"Oh, I'm stupid!" Hermione flipped through the books, and Mrs. Pince blamed her for not paying attention to the book. Now Hermione suddenly stuffed the book in her hand into the pile of books in front of her and handed it to Ginny to clean up, "Why should I be stupid and flip through the books?" Wouldn't it be better to ask the professor of the Conservation of Magical Creatures class directly? ”

The professor of the Conservation of Magical Creatures class was Professor Kate Abbott, who was supposed to retire at the beginning of the year, but the school struggled to find a suitable replacement for a while, so Dumbledore asked him to teach for another six months. In other words, this is a master who has been immersed in the ocean of knowledge of magical creatures for many years. Hermione hoped that he would be as "enthusiastic" as Professor Binns to deduce the monsters in the Chamber of Secrets.

Professor Abbott's office is located on the edge of Hogwarts Castle, near the Forbidden Forest. He wasn't always in school, and "those textbooks don't really teach you about magical creatures." Just like Professor Sprout's herbal greenhouse, Professor Abbott built a small shed with all kinds of "cuties" in it, so that he was always reluctant to go out.

Hermione knocked on Professor Abbot's door, and Professor Abbot's head poked out like a harmless old man, with black pupils, a goat-like beard, round glasses, and the smell of pine cones.

"You are?" Professor Abbot thought for a moment, "I don't seem to have you as a student, do I?" ”

"I'm sorry professor, I'm Hermione Granger, a second-year Gryffindor." Hermione followed Professor Abbott into the room.

"No wonder, my classes are only for students from the third year onwards, but I've heard of you, and some say you're the most gifted witch in a hundred years, and even Professor McGonagall can't beat you. It's a pity, I'm going to leave at the end of this semester, otherwise I'll be able to see it. The Immortal Boy, the Ravenclaw Heir and you all had a wonderful performance in one class. Professor Abbot pulled a handful of pine cones out of his pocket, "Do you want to eat them?" ”

"No, thank you......" Before Hermione could finish her sentence, Professor Abbott pulled out a small hammer out of nowhere and began to make pine nuts.

"Bang-"

"Professor......

"Bang-" Professor Abbot smashed one after the other.

"Professor—" Hermione didn't lean in, but sat down in her chair in a hurry.

"Say, I can hear you. I know you're not here for afternoon tea with a retired old man. Hermione embarrassed Professor Abbott.

"Professor, I heard that someone opened the Chamber of Secrets fifty years ago, so I want to know what the monsters in the Chamber of Secrets are?" This was what Harry learned from Malfoy on Christmas Day.

Professor Abbot's hammer striking the pine cone suddenly paused in the air, "Where did you hear that?" He put the hammer on the table, picked up the pine nuts and blew them to feed the squirrels in his pocket. Indeed, it has been fifty years at once! He seemed to be lamenting the passage of time.

"I've been asked this question more than once, but I haven't told them. Dumbledore had come to me fifty years ago and asked me, and I hadn't said anything. Because I know that once people know what's in the chamber, they're going to do everything they can to get rid of it, even if it's so reluctant to hurt people. Professor Abbot was a little sad.

"But now that someone has reactivated it, to do what it used to be, I know I should give it a good time, and that's good for it. But when I wanted to speak, Dumbledore wouldn't let me say it. Professor Abbot said, his face aching, as if he could sense the monster's situation. What's the big picture? What's in control? ”

"He doesn't know at all!" The last sentence was shouted, and Hermione felt that it sounded like Dumbledore and Aitch.

"So, Professor, can you talk to me? I promise not to make a big deal about it, because it won't affect the so-called big picture. I guess it's satisfying a little curiosity. Hermione looked at him with wide, watery eyes.

Probably suppressed for a long time, Professor Abbot was very excited about the idea, "I swear I will never make a big deal out of it until it's over." Here, Hermione played a cautious eye, just let a few people know, it is not a violation.

"This ...... No, it doesn't. He opened a bottle of vogart and took a sip, "I'm drunk!" ”

Hermione blinked, but heard Professor Abbot's refusal, "Of course, your mouth is the strongest. I haven't been able to get any news from you. ”

Professor Abbot nodded in satisfaction, "You know that the symbol of Slytherin is the snake, and Slytherin himself is also famous for the Parseltongue, which explains why only the heir of Slytherin can open the Chamber of Secrets and control the monsters inside, all snakes listen to the Parseltongue, this is an iron law." So I'm guessing that the key to opening the Chamber of Secrets is the Parseltongue. ”

"But ordinary snakes don't have that much power." Hermione had looked up a lot of books, so she naturally knew the loophole in this idea, otherwise everyone in the school would have guessed it. But she also understood the possibility of Professor Abbot's guess, as Harry was a parseltongue.

"That's right." Professor Abbot took another sip of wine, "It's a shame that you're not my student. Your talent is really high. ”

"Ordinary snakes don't have the kind of way to petrify people, and they can't kill people without leaving external injuries. Oh, that was the way the poor little girl died fifty years ago, without any wounds on her body and without poisoning. Snakes don't live that long, and it's been at least a thousand years since the legendary secret room was established. Speaking of the monster's special abilities, Professor Abbot was a little excited, and his face was red because of the wine.

"But there is one exception. It was a magical creature of the Snake King, also known as the Basilisk, that came out of an egg hatched by a toad. It's rare to see a living basilisk now, and even a few records are made. But you can still hear a few words about them from the troubadours. ”

"This snake can grow to tens of feet and live for hundreds of years, and in addition to its poisonous and lethal fangs, there is also a pair of creatures that stare at it directly. Spiders run away at the sight of the basilisk, the basilisk is their natural predator, and the only thing that can make the basilisk run away is the crowing of the rooster, as this is fatal to the basilisk. It's written in a book. ”

"For the basilisk, all the pipes of the school are its gardens and can be walked around at will. I'm sure you've heard Hagrid's big man complain about the murder of his, and, let me tell you, I saw spiders fleeing in pairs during the days of the attack, yes, passing through here, into the Forbidden Forest. ”

Hermione covered her mouth in surprise, "So, it's really a basilisk?" Can...... But why did only one person die in these attacks? ”

"That's why I don't want you to hurt it, and if it really wants to kill, we won't even be able to find its bones. But how it managed to be just a petrified man, then I don't know, maybe it was Slytherin's backhand, or maybe Dumbledore said he was in control, or maybe it was the luck of the victims, who just saw the basilisk indirectly...... "Professor Abbot should have been drunk after saying everything he had to say, muttering something in his mouth.

Hermione took the bottle out of his hand and placed it on the table, wishing the professor a good night's sleep. Then she rushed to the castle, and she had to get the word to Harry so they knew.

When the news of Hermione's petrification reached Edge's ears, he couldn't grasp the pumpkin juice in his hand, "How is that possible! "But who else is lying stiff on the bed in the school doctor's room?