Almost all of the basilisk is covered with extremely tough scale armor, which can not only resist ordinary sword weapons, but even magic spells can resist and even rebound.

Even though it's a corpse now, it's still quite laborious to cut.

Speaking of which, Maca really wanted to chop it up and take it all away, after all, this is a basilisk! It would not be an exaggeration to say that it is a treasure all over its body.

But even this stretching suitcase couldn't fit it all.

Eventually, when Maca turned to leave, the ancient beast that had caused the entire Hogwarts to be shut down and Dumbledore to receive a recall order from the school board had turned into a pile of unrecognizable Roshan.

With Maca leaving, the stone door finally closed. But not long after, a dull roar and collapse sound was heard faintly from the secret room, and the entire ground shook slightly.

……

On the other side, Lockhart returned to his office with Harry, Ron, and Ginny, and Professor McGonagall arrived shortly after. She took Lockhart and her three children to her office, where there were quite a few people waiting for them.

Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Lockhart stood in the doorway, Harry was almost covered in mud and slime, and although Lockhart looked better, even if he remained invisible all the way, the mud splashes were inevitable.

For a moment, there was silence all around. Suddenly, there was a scream from the fireplace - "Ginny! ”

It was Mrs. Weasley, who had been sitting in front of the fire crying. Then she jumped to her feet, followed by Mr. Weasley, and both of them threw their arms around their precious daughter at the same time.

Ron stood aside, his head still hanging and not knowing what he was thinking.

Harry's gaze passed over them and into the room.

He saw Professor Dumbledore smiling and standing in front of the mantelpiece. And standing next to Dumbledore was Hermione, who was also smiling!

"Oh! Hermione? Are you alright? Harry was pleasantly surprised.

Hermione smiled and nodded, but her eyes were still looking behind Harry, as if expecting something.

"By the time you broke a bunch of school rules, Miss Granger was already awake. It was McLean, who had stayed up for two days and two nights in a row to make a resurrection potion from a freshly ripe mandrake - it was his improved recipe, and it was very effective! ”

Professor McGonagall happily explained.

Ron, who was standing not far away, raised his head suddenly.

He looked at Hermione, then at Ginny, the expression on his face changing continuously, and finally lowered his head again in despair.

At that moment, Mrs. Weasley looked at Lockhart excitedly. Unlike the general worship of celebrities in the past, it is a kind of respect from the heart.

"Professor Lockhart, you saved her! You saved her! How did you do that? ”

"That's what we all want to know." Professor McGonagall looked at Lockhart with a hesitant expression.

In front of the mantelpiece, Dumbledore also put on a curious expression.

But Lockhart looked at Mrs. Weasley, her eyes showing a rare look of confusion. It was only when Harry reached out and tugged at the hem of his shirt that he suddenly came to his senses.

"Oh—of course, I'll tell you the whole story." Lockhart showed his old smile, but the smile was not the usual show-off, it looked a little perfunctory.

"Well, but before that, I think you'll have to listen to Mr. Potter's reasoning. I think that's the real beginning of saving Miss Weasley. ”

With Lockhart's words, everyone's eyes fell on Harry again.

Harry hesitated for a moment as everyone watched, and then began to tell the story of what had happened to him.

He spoke for about ten minutes, and everyone listened attentively, and the room was silent.

But when he said that the note in Hermione's hand had given him a key clue, Hermione nodded to everyone without surprise.

It's just that her hands hanging at her sides are tightly clutching the cuffs.

By the time Harry had finished, Lockhart had fully recovered to his usual state. With his head held high, he exaggerated the whole process after entering the secret room with an impassioned expression.

Storytelling has always been his specialty, not to mention that this time he was incognito and watched them almost the whole time!

"Is that really the case?"

Listening to this, Professor McGonagall couldn't help but ask Harry.

Harry subconsciously glanced over to Dumbledore, only to see the Headmaster smile faintly, the firelight flashing rapidly on the lenses of his half-moon glasses.

"Oh-that's about it-"

"I'm most interested," Dumbledore said suddenly, "how Voldemort used to confuse Ginny, because according to my sources, he is currently hiding in the Albanian forests!" ”

"What...... What the? Mrs. Weasley said in amazement, "Mystery man? Confused Ginny? But Ginny wasn't...... Ginny didn't ...... Is it? ”

"It's all the journal," Harry said quickly, "it was written when Riddle was sixteen, and there's a memory stored in it. ”

"Diary?" Dumbledore frowned slightly.

