauxbaton's carriage nearby. I guess she still didn't give up, and wanted to add fuel to Madame Maxime or something. ..." Hermione shrugged easily, "and then I caught it. I saw Malfoy talking into the palm of my hand earlier, it must have been her - that's how she gave her wonderful little interview with the Slytherins .”

This indeed perfectly resolved Harry's previous doubts. "Then what are you going to do next?"

"I told her that she can't write anything for a year, so that she can try to get rid of the bad habit of slandering and insulting others. If she doesn't want to obey, I will report her little secret to the Ministry of Magic." Hermione said Nodding, "As for the other parts..." She picked up the glass jar and shook it, "I cast a strong spell on the bottle so that she can't change shape. In order to ensure everything goes smoothly, I want to wait until the third project is over Let her out later."

It's almost two months before the end of the third project.Harry took the bottle from Hermione, watched the beetle scurrying furiously inside, and thought that Skeeter would be spending a long time on the twigs and leaves.

Ron seemed to be thinking in the same direction as Harry, for he gave a somewhat grinned expression. "By the way, where did you go this afternoon, Harry? We both waited for you for a while, but we couldn't find you in the nearby bathroom. We were just discussing where you went!"

"Oh, this," Harry knew he would be questioned. "I might have some indigestion. I went to the toilet several times. I guess I just missed it with you two. Later, I went to Hagrid's hut."

"Are you better now?" Hermione asked with concern, and after receiving Harry's nod in reply, she said, "Hagrid, you can wait for us to go together, can't you?"

"I just saw him outside through the window," Harry had to lie again.Before continuing to speak, he had a sudden reaction, took out his wand, and cast the ear-closing spell on the beetle in the bottle. "It's about the top predators in the Forbidden Forest—you know, it's not for the publicity, so I think it's better to go alone first."

Hermione thought about it, and was convinced. "So is there any definite news? What did Hagrid say?" she asked hastily, stuffing the small glass jar into her schoolbag, ignoring the beetle that was suddenly spinning around in it.

So Harry told them both what he had heard from Hagrid.The two had mixed reactions to the fact that there really were basilisks in the Forbidden Forest.

"Dumbledore is that sure?" Ron was shocked, but at the same time he couldn't hide his joy. "That means, there really isn't even a single spider in the Forbidden Forest?"

"But where did the basilisk come from?" Hermione's eyes were round and full of worry, "What if it came from the woods to the school?"

Harry could understand both of their reactions. "It must be true that there are no spiders, and as for running into the school..." He shrugged slightly, "Hagrid said he's ordered a dozen big cocks, and they'll be here in two days."

"That's right, the crowing of a rooster is fatal to a basilisk!" Hermione understood instantly, and relaxed visibly to the naked eye. "That's fine!"

"We don't have to go into the woods anymore!" Ron added happily, "Whatever the reason!"

Harry reckoned Ron had counted the Defense Against the Dark Arts practicals, the solitary confinement, and the friendly help to Hagrid. "I think so. Although the snake slough is the closest, it has been a while since we discovered it. Moreover, Dumbledore asked about the situation around Hagrid, and thought that the place had been thoroughly cleaned up, and it was impossible to find a more Useful clue."

"'It's been thoroughly cleaned'..." Hermione's eyes widened again. "That is, someone left it there on purpose...a wizard..."

Harry nodded at her. "The only problem is that it is not yet certain whether the wizard who cleared the field is the one who controls the basilisk."

There was a moment of silence in the common room.Then, Ron said thoughtfully: "I think it's the same one. Think about it, if a wizard can't control the basilisk, would he be willing to take a step closer to it? You know, just looking into the basilisk's eyes will kill you!" "

What he can think of, others can think of too.

"But, the only person who can control the basilisk is probably the Parseltongue..." Hermione said hesitantly, her eyes flickering, as if she really didn't want to look at Harry.

And Harry knew why.At the beginning of school, the trio had heard from Dean that Tom Riddle could speak Parseltongue.Coupled with the fact that Slytherin is a famous Parseltongue and a monster in the legend of the Chamber of Secrets, Hermione probably thinks that Tom has done all this.

Ron was probably the only one who didn't take it seriously. "What's the matter with you?" he yelled, looking back and forth at the expressions on the faces of Harry and Hermione, "Isn't Riddle killing the people by letting the basilisk eat the acromantula? Let me tell you, this matter If he really did it, then I like him even more!"

Hermione stared at him inexplicably at this blunt declaration, and Harry couldn't describe how he felt.If only the giant eight-eyed spider has an accident, then it's really nothing; just be afraid...

