Almost the whole body of the basilisk is covered with extremely tough scales, which can not only resist ordinary swords and weapons, but also resist and even rebound magic spells.
Even though it is now a corpse, cutting it up is still quite troublesome.
Speaking of which, Maka really wanted to chop it into pieces and take it all away, after all, it was a basilisk! It would not be an exaggeration to say that it is a treasure all over.
But even this suitcase with a stretching charm couldn't fit it all in.
In the end, when Maka turned around and left, this ancient ferocious beast that had caused a scene in Hogwarts that almost caused the entire school to suspend classes, and caused Dumbledore to receive a dismissal order from the school board, had turned into a bunch of people that no one recognized. The mountain of meat that won’t come out.
As Maka left, the stone door finally closed. But not long after, I heard a dull roar and collapse sound coming from the secret room, and the entire ground shook slightly.
…
On the other side, Lockhart took Harry, Ron and Ginny back to his office, and not long after, Professor McGonagall came over. She took Lockhart and the three children into her office, where many people were waiting for them.
Harry, Ron, Ginny and Lockhart stood at the door. Harry and the others were almost covered with mud and mucus. Although Lockhart looked better, even though he had been invisible along the way, the mud was splashing But it is always inevitable.
For a moment, there was silence. Suddenly, a scream came from the fireplace—"Ginny!"
It was Mrs. Weasley, who had been sitting in front of the fire crying. Now she jumped up, followed by Mr. Weasley, who both threw their arms around their baby girl.
Ron stood aside, still hanging his head and not knowing what he was thinking.
Harry looked past them and into the room.
He saw Professor Dumbledore, smiling, standing in front of the mantelpiece. And standing next to Dumbledore was Hermione, who was also smiling!
"Oh! Hermione? Are you okay?" Harry said in surprise.
Hermione smiled and nodded, but her eyes were still looking behind Harry, as if expecting something.
"When you violated a bunch of school rules, Miss Granger had already woken up. It was MacLean. He had stayed up for two days and two nights in a row and made a resurrection potion using newly mature mandrake. That was him. Improved formula, very effective!”
Professor McGonagall happily explained from the side.
Ron, who was standing not far away, suddenly raised his head.
He looked at Hermione, then at Ginny, the expression on his face changed continuously, and finally he lowered his head again in despair.
At this moment, Mrs. Weasley looked at Lockhart excitedly. It is different from the usual worship of celebrities in the past. It is a kind of respect that comes from the heart.
"Professor Lockhart, you saved her! You saved her! What did you do?"
"This is what we all want to know." Professor McGonagall looked at Lockhart hesitantly.
In front of the mantelpiece, Dumbledore also had a curious expression on his face.
But Lockhart looked at Mrs. Weasley with a rare look of confusion in his eyes. He suddenly came back to reality when Harry reached out and pulled the hem of his clothes.
"Oh - of course, I will tell everyone the whole process." Lockhart showed his usual smile, but the smile didn't show off like before, it looked a bit perfunctory.
"Well, but before that, I think everyone has to listen to Mr. Potter's reasoning. I think that is the real beginning of saving Miss Weasley."
Following Lockhart's words, everyone's eyes fell on Harry again.
Under everyone's gaze, Harry hesitated for a moment, and then began to talk about the things he had experienced.
He spoke for about ten minutes. Everyone listened attentively and the room was completely silent.
But when he said that the piece of paper in Hermione's hand brought him a key clue, Hermione nodded to everyone without any surprise.
But her hands hanging by her sides tightly grasped the cuffs.
By the time Harry finished speaking, Lockhart had completely returned to his usual state. He held his head high and exaggerated the entire process after entering the secret room with an expression on his face.
Storytelling has always been his specialty, not to mention that this time he was almost invisible and watching next to them!
"Is it really?"
As he listened, Professor McGonagall couldn't help but ask Harry.
Harry subconsciously glanced in Dumbledore's direction and saw the headmaster smiling faintly, and the firelight flashed rapidly on his half-moon glasses.
"Oh - that's about it -"
"What I'm most interested in," Dumbledore said suddenly, "is how Voldemort used to confuse Ginny, because according to my sources, he is currently hiding in the Albanian forest!"
