Dumbledore was pacing back and forth in the study after listening to Snape's report.
Agreeing to Lockhart's proposal to organize a dueling club seemed to have gained far more than expected. Even he himself did not expect that Harry was actually a Parseltongue.
As far as Dumbledore could remember, no one in the Potter family had ever had the ability to speak Parseltongue, so Harry's ability was obviously not inherited from the family.
When Dumbledore saw young Harry, he realized that the magical scar on his forehead was unusual.
Over the years, Dumbledore had speculated about what the scar meant.
Now we finally have some results.
Perhaps, the lightning scar created some very unusual connection between Harry and Voldemort.
Although it is only speculation now, Dumbledore believes that on the night when Voldemort failed to murder Harry, he most likely transferred part of his soul into Harry, giving Harry the ability to talk to snakes.
Otherwise, the Sorting Hat would not have thought that Harry was suitable for Slytherin House and that Slytherin House could help him achieve glory.
You know, no one from the Potter family was sorted into Slytherin House.
If it weren't for the discovery that Harry was a Parseltongue, I wouldn't even have made such a bold assumption.
Ever since learning that Voldemort created the Horcruxes, Dumbledore has been secretly studying how to destroy them.
Entrusting the soul to a living creature is undoubtedly a very risky approach. Given Voldemort's cautiousness, he obviously would not risk his own life.
So it could only be an accident.
However, Harry's Parseltongue is good news for now.
Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets requires Parseltongue to open. If the prisoner is not found until the end, it will be up to Harry to open the Chamber of Secrets and eliminate the threat of the Basilisk to the teachers and students of Hogwarts.
Of course, Dumbledore didn't want to do that unless it was absolutely necessary. It was obviously not a good thing to let enemies hiding in the dark stay in Hogwarts School.
If the other party is not found out, no one knows what will happen, and the so-called heir of Slytherin may very well be Voldemort's Horcrux.
In order to kill Voldemort completely, all of his Horcruxes need to be destroyed. Dumbledore does not intend to give up this good opportunity.
After all, a person's soul is not a cake that can be cut at will. Once it is cut too many times, the soul will become very unstable and nothing will happen to anyone.
Dumbledore believed that the number of Horcruxes created by Voldemort should be limited, and he believed that he would destroy them one by one to reduce Harry's pressure as much as possible.
A sudden scream came from the headmaster's office, interrupting Dumbledore's thoughts, and a fireball rose from the gilded branch not far behind the door.
“It’s finally started!”
Dumbledore walked to the branch where the bird was perching, looked at the little bird poking its head out from the ashes, and smiled with relief.
"Grow up quickly, I will need your help soon." Dumbledore stretched out his hands to hold the little bird, came to sit behind the table, took out the food he had prepared in advance, and fed the little bird some food so that it could recover some strength as soon as possible.
He placed the chick in its warm nest, glanced at the hourglass on the table, and prepared to have the house-elf come over to look after young Fawkes.
When Dumbledore looked away, his gaze inadvertently swept across a glass ball in the corner.
"It seems that..."
Dumbledore reached out and picked up the hot glass ball, then carefully examined the slightly rough object. He remembered that it seemed to be something Hagrid had brought last time. It was said to be a prop made by Albert Anderson, and it seemed to be called... a detection ball, which could detect dark creatures.
"He is indeed a guy who should not be underestimated." Dumbledore felt the temperature coming from the detection ball and fell into a brief recollection.
From Hagrid, we learned that Mr. Anderson has deduced that the monster in the chamber of secrets is most likely the legendary basilisk.
Maybe Mr. Anderson has also found the approximate location of the secret room.
Dumbledore remembered that Albert had led him to find the crown last time, and he couldn't help but reveal the danger. He was deeply impressed. Maybe this time he would lead him to find the Chamber of Secrets.
Most geniuses are usually ambitious, just like himself in the past. Now Dumbledore only hopes that his old friends can guide Albert onto the right path.
As for whether the basilisk would pose a threat to Albert, Dumbledore was not worried. He knew that Albert was very cautious and it was impossible for him to be unprepared when he knew about the existence of the basilisk.
If Albert knew what Dumbledore was thinking, he would definitely spit in his face.
At this moment, Albert was testing the approximate effective detection range of the detection ball with Hagrid. The result was not satisfactory. The detectable range was too wide, at least 500 feet.
If it is not used in school, the wider the range, the better. However, if it is used in school, the range will be too wide and will cover the entire school, which will be meaningless.
"You don't seem very satisfied?"
Hagrid threw the almost frozen Grindylow to the fireplace to warm it, then took the copper kettle from the stove and made a cup of hot tea for Albert.
"I found that the detection ball has a lot of shortcomings when used in the castle." Albert put the hot detection ball aside, took a sip from the teacup, and said a little depressedly, "Maybe I should improve it a little bit."
"It would be best if we could mark or point out the location of the dark creatures," Hagrid suggested. "It would be even better if we could finish it before the Christmas holidays."
"It might be a bit difficult." Albert turned his head and looked at Hagrid and asked, "You don't want to use this thing to find hidden monsters, do you?"
"No way?" Hagrid also concealed his thoughts.
"I suggest you give up." Albert was not optimistic about Hagrid's idea.
The detection ball is just a detection and early warning device specially made by Albert to prevent himself from being attacked by the basilisk. It only has the function of detection and early warning.
Albert didn't expect this thing to become a radar for detecting dark creatures. He didn't know how long it would take to improve it to that level. He didn't think he could do it in a short time.
Seeing Hagrid's lost expression, Albert changed the subject casually, "Did you hear about it?"
"What did you hear?"
"Harry is a Parseltongue."
"Harry's a Parseltongue?" Hagrid looked very shocked. "How can he be a Parseltongue? Tell me what this is all about."
Albert told Hagrid about the last duel club incident.
"Now all the students in the school suspect that Harry is the heir of Slytherin." Albert said to Hagrid, "He is not having a good time."
"How could Harry go back and attack others? These are all slanders!" Hagrid looked very excited. He himself had been slandered before and absolutely did not want Harry to follow in his footsteps.
"Okay, Hagrid, don't get excited." Albert said softly, "I don't think Slytherin would want his heir to be a Gryffindor student."
"Is Harry really a Parseltongue?" Hagrid asked suddenly.
"Yes. However, Parseltongue is only a rare ability. In fact, there are great and kind wizards in history who are Parseltongues." Albert explained calmly: "Abilities are never divided into good and bad."
"You're right." Hagrid agreed with Albert's point of view.