Harry looked at Lockhart, who he thought should know the journal's whereabouts.

But Lockhart shook his head, and said, "As I said just now—I pierced it with the basilisk's fangs, and the basilisk's venom permeated the entire diary, and the phantom of the mysterious man dissipated. Later I was busy taking the kids out, and that diary ...... It should still be in the Chamber of Secrets. ”

"That's amazing," Dumbledore said softly, after a moment's thought, "and without McLean, he'd probably be the best student Hogwarts has ever had." ”

He turned to face the Weasleys, both of whom looked confused.

"Few people know that Voldemort used to be called Tom Riddle. Fifty years ago, at Hogwarts, I taught him myself. He disappeared after leaving school...... Traveled all over the world...... Sink deeper and deeper into the mire of dark magic, mingling with the most evil in the wizarding world, and undergoing many dangerous magical transformations. ”

"Eventually, he reappeared as Voldemort, and it was hard to recognize him at that time—almost no one associated Voldemort with the smart, handsome boys' student council president who had studied here."

Dumbledore remembered the past, and at the same time remembered the present Maca. His pale blue pupils flickered with a complicated gaze.

"But what about Ginny?" Mrs. Weasley said, "Our Ginny and ...... What does it have to do with him? ”

"His day...... Diary!" Ginny sobbed and said, "I've been ...... Write on it, for a whole year. He...... He kept writing me back......"

"Ginny!" Mr. Weasley was stunned and said, "Didn't I teach you?" What have I been telling you? Never trust anything that can think for itself unless you see where it is hiding your mind. Why didn't you show me or your mom the diary in the first place? A suspicious thing like that, apparently full of black magic hex! ”

"I ...... I don't know," Ginny was still crying sadly, "I found it in a book my mother gave me. I...... I thought someone was sandwiching it in there and forgot about ......"

"Miss Weasley should go to the school hospital immediately," Dumbledore interjected without saying a word, "it's a painful ordeal for her, and the school won't punish her in any way." Many wizards who were older and more resourceful than her were blinded by Voldemort. ”

He strode over to the door and gently opened it.

"Bed rest. Perhaps, I should have another steaming glass of chocolate milk – I've always felt it was good for my mood. ”

As he spoke, he looked down and winked at Ginny kindly.

"You'll find out that Madam Pomfrey hasn't slept yet, she's been working on the recipe for the improved mandrake resurrection potion that McLean gave her!"

Mrs. Weasley led Ginny out, and Mr. Weasley followed, still looking badly battered.

Even more depressed than Mr. Weasley was Ron, who was stopped by Dumbledore's mouth, who had wanted to follow his father to the school hospital.

"You know, Minerva," Professor Dumbledore said thoughtfully to Professor McGonagall, "I think it's worth a feast to celebrate. Can I please inform the kitchen? ”

"Well, by the way, help me go and ask McLean and take him to my office to wait for me." Dumbledore added.

"Alright," she replied dryly, and left for the door, "Potter and Weasley will be left to you, won't you?" ”

"Of course." Dumbledore said.

Professor McGonagall was gone, and Harry and Ron stared at Dumbledore uneasily.

What did Professor McGonagall mean by that? What to do with them? They're going to ...... Won't it ...... Punished, right?

But Dumbledore smiled and added some points to each of them, and praised Harry for his decisiveness and cleverness, as well as Ron's love for his sister Ginny.

After that, he turned to Lockhart again and looked at him curiously.

"Gidero, I think, you're a good fit for the profession of teaching, maybe next semester—"

Lockhart hurriedly interrupted, "Oh! No, no...... I mean...... This experience has made me realize a lot of shortcomings, and I need to work harder. When I feel like I have more to teach my students, I'll come back to teach......"

He said a lot of nonsense, and his desire not to stay and continue teaching was already clear.

"Oh—that's a shame." Dumbledore said casually, then turned his gaze back to Ron and said, "I'd like to talk to Harry a few more words......

Lockhart immediately hurried out. Ron hesitated and left.