But Ron obviously understood another meaning. "Don't get me wrong, Harry, what I say about liking and what you say about liking are completely different things!"

Harry didn't know how to react now.Hermione couldn't take it anymore and slapped Ron's hand hard.

Ron snapped back, tucking his hands behind his back, staring at her warily. "I know what you're thinking, but I think you're really overthinking it - even Dumbledore says it's impossible to find any more traces, and you two really seem to believe that Riddle can do it? I mean, Riddle is very powerful, but he can't be more powerful than Dumbledore, right?"

Hermione froze, as if she hadn't thought of this at all before. "That's a reason." She muttered in a low voice, and touched her chin again.

"What do you mean 'this is a reason'?" Ron regained more confidence in an instant, "No matter how good Riddle is, he is still a fifth-year student! But Dumbledore is different-you want me now Can you list his accomplishments on the Chocolate Frog Card, Hermione?"

What else did they say after that, Harry didn't pay attention.He was thinking that Ron was really right.Firstly, he has no proof; secondly, Dumbledore can't find proof either; and finally, since Dumbledore already knows about the existence of the Basilisk, he won't let it harm the students.

This strengthened Harry's determination to find the possible chamber of secrets alone.He's got time, he's got leeway; if Tom really wants to do something with the Basilisk, he's got to stop him!

Meanwhile, the west tower of Hogwarts.

The top floor of the place was the owl shack, surrounded by large glassless windows.Usually, very few people would come here, let alone during meal times.

One of the only exceptions, Tom, was slowly climbing up the steps.Not halfway there, he had caught the headmaster's graying hair and beard.Soon, he withdrew his gaze and climbed to the top floor at the same speed as before. "Hello, sir."

Amidst the occasional cooing of the owl, Dumbledore threw out the last handful of corn bait, and then turned his head. "You're on time, Tom."

Tom returned the standard smile. "I don't know what you want from me, sir?"

"Oh?" Dumbledore blinked and turned around completely.He didn't wear glasses, and his expression and posture were comfortable and comfortable. "I thought you should have expected it."

"What do you think I should expect, sir?" retorted Tom, without moving a word.

Dumbledore stared at him, and suddenly smiled too. "You might be able to fool other people, Tom, but it doesn't mean anything to me. You and I both know you're a real Parseltongue."

This time it was Tom's turn to blink. "Yes, so what?"

"So you're trying to say that you don't know anything about the strange things in the Forbidden Forest?" Dumbledore asked again, very calmly, "Whether it's the basilisk slough that appeared out of nowhere, or the eight-eyed ghost that disappeared for no reason?" Giant spider?"

"There are basilisks and acromanders in the woods?" Tom immediately showed a surprised expression, "I thought there were only centaurs, at most there were werewolves!"

Dumbledore said nothing.The two stared at each other in the afterglow of the setting sun, like some kind of silent duel.

At last Tom took the initiative to break the silence. "I guess you're probably trying to say that I'm a Parseltongue, and Bao Qi has something to do with the Basilisk. This guess is reasonable, and everyone who knows that I'm a Parseltongue probably thinks so. But—" He dragged on Chang Yin, "I won't admit to pretentious things, sir."

At first glance, these words seemed to express his innocence, but Dumbledore keenly heard another meaning-the boy in front of him was actually laughing at him, and he couldn't find any evidence. "Do you know why I chose to meet you here, Tom?"

The subject changed so quickly that Tom frowned.But it was only for a moment, because he quickly smirked again: "It doesn't matter where it is." He looked around, "If you have nothing else to do, I will leave first, sir."

Dumbledore fell silent again.Tom took this to mean agreement and turned away.The white-bearded old man watched the back go away without hesitation, and pinched the bridge of his nose as he couldn't hold back the headache.

The author has something to say:

Dumbledore deliberately found a place where there was no one, but Tom didn't appreciate it ╮(￣▽￣")╭

感谢在2022-03-2019:28:42~2022-04-0120:58:09期间为我投出霸王票或灌溉营养液的小天使哦~

Thanks to the little angel who cast the rocket launcher: Tang Chenxin, Fusheng Wuyu 1;

Thanks to the little angel who threw the grenade: 555167372;

Thanks to the little angel who threw the landmines: I can’t see through 2 because I laughed; 45815450, Mujiang, Ye Shenyue, Key Sai, Big Nier, the fish that will sink into the sea after all, 533788011;

感谢灌溉营养液的小天使：Bcs100瓶；唐宸崭60瓶；兰亭香雪、暮雨冰曦20瓶；相见欢、yoyocat、crimin、明天天气10瓶；木且青8瓶；天樱2瓶；秦小宥、清补不凉、大妹子1瓶；

Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!