"Wha... what?" Mrs. Weasley said in shock, "Mysterious man? Confused Ginny? But Ginny didn't... Ginny didn't... did she?"
"It's all that diary that's causing trouble," Harry said quickly. "It was written by Riddle when he was sixteen, and there's a memory stored in it."
"Diary?" Dumbledore frowned slightly.
Harry looked at Lockhart. He felt that Lockhart should know the final whereabouts of the diary.
But Lockhart shook his head and said, "As I just said - I pierced it with the fangs of the basilisk. The venom of the basilisk penetrated the entire diary, and the shadow of the mysterious man also penetrated the diary. It dissipated. Later, I was busy taking the children out, and the diary... should still be in the secret room now."
"It's amazing," Dumbledore thought for a moment and said softly, "If it weren't for MacLean, he would probably be the most outstanding student in the history of Hogwarts."
He turned around to face Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, both of whom looked confused.
"Few people know that Voldemort's former name was Tom Riddle. I personally taught him fifty years ago at Hogwarts. He disappeared after leaving school... traveling around the world... in the dark He fell deeper and deeper into the quagmire of magic, mixed with the most evil guys in the wizarding world, and went through many dangerous magical transformations."
"Eventually, when he reappeared as Lord Voldemort, it was difficult for people to recognize him - almost no one associated Voldemort with the smart, handsome head boy who had been a student here."
While Dumbledore recalled that time in the past, he also thought of Maka now. There was a complex look in his pale blue pupils.
"But what about Ginny?" said Mrs. Weasley. "What does our Ginny have to do with... him?"
"His... diary!" Ginny sobbed. "I've been... writing in it for a whole year. He... he kept writing me replies..."
"Ginny!" said Mr. Weasley, dumbfounded. "Didn't I teach you? What have I always told you? Never trust anything that can think for itself unless you see it. Hidden somewhere. Why didn't you show the diary to me or your mother? A suspicious thing like that is obviously full of black magic!"
"I... I don't know," Ginny was still crying sadly, "I found it in a book my mother gave me. I... I thought someone had put it in there and forgotten..."
"Miss Weasley should go to the school hospital immediately," Dumbledore interjected without any explanation. "This is a painful ordeal for her, and the school will not punish her. Many people older than her, Wizards more resourceful than she were were deceived by Voldemort."
He strode to the door and opened it gently.
"Bed rest. Maybe a big glass of steaming chocolate milk - I always think that's good for improving my mood."
He said, lowering his head and winking kindly at Ginny.
"You will find that Madam Pomfrey is not sleeping yet. She has been studying the improved Mandrake Resurrection Potion formula that McClane gave her!"
Mrs. Weasley led Ginny out, followed by Mr. Weasley, still looking very shaken.
The one who was even more depressed and restless than Mr. Weasley was Ron who was stopped by Dumbledore - he originally wanted to go to the school hospital with his father.
"You know, Minerva," Professor Dumbledore said thoughtfully to Professor McGonagall, "I think these things are worthy of a banquet to celebrate. Can I ask you to inform me Where’s the kitchen?”
"Well, by the way, help me ask MacLean and take him to my office to wait for me." Dumbledore added.
"Okay," she responded simply, and started to walk towards the door, "I'll leave Potter and Weasley to you, right?"
"Of course," said Dumbledore.
Professor McGonagall left, and Harry and Ron stared at Dumbledore uneasily.
What did Professor McGonagall just mean? Deal with them? Shouldn't they...should...be punished
But Dumbledore smiled and gave each of them some points, and specifically praised Harry's decisiveness and intelligence, as well as Ron's love for his sister Ginny.
Then he turned to Lockhart and looked at him curiously.
"Gilderoy, I think you are very suitable for the teaching profession. Maybe next semester-"
But Lockhart hurriedly interrupted: "Oh! No, no... I mean... This experience has made me discover a lot of shortcomings, and I need to work harder. When I feel that I have more When I have more to teach my students, I will come back to teach..."
He talked a lot indiscriminately, and his intention to continue teaching was clearly revealed.
"Oh - that's such a pity." Dumbledore said casually, then turned his eyes to Ron and said, "I want to talk to Harry for a few more words..."
Lockhart hurried out immediately. Ron hesitated for a moment and then left.